POINTING THE CAR TOWARD MECCA
Teresa Riordan, New York Times, 11/10/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/10/technology/10patent.html
The Koran requires Muslims to pray five times a day while facing Mecca, the
birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Traditionally muezzins climb the
minarets of mosques to call out prayer time, but in the modern world the
devout are not always within earshot.
Frank Deworetzki, an inventor for Mannesmann, in Frankfurt, offers a
solution. Two weeks ago Mr. Deworetzki patented a navigational system for
automobiles that not only shows the driver where he or she is headed but
also shows the direction of Mecca at all times.
Moreover, the system can be programmed to play prayer calls at the
appropriate times. During Ramadan, the month of daytime religious fasting,
which begins today in the United States, the system alerts drivers to the
time of sunrise and sunset, wherever they may be. Mr. Deworetzki could not
be reached for comment, and the system does not seem to be available yet.
It is patent No.6,633,813.
David M. Thimmig, the patent lawyer who shepherded the application through
the patent office for Siemens, which owns Mannesmann, said the patent was
much broader than simply a way to know the location of Mecca…
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