Radar detector

• US 5,315,302 A
• Filed: 11/12/1992
• Issued: 05/24/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Uniden Corporation (Cornwall Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: Uniden Corporation (Cornwall Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Iwakuni, Mikio, Katsukura, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US07/974,466
• Time in Patent Office: 558 Days
• Field of Search: 342/20
• US Class Current: 342/20
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/022 Road traffic radar detectors

Abstract

For receiving radar waves entering an antenna horn by the heterodyne method, the system is designed so that one of the local oscillation signals produced respectively by a local oscillator for the X- and K-band radar waves, a local oscillator for the Ka-band radar wave, and a local oscillator for leaked local oscillation waves can be selected to be used as the first local oscillation signal for beating down the radar waves at a first mixer. When a radar wave has been detected in the Ka-band receiving mode with the local oscillator for the Ka-band being selected, a signal processing circuit sets the heterodyne receiving system to the leaked local oscillation wave receiving mode, selecting the local oscillator for the leaked local oscillation waves as the first local oscillator. If a radar wave is detected in this mode, the signal processing circuit inhibits a warning apparatus from issuing the regular warning.

Claims

1. Apparatus suitable for use in a radar detector having an antenna horn for receiving radar waves including Ka-band radar waves, a heterodyne receiving system for selectively detecting at least ones of the Ka-band radar waves among the radar waves received by said antenna horn, and a signal processing circuit for activating a warning system to issue a predetermined warning based on a radar wave detection by said heterodyne receiving system, said apparatus comprising:

a Ka-band receiving means for selectively receiving the radar wave of said Ka-band;

a leaked local oscillation wave receiving means for detecting leaked local oscillation waves radiated from other radar detectors which leaked local oscillation waves are of frequencies substantially corresponding to local oscillation signals used to receive X-band waves by a heterodyne method; and

wherein said signal processing circuit comprises means for inhibiting said warning system from issuing said predetermined warning when said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means has detected the leaked local oscillation waves after said Ka-band receiving means has detected the radar wave of said Ka-band.

2. A radar detector according to claim 1, wherein said signal processing circuit further comprises means for activating the warning system to produce another warning different from said predetermined warning responsive to the means for inhibiting the warning system.

3. A radar detector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said signal processing circuit further comprises means, responsive to said Ka-band receiving means for activating said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means immediately after said Ka-band receiving means only when said Ka-based receiving means has detected the radar wave of said Ka-band.

4. A radar detector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:

said antenna horn receives X-band or K-band radar waves in addition to the Ka-band radar waves, said heterodyne receiving system further includes a third receiving means including a local oscillator for detecting the radar waves of at least one of said X-band and said K-band;

said Ka-band receiving means and said third receiving means are alternately and repeatedly activated by said signal processing circuit; and

said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means is activated between the activation of said Ka-band receiving means and said third receiving means by said signal processing circuit.

5. A radar detector according to claim 4, wherein:

said Ka-band is divided into successive n subbands, originally numbered first through n-th n being an integer greater than 1, wherein each of the first through n-th subbands occupies a successively higher band of frequencies in said Ka-band;

said Ka-band receiving means comprises first through n-th subband receiving means for detecting waves which occupy respective ones of the n Ka subbands;

said signal processing circuit comprises means for activating each of said first through n-th subband receiving means before again activating said first subband receiving means; and

said signal processing circuit further comprises means for activating said third receiving means between activation of said i-th and (i+1)-th subband receiving means, wherein i is an integer greater than zero and less than n, and immediately after the activation of said n-th subband receiving means, and when one of said n Ka-subband receiving means detects a radar wave of said corresponding Ka-subband, said signal processing circuit activates said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means immediately after the activation of the one of said Ka-subband receiving means which detected said radar wave.

6. A radar detector according to claim 5, wherein the Ka-band receiving means includes three Ka-subband receiving means.

7. A radar detector according to claim 5, wherein the Ka-band receiving means includes three Ka-subband receiving means each of said three Ka-subband receiving means covers a substantially equal range of frequencies.

8. A radar detector according to claim 7, wherein:

said third receiving means comprises heterodyne means, responsive to an oscillation signal, provided by the local oscillator and having a fundamental oscillation frequency for receiving radar waves which occupy said X-band;

wherein the frequency of said local oscillation signal utilized by said heterodyne means is the fundamental oscillation frequency of the local oscillator used by the heterodyne means to receive the X-band waves; and

the leaked local oscillation wave receiving means comprises means for shifting the fundamental frequency of said local oscillator to provide a further local oscillation signal utilized by the leaked local oscillation wave receiving means to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

9. A radar detector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

10. A radar detector according to claim 3, wherein:

said antenna horn receives X-band and K-band radar waves in addition to the Ka-band radar waves, said heterodyne receiving system further includes a third receiving means including a local oscillator for detecting the radar waves in at least one of said X-band and said K-band;

said K-band receiving means and said third receiving means are alternately and repeatedly activated by said signal processing circuit; and

said signal processing circuit further comprises means, responsive to the Ka-band receiving means, for activating said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means between the activation of said Ka-band receiving means and the activation of said third receiving means.

11. A radar detector according to claim 10, wherein:

said Ka-band is divided into successive n subbands, originally numbered first through n-th n being an integer greater than 1, wherein each of the first through n-th subbands occupies a successively higher band of frequencies in said Ka-band;

said Ka-band receiving means comprises first through n-th subband receiving means for detecting waves which occupy respective ones of the n Ka subbands;

said signal processing circuit comprises means for activating each of said first through n-th subband receiving means before again activating said first subband receiving means; and

said signal processing circuit further comprises means for activating said third receiving means between activation of said i-th and (i+1)-th subband receiving means, where i is an integer greater than zero and less than n, and immediately after the activation of said n-th subband receiving means, and when one of said n Ka-subband receiving means detects a radar wave of said corresponding Ka-subband, said signal processing circuit activates said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means immediately after the activation of the one of said Ka-subband receiving means which detected said radar wave.

12. A radar detector according to claim 11, wherein the Ka-band receiving means includes three Ka-subband receiving means.

13. A radar detector according to claim 11, wherein the Ka-band receiving means includes three Ka-subband receiving means each of said three Ka-subband receiving means covers a substantially equal range of frequencies.

14. A radar detector according to claim 13, wherein:

said third receiving means comprises heterodyne means, responsive to an oscillation signal provided by the local oscillator and having a fundamental oscillation frequency for receiving radar waves which occupy said X-band;

wherein the frequency of said local oscillation signal utilized by said heterodyne means is the fundamental oscillation frequency of the local oscillator used by the heterodyne means to receive the X-band waves; and

the leaked local oscillation wave receiving means comprises means for shifting the fundamental frequency of said local oscillator to provide a further local oscillation signal utilized by the heterodyne means to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

15. A radar detector according to claim 14, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

16. A radar detector according to claim 3, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

17. A radar detector according to claim 4, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

18. A radar detector according to claim 5, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

19. A radar detector according to claim 6, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

20. A radar detector according to claim 7, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

21. A radar detector according to claim 8, wherein said leaked local oscillation wave receiving means includes a local oscillator provided exclusively for producing a local oscillation signal which is used to receive said leaked local oscillation waves.

22. A multi-band radar detector, said radar detector comprising:

antenna means for receiving radar waves within a first band of frequencies and a second band of frequencies;

first receiving means for heterodyning a selected one of the radar waves within said fist and second bands of frequencies with an oscillation signal to generate a first detection signal;

signal processing means comprises means for activating a warning alarm in response to the presence of said first detection signal; and

second receiving means for detecting waves other than said selected radar wave to generate a second detection signal;

wherein the signal processing means further comprises inhibiting means for preventing the activation of said warning alarm when said first detection signal and said second detection signal have been generated.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising means for generating said oscillation signal, wherein the frequency of said oscillation signal is a first frequency when said selected radar wave is within said first band of frequencies and a second frequency when said selected radar wave is within said second band of frequencies.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said second receiving means comprises means for detecting waves having a frequency substantially the same as said first frequency of said oscillation signal, as said waves other than said selected radar wave, when said selected radar wave is within said second band of frequencies.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said antenna means includes means for receiving radar waves having frequencies in the X-band as the radar waves within the first band of frequencies.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein said antenna means includes means for receiving radar waves having frequencies in the Ka-band as the radar waves within the second band of frequencies.