Texas Instruments Corporation

Michael D Smith

Jerry L Setliff

John P Volpi

Eugene A Robinson

Richard D Hoffman

Gerald Burnham

An electronic chart system in which charts of the earth are stored in digital representation and communicated to the operator by a visual display. Through the use of a Loran-C receiver or the like, the system additionally plots the carrier's position on the visual representation of the chart. The visual display is a cathode ray tube on which the visual representation is compressed or expanded to meet the demands of the operator so that the appropriate resolution is thereby obtained. To minimize memory size an encoding format is used which provides a data word for indicating the first physical element of the run line, a data word for the number of runs per line and data words for the lengths of N-1 runs of up to two variables for each line of the chart.

Electronic chart system

A navigational aid and autopilot in which informational data pertaining to the physical operating conditions of the craft, the external characteristics relevant to the operation of the craft, and a chart mapping a selected portion of the surface of the earth in which the craft is operating are combined into a single communication correlating such data in a manner assisting an operator of the craft in the performance of his duties. The navigational aid measures external physical conditions such as radio transmissions, radar soundings, sonar soundings, and the like, as well as the physical state of the craft such as fuel flow, list of the craft, and speed of the motor. By monitoring these characteristics in association with an electronic chart, the system correlates and combines the total informational content in a comprehensive form so as to relieve the operator pilot of the necessity of integrating and correlating data from a plurality of different sources. The autopilot operation accepts two types of data command, the first being a destination, the second being a bearing and time duration. Through the use of a position determining means, such as a Loran-C receiver, the system controls the craft and its movement to the destination. With the help of the external physical condition monitors, the system provides course direction so that the craft will not collide with another boat nor run aground. The autopilot additionally plots the course for the craft.

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Michael D Smith