Such a device, such as a tachograph that registers various data relating to the duration of trips, the distance covered and the speed of the vehicle during said trips, is known.

In at least one country, in particular the Netherlands, the burden of proof is reversed in the case of car drivers being fined for specific traffic offences. Many traffic offences, such as speeding and jumping the lights, are registered by means of detecting equipment, such as photo radar equipment, laser equipment and induction loops in the road. As a result, it is no longer necessary to stop the driver on the spot, but the registered owner of the vehicle receives notification of being given a fine or an administrative sanction, frequently several weeks or months after date. The consequence of the reversal of the burden of proof is that the agency that imposes the fine does not need to prove that the registered owner has indeed committed the offence. In those cases in which the registered owner does not agree with the sanction being imposed, the owner himself must prove, or at least make a reasonable case, that he has not committed the alleged offence if he wishes to have the sanction cancelled. On the basis of the present state of the art, however, it is virtually impossible for the owner to obtain the required evidence in an adequate manner.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device for registering trip data of a vehicle which makes it possible to register the required evidence in a simple, efficient, inexpensive and/or reliable manner.

In order to accomplish that objective, the trip data being stored in the memory means include at least the point in time of a measurement, the geographic location of the vehicle at the time of the measurement and the speed of the vehicle at the time of the measurement, in which the device furthermore comprises detection means for detecting external traffic measuring equipment, such as radar, laser and/or induction measuring equipment, and in which the device is so arranged that the trip data associated with a time of measurement are stored in the memory means at and/or shortly after the point in time at which the detection of the traffic measuring equipment took place. In this way the owner or the driver of the car efficiently registers evidence with regard to the presence and/or the speed of the vehicle at locations at which traffic measuring equipment is active, which evidence can be used subsequently for verifying whether a sanction has been correctly imposed or not.

Preferably, the device furthermore comprises a GPS (Global Positioning System) position finding device or a comparable system for establishing at least the geographic location of the vehicle at the time of measurement. The accurate GPS system also makes it possible to determine the speed of the vehicle as a derivative of the vehicle positions as established. Furthermore, in order to complete the evidence, the trip data preferably include the direction of movement of the vehicle at the time of the measurement, which can

likewise be established by means of the GPS system.

Preferably, the detection means are also capable of measuring the spectrum characteristic of the signal being received, and the trip data include said spectrum characteristic. In this way characterization of the signal is possible, and it may subsequently be decided not to store any measuring data that exhibit the aforesaid characteristic, for example because the signal is not being transmitted by traffic measuring equipment but by another source.

Preferably, the memory means may comprise predetermined geographic locations, in which the device is so arranged that the trip data are stored in the memory means when the vehicle is present at one of said predetermined locations. This provision makes it possible to register the trip data at locations that are known in advance, for example permanent roadside cameras, independently of the fact whether external measuring equipment is being detected.

In a further special embodiment, the device comprises radar detection means, in which case means for measuring and registering the frequency of a radar signal being received are furthermore present. This enables the user to verify whether the frequency of the radar signal being used lies within the boundaries laid down by the authorities.

Preferably, the user can furthermore register the trip data at any desired moment, for example by pressing a button. This enables him to check, for example, whether radar detection equipment is operating at the correct frequency, and carry out several measurements at the location of a radar speed

measuring apparatus at his own discretion. Besides, this makes it possible to use the device as an administrative trip registering system, in which case the device preferably also comprises inputting means for inputting names of destinations or other relevant trip data. Registering the trip data at the beginning or at the end of every trip makes it possible, for example, to use the data obtained from the trip registering system upon making one's tax declaration or claiming car expenses.

The invention furthermore relates to a method for registering trip data of a vehicle, in which the trip data are stored in memory means, which trip data include at least the point in time of a measurement, the geographic location of the vehicle at the time of the measurement and the speed of the vehicle at the time of the measurement, in which detection means detect the presence of external traffic measuring equipment, such as radar, laser and/or induction measuring equipment, and in which the trip data associated with a specific time of measurement are stored in the memory means at and/or shortly after the point in time at which detection of the traffic measuring equipment took place.

The invention furthermore relates to a method and a device for registering trip data of a vehicle, in which the trip data are stored in memory means, which trip data include at least the point in time of a measurement, the geographic location of the vehicle at the time of the measurement and the speed of the vehicle at the time of the measurement, in which predetermined geographic locations are stored in the memory means, and in which the trip data are stored in the memory means when the vehicle is present at one of said

predetermined locations.

The invention will now be explained in more details by means of an embodiment thereof as schematically shown in Figure 1.

The Figure is a schematic top plan view of a car 1 driving on a road. The car 1 is fitted with a central processing unit 2, which is connected to a radar detector 3, with a GPS receiver 4, a memory module 5 and a speedometer 6.

Radar detectors and GPS receivers are known per se, and consequently their operation is considered to be known.

The memory module 5 comprises two submodules, viz. a first memory module 5a for storing the trip data, and a second memory module 5b, in which predetermined locations are stored. The memory modules may each comprise a conventional read/write memory module, such as a RAM, tape, diskette or flash memory. The memory for the storage of trip data may also be in the form of a printer, which prints the data directly on paper.

When the car 1 is driving on the road and approaches a radar speed checking device 7, the radar detector 3 will detect the radar waves transmitted by the device 7. This causes the radar detector 3 to transmit a signal to the central processing unit 2, which will retrieve the coordinates of the current geographic position of the car 1 from the GPS receiver 4 in response thereto. Practically simultaneously therewith, the central processing unit 2 will read the speed of the car 1 from the speedometer 6. Alternatively, or additionally, the speed can be determined by measuring the

time that elapses between two positions of the car as being established by means of the GPS receiver 4. Furthermore, the direction of movement of the car can be established, in which connection it suffices to divide said direction into four or eight points of the compass.

The moment of the registration must be selected so that it will correspond to the moment of the ("official") measurement by the speed checking device 7. Consequently, the correct average difference in time or distance between the first detection by the radar detector 3 and the speed measurement must be determined, and the result must be taken into account upon programming the central processing unit. Also the moment of said registration can be determined by analysing the signal strength of the radar signal being received.

Furthermore, the coordinates of geographic positions at which the speed must be registered independently of the detection by the detector 3 of traffic measuring equipment may be input into the second memory module 5b in advance. Said positions, which may represent the positions of permanent cameras, for example, can be input into the memory module 5b by remote- control, for example on a daily basis, for example via the GSM telephone network. The apparatus that is required for this purpose is not shown in the figure. The trip data may also be registered at predetermined events, such as a starting of stopping of the engine, or in the case of a collision detected by an accelerometer as present in many cars.

The collected data are stored in the first memory module 5a together with the date and the time of the registration as

supplied by an internal clock of the central processing unit 2. Each subsequent registration is stored in addition to the previous registrations. If the memory module 5a is full, or if the trip data must be analysed, the memory module 5a may be connected to a personal computer, for example, for the purpose of reading the trip data and printing them on paper, for example.