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High end police radar detector system

  • US 6,529,153 B1
  • Filed: 07/13/2001
  • Issued: 03/04/2003
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2001
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A police radar detector system with increased reception sensitivity and reduced false alarms comprising, in combination:

  • a plurality of patch antennas with each patch antenna configured to receive a specific radio frequency band and transmit the received frequency as an output signal, with each patch antenna comprising a plurality of patches effectively increasing received electronic signal gain, the patch antenna assembly also comprising a combining network to receive the patch antenna output signals from the plurality of patch antennas and then create and transmit a single output signal;

    the multi-band patch antenna assembly being sensitive to specific frequency bands with said frequency specificity reducing the chance for de-sensitivity of the receiver by strong out-of-band signals and said specificity also reducing false signals caused by out-of-band signals entering a first mixer, with the multi-band patch antenna assembly configuration having a smaller size than a conventional horn antenna allowing easy mounting of the multi-band patch antenna assembly in small spaces usually available in vehicles;

    a receiver assembly including a low noise amplifying directional filter (LNA) with the low noise amplifying directional filter electronically coupled to the patch assembly receive the patch assembly output signal;

    the receiver assembly also including a first fundamental mixer, electronically coupled to the LNA and to a local oscillator to receive the signal from the low noise amplifier and the signal from a first local oscillator, the mixer then generating a first intermediate frequency (IF) signal, the first fundamental mixer reducing conversion losses of the first mixer, the assembly also including a first local oscillator with the first local oscillator comprising an oscillator operated at about one third of the required first local oscillator frequency and a tripler which multiplies the frequency of the oscillator by a factor of 3, the tripler amplifying the required first local oscillator signal to a high output amplitude to serve as an input signal to the first mixer, thereby achieving low conversion losses of the first mixer signal;

    the receiver assembly also including a first intermediate frequency filter (IFF), electronically coupled to the first mixer to receive the output signal from the first mixer and to provide a receiver assembly output signal to a final receiver and detection module, the first intermediate frequency signal typically being above 4 GHz to prevent the interference from unwanted signals from causing a false alarm;

    the low noise amplifier (LNA) being located in advance of the first mixer thereby overcoming the losses of the first mixer and thereby increasing reception sensitivity and, in addition, such placement reducing unwanted antenna radiation of the oscillator and the oscillator'"'"'s associated harmonics that normally leak out of the first mixer by the LNA forming a directional filter for signals traveling from the oscillator and first mixer towards the patch antennas with the LNA also forming an amplifier for the wanted received signals traveling from the patch antennas through the low noise amplifier (LNA) to the fundamental mixer; and

    , a final receiver and detection module electronically coupled to the first intermediate frequency filter to detect the received output signal from the receiver assembly and generate an appropriate alarm signal in response to received police radar signals.

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