Long range police radar warning receiver

• US 5,079,553 A
• Filed: 10/13/1989
• Issued: 01/07/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Escort Acquisition Corp.
• Original Assignee: Cincinnati Microwave, Inc (Bel Tronics Ltd.)
• Inventors: Orr, Steven K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US07/421,525
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 342/20, 455/226, 455/228, 455/227, 455/229, 455/315
• US Class Current: 342/20
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/022 Road traffic radar detectors

Abstract

A police radar warning receiver is disclosed including a DSP circuit having a correlator and a peak detector to provide after each sweep of a swept local oscillator a dynamic threshold for that sweep as affected by all prior sweeps and against which information from that sweep is evaluated to determine whether to generate an alarm enable indicative of receipt of a police radar signal.

Claims

1. A police radar warning receiver comprising:

IF signal means for producing an IF sweep pattern as an oscillator signal is swept in frequency between a first frequency and a second frequency in response to mixing of received RF signals in at least one band of police radar signal frequencies with said swept oscillator signal;

FM discriminator means responsive to said IF signal means for producing an FM sweep pattern corresponding to FM demodulation of said IF sweep pattern as said IF sweep pattern is produced;

sampler means for repeatedly sampling at sample intervals said FM sweep pattern as it its produced whereby to produce a series of digital sample words each associated with a respective sample interval;

correlator means for correlating each digital sample word as it is produced with a plurality of proceeding said digital sample words and a complex correlator function whereby to provide a series a comlex digital correlator words each associated with a respective sample interval;

averager means for accumulating for each of at least a plurality of said sample intervals, an average of the complex digital correlator word produced each sweep and associated with a said sample interval over a plurality of sweeps of the oscillator signal whereby to produce a series of averager words each associated with a respective one of said plurality of sample intervals;

threshold means responsive to said averager means for providing after a given sweep of the oscillator signal a dynamic threshold word corresponding to the magnitude of all of said averager words; and

peak detector means for providing an alarm enable after said given sweep if an averager word has a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold word whereby to indicate receipt of a police radar signal.

2. The police radar warning receiver of claim 1 further comprising digital filter means between said sampler means and said correlator means whereby to filter each said digital sample word before it is correlated by said correlator means.

3. The police radar warning receiver of claim 2, said digital filter means being a low pass filter.

4. The police radar warning receiver of claim 2, said digital filter means being a band pass filter.

5. The police radar warning receiver of claim 2, said digital filter means being at least a second order recursive infinite impulse response filter.

6. The police radar warning receiver of claim 1 including means for storing a first set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words meeting predetermined criteria after a first sweep of the oscillator signal, means for obtaining a second set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words having a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold after a second sweep of the oscillator signal, and means for permitting provision of said alarm enable whenever the second set of index numbers corresponds in a predetermined manner to the first set of index numbers whereby to reduce likelihood of false alarms.

22. The police radar warning receiver of claim 1, said averager words produced by said averager means being complex.

23. The police radar warning receiver of claim 6, said averager words produced by said averager means being complex.

7. A police radar warning receiver comprising:

IF signal means for producing an IF sweep pattern as an oscillator signal is swept in frequency between a first frequency and a second frequency in response to mixing of received RF signals in at least one band of police radar signal frequencies with said swept oscillator signal;

FM discriminator means responsive to said IF signal means for producing an FM sweep pattern corresponding to FM demodulation of said IF sweep pattern as said IF sweep pattern is produced;

sampler means for repeatedly sampling at sample intervals said FM sweep pattern as it is produced whereby to produce a series of digital sample words each associated with a respective sample interval;

correlator means for correlating each digital sample word as it is produced with a plurality of proceeding said digital sample words and a complex correlator function whereby to provide a series of complex digital correlator words each associated with a respective sample interval;

digital filter means responsive to said correlator means to produce a filtered complex correlator word for each complex correlator word;

decimator means responsive to said digital filter means for decimating said filter complex correlator words to produce a series of decimator words, each said decimator word associated with a group of said sample intervals;

averager means for accumulating for each of at least a plurality of said sample interval groups an average of the decimator word produced each sweep and associated with a said sample interval group of a plurality of sweeps of the oscillator signal whereby to produce a series of averager words each associated with a respective one of said plurality of sample interval groups;

threshold means responsive to said averager means for providing after a given sweep of the oscillator signal a dynamic threshold word corresponding to the magnitude of all of said averager words; and

peak detector means for providing an alarm enable after said given sweep if an averager word has a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold word whereby to indicate receipt of a police radar signal.

8. The police radar warning receiver of claim 7, said digital filter means being a low pass filter.

9. The police radar warning receiver of claim 7, said digital filter means being at least a second order recursive infinite impulse response filter.

10. The police radar warning receiver of claim 7, further comprising second digital filter means between said sampler means and said correlator means whereby to filter each said digital sample word before it is correlated by said correlator means.

11. The police radar warning receiver of claim 10, said second digital filter means being a low pass filter.

12. The police radar warning receiver of claim 10, said second digital filter means being a band pass filter.

13. The police radar waring receiver of claim 10, said second digital filter means being at least a second order recursive infinite impulse response filter.

14. The police radar warning receiver of claim 7 including means for storing a first set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words meeting predetermined criteria after a first sweep of the oscillator signal, means for obtaining a second set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words having a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold after a second sweep of the oscillator signal, and means for permitting provision of said alarm enable whenever the second set of index numbers corresponds in a predetermined manner to the first set of index numbers whereby to reduce likelihood of false alarms.

24. The police radar warning receiver of claim 7, said averager words produced by said averager means being complex.

25. The police radar warning receiver of claim 14, said averager words produced by said averager means being complex.

15. A method of detecting a police radar signal comprising:

repeatedly sweeping an oscillator between a first frequency and a second frequency;

producing an IF signal pattern by mixing received RF signals in at least one band of police radar signal frequencies with said sweeping oscillator signal;

producing an FM sweep pattern corresponding to FM demodulation of said IF sweep pattern as said IF sweep pattern is produced;

repeatedly sampling at sample intervals said FM sweep patterns as it is produced whereby to produce a series of digital sample words each associated with a respective sample interval;

correlating each digital sample word as it is produced with a plurality of preceding same digital sample words in a complex correlation function whereby to provide a series of complex digital correlator words each associated with a respective sample interval;

accumulating for each of at least a plurality of said sample intervals, an average of the complex digital correlator word produced each sweep associated with a said sample interval over a plurality of sweeps of the oscillator signal whereby to produce a series of averager words each associated with a respective one of said plurality of sample intervals;

providing, after a given sweep of the oscillator signal, a dynamic threshold word corresponding to the sum of the magnitudes of all of said averager words; and

providing an alarm enable after said given sweep if an averager word has a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold word whereby to indicate receipt of a police radar signal.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising digitally filtering each said digital sample word before it is correlated.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising storing a first index number associated with a plurality of the averager words meeting predetermined criteria after a first sweep of the oscillator signal, obtaining a second set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words having a magnitude greater than the dynamic threshold after a second sweep of the oscillator signal, and permitting provision of said alarm enable whenever the second set of index numbers correspond in a predetermined manner to the first set of index numbers whereby to reduce likelihood of false alarms.

26. The method of claim 15 wherein said averager words are complex.

27. The method of claim 17 wherein said averager words are complex.

18. A method of detecting a police radar signal comprising:

repeatedly sweeping an oscillator between a first frequency and a second frequency;

producing an IF signal pattern by mixing received RF signals in at least one band of police radar signal frequencies with said sweeping oscillator signal;

producing an FM sweep pattern corresponding to FM demodulation of said IF sweep pattern as said IF sweep pattern is produced;

repeatedly sampling at sample intervals said FM sweep patterns as it is produced whereby to produce a series of digital sample words each associated with a respective sample interval;

correlating each digital sample word as it is provided with a plurality of preceding same digital sample words in a complex correlation function whereby to provide a series of complex digital correlator words each associated with a respective sample interval;

producing a filter complex correlator word for each complex correlator;

decimating said filter complex correlator words to produce a series of decimator words, each said decimator word associated with a group of said sample intervals;

accumulating for each of at least a plurality of said sample interval groups an average of the decimator word produced each sweep and associated with a said sample interval group over a plurality of sweeps of the oscillator signal whereby to produce a series of averager words each associated with a respective one of said plurality of sample interval groups;

providing, after a given sweep of the oscillator signal, a dynamic threshold word corresponding to the sum of the magnitudes of all of said averager words; and

providing an alarm enable after said given sweep if an averager word has a magnitude greater than said dynamic threshold word whereby to indicate receipt of a police radar signal.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising digitally filtering each said digital sample word before it is correlated.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising storing a first index number associated with a plurality of the averager words meeting predetermined criteria after a first sweep of the oscillator signal, obtaining a second set of index numbers associated with a plurality of the averager words having a magnitude greater than the dynamic threshold after a second sweep of the oscillator signal, and permitting provision of said alarm enable whenever the second set of index numbers correspond in a predetermined manner to the first set of index numbers whereby to reduce likelihood of false alarms.

28. The method of claim 18 wherein said averager words are complex.

29. The method of claim 20 wherein said averager words are complex.

21. A police radar warning receiver comprising:

IF signal means for producing an IF sweep pattern as as oscillator signal is swept in frequency between a first frequency and a second frequency in response to mixing of received RF signals in at least one band of police radar signal frequencies with said swept oscillator signal;

FM disciminator means responsive to IF signal means for producing an FM sweep pattern corresponding to FM demodulation of said IF sweep pattern as said IF sweep pattern is produced; and

DSP circuit means responsive to said FM discriminator means for establishing after each sweep of the oscillator signal a dynamic threshold magnitude for that sweep as affected by prior sweeps and against which information from that sweep is evaluated to determine whether to generate an alarm enable indicative of receipt of a police radar signal.