scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

John R. Coffee

Bio: John R. Coffee is an academic researcher from Trimble Navigation. The author has contributed to research in topics: Task (computing) & Communications system. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 12 publications receiving 1622 citations.

Papers
More filters
Patent
18 Dec 2000
TL;DR: A vehicle fleet management information system (10) for identification of location and direction of movement of each vehicle in the fleet in real-time and automatic communication directly with management offices to report its location and heading, and status of predetermined events in which the vehicle may be engaged as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A vehicle fleet management information system (10) for identification of location and direction of movement of each vehicle in the fleet in real-time and automatic communication directly with management offices to report its location and heading, and status of predetermined events in which the vehicle may be engaged. Each fleet vehicle is assigned a unique time slot to transmit its reporting information over a communications network (10) without substantially interfering with transmissions from other vehicles in their own respective time slots.

931 citations

Patent
08 Sep 1995
TL;DR: A player position determining and course management system for a golf course having a plurality of roving units for use by players in playing the course is disclosed in this paper, where each roving unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) including a data processor for executing various tasks ranging from fastest execution of a task to slowest execution on a schedule of priorities of task completion.
Abstract: A player position determining and course management system for a golf course having a plurality of roving units for use by players in playing the course is disclosed. Each roving unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) including a data processor for executing various tasks ranging from fastest execution of a task to slowest execution of a task on a schedule of priorities of task completion, a real-time means for controlling the processor to give the tasks priority ranging from fastest execution of a task with highest priority to slowest execution of a task with lowest priority, and a means for precisely timing functions of the system including modulating means utilizing a common digital modulation technique for digitally modulating data transmitted to and from all of the roving units. Each of the roving units include a monitor for displaying the golf course including each of the holes with its tee box, fairway, green, cup and hazards, as well as the position of the roving unit on the course in real time. Additionally, the system includes a course management base station for transmitting and receiving information to the roving units and a monitor for displaying the the location of each roving unit on the golf course in real time.

236 citations

Patent
26 Jul 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, a location aware business component that sends and receives location based information to and from remote and mobile assets and applies business logic to the location data to enhance and automate business applications run by the enterprise user.
Abstract: A wireless gateway is provided that connects mobile and remote assets or employees to business enterprise users through multiple wireless networks and the Internet by using web served applications. The central core of the gateway is a location aware business component that sends and receives location based information to and from remote and mobile assets and applies business logic to the location data to enhance and automate business applications run by the enterprise user. This functionality considerably exceeds that of a traditional wireless gateway, which simply manages messages passed through multiple wireless networks but does nothing with the content of the messages. The business logic component provides a common interface and protocol for handling location information and allows applications that follow the protocol to interface with the gateway to take advantage of location information by using location data to trigger events or to tag events, messages, or other data.

140 citations

Patent
31 Mar 1997
TL;DR: In this paper, a method for calibrating and updating a golf course position, yardage and measurement system for golf carts that utilize dead reckoning navigation, to avoid gradual buildup of error from components of the dead reckoning system as the golf cart is being driven on the course during play, is presented.
Abstract: A method for calibrating and updating a golf course position, yardage and measurement system for golf carts that utilize dead reckoning navigation, to avoid gradual buildup of error from components of the dead reckoning system as the golf cart is being driven on the course during play, for the purpose of aiding golfers in playing the course by displaying distance measurements between the golf cart and various course features of interest. In one embodiment, the method includes storing a map of the course golf cart path in the database of the cart navigation system, determining from a comparison of the golf cart position in the dead reckoning navigation system and the stored golf cart path whether the golf cart is on the cart path during at least a part of the play of each hole; and, if so, calibrating and updating the dead reckoning navigation system according to a correction of error in the indicated position of an icon representing the golf cart relative to the cart path on a display screen in the cart to restore the icon to the cart path. In another embodiment, the travel of the cart is compared to the meanderings of the cart path on the stored map by comparing the dead reckoning trajectory of the cart to sequences of segments along the cart path until a pathway trajectory is found that closely matches the trajectory of the golf cart; and then correcting the indicated position of the golf cart accordingly, by which to calibrate and update the dead reckoning navigation system.

109 citations

Patent
28 Mar 2001
TL;DR: A player position determining and course management system for a golf course having a plurality of roving units for use by players in playing the course is disclosed in this paper, where each roving unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) including a data processor for executing various tasks ranging from fastest execution of a task to slowest execution on a schedule of priorities of task completion.
Abstract: A player position determining and course management system for a golf course having a plurality of roving units for use by players in playing the course is disclosed. Each roving unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) including a data processor for executing various tasks ranging from fastest-execution of a task to slowest execution of a task on a schedule of priorities of task completion, a real-time means for controlling the processor to give the tasks priority ranging from fastest execution of a task with highest priority to slowest execution of a task with lowest priority, and a means for precisely timing functions of the system including modulating means utilizing a common digital modulation technique for digitally modulating data transmitted to and from all of the roving units. Each of the roving units include a monitor for displaying the golf course including each of the holes with its tee box, fairway, green, cup and hazards, as well as the position of the roving unit on the course in real time. Additionally, the system includes a course management base station for transmitting and receiving information to the roving units and a monitor for displaying the location of each roving unit on the golf course in real time.

100 citations


Cited by
More filters
Patent
01 Feb 1999
TL;DR: An adaptive interface for a programmable system, for predicting a desired user function, based on user history, as well as machine internal status and context, is presented for confirmation by the user, and the predictive mechanism is updated based on this feedback as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: An adaptive interface for a programmable system, for predicting a desired user function, based on user history, as well as machine internal status and context. The apparatus receives an input from the user and other data. A predicted input is presented for confirmation by the user, and the predictive mechanism is updated based on this feedback. Also provided is a pattern recognition system for a multimedia device, wherein a user input is matched to a video stream on a conceptual basis, allowing inexact programming of a multimedia device. The system analyzes a data stream for correspondence with a data pattern for processing and storage. The data stream is subjected to adaptive pattern recognition to extract features of interest to provide a highly compressed representation that may be efficiently processed to determine correspondence. Applications of the interface and system include a video cassette recorder (VCR), medical device, vehicle control system, audio device, environmental control system, securities trading terminal, and smart house. The system optionally includes an actuator for effecting the environment of operation, allowing closed-loop feedback operation and automated learning.

1,182 citations

Patent
13 Jun 1996
TL;DR: In this paper, a system for communicating with a medical device (10) implanted in an ambulatory patient and for locating the patient in order to selectively monitor device function, alter device operating parameters and modes and provide emergency assistance to and communications with a patient (10).
Abstract: A system for communicating with a medical device (10) implanted in an ambulatory patient and for locating the patient in order to selectively monitor device function, alter device operating parameters and modes and provide emergency assistance to and communications with a patient (10). The implanted device (10) includes a telemetry transceiver for communicating data and operating instructions between the implanted device and an external patient communications control device (20) that is either worn by or located in proximity of the patient within the implanted device transceiving range. The control device preferably includes a communication link with a remote medical support network (50), a global positioning satellite (80) receiver for receiving positioning data identifying the global position of the control device, and a patient activated link for permitting patient initiated personal communication with the medical support network (50). A system controller (24) in the control device (20) controls data and voice communications for selectively transmitting patient initiated personal communications and global positioning data to the medical support network (50), and for receiving and initiating re-programming of the implanted device operating modes and parameters in response to instructions received from the medical support network (50). The communications link between the medical support network and the patient communications control device may comprise a worldwide satellite network, hard-wired telephone network, a cellular telephone network (82) or other personal communications system.

1,001 citations

Patent
12 Oct 2007
TL;DR: In this paper, a method and apparatus for mapping address information (e.g., locations denoted by name or address, street addresses, landmarks, etc.) off of disparate sources and onto new or existing maps, are disclosed.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for mapping address information (e.g. locations denoted by name or address, street addresses, landmarks, etc.) off of disparate sources and onto new or existing maps, are disclosed. A mapping component (e.g. a standalone application, a web-browser plug-in, an ActiveX control, a DLL, a COM object, a web object, a part of a an application displaying and/or generating maps, etc.) running on an electronic device (e.g. personal computer, workstation, thin client, PDA, cellular phone, GPS device, etc.) may receive input of address information and relay the received input to a mapping application (e.g. an online mapping service such as Google Maps®, Yahoo! Maps®, Windows Live Search Maps®, MapQuest®, etc.; or a mapping application running locally on a PDA, cell phone, etc.) for plotting on a common map, displayed by a map-display application (e.g. a browser, a web user agent, etc.). A mapping component may have a permanent visibility to the user (e.g. by being a top-most application in a windowed environment, by being present in a portion of the user's desktop that is commonly unobstructed by other applications such as the system tray, by being a widget, by being a control on a browser toolbar, etc.) A mapping component may be a module of a display application. A mapping component may receive user input directly, for example by typing; and/or via the clipboard, for example via a drag-and-drop or copy/paste operation or a pre-determined key combination; and/or via the use of context menus; and/or by any other means supported by the electronic device. A mapping component may aggregate multiple received address information prior to relaying the aggregated address information to a mapping application and/or a map-display application. A mapping component may parse, or otherwise process the location data prior to relaying the location data to a mapping application and/or a map-display application. The user may select an existing map for receiving the input; or, the optimal map for displaying the address information may be selected automatically; or, a mapping service may associate the user with stored maps and select the optimal map for receiving the address information.

728 citations

Patent
26 Jun 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, a transducer control module communicates with the monitoring system via a wide area network and the communications device, and reports the information to the end-user terminals via the Internet in response to user requests.
Abstract: A remote monitoring system includes transducers, a transducer control module, a communications device, a monitoring system and end-user display terminals. The transducers are disposed on the property and/or equipment in a manner to measure specific characteristics or parameters and communicate with the transducer control module via a wireless communication protocol. The transducer control module receives and analyzes transducer measurements and detects alarm conditions. The transducer control module communicates with the monitoring system via a wide area network and the communications device. The monitoring system receives, stores and analyzes information received from the transducer control module and reports the information to the end-user terminals via a wide area network, such as the Internet, in response to user requests.

700 citations