Digital mapping display functions for a GPS/sonar unit
AssigneeJohnson Outdoors Marine Electronics, Inc.
InventorsMichael Wesley Wood, Jeffrey Earl Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A digital mapping display and related system for fishing, and other applications are provided.
Claims19
A method for selecting at least one contour line of a body of water from a map of lake bottom contours displayed on a display device and converting the contour line into a machine readable code to instruct a vessel control device (Auto Pilot) to navigate a vessel along the selected contour(s), the method comprising:
- providing at least one chart out of a plurality of charts of one or more regions of a body of water, the chart comprising a depiction of a plurality of bottom contour lines each of which is a constant depth below the surface, the chart being configured to allow selection of a contour;
- selecting at least one contour or portion of a contour to be highlighted simultaneously with the chart on the display, the selecting being free from determining an end point of the contour and the contour being free from the end point;
- processing contour information associated with the selected contour with chart information from the chart to convert the contour information into a machine readable code;
- outputting one or more indications associated with the selected contour or portion of the contour on the display;
- outputting the machine readable code to a vessel control device;
- and
- instructing the vessel control device using the machine readable code to move the vessel along a path representative of the selected contour.
A system for selecting at least one contour of a body of water from a map of lake bottom contours displayed on a display device and converting the contour into a machine readable code to instruct a vessel control device (Auto Pilot) to navigate a vessel along the selected contour(s), the system comprising:
- at least one chart capable of being displayed on a display device, the chart being from a plurality of charts of one or more regions of a body of water, the chart comprising a depiction of a plurality of bottom contour lines each of which is of constant depth below the surface or of other defined contiguous regions of the one or more regions of the body of water, the chart being configured to allow selection of a contour or a portion of a contour;
- one or more codes directed to receiving a selection of at least the one contour or portion of the contour;
- one or more codes directed to highlighting the one contour or portion of the contour simultaneously with the chart on the display, the contour being free from an end point;
- one or more codes directed to processing contour information associated with the selected contour with chart information from the chart to convert the contour information associated with the contour to a machine readable code;
- and
- one or more codes directed to outputting the machine readable code to a vessel control device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.