System and method for viewing and marking maps

• US 9,164,975 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2013
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Monmouth University
• Original Assignee: Monmouth University
• Inventors: Milewski, Allen E., Reagor, Barbara T., Bekefi, Robert S., Tepfenhart, William F., Landrigan, Lauren C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Koziol, Stephen R
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRINGLE-PARKER, JASON A
• Application Number:
  US13/958,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20130318427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and device for obtaining, viewing and marking maps in real time. Maps are obtained from a list of maps, the maps are then viewed on interactive tabletop displays allowing a user to visualize a mapped location and “markup” points on the map. The markup data is captured as a small file and sent out to responders via rapid transmission in both real time as it is developed or as final actionable information. The maps employed in the present invention include land maps or building floor plans that are either in paper or digital formats.

Claims

1. A non-transitory recording medium having recorded therein a program that allows a computer to perform a process of conveying map annotations, said process comprising the steps of:

selecting a digital map;

retrieving map coordinates for said digital map, said map coordinates being map coordinates;

providing a display surface, wherein said display surface has display coordinates and at least one display surface control point;

showing said digital map on said display surface at a first location, wherein said display surface control point is visible through said digital map shown on said display surface;

marking at least one digital map control point on said digital map, said marking entailing identifying said display surface control point shown through said digital map;

saving said map coordinates, and said marked digital map control point in a file;

saving said digital map in a second file;

printing said file and said second file as a printed paper map, said printed paper map including said map coordinates of said digital map and said marked digital map control point;

displaying said printed paper map on said display surface at a first location;

aligning said marked digital map control point of said printed paper map with said display surface control point of said display surface;

annotating said printed paper map with an input device, said annotations being defined within said display coordinates in view of movement of said input device captured in relation to said display coordinates;

geo-referencing said display coordinates of said annotations with said map coordinates of said printed paper map, wherein , in view of said alignment of said printed paper map with said display surface, said geo-referencing matches said map coordinates of said printed paper map that correspond with said display coordinates of said annotations thereby defining map coordinates of said map annotations;

producing a geo-referenced file;

saving the geo-referenced file, wherein said saved geo-referenced file comprises said annotations and said map coordinates of said map annotations;

transmitting said saved file from the first location to a second location; and

displaying said transmitted file on a copy of said printed paper map shown on a second display surface at the second location, said copy having copy coordinates, said copy coordinates matching said map coordinates of said printed paper map, wherein said map coordinates of said annotations are preserved when displaying said transmitted file on the copy of said printed paper map.