Embedded mission avionics data link system
First Claim
1. A mission avionics datalink system located onboard a vehicle comprising:
- communication means which provides two way digitized data communications for the vehicle in a plurality of modes of operation;
data signal processing means in connection with the communications means which identifies information received externally by the vehicle through the communications means, and provides information generated internally by the vehicle systems to the communications means to be transmitted externally and to be transmitted internally to an appropriate component of the vehicle systems, the internal and external information comprising a plurality of mixed modes of data including external video date;
a datalink control means which recognizes and directs the processing of the information received externally and the information generated internally by the vehicle systems within the datalink system according to the plurality of mixed modes of data, said datalink control means being able to re-configure the mission avionics datalink system depending on the information processed, said datalink control means being configured to communicate with at least one other vehicle within the datalink system;
a prioritization means connected with the data signal processing means which prioritizes the internal and external information according to the type of mission the vehicle is on and information content and which authenticates the external information to ensure the external information is obtained from a legitimate source for use in operating on system parameters;
memory means to store the internal and external information;
display means to process the internal and external information and display to pilot of the vehicle; and
annotation means to allow the pilot of the vehicle to simultaneously receive the internal and external information, including avionics and mission data, and to annotate the displayed information and either store or transmit the annotated display information externally the annotated display information being correlated with a unique parameter data set that characterizes the internal and external information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An embedded mission avionics data link system is provided which allows an aircraft to receive, transmit, and process a variety of different types of information. The present system has the capability of generating and receiving video information for viewing by a pilot in the cockpit. The system also requests, receives and recognizes situation awareness data as well as mission update data and processes this information accordingly. Any video images received by the pilot either externally or internally may be annotated and either stored in memory or transmitted externally. The system allows multiple aircraft on a mission to stay in constant communication as to relative positions to each other and targets, provide up-to-date information as to the situation which exists at the target, and do this in a mostly automatic fashion which reduces the workload of the pilot and significantly enhance the mission capability.
143 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A mission avionics datalink system located onboard a vehicle comprising:
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communication means which provides two way digitized data communications for the vehicle in a plurality of modes of operation; data signal processing means in connection with the communications means which identifies information received externally by the vehicle through the communications means, and provides information generated internally by the vehicle systems to the communications means to be transmitted externally and to be transmitted internally to an appropriate component of the vehicle systems, the internal and external information comprising a plurality of mixed modes of data including external video date; a datalink control means which recognizes and directs the processing of the information received externally and the information generated internally by the vehicle systems within the datalink system according to the plurality of mixed modes of data, said datalink control means being able to re-configure the mission avionics datalink system depending on the information processed, said datalink control means being configured to communicate with at least one other vehicle within the datalink system; a prioritization means connected with the data signal processing means which prioritizes the internal and external information according to the type of mission the vehicle is on and information content and which authenticates the external information to ensure the external information is obtained from a legitimate source for use in operating on system parameters; memory means to store the internal and external information; display means to process the internal and external information and display to pilot of the vehicle; and annotation means to allow the pilot of the vehicle to simultaneously receive the internal and external information, including avionics and mission data, and to annotate the displayed information and either store or transmit the annotated display information externally the annotated display information being correlated with a unique parameter data set that characterizes the internal and external information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A data link system located onboard an aircraft comprising:
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a transmit/receive data medium to contact data sources external to the aircraft, which transmits and receives in a plurality of modes of operation; a signal processing apparatus connected to the medium to identify and convert internal and external data which is transmitted and received through the medium for transmission to an appropriate component of the aircraft'"'"'s systems, the internal data and external data comprising a plurality of mixed modes of data including external video data; prioritization and authorization means which checks authorization on the data received by the medium and determines the priority of the received data according to a pre-defined standard where high priority data is retained to be displayed and low priority data is stored in a memory, the prioritization and authentication means authenticating the data to ensure the data is obtained from a legitimate source for use in operating on system parameters; a mission avionics graphics generator which receives a plurality of inputs from the aircraft systems and provides graphics information for transmittal externally by the medium or for viewing by the pilot; digitized and controlled video image means which receives graphics information from said processing means and said mission avionics graphics generator and converts said information to image form for display or digitizes the information for storage in the memory or transmission from the aircraft; a data link control means which translates commands from the pilot to determine which mode the medium will operate, what information will be displayed to the pilot, and what data will be transmitted from the aircraft, said datalink control means being configured to communicate with at least one other vehicle within the data link system; and annotation means to allow the pilot of the aircraft to simultaneously receive the internal and external data, including avionics and mission data, and to annotate the displayed data and either store or transmit the annotated display data externally, the annotated display data being correlated with a unique parameter data set that characterizes the internal and external data. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification