Geometrical instruments – Straightedge type – Base attached
Patent
1996-09-10
1998-10-13
Bennett, G. Bradley
Geometrical instruments
Straightedge type
Base attached
33 1G, B43L 1300
Patent
active
058194266
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
Navigation is determining the position of a ship or boat and selecting course. The fundamental instrument of navigation is the nautical chart, on which in addition to coastlines and islands have been marked e.g. reefs, depths and buoys. Directions are determined by means of a compass. Coastal navigation is intermediate between archipelagic navigation and deep sea navigation. It requires positioning by means of direction finding in addition to observation of buoys.
In positioning so-called placers are used, at least two such being required. The placers may be two numeric position readings, two directions, one direction and one sounding, a direction and a distance, or other data defining the position of the vessel. Deep sea navigation is usually radio navigation or astronomical navigation. Radio beacons are used in aid of radio navigation. In astronomical navigation the elevation of a celestial body over the horizon and its azimuth, or compass bearing, are found, in addition to which the precise time must be known. The position of the vessel can be calculated from these data with the aid of tables.
In terrain orientation, map and compass serve as aids to find the bearing of any desired terrestrial target.
In navigation, and nowadays also in orientation on land and in road traffic, determination of position on the basis of the numeric position reading furnished e.g. by radio beacons or by a satellite navigator device (e.g. GPS=Global Positioning System) is becoming increasingly common. The problem in orientation on land has been that heretofore no suitable, easy-to-use aid has been available by which determining of location on the map is easily accomplished when the numeric position readings are known.
As aid in navigation compasses, triangular protractors, direction rulers, transport rulers, and other graduated rulers have been used. All these are presently employed as separate components in various tasks of navigation, such as determining position on the nautical chart, defining true bearing, defining bows bearing, defining distances, and parallel transposition of the protractor on the nautical chart. The problem with navigation aid of prior art is that, being separate components, they are awkward to keep at hand, and to use, in addition to which their purchase price is high.
The object of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned.
The specific object of the invention is to disclose an easy-to-use aid for navigation, positioning and/or orientation on land and on sea, which enables determination of position on the map on the basis of numeric position readings without any compasses or the like being needed to this purpose.
It is furthermore an object of the invention to disclose an aid for navigation to which can be connected a desired number of ancillary parts to constitute an entity which can be handled and kept in storage as an integral whole, and which integral entity can be used to perform those navigation tasks which are essential in seafaring.
As taught by the invention, the aid comprises edge which is at right angles to the first edge, a longitude line which has been drawn on the plate parallel to the first edge, a latitude line which has been drawn on the plate parallel to the second edge, and a position index point which is located at the intersection of the longitude line and the latitude line, be movable in the direction parallel to the first edge, and to be movable in the direction parallel to the second edge.
The advantage of the invention is that with the movable latitude and longitude pointers the position of the vessel can be determined on the terrain map or nautical chart on the basis of the numeric position reading derived e.g. from radio beacons or from a satellite navigation device (e.g. GPS=Global Positioning System) without any use of special compasses to this purpose.
In an embodiment of the aid a 360.degree. graduation circle has been provided on the plate, its center coinciding with the position index point, the longitude line being parallel with the line drawn from this
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