Signal communication method and apparatus

In a communications system having a plurality of Radio Frequency (RF) communications devices integrated into a Node, some of the RF communications devices having incompatible RF transmission protocols, a device for communicating signals, consisting of control and data information, to said plurality of RF communications devices comprising:

• a bus having control lines and data lines, each RF communications device operably coupled to the bus;
• means, operably coupled to the control lines, for communicating control information to and from the plurality of RF communications devices;
• means, operably coupled to the data lines, for processing signals transferred over the data lines by an RF communications device, into processed signals;
• memory, operably coupled to the processing means, for storing the processed signals;
• means, operably coupled to the memory for returning the processed signals stored in memory back onto the data lines;
• means, operably coupled to the plurality of RF communications devices, for monitoring the control lines to detect data line activity;
• and
• means, operably coupled to the communications devices, for extracting information from the data lines as a function of the detected data line activity.

A method for communicating signal information to a plurality of different radio types integrated into a communications system Node, said Node having a network interface bus comprising control lines for communicating control information and a data bus for communicating data information, wherein each radio type has an incompatible transmission protocol, said method comprising the steps of:

• coupling a plurality of different radio types together via the network interface bus;
• coupling at least one processing unit to the network interface bus;
• processing, in the processing unit, at least a portion of the signal information transferred over the data bus by a radio type, into a radio typed processed signal;
• storing the radio typed processed signal in memory;
• returning the radio typed processed signal back onto the data bus upon command;
• monitoring the control lines by the plurality of radio types to detect data bus activity;
• extracting the returned radio typed processed signal from the data bus by a radio, as a function of the detected data bus activity;
• and
• transmitting the extracted signal information from the radio, utilizing the transmission protocol associated with that radio.