Plug and play modular mission payloads
First Claim
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1. A system for remote control of any of a variety of different payloads in a vehicle, comprising:
- a dedicated payload computer resident in said vehicle and connected to a payload therein for control thereof;
a software module resident on said payload computer and containing payload-specific data parameters inclusive of weight and power consumption;
a software application resident on said payload computer and including a generic command set as required to control a variety of different payloads, said generic software application incorporating the data parameters of the software module into said generic command set for issuing payload-specific commands to said payload; and
a control station inclusive of a computer, display, and communication link for providing a remote human computer interface with said payload via the payload computer.
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Abstract
The present application discloses plug and play modular mission payloads in the context of aerial vehicles, and a supporting open system architecture that moves the control function of mission payloads away from the ground station and into the aerial vehicle. The plug-and-play (PnP) modular mission payloads and web-based payload interface software resides in a payload computer in the vehicle, and this is networked via a uniform resource locator (URL) addressing scheme to a ground control station. Consequently, when new payload types are added to the system, integration issues and costs are minimized.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A system for remote control of any of a variety of different payloads in a vehicle, comprising:
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a dedicated payload computer resident in said vehicle and connected to a payload therein for control thereof;
a software module resident on said payload computer and containing payload-specific data parameters inclusive of weight and power consumption;
a software application resident on said payload computer and including a generic command set as required to control a variety of different payloads, said generic software application incorporating the data parameters of the software module into said generic command set for issuing payload-specific commands to said payload; and
a control station inclusive of a computer, display, and communication link for providing a remote human computer interface with said payload via the payload computer. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A system for remotely controlling a payload in a vehicle, comprising:
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a payload computer resident in the vehicle and connected to a payload therein for control, said payload computer including, a discrete software module loaded in said payload computer and containing data parameters specific to said payload, and a generic software application loaded in said payload computer and containing a generic instructions for controlling a variety of different payloads;
whereby said generic software application assimilates the data parameters of the discrete software module into its generic instructions to thereby issue payload-specific commands to the payload. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for remotely controlling payloads in a vehicle of a type having a payload computer resident therein for connection to a variety of payloads for control, comprising:
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a generic software application containing generic instructions for controlling said variety of different payloads; and
a discrete software module loaded in said payload computer and containing data parameters specific to one of said payloads;
whereby said generic software application assimilates the data parameters of the discrete software module into its generic instructions to thereby issue payload-specific commands to the payloads. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification