The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Jan. 25, 1999
Douglas J Backman, Southborough, MA (US);
Gene V Roe, Henniker, NH (US);
Frank D Defalco, Worcester, MA (US);
William R Michalson, Charlton, MA (US);
American Navigations Systems, Inc., Millbury, MA (US);
Abstract
A hand-held navigation, mapping and positioning device contains a GPS receiver, a database capable of storing vector or bit mapped graphics, a viewing port, an embedded processor, a simplified user interface, a data compression algorithm, and other supporting electronics, The viewport is configured such that the data presented in the viewport if clearly visible in any ambient light condition. The database stores compressed image data which might include topographical map data, user annotations, building plans, or any other image. The system includes an interface to a personal computer which may be used to annotate or edit graphic information externally to the device for later upload. In addition, the device contains a simple menu-driven user interface which allows panning and zooming the image data, marking locations of interest, and other such functions. The device may be operated from an internal rechargeable battery, or powered externally.