Golf course yardage and information system having improved zone information and display characteristics

• US 20020016674A1
• Filed: 05/21/2001
• Published: 02/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brad Gam, Douglas L. Lecker, John Coffee, Kirk Bingeman, Richard W. Rudow, Tuan Pham
• Original Assignee: Brad Gam, Douglas L. Lecker, John Coffee, Kirk Bingeman, Richard W. Rudow, Tuan Pham
• Inventors: Gam, Brad, Pham, Tuan, Rudow, Richard W., Lecker, Douglas L., Bingeman, Kirk, Coffee, John
• Application Number:
  US09/860,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20020016674A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/215
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0025 Tracking the path or location of one or more users, e.g. players of a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2024/0056 for statistical or strategic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0691 Maps, e.g. yardage maps or electronic maps
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/32 Golf
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/02 posture
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/12 Absolute positions, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/13 Relative positions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/14 Geo-tagging, e.g. for correlating route or track location data with specific information related to that specific location
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/20 Distances or displacements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/30 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/62 Time or time measurement used for time reference, time stamp, master time or clock signal
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/836 Sensors arranged on the body of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/305 Remote servicing
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/54 Transponders, e.g. RFID
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0021 Tracking a path or terminating locations
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 55/60 Wheeled carriers specially adapted for golf bags
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 55/61 motorised
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 57/00 Golfing accessories
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/071 : DGPS corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0054 : of actual mobile position, i.e. position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/009 : Transmission of differential positioning data to mobile

Abstract

A player position determining and course management system for a golf course having a plurality of roving units for use by players in playing the course is disclosed. Each roving unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) including a data processor for executing various tasks ranging from fastest execution of a task to slowest execution of a task on a schedule of priorities of task completion, a real-time means for controlling the processor to give the tasks priority ranging from fastest execution of a task with highest priority to slowest execution of a task with lowest priority, and a means for precisely timing functions of the system including modulating means utilizing a common digital modulation technique for digitally modulating data transmitted to and from all of the roving units. Each of the roving units include a monitor for displaying the golf course including each of the holes with its tee box, fairway, green, cup and hazards, as well as the position of the roving unit on the course in real time. Additionally, the system includes a course management base station for transmitting and receiving information to the roving units and a monitor for displaying the location of each roving unit on the golf course in real time.

Claims

1. A system for determining the location of each of a plurality of dispersed objects in transit, and for administering the disposition of each of the objects, the system including a base station for administration and a plurality of remote stations associated with the objects while in transit, each of the base station and the remote stations being adapted to operate on a differential global positioning system (DGPS) with RF transmitter/receivers (transceivers) in conjunction with a plurality of earth-orbiting GPS satellites that transmit GPS satellite signal information for use in determining the relative position of and distance between targeted points on the earth, the system further including:

distributed timing means in the base station and each of the remote stations for precisely timing the functions of the system including the transmission and reception of information between the base station and each of the remote stations, said timing means being responsive to a pulse per second (PPS) signal from the GPS satellites and including interrupt means in each remote station for resetting a real-time clock interrupt counter in the respective remote station, whereby to synchronize the timing between the base station and the remote stations and to dispense with the need for direct base synchronization such that all remote stations on the system requires initialization only to indicate when they are allowed to transmit in a specific time slot asynchronous of direct base timing control.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the base station includes a monitor for displaying the location of all remote stations in real time such that the remote stations can be observed while in transit.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the base station includes means for transmitting a text message to selected remote stations thereby providing information to said remote stations.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said remote stations includes a monitor for displaying the distance from its respective remote station to a specified location marked on said monitor.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said monitor is a high resolution color graphics monitor capable of displaying full-color images.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the remote station includes zero velocity means for ensuring that a displayed distance on said monitor is constant when the object associated with the remote station is not moving.

7. In a ball position determining and course management system for a golf course, including a base station for course management and a plurality of roving units for golfers during play of the course, each of the base station and the roving units being adapted to operate with a satellite-based navigation system for use in determining the relative position of and distance between objects on the earth, the improvement in said system comprising:

variable length network means having a circular frame cycle with a predetermined number of frames of message packets, the number of frames being set by the base station according to system network load demand, so that when relatively few roving units are operating on the system only a relatively small number of unique frames need be maintained by the base station to provide a higher update rate of roving unit state message packets to the course management base station, attributable to a need for fewer unique frames to be transmitted before the network returns to frame 0 thereby achieving enhanced efficiency of the system.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the satellite-based navigation system is a differential global positioning system (DGPS) with RF transmitter/receivers (transceivers) in conjunction with a plurality of earth-orbiting GPS satellites that transmit GPS satellite signal information.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said variable length network means includes means for quantizing a predetermined number of additional roving units that may be accommodated by an increase in the network size, with only integer frames allowed to be added or subtracted.

10. The system of claim 7 further including means for allowing roving units that are currently non-operative within the system to enter and operate in the system including arbitration means for minimizing the probability that two or more roving units are simultaneously attempting to enter the system.

11. A system for determining the location of each of a plurality of objects in transit, and for administering the disposition of each of the objects, the system including a base station for administration and a plurality of remote stations associated with the objects while in transit, each of the base station and the remote stations being adapted to operate with a satellite-based navigation system for use in determining the relative position of and distance between targeted points on the earth, the system further including zone detection means for triggering an event to occur in response to the spatial relationship of the object within a given area of space, the zone detection means comprising:

means for defining at least one zone within the area of space;

means, in conjunction with the satellite-based navigation system, for determining the location of the object;

means for determining whether the object is within said at least one zone; and

means for causing am event to occur if the object is within said at least one zone.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the satellite-based navigation system is a differential global positioning system (DGPS) with RF transmitter/receivers (transceivers) in conjunction with a plurality of earth-orbiting GPS satellites that transmit GPS satellite signal information.