Map reading system for indicating a user's position on a published map with a global position system receiver and a database

• US 5,596,500 A
• Filed: 12/23/1994
• Issued: 01/21/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Woo, Arthur N., Sprague, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZANELLI, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/363,680
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 364/449, 364/460, 342/357, 342/457, 342/450, 342/451, 340/995, 434/150, 434/153
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers

Abstract

A combination of a GPS receiver for determining a user'"'"'s position in terms of latitude and longitude, a database that indexes approximately 53,000 USGS 7.5 minute series topographical quadrangle maps by the latitude and longitude of at least one point on each map, and an interpreter and display that communicates the particular USGS map that represents the user'"'"'s position together with the ruler dimensions left/right/up/down from a reference point on that map which pinpoints the user'"'"'s position on the map. The database is stored in the permanent memory of the GPS receiver and the interpreter and display are controller by a microcomputer included in the GPS receiver. The reference points include sixteen intersections on the map of 2.5 minute intervals of latitude and longitude contained in each 7.5 minute series quadrangle.

Claims

1. A satellite navigation map reading system, comprising:

a navigation satellite receiver for receiving microwave radio transmission signals from orbiting global positioning system (GPS) satellites and for converting a plurality of said signals into a determination of an earth position of the receiver and including means for computing said earth coordinate positions in terms of latitude and longitude;

a database of unique map names and each map'"'"'s relation to a map coordinate earth position which is represented on a published, printed map and that is identified by one of said map names, and a scale of said published, printed map, wherein, the database includes the names, scales and included latitude and longitude reference points for the 7.5 minute series topographical maps published by the United States Geological Survey (USGS);

interpretation means connected to the navigation satellite receiver and the database for converting said determination of an earth position of the receiver into one of said map names by indexing the database to find which of said published, printed maps includes a coordinate of said determined earth position of the receiver;

a display connected to the interpretation means for visually communicating the unique identity of said one said published, printed map; and

ruler measurement means connected to the interpretation means and the display for indicating to a user a ruler distance on a sheet of said published, printed map that said earth position of the receiver is represented up or down, then left or right from a reference point on said published, printed map.

2. A navigation system for displaying to a user where the user'"'"'s position is determined to be on a printed map sheet, the system comprising:

a satellite navigation receiver with means for receiving a plurality of radio transmissions from orbiting navigation satellites and means for converting said signals to a position determination;

a plurality of printed maps having a single minute-interval and scale in latitude and longitude and each with a unique identifying name and at least one reference point;

a database that relates only each said name to said corresponding reference point for each of the printed maps; and

conversion means connected to the satellite navigation receiver and the database for naming which one of the plurality of printed maps includes a location point that represents said position determination and that further includes means for calculating the vertical and horizontal ruler measure from said reference point depending only on said uniform scale and apart from particular information about any one particular map other than the coordinates of said reference point.

3. A method of identifying a user'"'"'s position on a published map that includes a unique identifying name for each sheet of the map, a scale, and at least one reference point expressed on the map in latitude and longitude, the method comprising:

receiving a latitude and longitude output of a satellite navigation receiver that represents the earth coordinate position of a user;

indexing a database comprised only of the unique names of published, printed maps by their identifying names which are related to a single respective scale factor and at least one reference coordinate point represented on said map;

converting an offset of said position of said user from said reference coordinate map obtained from said database with said scale factor to a ruler measure corresponding to a point represented on said map; and

communicating said position of said user to said user through a visual display of the ruler measure distance on said map that said user position is left, right, up and/or down from said reference coordinate point.

4. An improved position information system (10) including a navigation satellite receiver (12, 14) for determining earth coordinate information from signals received from orbiting navigation satellites, and connected to a memory (122) with map information and a user display, the improvement comprising:

a database of information (16) permanently stored in said memory that relates by name a plurality of uniquely named minute-interval topographic maps (21-27) all sharing a single minute-interval and scale to at least one reference point representing the same corner in each corresponding topographic map;

common corner reference point differencing means (140) for determining a vertical and horizontal ruler measure (162) consistent with said single scale after subtracting (160) an earth coordinate determined by said navigation satellite receiver from an adjacent one of said minute intervals; and

indexing means (150) for simultaneously displaying (164) with said display a particular one of said unique names of said uniquely named minute-interval topographic maps together with said vertical and horizontal ruler measure determined by the common corner reference point differencing means.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein:

said navigation satellite receiver further comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for determining a user'"'"'s position in terms of latitude and longitude;

said database indexes approximately 53,000 United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute series topographical quadrangle maps by the latitude and longitude of at least one point on each map; and

the indexing means includes an interpreter and display that communicate a particular USGS map that represents the user'"'"'s position together with the ruler dimensions left/right/up/down from a reference point on that map which pinpoints the user'"'"'s position on the map.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

means (220) for locating a position on a map in earth coordinates by inputting data related to the map'"'"'s scale and offset measurements from a datum, stated in earth coordinates, using said satellite navigation receiver (12) to convert map measurement units measured "over and up" from a designated map reference point (datum), into position information that is named and stored in said memory (122), wherein thereafter a series of various locations can be called up to said display (130) in one of several standard coordinate styles, and further includes means (222) for requesting and storing a reference point into said memory (122) and means (224) for requesting and storing a map scale factor into said memory (122), and means (226) for requesting and storing a horizontal measurement on said map "over" from said reference point into said memory (122), and means (228) for requesting and storing a vertical measurement on said map "up" from said reference point into said memory (122).

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

means (230) for assigning a unique name and/or number to identify a newly created "over and up" location so that it may be distinguished from subsequent entries, and means (232) for computing respective locations for corresponding reference points, map scales and over and up measurements for expression in a standard coordinate style for a user, and means (234) for outputting to said display (130) each "over and up" map location in a selected coordinate style with its unique identifying name and/or number.