Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Other

Warren E Guthrie

Thomas E Szmurlo

Roger Brunner Williams

Kenneth Duane Gorham

Michael J Trainor

Robert Edward Rozak

Walter Jerry Pohribnij

John A Haag

Mitchell F Radich

Joseph F Pappadia, Jr

James Jensen

Gary S Garbe

James T Wesley

Daniel D Cox

Randall G Hicks

A remotely operable radio frequency jamming device having a jamming transmitter and a local controller in communication with a remote commander. The local controller has a signal receiver and decoder component for receiving, decoding and causing by electronic command the device to perform a remotely initiated instruction signal. In particular, the receiver and decoder component of the local controller can receive and decode a remotely initiated instruction signal to activate or inactivate the jamming device and thereafter cause by electronic command the activation or deactivation of the device. To effectuate the jamming of enemy radio signals, the receiver and decoder component of the local controller can receive and decode a remotely initiated instruction signal to transmit a selected jamming band from the transmitter of the jamming device, and thereafter cause by electronic command the transmitter to transmit the selected band. The jamming device preferably is operable on low power, and preferably is relatively small so that its presence can be relatively easily hidden.

Remote controlled noise jamming device

A method for accounting for individual ones of a plurality of items based upon random times that occur as a function of a first specified time interval, and a random interval inventory system that operates in accordance with the method. The method includes a first step of transmitting information signals based upon random times from individual ones of a plurality of tags (5a1-5xx) to at least one of at least one master transceiver and at least one transceiver (4a-4n). The individual tags (5a1-5xx) are affixed to respective individual ones of a plurality of items. The information signals transmitted from each tag (5a1-5xx) correspond at least to the respective item to which the tag (5a1-5xx) is affixed. The random times occur as a function of a first specified time interval. For a case wherein the information signals are transmitted to the at least one remote transceiver, each at least one remote transceiver (4a-4n) receives information signals from at least one of the tags (4a-4n), and in response to receiving each information signal, relays the signal to the master transceiver (3). In response to the master transceiver (3) receiving an information signal, a next step includes supplying the signal to an associated confirmation device (2). Within the confirmation device (2), in response to receiving an information signal from the master transceiver (3), a next step includes confirming that the item corresponding to the information signal is accounted for.

Inventorying method and system for monitoring items using tags

A monitor tag having a radio frequency transmitter and a patch antenna. The antenna is in communication with the transmitter and has a first conductive patch and a second conductive patch substantially parallel to each other, and separated from each other by a dielectric material in contact with both patches and having a thickness sufficient to create a gap between the patches wherein the radiation resistance will be controlled during operation of the antenna. The first conductive patch has a dimension of one-quarter or one-half wavelength, depending upon available space and desired pattern. Because the electric field is launched from the gap between the patches and is highly concentrated, bringing the monitor tag close to a metal object or attaching it thereto will have minimal impact on the impedance of the antenna. The monitor tag can be used for a number of purposes including asset protection and identification by affixing respective tags with conventional transmitters to respective metal and nonmetal articles and transmitting chosen respective information about each article. Of particular applicability is a monitor tag device worn by a person such that the wearer can be monitored with respect to chosen parameters as developed for observing or regulating and transmitted or received by the antenna of the present monitor tag invention.

Monitor tag with patch antenna

Improved electronic circuitry incorporated into a tag attached to a user worn wrist strap of a static electrical discharge dissipation system. The electronic circuitry monitors the electrical connection of the wrist strap from the user to ground, and comprises a discharge resistor and a discharge resistor check circuit for monitoring the accuracy of the discharge resistor. The electronic circuitry further comprises a skin resistance check circuit for monitoring the electrical connection of the wrist strap to the user, and a ground fault detect circuit for monitoring the electrical connection of the wrist strap to ground.

Wrist strap integrity check circuitry

A vehicle having a plurality of antennas each in association with a communications transmitter device disposed within the vehicle to thereby provide multiple signal transmission sites. At least one antenna is disposed substantially at a top site of the vehicle and at least one antenna is disposed substantially at a bottom site of the vehicle, thus providing antenna coverage irrespective of the spatial orientation of the vehicle. The invention includes a communications system employing a multiplicity of antenna sites as well as methodology for providing a communication link from a vehicle to a receiving site by incorporating the communications system. In this manner, vehicle occupants are provided with a communications link from the vehicle, irrespective of the position of the vehicle. Thus, if one antenna is shielded from transmission because it is situated at a top site of a vehicle and the vehicle is upside down because of a mishap, another antenna which is situated to be operable from a non-shielded site (e.g. a bottom site of the vehicle) will provide effective signal transmission. The invention thereby provides enhanced safety and security for vehicle occupants in most travel environments.

Vehicle communications system

A method for generating a random time interval suited for use in defining re-transmission time intervals so as to avoid communication contention utilizes at least one external seed and a plurality of linear maximal sequences. According to one embodiment, a first seed is provided and a first linear maximal sequence is initialized therewith. A second seed is generated via cooperation of the first linear maximal sequence and the external signal. At least one second linear maximal sequence is initialized with the second seed. A new time interval is started when the second linear maximal sequence sequences to a predetermined value.

Random time interval generator

Improved electronic circuitry incorporated into a tag attached to a user worn wrist strap of a static electrical discharge dissipation system. The electronic circuitry monitors the electrical connection of the wrist strap from the user to ground and tests the functionality of the tag. The electronic circuitry comprises an oscillator, a signal transmitter, a discharge resistor and a discharge resistor check circuit for monitoring the accuracy of the discharge resistor. The electronic circuitry also comprises a skin resistance check circuit for monitoring the electrical connection of the wrist strap to the user, and a ground fault detect circuit for monitoring the electrical connection of the wrist strap to ground. The electronic circuitry further comprises a testing circuit for checking the frequency of the oscillator, monitoring the spectrum of a signal transmitted by the signal transmitter, checking the functionality of the ground fault detect circuit, checking low and high limits of the discharge resistor, and checking the functionality of the skin resistance check circuit.

Wrist strap test mode circuitry

A method for modulating a radio signal has the steps of: predetermining a first time interval so as to define a data word; generating a synchronization pulse, the synchronization pulse initiating a single data word having a length of the predetermined first time interval; and generating a single data pulse within the data word after a second time interval with respect to the synchronization pulse, the length of the second time interval defining at least one character. Defining at least one character by a single data pulse after a second time interval with respect to the synchronization pulse enhances an energy efficiency of the transmitted radio signal while mitigating a duty cycle thereof.

Pulse position modulation communications protocol

The present invention relates generally to a tag monitoring system network used for tracking object movement. The tags utilized in the system incorporate a motion sensor which detects object movement and includes a signal generation circuit adapted to generate a signal when motion is detected. A microcontroller is provided which is in electrical communication with the motion sensor and includes a transmitter activation circuit wherein said microcontroller includes a preprogrammed transmitter sequence which is activated by receipt of a signal from the motion sensor. A radio transmitter is also provided on the tag which is in electrical communication with the microcontroller, and generates radio signals at the direction of the microcontroller.

Tagging system using motion detector

Second harmonic distortion of a traveling wave tube amplifier with a bandwidth exceeding one octave is efficiently minimized by generating a low-power second harmonic signal, modifying it by an adaptive filter, and adding the modified second harmonic signal to the fundamental frequency input signal to the TWT. The adaptive filter is controlled by a feedback loop from the output of the TWT and is arranged to minimize the correlation between the generated second harmonic signal and the second harmonic content of the TWT output. Intermodulation distortion is eliminated in a similar manner.

Reduction of second order harmonic distortion in high power TWT

In a method for transmitting a desired parameter to a remote location, the desired parameter is first communicated to a base transmitter. Then, the base transmitter transmits a first radio signal therefrom having an unknown center frequency within a known frequency band. The first radio signal comprises information representative of the desired parameter. At a remote location, a remote receiver identifies the center frequency of the first radio signal and tunes the remote receiver to the center frequency thereof so as to facilitate reception of the first radio signal with the remote receiver. The information representative of the desired parameter may then be communicated to a desired destination.

Remote utility meter reading system

Hard-wired analog adaptive cancellation for microwave receivers to cancel the interference generated by co-located transmitter employs a circuit having two or more quadrature taps on a delay line. The least and greatest delays provided by the delay line taps are selected so that the copies of the transmitted signals provided by the respective taps bracket the timing of the portion of the transmitted signal that leaks into the collocated receiver's input. Samples of received signals corrupted by interference from the transmitter are mixed with delayed samples of a transmission reference signal to develop a cancellation signal.

Method and apparatus for hard-wired adaptive cancellation

A microwave frequency generator and method of generating a predetermined microwave signal. The invention comprises oscillator means to generate a determinable frequency signal and means responsive to the frequency signal received from the oscillator means to generate a predetermined Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal. The invention further includes means to generate a determinable ultrahigh frequency (UHF) signal, along with means responsive to the IF signal and to a UHF signal to generate a resultant frequency signal. Means responsive to the resultant frequency and to the predetermined frequency signal generated by the oscillator means are further provided to generate the desired predetermined microwave frequency signal.

Microwave frequency generator and method of generating a desired

A method for accounting for individual persons of a plurality of persons based upon random times that occur as a function of a first specified time interval, and a random interval monitoring system that operates in accordance with the method to report information regarding the presence of both desired and undesired conditions affecting a person. The method includes a first step of transmitting information signals based upon random times from individual ones of a plurality of tags each to be worn by respective persons to at least one of at least one master transceiver and at least one transceiver. The information signals transmitted from each tag correspond to whether a tag is being worn and to certain activities or a lack thereof of sensors in electrical communication with the tag including pressure and motion sensing equivocated to actually wearing the tag.

Personnel monitoring tag

A translator for translating GPS signals received at one location to a different frequency for ground transmission to another location uses a spread spectrum pilot tone for phase-locking the local oscillator of the ground transmitter to that of the ground receiver, thereby increasing security, enabling use of otherwise unavailable frequency spectra, allowing coherence of pilot tone and GPS signal with small coherence bandwidths, and allowing interference-free transmission of the translated GPS signal and pilot tone with the same center frequency.

Growing community of inventors

Wheaton, IL, United States of America

Warren E Guthrie