Global positioning system communications multi-interface

• US 5,519,403 A
• Filed: 11/29/1993
• Issued: 05/21/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Dynamics Decision Systems, Inc. (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yee, David M., Moy, Leland L., Sikorski, Roy W., Bickley, Robert H., Keller, Theodore W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Issing, Gregory C.
• Application Number:
  US08/158,886
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357, 342/352, 364/238.3, 364/240.5
• US Class Current: 342/352
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/18 Military applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems

Abstract

A Global Positioning System (GPS) communications includes a GPS receiver for generating position information, a processor coupled to the GPS receiver by a bus, and a communications multi-interface coupled to both the GPS receiver and to the processor by the bus. The processor presents the position information to the communications multi-interface capable of interfacing with a wide variety of communications systems. Described applications include guided weapons systems, interrogatable tag systems, collision avoidance systems, remote locator/responder systems, beacon location systems, search and rescue transceiver systems, location reporting pager systems, and cellular telephone location systems.

Claims

1. A Global Positioning System (GPS) communications multi-interface capable of interfacing with a plurality of communications systems, the GPS communications multi-interface comprising:

a GPS receiver for generating position information;

a processor coupled to the GPS receiver by a bus; and

a communications multi-interface coupled to both the GPS receiver and to the processor by the bus, wherein the processor presents the position information to the communications multi-interface and wherein the communications multi-interface comprises;

a status/configuration determiner having a status/configuration input/output;

a two-tone modem interface having a receive, transmit audio input/output;

a serial digital interface having a serial digital input/output;

a multi-tone modem interface having a multi-tone input/output;

a bus parallel interface having a bus parallel input/output; and

a common controller coupling each of the status/configuration determiner, the two-tone modem interface, the serial digital interface, the multi-tone interface, and the bus parallel interface to the bus.

2. A GPS communications multi-interface as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GPS communications multi-interface further comprises:

a push-to-talk (PTT) input/output coupled to the processor; and

a RS-232 input/output coupled to both the processor and to the common controller.