Nautical Chart Display Device Touch Scale Registration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users find it difficult to measure distances on electronic nautical charts using touch operations, as it deviates from conventional methods involving dividers, leading to potential accuracy issues.

Innovation Solution

The nautical chart display device allows users to register an additional scale by touching two points with an arbitrary span, enabling the chart to be displayed at a scale corresponding to the user's hand size, allowing distance measurement similar to using a divider.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If touch operations are used to measure distance on electronic nautical charts, then measurement functionality is provided, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to deviation from conventional divider methods

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeasurement functionalityVSAvoidmeasurement accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent copies the conventional divider measurement method by detecting the span between two fingers and using it as a virtual divider. The system captures the physical gesture of holding fingers at a specific span and reproduces the divider functionality by maintaining this span as a reference measurement unit during touch operations on the chart.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical divider tool with a touch-based finger span detection system. Instead of using a physical divider with fixed legs, the system uses the distance between two touching points on the touchscreen to represent the divider span, substituting mechanical measurement with electronic gesture recognition.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If arbitrary finger span is used for measurement, then ease of use improves, but measurement consistency deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of useVSAvoidmeasurement consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary detection and registration of the finger span before actual measurement begins. By capturing the span distance between two fingers when first touched and storing it as a reference value, the system establishes a consistent measurement baseline that can be reused throughout the measurement process, ensuring consistency across multiple measurements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses the user's own finger span as the measurement reference, allowing each user to measure with their natural hand size. The detected span becomes a personalized measurement unit that automatically adapts to the user's anatomy, eliminating the need for external calibration tools while maintaining consistency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3690628B1Nautical chart display device, nautical chart display method, and nautical chart display program
Publication Date: 2024.02.07 FURUNO ELECTRIC CO LTD
  • EP3690628B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3690628B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3690628B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The purpose is to provide a nautical chart display device which enables a measurement of a distance on an electronic nautical chart, like a measuring method which is performed by using a divider. The nautical chart display device 20 includes a display unit 21, an operation detector 22, a registration processing module 62, and a change processing module 63. The display unit 21 has a screen and displays a nautical chart on the screen. The operation detector 22 detects a touch operation to the screen. The registration processing module 62 accepts two points of the touch operation on the screen, and registers a scale at which a distance between the touched points on the screen matches a distance setting on the nautical chart as an additional scale. The change processing module 63 changes the scale of the nautical chart to the additional scale.