Mcdonnell Douglas Corporation

Mcdonnell Corporation

William J Ebert

James Victor Leonard

Richard E Meyer

Gregory S Van Dyke

Jeffrey L Johnson

A store interface for routing different types of store signal formats to multiple wing stations using pre-existing aircraft wing wiring. The store interface provides an interface between an aircraft and an associated store adapted to bidirectionally communicate with the aircraft according to one of a plurality of predetermined store signal formats. The store interface includes a store identifier that determines the type of the associated store, and an interface that bidirectionally communicates between the aircraft and the store, including a first and second communication links that communicate with the store using either a first set of store control signals configured in accordance with a first store signal format or a second set of store control signals configured in accordance with a second store signal format. The store interface also includes a switch that couples one of the communication links to the store in response to the store identifier allowing one of the sets of store control signals to be transmitted between the aircraft and the store.

Store interface apparatus

Apparatus and method providing an electrical interface between an aircraft and an associated store for controlling data transmissions therebetween. The aircraft has a visual display of video signals received from the associated store. The electrical interface includes circuitry for generating a menu of the commands available to an operator of the aircraft and for generating a cursor associated with the menu. The electrical interface overlays the menu and cursor on the display to provide a user friendly electrical interface.

Universal electrical interface between an aircraft and an associated

A method and apparatus for providing a universal electrical interface between an aircraft and an associated store includes an aircraft interface and a store interface for bidirectionally communicating with the aircraft according to a first predetermined format and with the associated store according to a second predetermined format, respectively, as well as a universal signal conditioner for selectively processing signals received by both the aircraft interface and the store interface. The selective processing includes translating the signals received by the aircraft interface to the second predetermined format of the associated store and translating signals received by the store interface to the first predetermined format of the aircraft. The universal electrical interface also determines the type of aircraft from a number of predetermined types of aircraft, each of which is adapted to process signals according to a different predetermined format. By providing such selective processing of signals of different formats, each of the different types of aircraft can bidirectionally communicate, according to the predetermined format that the aircraft is adapted to process, with the associated store.

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Catawissa, MO, United States of America

William J Ebert