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WO1996007170A1 - Systeme de codage geodesique - Google Patents

Systeme de codage geodesique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1996007170A1
WO1996007170A1 PCT/CA1995/000496 CA9500496W WO9607170A1 WO 1996007170 A1 WO1996007170 A1 WO 1996007170A1 CA 9500496 W CA9500496 W CA 9500496W WO 9607170 A1 WO9607170 A1 WO 9607170A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
longitude
nac
latitude
characters
coding system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CA1995/000496
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English (en)
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WO1996007170B1 (fr
Inventor
Xinhang Shen
Original Assignee
Nac Geographic Products Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nac Geographic Products Inc. filed Critical Nac Geographic Products Inc.
Priority to AU32498/95A priority Critical patent/AU3249895A/en
Publication of WO1996007170A1 publication Critical patent/WO1996007170A1/fr
Publication of WO1996007170B1 publication Critical patent/WO1996007170B1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B29/00—Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram
    • G09B29/003—Maps
    • G09B29/006—Representation of non-cartographic information on maps, e.g. population distribution, wind direction, radiation levels, air and sea routes
    • G09B29/007—Representation of non-cartographic information on maps, e.g. population distribution, wind direction, radiation levels, air and sea routes using computer methods
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B29/00—Maps; Plans; Charts; Diagrams, e.g. route diagram
    • G09B29/10—Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids
    • G09B29/106—Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids using electronic means

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a new multi-use geodetic coding system called the Natural Area Coding System which generates an efficient global postal code system, a unified map grid system, an efficient emergency address dispatching system, an universal tele-communication address code system, a powerful navigation system, a memory-saving and user-friendly geographic and geodetic information management system and a universal geodetic reference system.
  • the Natural Area Coding System which generates an efficient global postal code system, a unified map grid system, an efficient emergency address dispatching system, an universal tele-communication address code system, a powerful navigation system, a memory-saving and user-friendly geographic and geodetic information management system and a universal geodetic reference system.
  • the interpolation may have a poor accuracy. If the street is new and not included in the database, the dispatching will fail. Since the database is so large, mistakes are inevitable, and sometimes the dispatched results may be completely wrong. If the correct location of an address has been obtained in the address dispatching center, it is still inconvenient to communicate it to the local emergency station. An emergency vehicle may need to be guided by the address dispatching center. Therefore, these systems are not really efficient and reliable in spite of lot of money being invested.
  • map grid systems differ from map to map which give people many inconveniences in correlating the information obtained from different maps. Since most map grid systems are artificial, the grid coordinates of a map has always a use limited to the specific map and does not have any other uses, and nobody would like to include these coordinates as part of an address. Therefore, locating a street or an address on such a map may take a significant amount of time. Furthermore, since the grid systems are different, it may be difficult to link a street or highway between maps for two neighboring cities or maps of a city and its province. It is even more difficult to calculate distance and relative locations between two addresses located on two maps.
  • GIS Geographic Information Systems
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • the longitude/latitude system has more than 20 different variations in different countries and different times.
  • the longitude/latitude coordinates of a geodetic point can be written in many different ways both in order and in unit such as to put either latitude or longitude first, and to use writing forms: degree.decimals, degree:minute .decimals, degree :minute : second.decimals, etc.
  • the differences of different systems and different writing conventions create serious problems for people to use, interpret and communicate geographic information. Huge amounts of time and money have been continuously wasted in all this unnecessary work.
  • the world requires a universal geodetic reference system which should have all the uses and properties of all current systems.
  • the system should be able to be directly used for global postal services, emergency services, taxi and delivery services, and all telecommunication services.
  • the system should unify all map grid systems, create efficient geodetic coordinates, represent areas and three-dimensional regions efficiently and link addresses with geocodes.
  • the Natural Area Coding System is such a system which have all these uses and advantages.
  • the present invention in one aspect provides for a geodetic system based upon the natural coordinates of longitude and latitude.
  • the system comprises a character string of n characters for the longitude and a second character string of m characters for the latitude of a particular location, each of the characters in each of the strings being selected from one of a number of possible characters.
  • A is the number of characters in the character set.
  • n and m are the number of characters in the longitude and latitude character string respectively.
  • the resultant code will be XiX2X3-.. n Yl*2- - - ⁇ ⁇
  • XlfX2f -- ' fXn are the natural area code symbols corresponding to the integers xi, X2, • • • *n, similarly for s.i, Y2, ... , m.
  • F( ), zo, A and q have the same meaning as above and p is the number of characters in the altitude character string;
  • R is the distance from the earth center in km along the gravitational force line to the geoid surface and can be approximated by the earth radius at the location:
  • N a/sqrt d - e 2 * sin 2 (Latitude) )
  • a is the semi-major earth axis (ellipsoid equatorial radius) equal to 6378.1370 km; b is the semi-minor earth axis (ellipsoid polar radius) equal to 6356.7523 km; sqrt f) is the square root function; sin () and cos () are triangular functions; the symbol / is the division sign and the altitude string Z ⁇ Z2Z3...Z p corresponds to the integers z l, Z2, Z3- • - z p-
  • A is an integer of between 26 and 36, more preferably 30 or 31, most preferably 30 and m, n and p are integers between 2 and 6, more preferably 3 or 4, most preferably 4.
  • Figure 1 is a world map showing the major grid lines according to a preferred embodiment, and;
  • Figure 2 is a map of a section of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, illustrating the natural area code according to the preferred embodiment .
  • the present invention provides for a geodetic coding system called The Natural Area Coding System which is based upon the natural coordinates of longitude, latitude and altitude.
  • the Natural Area Coding System is particularly useful as a global postal code and map coordinate system.
  • the use of the Natural Area Coding System permits the optimization of location of and delivery to an exact address .
  • the Natural Area Coding (NAC) System generates a unified global postal code system, an efficient and cost effective address dispatching system for all kinds of emergency services, a unified map grid system for all kinds of maps of all scales, an efficient and memory saving geographic and geodetic information management system, an efficient Navigation system, a unified telecommucation and a universal geodetic reference address code system for all sciences and engineerings related to the earth, space and universe. It unifies all these systems into one single system which can greatly simplify the descriptions of locations, areas on the earth, three-dimensional regions in the earth, atmosphere and space, and accelerate the communication between all these fields.
  • the two- dimensional Natural Area Code (NAC) System in a preferred embodiment generates a unique eight character (digit or letter) Natural Area Code (NAC) for each area less than 25 by 50 meters all over the world based on the longitude and latitude of the earth. It is also a standard grid system for all kinds of maps and geographic information systems .
  • a NAC can be used as a global postal code to make the postal services, especially the international postal services work more consistently, harmonically and efficiently. It can greatly speed the process of dispatching addresses for ambulance, firefighters, police, taxi drivers, express delivery services, transport companies, individual people, etc., to significantly save time, cost, property and even lives.
  • the NAC System has all the functions of existing geographic grid and coordinate systems and creates more additional functions.
  • the three-dimensional NAC System is the extension of the two-dimensional NAC System, which uses very few characters to represent a three-dimensional region with arbitrary size and ratio of Longitude Span: Latitude Span: Altitude Span.
  • the three-dimensional NAC System can be utilized in grid and coordinate systems related to the earth used in Geology, Geography, Oceanography, Mining and Exploration, Environmental Science, Ecology, Space Science, Astronomy, etc. to make the description simpler and the information exchange easier.
  • the two-dimensional Natural Area Coding System for use as a postal code and map coordinate system consists of two strings of a number of symbols to indicate the longitude and latitude.
  • the Natural Area Coding System may use any number of symbols but the number of symbols used should be such that the system is usable to indicate a sufficiently small area for use as a postal code and map coordinate system.
  • the Natural Area Coding System should also be flexible enough in length, i.e., it can consist of any two strings of symbols without strict limit in length so as to avoid strings which would be an affront to public morality or social customs.
  • a locally defined third string may be added to increase the efficiency of mail delivery.
  • the Natural Area Coding System is a geodetic coding system originating from the earth center and extending to the infinitely distant universe. In its preferred embodiment, it employs a character set consisting of digits 0 to 9 and all English capital consonants since these characters are the most popular characters widely used in common languages such as English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and all categories of science and engineering. Each character in the character set represents an integer ranging from 0 to 29, as shown in the following table:
  • a Natural Area Code (NAC) consists of three character strings separated by blank spaces.
  • the first character string represents longitude
  • the second string represents latitude
  • the third string represents either altitude or a locally defined string depending upon the application.
  • the system divides the whole range of longitude (0 - 360°), latitude (0 - 180°) and altitude (from the earth center to the infinite outer space) into 30 discrete divisions respectively, each of which is named by one character from the character set according to the order of the characters .
  • each resulting division is divided into 30 subdivisions, and each of the subdivisions is named by one character.
  • the division process can continue to the third, fourth, and other levels.
  • the resulting regions are called NAC blocks.
  • a first level NAC block is named by a NAC of three characters separated by blank spaces, each of which represents the character string for longitude, latitude and altitude respectively, for example, NAC: 5 6 7.
  • a second level NAC block is named by a NAC of six characters to form three character strings: the first two characters form the longitudinal string, the third and fourth characters form the latitudinal string, and the last two characters form the altitudinal string.
  • a NAC block at another level is named similarly. If the third string of a NAC is omitted, the resulting NAC represents an area on the earth surface. It is worthwhile pointing out that a NAC represents an area or a three- dimensional region (simply called "region" in the following) , while current geodetic coordinates represent only geodetic points.
  • a geodetic point in the Natural Area Coding System can be expressed by a relatively small area or region since an absolute point is the limit of an infinitely small area or region. That is, a NAC has both functions: representing an area or a region and representing a geodetic point. This is a very important property of a NAC, from which many applications of the Natural Area Coding System originate.
  • the NAC of a region that contains a geodetic point expressed by the longitude, latitude and altitude coordinates in the WGS-84 system[1] can in the preferred embodiment be determined by the following algorithm:
  • Arctan ( ) is the arctangent function with value in degrees
  • R is the distance from the earth center in km along the gravitational force line to the geoid surface and can be approximated by the earth radius at the location:
  • N a/sqrtd - e 2 * sin 2 (Latitude) )
  • a is the semi-major earth axis (ellipsoid equatorial radius) equal to 6378.1370 km
  • b is the semi-minor earth axis (ellipsoid polar radius) equal to 6356.7523 km
  • sqrt f) is the square root function
  • sin () and cos () are triangular functions
  • the symbol / is the division sign.
  • NAC Natural Area Code of the region is written as NAC: X 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 . . . Y X Y 2 Y 3 Y 4 . . . ZjZ 2 Z 3 Z 4 . . . with a blank space between any two character strings.
  • the first character string of a NAC represents longitude
  • the second string represents latitude
  • the third represents altitude. If a NAC has only two character strings, then the NAC represents an area on the earth surface and the two character strings represent the longitude and latitude respectively, as defined in the beginning of this section.
  • NAC: 8KD8 PGGK represents a 25 by 50 meter area in the White House
  • NAC: 8KD8 PGGK H000 represents a region 25 meters wide, 50 meters long and 25 meters high measured from the geoid surface under the White House.
  • the number of characters to be used in a character string of a NAC representing the geodetic point is determined by the required resolution or the resolution of the original coordinates of the longitude, latitude and altitude.
  • a NAC using more characters represents a smaller area or region.
  • the smallest area or region containing the geodetic point is the one of the size equal to the error range of the coordinates. Therefore, when a NAC is used to represent a geodetic point, it has both the information of the location and its error range.
  • a group of neighboring NAC blocks can be represented by a simplified notation.
  • two earth surface areas of NAC: HJ KL and NAC: HK KL can be represented by NAC: HJ-K KL.
  • Four areas of NAC: HJ KL, NAC: HK KL, NAC: HJ KM, NAC: HK KM can be expressed by NAC: HJ-K KL-M.
  • a group NAC such as NAC: HJ KO-Z can be simplified as NAC: HJ K since 0-Z covers all NAC cells in its higher level division.
  • NACs of areas or regions may have different characters and the symbol "-" in their character string such as NAC: 1 2 3, NAC: IK 2 3, NAC: 1J-L 2H 3K, NAC: HJKL-Q GTFFD-H BGHV-Z, NAC: D H, NAC: DFHJ HG-GH, NAC: DF-H HG-K, NAC: 1234 KHJL.
  • NAC Natural Area Coding System very efficient in representing an area or a region of any size and any longitudinal span, latitudinal span and altitudinal span anywhere on the earth surface or anywhere in the universe. Therefore, using a NAC to represent a geodetic point, an area on the earth or a region is the most efficient way compared with using all other systems and can save more than 50% of characters or computer memory in representing geodetic information.
  • the longitude, latitude and altitude of the soiled lower corner of the region can be calculated by the following procedure:
  • Altitude R*tan ( (z 1 /30+z 2 /30 2 +z 3 /30 3 -rz 4 /30 4 -r . . . ) *90) -R
  • the northeastern upper corner of the region can be calculated by repeating the same procedure with the same integers except adding 1 to the integer corresponding to the last character of the longitude and latitude strings of the NAC.
  • the coordinates of the center of the region are the averages of the corresponding coordinates of these two corners. Then, the region can be completely determined by the coordinates of these three geodetic points.
  • AT (a -a 2 ) *24/360 where the positive value means area 1 has the day starting ⁇ T hours earlier than area 2.
  • the NAC global postal code system has been developed as the first application of the Natural Area Coding System.
  • a standard NAC global postal code is an eight-character two-dimensional Natural Area Code representing an area about 25 by 50 meters anywhere on the earth surface.
  • the global postal code for an individual house or an apartment is defined by the following:
  • the global postal code of each house in the area is the NAC plus a locally defined third character string which people may define themselves using a family name, a location name or a name of their choice.
  • the locally defined third string employ characters from digits or English capital letters, have at least one vowel other than "I” or "0", not include blank spaces, and be unique in the area, for example, NAC: 7HGG KJ9L DAVID.
  • the requirement of at least one vowel other than "I” and "0” is to distinguish the third string from the altitude NAC string which does not include any vowels: "A", W E", "I", "0", “U”, “Y” .
  • the characters "I” and “0” are so similar in appearance to "1” and "0”; that they may not be clear enough to distinguish the locally defined string from the altitude string.
  • the global postal code for each apartment is the NAC plus a locally defined string such as an apartment number named in a way similar to case (b) , for example, NAC: HGJK PLLT A509.
  • a NAC represents an area split by a postal zone border, and a house is located in the larger part of the area, then the global postal code of the house is the NAC or the NAC plus a locally defined string; if a house is completely within the smaller part of the area, then its global postal code may be a nine- or ten-character NAC to specify the location of the house more accurately, instead of an eight-character NAC; if a house in the smaller part of the area occupies part of another NAC area called B which belongs to the same postal zone as the house and is not split by any postal zone borders, then the global postal code of the house is the NAC of area B or the NAC of area B plus a locally defined third string.
  • the global postal code of the house may be a nine- or ten-character NAC representing the location of its main entrance.
  • the global postal code may be included in an address on a letter as extra information immediately no matter how many post offices have already started sorting mail based on the codes. If some post offices have been sorting mail based on the codes, a letter with a NAC global postal code can be sent faster.
  • the written convention of the global postal code on a letter is to write the global postal code on an extra line at the bottom of the current address and domestic postal codes no matter what kind of language and address order are used. For example:
  • NAC global postal code One of the algorithms for computers to sort mail based on the NAC global postal code is explained in the following:
  • the software can be programmed according to the following procedure:
  • the mail sorting program may first calculate the distance R between the destination and the reference point of the area, then compare R with the maximum distance R max from any point in the area to the reference point. If R > R max , then the destination is outside the area. If R ⁇ R max , then the program can compare R with the minimum distance R vinyl in from any boundary node to the reference point. If R ⁇ R m i n , then the destination is within the area. If R > R m i n , the program has to calculate the angle ⁇ of the vector from the reference point to the destination. Assume that each boundary node is represented by the angle and length of the vector from the reference point to the boundary node.
  • the program can find out two boundary nodes: the vector from the reference point to one of the nodes has a length R 2 and angle ⁇ 2 equal to the maximum angle smaller than O ; the vector from the reference point to the other node has a length R 2 and an angle ⁇ 2 equal to the minimum angle larger than ⁇ .
  • the program can determine that the destination is within the area if Ri *R *sin ( - 0L ⁇ ⁇ ) + R *R 2 *si n (a 2 - a) ⁇ R 1 *R 2 *s i n (a 2 - a 2 ) , otherwise it is outside the area.
  • the mail sorting software based on this algorithm can work together with the existing structure of post offices and help sort all mail from the international level to the final address automatically. Moreover, since the current distribution structure of postal corporations may not be optimal, this mail sorting program also allows the post offices to adjust their mail transportation routes to send mail more efficiently. For example, Canada Post Corporation may set up more international postal terminals, then other countries can send mail to a specific Canadian postal terminal if the distance from the mail destination to the terminal is the shortest. This adjustment can prevent some situations such as a letter from Seattle to Vancouver being sent through New York City and Toronto and then to Vancouver - an unnecessary long trip which wastes both time and money.
  • NAC global postal code system has many other advantages over current postal code systems:
  • NAC global postal code is assigned to every mailing address in the world, with much higher resolution than any other postal codes. With a NAC global postal code, a letter can be sorted from the world level to the final address automatically.
  • the code is permanently attached to the area and never changes. This quality can prevent unnecessary inconvenience to both the user and the post office wasting of time and money and resulting loss of mail.
  • NAC global postal code need not be assigned by a post office, which can help people living in newly developed areas to get their postal services immediately. * The code can be used instead of the domestic postal code to save costs in revising and publishing postal code books and postal zone atlases periodically.
  • the code can be used for all other services related to addresses such as emergency services, taxi and delivery services, and in the future, telephone, fax and internet services.
  • the code can be obtained from maps with the NAC grid or by Global Positioning System (GPS) units with the NAC display. It can also be derived from the longitude and latitude coordinates obtained from ordinary maps or measured by other methods.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • the codes can be used to determine the distance and natural time difference between any two addresses and their relative locations in the world.
  • the code can be directly used in navigation to find addresses or locations by ambulances, trucks, airplanes and individuals equipped with GPS units.
  • the code can help people to pinpoint an address on a map of the NAC grid conveniently in spite of the amount of detail and the scale of the map, which can help people to determine the environment and climate of an address.
  • the code has certain self-error-detecting function. There is a greater than 80% chance for a computerized mail sorting program to quickly identify a wrong NAC global postal code since a random NAC may represent an area in oceans where no one lives . This property can avoid most mail with the wrong code being sent to the wrong place.
  • NAC global postal codes can also help people to understand, interpret and communicate all geographic, geologic, ecological, meteorological, oceanographic, archeological, environmental and astronomic information represented by Natural Area Codes.
  • a possible disadvantage is that a NAC global postal code can only be sorted efficiently by computers but not by human beings due to the handling of postal zone boundary files.
  • the continuous decrease of computer prices have made computers cheaper and cheaper, and most post offices in developed countries already have the ability to buy computerized mail sorting equipment .
  • a new efficient, reliable and low-cost emergency address dispatching and locating system has been developed based on the Natural Area Coding System.
  • the principle of the system can be applied to both the map-based address dispatching system and the computerized address dispatching system.
  • Both systems uses the Natural Area Codes of addresses to dispatch addresses and let the emergency caller or the telephone company directly supply the NAC of an address at which emergency services are required, since the NAC is so useful that everybody will know it and telephone company's address databases will include it.
  • the address dispatching staff can find the address by using a map with the NAC grid directly. Then they can inform the emergency station closest to the address and tell them the address and its NAC.
  • the address and its NAC may be transmitted electronically by the telephone company to the emergency address dispatching computer directly and the computer will forward electronically all the information automatically to the emergency station closest to the address using the information supplied by the NAC. Equipped with a map of the NAC grid or a computerized map of the NAC grid with a route optimization function, the driver of the emergency vehicle can use the NAC to find out the exact address on the map and figure out the best route to reach the location immediately. Since the driver knows the address exactly, he/she does not need to check street names and numbers frequently and does not need any dispatching center's guidance. If the driver is equipped with a GPS unit with the NAC display, the process will be even more reliable and efficient, especially for an air ambulance.
  • the system can overcome all the problems of current map-based and computerized address dispatching systems. Moreover, this system will also save all the money invested in the large address database set-up and maintenance. Therefore, it is a more reliable, efficient and cost-effective address dispatching and locating system.
  • This system still works efficiently without computers since the NAC of an address can be very conveniently found on maps of the NAC grid. Equipped with maps of the NAC grid, the address dispatching center and emergency vehicle driver can dispatch and locating addresses based on the NAC of an address told by the emergency caller. This property can help developing countries to set up an efficient and low cost emergency address dispatching system.
  • the NAC map grid system uses specifically selected constant longitude lines and constant latitude lines to form grid cells.
  • the first level grid lines in the south- north direction are the lines on which their constant longitude equals to Longitude West 180°, 168°, 156°, 144°, 132°, 120°, 108°, 96°, 84°, 72°, 60°, 48°, 36°, 24°, 12°, 0°, and Longitude East 12°, 24°, 36°, 48°, 60°, 72°, 84°, 96°, 108°, 120°, 132°, 144°, 156°, 168°, respectively.
  • the first level grid lines in the east-west direction are the line on which their constant latitude equals to Latitude South 90°, 84°, 78°, 72°, 66°, 60°, 54°, 48°, 42°, 36°, 30°, 24°, 18°, 12°, 6°, 0°, Latitude North 6°, 12°, 18°, 24°, 30°, 36°, 42°, 48°, 54°, 60°, 66°, 72°, 78°, 84°, 90°, respectively.
  • NAC 0 0 is the NAC grid coordinates of the first cell bounded by lines of constant longitude: Longitude West 180°, Longitude West 168°, and constant latitude: Latitude South 90° and
  • the first 0 in the NAC grid coordinates represents its longitude coordinate and the second 0 represents its latitude coordinate.
  • the second level of the NAC grid is formed by dividing the cell of a first level cell uniformly into 30 subdivisions in both longitudinal and latitudinal directions, each of which is assigned one NAC character as the relative coordinate in both directions respectively, so is the third and other NAC grid levels.
  • This definition of the NAC map grid system is equivalent to the algorithm in the definition of the Natural Area Coding System.
  • These grids can be applied to all maps such as a world map, country map, province map, city map and local community map, or maps for specific purposes. Examples of two such maps, namely a world map showing the major grid lines and a map of a section of Toronto, Ontario, Canada illustrating a grid at the third level are shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively.
  • the resultant grid coordinates are of universal meaning, simplicity (an eight-character NAC specifically for a less than 25 by 50 meter area anywhere in the world) and multiple use. So, the NAC grid coordinates can become an important part of an address and everybody will like to keep them together with an address.
  • a map can be efficiently used to pinpoint any addresses with NACs and it is not necessary to look up the street from an street name alphabetic list and search for the street number along the street.
  • the NACs of two addresses anywhere in the world can be used to calculate their distance and their natural time difference and determine their relative locations.
  • Maps of the NAC cells can be named by their Natural Area Codes and stored systematically in a map library according to the NAC character order, which may make it more convenient to use the maps.
  • the Natural Area Coding System has created a simple, systematic and unique universal code called NAC for every area of any size anywhere on the earth and every three-dimensional region of any size anywhere in the universe, all the data associated with areas or regions can be very well organized, stored and retrieved.
  • the NAC geographic information management system stores geographic data according to the NAC character order as shown in the Table of the N ⁇ C character and integer correspondences .
  • a NAC geographic information database for the whole earth surface may contain two main directories.
  • the first main directory is a data directory which contains a feature directory containing files of continents, countries, oceans, deserts, forests, transportation networks, and other global features. This main directory also contains the first level subdirectories named by the NACs of the first level NAC cells.
  • a first level subdirectory contains a feature directory containing files of country boundaries, rivers, lakes, and other features of the cell, and also contains the second level subdirectories named by the NACs of the second level NAC cells. This structure can continue to provide as much detail as required.
  • the name of a subdirectory named by a NAC consists of the longitude string and latitude string of the NAC linked by the sign "_" .
  • the geographic coordinates are represented by the NACs with length suitable to the required resolution.
  • the second main directory is the index directory which contains an index file listing the names of global identities alphabetically such as countries, continents, oceans, forests and deserts with their sequence codes, and also contains the first level subdirectories named by the sequence codes.
  • a first level subdirectory for a country contains an index file with the first line listing the NACs of the areas covering the country and the following lines listing its province or state names alphabetically with their sequence codes, and it also contains the second level subdirectories named by the province or state sequence codes.
  • a second level subdirectory is constructed similarly, as is a third level subdirectory. The structure can continue to provide as much detail as required.
  • a first level subdirectory for an ocean, a desert, a forest, or other global natural identity can be constructed in a way similar to the first level subdirectory for a country provided the names of provinces or states are replaced by regional natural identities of the global natural identity.
  • the NAC geographic information system user interface may have a graphics window for displaying a map and a column of tool icons for a user to use a mouse or other positioning device to add or remove some features to the map and select locations of interest to zoom in or out.
  • the screen may also have text input boxes for a user to input the name of a country or the NAC of an interesting area. If a country name is input, the software will go to the index directory to find out the sequence code of the country from the index file, and then go to the subdirectory named by the sequence code to get the NACs of the country from its index file. Using the NACs of the country, the software can go to the data directory to find out the subdirectories named by the NACs and display the country boundary on the screen.
  • the user can also add or remove other features to or from the country map. From this point, the user can also retrieve a map by inputting a province or state name or a NAC. If a user inputs a NAC in a text box, then the software will directly go to the data directory to retrieve the map represented by the NAC. This is very convenient for a user to go to a map of interest because they need input only a very short NAC which contains the information of both where and what size the area is. This function is much more efficient than a mouse driven zooming function and the text input of a political identity.
  • a NAC geodetic information management system for a three-dimensional database can be constructed in a way similar to a NAC geographic information management system for the earth surface, using the NACs of three-dimensional NAC geodetic blocks instead of two-dimensional NAC geographic cells as the directory names.
  • the three- dimensional system will be very useful to geologists, oceanographists, meteorologists, miners, earth and space scientists.
  • the NAC geographic and geodetic information management system has the following advantages over all current GIS's:
  • NAC geographic and geodetic information management system
  • all geographic or geodetic coordinates are saved in NACs which needs much fewer characters than other geographic or geodetic coordinates such as (longitude, latitude, height) and UTM coordinates.
  • NAC geographic and geodetic information management system
  • all geographic or geodetic coordinates are saved in NACs which needs much fewer characters than other geographic or geodetic coordinates such as (longitude, latitude, height) and UTM coordinates.
  • an eight-character NAC represents a geodetic point with the resolution to 1.6 seconds in longitude and 0.8 seconds in latitude which requires at least 15 characters represented by longitude and latitude coordinates.
  • the NAC cells are not specific for political identities, so they include all the neighboring areas of a political identity. In addition, they are never overlapped on each other but shared by all political identities with a part on them. Therefore, the NAC geographic information management system can link geographic information between political identities easily by displaying the neighboring areas of a political identity but does not need the map overlaps.
  • the system can also help users to store their own geographic data into the database efficiently if it includes a function for users to view and edit the database since the database structure is so systematic that any geographic data can be saved as a feature file under the directory named by the NAC of the area. Therefore, a NAC geographic information management system is a progressive system which can be updated by users all the time.
  • the NAC geographic and geodetic information management system is an economic, efficient and user friendly geographic and geodetic information system.
  • the NAC navigation system comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit with a NAC display and NAC input keyboard and/or a map with the NAC grid or a NAC geographic information management system.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • the GPS unit can directly show the WGS-84 geodetic coordinates (longitude, latitude, height) by analyzing the signal from a series of satellites. It originates from military use but has started its civil services now. Many airplanes, ships and trucks have already been equipped with GPS units which can help them locate their current locations and destinations, and measure their moving speeds. Some explorers, hikers and hunters are using GPS units too. The price of a GPS unit has dropped from thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars and its weight and volume have decreased significantly too. A hand-held GPS unit may weigh less than a kilo, is as small as a wallet and costs only several hundred dollars, but can tell the universal coordinates of a location with an error less than 100 meters. The trend of the GPS unit development has shown that in the near future, it will be even cheaper and smaller and may become a necessary tool of everybody to tell the location like a watch to tell the time.
  • the Natural Area Code of an address can help. It is short and logical which has all the functions of any other global geodetic coordinates and can be easily obtained, remembered and used, and can become a necessary part of an address.
  • the GPS unit may directly show the distance from the current location to the destination and its relative orientation.
  • the destination can also be easily located and marked on a map with the NAC grid, and the starting point, the path of the trip and the destination point on a map of the NAC grid or a digital map with the NAC grid in a computer may be located and marked before the trip.
  • the user can also draw the actual path on the map during the trip and make the analysis after the trip.
  • the Natural Area Coding System may be utilized to create all codes, numbers and addresses related to a location for telecommunication.
  • a NAC telecommunication address code can be constructed in the same way as the NAC global postal code and in most situations the NAC telecommunication code is exactly the same as its NAC global postal code if there is only one telecommunication unit in the address or the telecommunication unit has been integrated by a computer which can automatically connect different signals to their corresponding equipment such as a telephone, fax, television set or the computer file receiver.
  • people can assign a unique locally defined third string to every unit to generate its telecommunication address code.
  • a NAC telecommunication code is an eight- character NAC plus a locally defined third string. But for a cellular phone or other large range valid tele ⁇ communication services, the address code may comprises only one unique user defined string, or a two-, .four- or six- character NAC plus a unique user defined third string within the corresponding area.
  • a cellular phone address code comprising only a user defined string is a global valid address code which can be recognized and used anywhere in the world.
  • a cellular phone address code comprising a NAC plus a user defined string will be valid within the area defined by the NAC.
  • a shorter NAC plus a user defined third string will be valid in a larger area.
  • Large international companies may use globally valid cellular phone codes, while small local companies may utilize cellular phone codes valid within small areas.
  • the telecommunication address code system can be used efficiently on a new telephone set on which it has keys of all digits and English letters together with several function keys: a space key, a hyphen "-" key, an Enter key and some other function keys.
  • the NAC telephone set is preferably provided with a display window to display the codes and an erasing key for correcting wrong characters during the input. It may also be provided with a function key for the user to display the distance between the caller and the receiver and to show the price of the call before the user presses Enter. Therefore, the caller can make a decision whether to make the call or not before pressing Enter.
  • NAC telephone set should be the same as those of a computer keyboard, which may help produce an integrated computer system for phones, faxes, and internet services in the near future.
  • a person may use two keys "*" and "#" as the prefix of each NAC character string and two digits to represent a NAC integer corresponding to a NAC character and press "*" and "*" to enter the code.
  • NAC integer 0-9 would be replaced by 00-09 respectively.
  • these alphabetic indicators can be utilized to input the alphabetic characters of the NAC. If the character in the NAC string is a number, then the number key alone is pressed. If the character in the string is a letter, then the "*" is first pressed followed by the numeric key for the indicated letter. Thus, for example, if the NAC character is a B, the "*" is pressed first followed by the "2" key pressed twice. As each of the numeric keys on a telephone keypad have multiple letters associated with them, the key is pressed a number of times to correspond to the position in the string of letters associated with the key. Thus, for example, the "2" key has letters A, B and C associated with it.
  • the "2" key is pressed once, if it is a B, it is pressed twice and if it is a C, it is pressed three times.
  • the "7" key has the indication for the letters P, R and S associated with it, however, letter Q could be added to the string in its natural position such that four letters, P, Q, R and S would be associated with the "7” key or it may be added to the end of the string such that one would press “7” once for P; press “7” twice for R, press “7” three times for S and four times for Q.
  • NAC telephone set to call an old telephone number, it is generally preferred that it be set up to press the letter key "0", then input the number and press Enter.
  • the NAC telecommunication address codes and current telephone numbers can work compatibly and the old system may be allowed to gradually be replaced by the NAC system.
  • NAC address codes telephone cables, TV cables and Internet cables can be easily integrated into one telecommunication network, and their capacity and efficiency can be maximized.
  • a NAC plus a user-defined string can be used for both local and international postal services, emergency services, delivery services, telephone and fax, cable TV and internet and other telecommunication services .
  • the public can be released from managing continually increased addresses and codes.
  • the Natural Area Coding System is a useful and powerful system that is capable of integrating almost all address code systems and makes all address related services much more efficient than current systems. Moreover, the system generates simple coordinates for geodetic points, simple and systematic codes for all areas of any size and any longitudinal and latitudinal spans on the earth surface and all three-dimensional regions of any size and any longitudinal, latitudinal and altitudinal spans, and possesses uses of all current geodetic and geographic grid and coordinate systems.
  • Natural Area Coding System as the universal geographic and geodetic reference system which can greatly accelerate the exchange of all information related to the earth and the universe and help not only the professional people but also the whole population of the world to understand and use the information from the science and engineering related to the physical world, such as geology, geography, meteorology, oceanography, ecology, environmental science, space science, archeology, natural resources, mining and exploration, transportation and statistics.
  • the Natural Area Coding System is a multi-use geographic and geodetic coding system which can help people to manage continually increased addresses, codes and numbers, and supplies simple and systematic universal codes for all geodetic points, all areas on the earth and all regions in the universe. Due to so many advantages over other systems, the Natural Area Coding System will automatically become the universal geodetic reference system for geography, geology, oceanography, meteorology and astronomy and help people to record, retrieve, interpret, present and communicate geographic, geologic, ecological, oceanographic, meteorological and astronomic information. The world wide application of the system can greatly benefit every individual in the world.
  • the character set utilizes 30 characters, namely the digits 0-9 and the consonants of the English alphabet, other character set sizes of from 26 to 36 could be utilized.
  • the utilization of the 30 digits of the preferred embodiment provides a further advantage in that the possibility of generating strings in the NAC which would affront public morality or social customs is reduced as the strings would contain no vowels.
  • the number of characters in each of the character strings can also be varied as described above to increase the resolution of coding system and desired application. For example, with the 30 character set of the preferred embodiment, 5 character strings would give a resolution of less than 2 meters by 1 meter at the earth's surface. However, for most applications, 4 character strings are to be preferred.

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Abstract

Système de codage géodésique basé sur les coordonnées de longitude et de latitude. Le système comprend une chaîne de caractères constituée de n caractères pour la longitude et une deuxième chaîne de caractères constituée de n caractères pour la latitude d'un site donné. Chacun des caractères de chaque chaîne est choisi parmi un certain nombre de caractères possibles. Le code géodésique peut être obtenu d'une manière générale en utilisant l'algorithme ci-dessus, dans lequel: Longitude=180+longitude est ou 180-longitude ouest; ou Longitude=longitude est ou 360-longitude ouest; ou Longitude=180+longitude ouest ou 180-longitude est; ou Longitude=longitude ouest ou 360-longitude est; et Latitude=90+latitude nord ou 90-latitude sud; ou Latitude=90+latitude sud ou 90-latitude nord; F($(1,3)$) = entier le plus proche de ($(1,3)$) avec x0=y0=0.5, ou, entier compris dans ($(1,3)$) avec x0=y0=0; (a) réalise la somme des membres seulement lorsque q>1, sinon (a) vaut zéro. A est le nombre de caractères dans la série de caractères. n et m correspondent aux nombres de caractères dans les chaînes de caractères de longitude et de latitude. Le code résultant sera X1X2X3...Xn Y1Y2...Ym, où X1, X2, ..., Xn sont les symboles de code géodésique correspondant aux entiers x1, x2, ..., xn, de même Y1, Y2, ..., Ym. Selon le mode de réalisation préférentiel, m et n valent 4 et A vaut 30 en utilisant les dix chiffres, de 0 à 9, ainsi que les consonnes capitales de l'alphabet anglais comme jeu de caractères, ce qui permet d'obtenir un code à 8 caractères pour n'importe quelle zone à lasurface de la terre n'exédant pas 50 mètres dans le sens de la longitude et 25 mètres dans le sens de la latitude.
PCT/CA1995/000496 1994-08-31 1995-08-31 Systeme de codage geodesique WO1996007170A1 (fr)

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NL1025704C2 (nl) * 2004-03-12 2005-09-13 Ptt Post Holdings Bv Werkwijze en inrichting voor sorteren van post.
US7302343B2 (en) 2003-07-31 2007-11-27 Microsoft Corporation Compact text encoding of latitude/longitude coordinates
WO2011073965A1 (fr) * 2009-12-16 2011-06-23 Loc8 Code Limited Procédé de navigation utilisant des codes de localisation géographique
US20110208427A1 (en) * 2010-02-25 2011-08-25 Peter S. Brennan Location Identification Systems and Methods
CN102496332A (zh) * 2011-12-15 2012-06-13 北京易华录信息技术股份有限公司 一种基于地理位置的道路信息编码系统及其编码方法
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CN113345045A (zh) * 2021-06-10 2021-09-03 西安恒歌数码科技有限责任公司 一种基于osgEarth的跨越正负180经度的标绘方法及系统
CN114490895A (zh) * 2021-11-10 2022-05-13 谢开章 基于前端界面的说明地址获取方法、系统及电子装置

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Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0984375A3 (fr) * 1998-09-04 2001-03-21 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Appareil de mise à disposition d'informations pour lier des informations cartographiques et personnelles au moyen de codes postaux
USRE43923E1 (en) 2000-09-22 2013-01-15 Tierravision, Inc. Method for organizing and compressing spatial data
US7302343B2 (en) 2003-07-31 2007-11-27 Microsoft Corporation Compact text encoding of latitude/longitude coordinates
NL1025704C2 (nl) * 2004-03-12 2005-09-13 Ptt Post Holdings Bv Werkwijze en inrichting voor sorteren van post.
US10244361B1 (en) 2004-09-07 2019-03-26 Tierravision, Inc. System and method of wireless downloads of map and geographic based data to portable computing devices
WO2011073965A1 (fr) * 2009-12-16 2011-06-23 Loc8 Code Limited Procédé de navigation utilisant des codes de localisation géographique
US20110208427A1 (en) * 2010-02-25 2011-08-25 Peter S. Brennan Location Identification Systems and Methods
CN102496332A (zh) * 2011-12-15 2012-06-13 北京易华录信息技术股份有限公司 一种基于地理位置的道路信息编码系统及其编码方法
WO2015047327A1 (fr) * 2013-09-27 2015-04-02 Olsen Michael A Systèmes d'adressage international
CN113345045A (zh) * 2021-06-10 2021-09-03 西安恒歌数码科技有限责任公司 一种基于osgEarth的跨越正负180经度的标绘方法及系统
CN114490895A (zh) * 2021-11-10 2022-05-13 谢开章 基于前端界面的说明地址获取方法、系统及电子装置

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