Intelligent radar detector

Abstract

A radar detector for alerting an operator of a motor vehicle to an incoming police radar signal. This radar detector includes a microprocessor; a circuit coupled to the microprocessor for detecting the incoming police radar signal; and a global positioning system receiver coupled to the microprocessor. Upon detection of an incoming radar signal, the radar detector can utilize the position, velocity, and/or heading data from the global positioning system receiver to determine whether to generate an alert.

1. A method, executed by a device having a position, of generating an alert to an incoming radar signal having a frequency and a signal strength, the method comprising the acts of:
 (a) detecting the incoming radar signal;    (b) determining the position of the device that detected the incoming radar signal; and    (c) generating an alert if the position of the device is not within a predetermined distance of a predetermined position.    
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of detecting the incoming radar signal includes determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal includes determining the frequency of the radar signal. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal includes determining a frequency bin number. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal includes determining whether the incoming radar signal is in the X frequency band, the Ku frequency band, the K frequency band, or the Ka frequency band. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal includes determining the signal strength of the incoming radar signal. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of generating an alert includes generating an alert if the at least one characteristic is not similar to a predetermined characteristic. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of determining the position of the device includes receiving signals from a plurality of satellites. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of determining the position of the device includes receiving a differential global positioning signal. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of determining the position of the device includes receiving dead reckoning data. 
     
     
       11. A method, executed by a device having a velocity, of generating an alert to an incoming radar signal having a frequency and a signal strength, the method comprising the acts of:
 (a) detecting the incoming radar signal;    (b) determining the velocity of the device that detected the incoming radar signal; and    (c) generating an alert if the velocity of the device is greater than a predetermined velocity.    
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of determining the velocity of the device includes receiving data from a plurality of satellites. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of determining the velocity of the device includes receiving data from a plurality of global positioning satellites. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of determining the velocity of the device includes receiving differential global positioning data. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of determining the velocity of the device includes receiving dead reckoning data. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of generating an alert if the velocity of the device is greater than a predetermined velocity includes generating an alert if the velocity of the device is greater than a velocity that has been previously programmed by an operator of a motor vehicle. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 11  wherein the act of generating an alert if the velocity of the device is greater than a predetermined velocity includes generating an alert if the velocity of the device is greater than a legal speed limit that is retrieved from a database. 
     
     
       18. A radar detector for alerting an operator of a motor vehicle to an incoming police radar signal comprising:
 (a) a microprocessor;    (b) a circuit coupled to the microprocessor for detecting the incoming police radar signal; and    (c) a global positioning system receiver coupled to the microprocessor and operable to provide the microprocessor with data.    
     
     
       19. The radar detector of  claim 18 , further including a program storage device that is coupled to the microprocessor, the program storage device containing machine readable instructions for:
 (a) determining the position of a radar detector; and    (b) generating an alert if the position of the radar detector is not within a predetermined distance of a predetermined position.    
     
     
       20. The radar detector of  claim 19 , wherein the program storage device includes machine readable instructions for determining at least one characteristic of the radar signal. 
     
     
       21. The radar detector of  claim 18 , further including a program storage device that is coupled to the microprocessor, the program storage device containing machine readable instructions for:
 (a) determining the velocity of the device utilized to detect the incoming radar signal; and    (b) generating an alert if the velocity of a radar detector is greater than a predetermined velocity.    
     
     
       22. A method, performed by a radar detector for alerting an operator of a motor vehicle to an incoming police radar signal, the radar detector having a processor, the method comprising:
   receiving first data that is based at least in part upon the incoming police radar signal;        receiving one of a pointing direction of the radar detector and a moving direction of the radar detector; and        alerting the operator of the motor vehicle to the incoming police radar signal;      
       
         wherein the receiving first data and the receiving the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector are both performed by the radar detector's processor. 
       
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , further comprising generating a visual indication based at least in part upon the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector is determined based at least in part upon data received from a GPS satellite, wherein the radar detector includes non- volatile memory, and wherein the method includes storing a position of the radar detector in the non - volatile memory.   
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising generating an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a predetermined velocity. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising generating an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a velocity that was programmed by the operator of the radar detector. 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided for a fee. 
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided over the Internet. 
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided over the Internet for a fee. 
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising generating an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a predetermined velocity. 
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising muting an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is less than a predetermined velocity. 
     
     
       33. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising generating an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a velocity that was programmed by the operator of the radar detector. 
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity, the method further comprising muting an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is less than a velocity that was programmed by the operator of the radar detector. 
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 23 , wherein the radar detector has a position, the method further comprising generating an alert based at least in part upon the position of the radar detector. 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 22 , further comprising generating a sound based at least in part upon the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector. 
     
     
       37. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the method further includes locating the approximate position of a source of an incoming radar signal. 
     
     
       38. A radar detector for alerting an operator of a motor vehicle to an incoming police radar signal, the radar detector comprising:
   an antenna that receives the incoming police radar signal;        an alert circuit that alerts the operator of the motor vehicle to the incoming police radar signal;        a processor, the processor receiving first data that is based at least in part upon the incoming police radar signal, the processor receiving one of a pointing direction of the radar detector and a moving direction of the radar detector; and        a display that generates a visual indication based at least in part upon the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector.     
     
     
       39. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector was determined based at least in part upon data received from a GPS satellite. 
     
     
       40. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector was determined based at least in part upon data received from a GPS satellite and wherein the radar detector includes non- volatile memory that stores a position of the radar detector.   
     
     
       41. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector generates a visual indication based at least in part upon a position of the radar detector. 
     
     
       42. The method of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions. 
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided for a fee. 
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided over the Internet. 
     
     
       45. The method of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided over the Internet for a fee. 
     
     
       46. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity and the radar detector generates an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a predetermined velocity. 
     
     
       47. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector has non- volatile memory and a button, and the radar detector stores a position in the non - volatile memory if the operator depresses the button in excess of  1  second.   
     
     
       48. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector has a velocity and the radar detector generates an alert if the velocity of the radar detector is greater than a velocity that was programmed by the operator of the radar detector. 
     
     
       49. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector includes a database of positions that was provided over the Internet and the radar detector locates the approximate position of a source of an incoming radar signal. 
     
     
       50. The radar detector of  claim 38 , wherein the radar detector generates a sound based at least in part upon the one of the pointing direction of the radar detector and the moving direction of the radar detector.