Control system for an aerially moved payload

• US 9,337,949 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2012
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cablecam, LLC
• Original Assignee: Cablecam, LLC
• Inventors: Wharton, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US13/600,558
• Publication Number:
  US 20130051805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 398/79, 398/96, 398/140, 398/141, 398/135, 398/182, 398/183, 398/33, 398/138, 398/139, 348/144, 348/146, 348/143, 348/147, 348/61, 348/157, 348/159, 73/17.7, 73/17.9, 731/04, 248/323, 248/328, 248/329, 248/317
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/425 along guiding means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25 Arrangements specific to fibre transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/02 Wavelength-division multiplex systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0282 WDM tree architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0307 Multiplexers; Demultiplexers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A system for transmitting data, images, and audio to and from an aerially moved payload, the system having one or more media converters for converting coax signals to fiber signals and at least two wave division multiplexers, one for combining two or more distinct fiber signals into a single fiber signal and one for splitting the two or more combined fiber signals back into two distinct fiber signals. The system also includes at least one line along which one or more of data, images, and audio may be transmitted to and from the aerially moved payload.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting data, images, and audio to and from an aerially moved payload, the system comprising:

at least two devices, each device capturing one or more of data, images and/or audio;

one or more media converters for converting captured data, image, and/or audio coax signals to fiber signals;

at least two wave division multiplexers, one for combining two or more distinct fiber signals into a single fiber signal and one for de-multiplexing the two or more combined fiber signals back into two distinct fiber signals;

at least one line along which one or more of data, images, and audio may be transmitted to and from the aerially moved payload.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two wave division multiplexers are coarse wave division multiplexers.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one modem for converting data signals to audio signals.

4. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one demodulator for converting converted data signals back to data signals.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least two cameras for gathering images, the at least two cameras forming part of the aerially moved payload and providing outputs to the one or more media converters.

6. A method for transmitting data, images, and audio to and from an aerially moved payload, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing one or more of data, images, and audio using two or more payload devices;

generating one or more video signals;

converting captured data, images, and audio and the one or more video signals from coax signals to fiber signals;

joining two or more fiber signals having different wavelengths into a single signal using one from the group consisting of;

a wave division multiplexer and a coarse wave division multiplexer;

transmitting the single signal over a fiber line;

separating the joined fiber signal into two or more distinct fiber signals utilizing at least one from the group consisting of;

a wave division multiplexer and a coarse wave division multiplexer.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of generating the one or more video signals by capturing images using one or more cameras included in the two or more payload devices.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of generating the one or more video signals using a phantom video signal generator.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of interweaving captured audio with at least one of the video signals using at least one multiplexer.

10. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of converting the two or more distinct fiber signals to a coax signal after each of the two or more signals are separated from the joined fiber signal.

11. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of transmitting data and instructions to the at least two cameras utilizing the fiber line.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of converting the data to an audio signal using a modem.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of demodulating the data-audio signal to recover the transmitted data.

14. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of transmitting data captured by the at least two payload devices utilizing the fiber lines.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of converting the data to an audio signal using a modem.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of demodulating the data-audio signal to recover the transmitted data.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of interweaving the audio with the one or more generated video signals.