Golf gps device with approximate hole cup location selection

Abstract

The disclosure herein provides a golf GPS device with a hole cup location selection mechanism which displays a plurality of selectable hole cup locations for selection by a user. When the user selects one of the plurality of selectable hole cup locations, the golf GPS device provides the user with a number representative of the distance between the user and the selected one of the plurality of selectable hole cup locations.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device comprising:
 a GPS module configured to receive GPS signals; and   a display configured to display information thereon;   at least one user interface configured to receive user inputs,   wherein the device is configured:
 to determine a current geographical position of the device based on the GPS signals received by the GPS module, 
 to display, on the display, a graphical representation of a green of a hole of a golf course and a plurality of features along with the graphical representation of the green, wherein the plurality of features comprises a first feature visually indicating a first point or area on the graphical representation of the green and a second feature visually indicating a second point or area on the graphical representation of the green, 
 to receive, via the at least one user interface, a user input for selecting one of the plurality of features that are displayed on the display, and 
 in response to a user input for selecting one of the plurality of features, to compute a distance between the current geographical location of the device and a geographical location corresponding to the feature selected by the user input such that if the first feature is selected, a first distance between the current geographical location of the device and a first geographical location corresponding to the first feature is computed. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein if the second feature is selected, the device is configured to compute a second distance between the current geographical location of the device and a second geographical location corresponding to the second feature. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein in response to a user input for selecting one of the plurality of features, the device is configured to highlight the selected feature, wherein subsequent to computing the distance, the device is configured to display the computed distance on the display. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to toggle through the plurality of features in response to a series of user inputs via the at least one user interface. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 4 , wherein the device is configured to toggle through the plurality of features in a predetermined order in response to a series of user inputs via the at least one user interface such that upon receipt of each user input, one of the plurality of features is selected according to the predetermined order, the selected feature is highlighted, and the distance between the current geographical location and the geographical location corresponding to the selected feature is displayed. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to highlight one of the plurality of features for immediate selection of the highlighted feature, wherein upon the user's command, the device is configured to de-highlight the highlighted feature and to highlight another one of the plurality of features in a predetermined sequence. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green, wherein the first feature comprises an iconic representation placed over the first point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the second feature comprises an iconic representation placed over the second point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the first point or area is distinct from and does not overlap the second point or area. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green, wherein the first feature comprises an iconic representation linked, via an indicating line, to the first point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the second feature comprises an iconic representation linked, via an indicating line, to the second point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the first point or area is distinct from and does not overlap the second point or area. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green, wherein the first feature comprises a segment within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the segment is distinctly selectable from other segments presented within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green and a space inside the boundary, wherein the space inside the boundary is partitioned into a plurality of segments comprising a first segment and a second segment, wherein the first segment corresponds to the first geographical location. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the first feature is selected from the group consisting of an iconic representation placed over the first segment, an iconic representation linked to the first segment by an indicating line and a graphical element outlining of a boundary the first segment. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one memory and golf course data stored in the at least one memory, wherein the golf course data comprises a subset of data enabling to present, on the display, the graphical representation of the green and the plurality of features along with the graphical representation of the green. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the first geographical location corresponding to the first feature is predetermined and stored in the at least one memory. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the first geographical location corresponding to the first feature is not predetermined and is determined when the device is physically located in the golf course. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to display, along with the graphical representation of the green, a third one of the plurality of features visually indicating a third point or area on the graphical representation of the green and a fourth one of the plurality of features visually indicating a fourth point or area on the graphical representation of the green. 
     
     
         16 . A method of operating the electronic device of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 displaying, on the display, the graphical representation of a green of a hole of a golf course and a plurality of features along with the graphical representation of the green, wherein the plurality of features comprises the first feature visually indicating the first point or area on the graphical representation of the green, the second feature visually indicating the second point or area on the graphical representation of the green, and a third feature visually indicating a third point or area on the graphical representation of the green   subsequently receiving a user input for selecting the first feature;   subsequently, computing the first distance between the current geographical position of the device and the first geographical location corresponding to the first feature; and   subsequently displaying the first distance on the display.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green, wherein the first feature comprises an iconic representation placed over the first point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the second feature comprises an iconic representation placed over the second point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the first point or area is distinct from and does not overlap the second point or area. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green, wherein the first feature comprises an iconic representation linked, via an indicating line, to the first point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the second feature comprises an iconic representation linked, via an indicating line, to the second point or area within the graphical element representing the boundary of the green, wherein the first point or area is distinct from and does not overlap the second point or area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the graphical representation of the green comprises a graphical element representing a boundary of the green and a space inside the boundary, wherein the space inside the boundary is partitioned into a plurality of segments comprising a first segment and a second segment, wherein the first segment corresponds to the first geographical location, wherein the first feature is selected from the group consisting of an iconic representation placed over the first segment, an iconic representation linked to the first segment by an indicating line and a graphical element outlining of a boundary the first segment. 
     
     
         20 . An electronic device comprising:
 a GPS module configured to receive GPS signals;   a display configured to display information thereon; and   at least one user interface configured to receive a user inputs,   wherein the device is configured:
 to determine a current geographical position of the device based on the GPS signals received by the GPS module, 
 to display, on the display, a graphical element representing a boundary of a green of a hole of a golf course and a plurality of features along with the graphical element, wherein the plurality of features comprises a first feature visually indicating a first point or area inside the boundary of the green, a second feature visually indicating a second point or area inside the boundary of the green, a third feature visually indicating a third point or area inside the boundary of the green, a fourth feature visually indicating a fourth point or area inside the boundary of the green, and a fifth feature visually indicating a fifth point or area inside the boundary of the green, wherein the first, second, third, fourth and fifth positions or areas are distributed across a space inside the boundary of the green such that one of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth positions or areas is closer to a hole cup of the green than the others, 
 to compute a distance between the current geographical location of the device and a geographical location corresponding to each of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth features, 
 to display the computed distance of for each of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth features along with each corresponding one of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth features, 
 to receive, via the at least one user interface, a user input for selecting one of the plurality of features that are displayed on the display, and 
 in response to a user input for selecting one of the plurality of features, to highlight the selected feature.