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Golf course location and distance measuring systemRelated Patent Categories: Games Using Tangible Projectile, Golf, Club Selection, Ball Direction, Or Distance Indicating AidGolf course location and distance measuring system description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060030433, Golf course location and distance measuring system. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 60/599,124 filed on Aug. 4, 2004 and entitled "Golf Course Location and Distance Measuring System" and which is hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The invention relates generally to the field of global positioning and range finding systems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0003] A more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to the appended drawing. Understanding that this drawing only provides information concerning typical embodiments of the invention and is not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: [0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system of the present invention. [0005] FIG. 2 is flow diagram illustrating a process of the present invention. [0006] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of a portable device. [0007] FIG. 4 is a graphical representation that may be generated in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0008] The presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus, system, and method of the present invention, as represented in FIGS. 1 through 4, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Specific examples are given to illustrate aspects of the invention, but those of skill in the relevant art(s) will understand that other examples may also fall within the meaning of the terms used, and hence within the scope of one or more claims. Important terms maybe defined, either explicitly or implicitly, here in the Detailed Description and/or elsewhere in the application file. [0009] Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown of components of a system 100 of the present invention. The system 100 includes a base device 102 that may be embodied, in part, as a computer such as a general purpose computer workstation, laptop computer, disconnectable mobile computer, server, mainframe, cluster, or a combination thereof. The base device 102 includes a processor 104 that may include a general purpose device such as a 80.times.86, Pentium (mark of Intel), 680.times.0, or other "off-the-shelf" microprocessor. The processor 104 may include a special purpose processing device such as an ASIC, PAL, PLA, PLD, Field Programmable Gate Array, or other customized or programmable device. The processor 104 is in electrical communication with a memory 106 which may include static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, ROM, CD-ROM, disk, tape, magnetic, optical, or other computer storage medium. [0010] The memory 106 includes applications to enable features of the present invention such as software, firmware, and drivers that may be Windows.RTM. compliant. Suitable software disclosed herein to assist in implementing the invention is readily provided by those of skill in the pertinent art using the teachings presented here and programming languages and tools such as Java, Pascal, C++, C, database languages, APIs, SDKs, assembly, firmware, microcode, and/or other languages and tools. Suitable signal formats may be embodied in analog or digital form, with or without error detection and/or correction bits, packet headers, network addresses in a specific format, and/or other supporting data readily provided by those of skill in the pertinent art. [0011] The processor 104 is in electrical communication with a docking station 108 that includes one or more docking ports 110 for electrically interfacing with and charging a portable device 112. The docking ports 110 may further enable the transfer of data and instruction code to update the portable devices 112 as needed. The base device 102 may include a wireless interface 114 to enable wireless communication with a portable device 112. Wireless communication may be based on a proprietary communication protocol. [0012] The base device 102 also includes input device(s) 116 that may include a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, light pen, tablet, microphone, sensor, or other hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software. The base device 102 includes output device(s) 118 that may include a monitor or other display, printer, speech or text synthesizer, switch, signal line, or other hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software. [0013] The base device 102 may further include a network interface 120 such as a router, network card, modem, or the like to enable network communication between the base device 102 and a central server and/or remote devices. The network interface 120 is suitable for communication across a local area network, wide area network, metropolitan area network, and/or "Internet" or IP networks such as the World Wide Web, a private Internet, a secure Internet, a value-added network, a virtual private network, an extranet, an intranet. One suitable network includes a server and several clients; other suitable networks may contain other combinations of servers, clients, and/or peer-to-peer nodes, and a given computer may function both as a client and as a server. [0014] To minimize installation issues at a customer location, the network interface 120 may be embodied as a cellular data modem. The cellular data requires no external phone connections and provides a highly reliable communication system. It would also allow more flexible placement of the base device 102 in a golf shop or club house. [0015] The base device 102 may be further embodied with a floppy drive, tape drive, optical drive, magneto-optical drive, or other means to read a storage medium. A suitable storage medium includes a magnetic, optical, or other computer-readable storage device having a specific physical configuration. Suitable storage devices include floppy disks, hard disks, tape, CD-ROMs, DVDs, PROMs, random access memory, flash memory, and other computer system storage devices. The physical configuration represents data and instructions that cause the computer system to operate in a specific and predefined manner as described herein. [0016] The memory 106 includes instruction code to perform in accordance with the operations discussed herein. Specifically, the memory 106 includes an operating system 122 and an accounting module 124. The accounting module 124 includes an algorithm to monitor use of each portable device 112 and calculate a royalty for a system provider based on use. [0017] The base device 102 may also include a Global Positioning System (GPS) 25 to receive global position data. The base device 102 may use the global position data to establish the location of the base device 102 relative to portable devices 112 and holes on the golf course. [0018] A portable device 112 may be embodied as a hand-held device that is configured for ergonomic convenience. The portable device 112 is designed for outdoor environments in temperatures ranging from 0.degree. C. to 70.degree. C. and are water resistant. A portable device 112 includes a housing 126 to contain the components thereof. Each portable device 112 includes a GPS receiver 128 such as a Wide Area Augmented System (WAAS) enabled GPS receiver for communicating with one or more GPS satellites 130. The WAAS signal was originally developed for the FAA to reduce the positional error of a traditional GPS receiver so that its performance is adequate for commercial aircraft instrument landing systems. Unlike traditional Differential GPS (DGPS), the WAAS signal is broadcast on the same frequencies as the GPS signals. This eliminates the need for a separate and expensive dedicated DGPS receiver. [0019] A portable device 112 further includes a processor 132 and a memory 134 that are in electrical communication with the GPS receiver 128 to receive global position data. Both the processor 132 and memory 134 may be implemented in any number of ways including the embodiments discussed in reference to the base device 102. The memory 134 includes an operating system 136 to perform the necessary instructions to enable interaction of the portable device 112 with a GPS to thereby allow users to determine geographic position. The memory 134 further includes a distance computation module 138 to determine distance to terrain features and holes as discussed below. Each portable device 112 may further include a wireless interface 140 to enable two-way communication with the wireless interface 114 of the base device 102. [0020] The portable device 112 may include a rechargeable battery 142 that is in electrical communication with the processor 132 and a docking interface 144. The docking interface 144 is to couple with a port 110 to recharge the battery 142. Continue reading about Golf course location and distance measuring system... Full patent description for Golf course location and distance measuring system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Golf course location and distance measuring system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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