Personal digital assistant having satellite communications capacity
First Claim
1. A portable communications device, comprising:
- a communications module, comprising;
a global positioning system that determines the location of the device relative to a standard set of coordinates; and
an L-band transceiver that broadcasts the determined location at a frequency within the L-band of the electromagnetic spectrum and receives location data for at least one other communications device; and
a personal digital assistant that provides a user interface with the communications module and displays the determined location and the received location data.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for utilizing personal digital assistants in a portable communications system. A personal digital assistant includes a global positioning system module, an L-band transceiver, and a processing system. The global positioning system module produces location information associated with the position of the personal digital assistant. The L-band transceiver broadcasts the location information to a network of at least one other personal digital assistant and receives location information from at least one other personal digital assistant within the network via a communications satellite. The processing system provides messages to the L-band transceiver and updates a display associated with the personal digital assistant according the received location information and the location information produced at the global positioning system module.
70 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A portable communications device, comprising:
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a communications module, comprising;
a global positioning system that determines the location of the device relative to a standard set of coordinates; and
an L-band transceiver that broadcasts the determined location at a frequency within the L-band of the electromagnetic spectrum and receives location data for at least one other communications device; and
a personal digital assistant that provides a user interface with the communications module and displays the determined location and the received location data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A personal digital assistant, comprising:
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a global positioning system module that produces location information associated with the position of the personal digital assistant;
an L-band transceiver that broadcasts the location information to a network of at least one other personal digital assistant and receives location information from at least one other personal digital assistant within the network via a communications satellite; and
a processing system that provides messages to the L-band transceiver and updates a display associated with the personal digital assistant according the received location information and the location information produced at the global positioning system module. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of updating location information at a handheld personal digital assistant via a battlefield tactical communications network, comprising:
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determining the location of the handheld personal digital assistant at regular intervals via a global positioning system;
broadcasting the determined location on an L-band frequency via a satellite relay to at least one other personal digital assistant on the network;
receiving location information from at least one other personal digital assistant on the network on an L-band frequency via a satellite relay at the handheld personal digital assistant; and
displaying the determined location and the received location information on a display associated with the personal digital assistant. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of adapting a personal digital assistant to operate in conjunction with a transceiver module having a predetermined form factor, comprising:
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providing at least one logic connection through a data port on the personal digital assistant to provide programmable logic signals to the transceiver;
providing a connection to a battery associated with the personal digital assistant to provide an operating voltage for the transceiver module;
adapting the received programmable logic signals and operating voltage according to the predetermined form factor of the transceiver; and
loading interface software into the transceiver such that the personal digital assistant can drive the transceiver module to periodically transmit location information associated with the transceiver module. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A personal digital assistant, comprising:
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means for determining the location of the personal digital assistant relative to a standard set of coordinates;
means for transmitting the determined location to at least one other personal digital assistant;
means for receiving location information from at least one other personal digital assistant; and
means for displaying the determined location and the received location information on a geographic map. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification