Portable Navigation Unit Inversion for Map Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current portable navigation devices struggle to accurately convey relative distances and orientations between locations outside the screen view, leading to user disorientation and difficulty in navigating to desired destinations without losing bearings.
Innovation Solution
A method where the portable unit moves within a plane parallel to its screen, allowing the user to physically interact with a stationary map, using inertial guidance and voice commands to calculate and display the appropriate map portion, with transparent markers and arrows providing directional guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the map is scrolled using button control or touch screen, then the user can adjust direction and scale of map movement, but the user loses bearing and difficulty sensing distance between locations
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the map image across a stationary screen, the patent inverts the approach by keeping the map stationary and moving the portable unit (or its displayed view) across the map. This inversion maintains the user's bearing because the map remains fixed in orientation while the view position changes, allowing users to sense direction and distance more naturally as they physically move the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a transparent overlay or duplicate map layer that moves with the portable unit while the background map remains stationary. This copying approach allows users to see both the stationary reference map and the moving view simultaneously, preserving bearing information while enabling navigation to distant locations without losing orientation context.
2Area of stationary object
If the screen is scaled down to view distant locations, then the user can see bearing to items outside current view, but detail is eliminated forcing frequent zooming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third dimension by allowing the map to extend beyond the screen boundaries in physical space. The stationary map is conceptually infinite or very large, and the portable unit's position determines which portion is visible. This dimensional approach allows users to view distant locations by moving the device rather than zooming out, maintaining both broad coverage and detail resolution simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the visible map area dynamic by linking it to the physical position and orientation of the portable unit. As the user moves the device, the visible portion of the stationary map changes dynamically, providing continuous access to both nearby details and distant bearings without requiring manual scaling or zooming operations.
3Productivity
If the map is moved on the screen, then the user can navigate to different locations, but the distance between locations becomes difficult to sense
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the portable unit to serve itself by using its own physical movements to determine map navigation. The device's position, orientation, and movement data automatically update the displayed map view, creating a direct correlation between physical displacement and map distance. This self-service mechanism restores distance perception because users can sense the physical distance they moved the device, which directly corresponds to the distance on the map.
Data Source
AI summary
A background map remains stationary while a portable unit moves within a plane parallel to the screen of the portable unit. As the user moves the unit, images of the background map appear on the screen of the portable device. The user scans the stationary map presented on the screen of the portable unit. This has several benefits since now relative distances and angular displacements within the plane between objects that are outside of the range of the screen of the handheld unit can be immediately be located and placed into view on the screen of a portable unit. The handheld unit is like a Sliding Window which provides a view of this image of a stationary map lying in the background of the portable unit.