Personal digital assistant having satellite communications capacity

• US 7,805,243 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Issued: 09/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Carpenter, Joseph Edwin, Berry, Robert R., Gasbarro, Henry Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Broadhead; Brian J
• Application Number:
  US10/634,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20050032525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,611 Days
• Field of Search: 701/213, 701/208, 701/215, 701/300, 340/993, 455/456.6, 342/357.09, 361/379.56
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

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.

Claims

1. A communications module, configured to be mounted to a handheld communications device and operative to interface with the handheld computing device, the communications module comprising:

a global positioning system that determines the location of the module relative to a standard set of coordinates; and

an L-band transceiver, operative to transmit data directly to a satellite relay, 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 module; and

an electrically conductive enclosure that substantially encompasses the L-band transceiver and comprises a conductive back plate configured such that at least a portion of the handheld computing device can be mechanically mounted to the conductive back plate, the electrically conductive enclosure being operative to facilitate the dissipation of heat produced by the L-band transceiver and to shield the L-band transceiver from electromagnetic interference, such that the communications module can be connected to the handheld computing device and removed from the handheld computing device without substantial invasion of the handheld computing device.

2. The module of claim 1, further comprising a single antenna operative to transmit and receive signals at L-band frequencies and to transmit and receive signals at GPS frequencies.

3. The module of claim 2, the antenna comprising a single quadrifilar helix antenna.

4. The module of claim 1, the communications module further comprising an input/output board that translates communications between the communications module and the handheld computing device.

5. The module of claim 1, the handheld computing device comprising an internal power supply, the internal power supply being operatively connected to the communications module.

6. The module of claim 5, the portable communications device further comprising an external battery that is operatively connected to the internal power supply.

7. The communications module of claim 1, the back plate comprising at least one port configured to allow an exchange of data and power between the communications module and the handheld computing device.

8. The communications module of claim 1, the conductive back plate being configured to replace a back plate of the handheld computing device, and a remainder of the electrically conductive enclosure being separable from the back plate as to allow connection and disconnection of the L-band transceiver and global positioning system from the handheld computing device.

9. A communications package configured to adapt a handheld computing device for use in a situational awareness system, the communications package comprising:

the communications module of claim 1; and

a computer readable medium storing executable instructions, the executable instructions being configured such that, when loaded onto the handheld computing device, the handheld computing device is adapted to receive the location of the communications module from the global positioning system, receive location data for each of a plurality of other communications modules from the L-band transceiver control, and display the locations of each of the communications module and the plurality of other communications modules on a display associated with the handheld computing device.

10. The communications package of claim 9, the executable instructions being configured to decrypt location data received at the L-band transceiver.

11. The communications package of claim 9, the executable instructions being configured to regulate the power usage of each of the L-band transceiver, the global positioning system, and the handheld computing device.