JP2006284675A - Map display apparatus and map display method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display apparatus and a map display method by which a user can easily recognize how much a road map of bird's-eye view display has been scrolled from a prescribed position. <P>SOLUTION: When the road map 41 is scrolled, both ends of the horizon 43 move downward while maintaining its position to pass through a reference point 51. At this time, the horizon 43 is deformed with its circular arc shape maintained. As a result, the horizon 43 bends. This downward moving amount k becomes large in proportion to scroll amount, that is, the moving distance of a display area of the road map before the scroll and after the scroll. Thus, as the scroll amount of the road map 41 becomes larger, the bending amount of the horizon 43 becomes larger. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map display device and a map display method for displaying a road map displayed in a bird's eye view.

As a conventional technique for scrolling a bird's eye view, the following map image processing apparatus is known. A two-dimensional map image of a larger area than the area of the two-dimensional map image corresponding to the bird's eye view display area is drawn and stored in the memory. At the time of scroll display, a part of the two-dimensional map image stored in the memory is sequentially read out, and the two-dimensional map image is transformed to display a bird's eye view (Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-66944 A

  In the map image processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, a road map displayed in a bird's eye view can be scrolled at high speed and smoothly. Therefore, the display area of the road map can be moved over a wide range in a short time. However, since the display area of the road map can be moved over a wide range in a short time, there is a problem that it is difficult to know how much the road map has been scrolled.

(1) In the map display device for displaying a bird's eye view road map on which a horizon line or a horizontal line is displayed on a display monitor, the invention of claim 1 calculates a scroll means for scrolling the road map and a scroll amount of the road map. Scroll amount calculation means; and deformation display means for deforming and displaying a horizon line or a horizontal line based on the scroll amount.
(2) The invention according to claim 2 is the map display device according to claim 1, wherein the deformation display means displays the horizon line or horizontal line by bending it.
(3) The invention of claim 3 is a map display method for displaying a bird's eye view road map in which a horizon or a horizon is displayed on a display monitor. When the road map is scrolled, the horizon or horizon is bent and displayed. When the scroll amount is increased, the horizon or the horizontal line is largely bent.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily grasp how much the road map displayed in the bird's eye view is scrolled from a predetermined position.

  A configuration of a navigation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The navigation device 1 in FIG. 1 displays a road map in a bird's eye view displayed from a viewpoint of a predetermined height. The navigation device 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current location detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, an input device 17, and a disk drive 18.

  The disc drive 18 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 19 on which road map data is recorded. The road map data includes road map display data, route search data, and the like. The road map display data has map data of a plurality of scales from a wide area to details, and the scale of the display map can be changed according to a passenger's request. The road map display data has building data for displaying a building or the like three-dimensionally on a map. The building data includes 3D shape data, including the number of polygons that make up the 3D, attributes that express the type of building, etc., polygon data that consists of vertex coordinate sequences to form one polygon, etc. It is. The building is displayed as a three-dimensional shape by combining a plurality of polygons stored in the building data.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. When the control circuit 11 performs a predetermined route search process based on the road map data stored in the DVD-ROM 19, the processing result is displayed on the display monitor 16 as a search route.

  The current position detection device 14 is a device that detects the current position of the vehicle. For example, a vibration gyro 14a that detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects the vehicle speed, and a GPS signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite. It consists of a GPS sensor 14c and the like. The navigation device 1 determines a display range of the road map, a route search start point, and the like based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14 and displays the current location on the road map.

  The image memory 15 stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. This image data includes road map drawing data and various graphic data, which are appropriately generated based on the road map data stored in the DVD-ROM 19 read by the disk drive 18. The navigation device 1 can display a road map on the display monitor 16 by using the image data generated in this way.

  Based on various information such as road map data, the display monitor 16 provides various information such as a road map in the vicinity of the vehicle position to the passenger of the navigation device 1 as a screen display. The input device 17 has various input switches for the occupant to set a destination and the like, which is realized by an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. The occupant can scroll the road map displayed on the display monitor 16 by operating the input device 17. The occupant operates the input device 17 in accordance with the screen instructions displayed on the display monitor 16 to specify a place name and a position on the map, set a destination, and search the route to the destination in the navigation device 1. Can be started.

  When the destination is set by the occupant, the navigation apparatus 1 performs a route calculation from the current location detected by the GPS sensor 14c to the destination based on a predetermined algorithm. The route thus obtained (hereinafter referred to as a searched route) is displayed on the screen in a manner different from other roads by changing the display form, for example, the display color. Thereby, the passenger can recognize the search route on the map on the screen. In addition, the navigation device 1 instructs the occupant to travel in the direction of travel using a screen, voice, or the like so that the vehicle can travel according to the searched route.

  The disk drive 18 reads road map data for displaying a road map on the display monitor 16 from the loaded DVD-ROM 19. The road map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  Next, an overview of a bird's eye view displayed as a road map on the display monitor 16 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the planar road map is an XY plane, the viewpoint M is placed on the Z axis orthogonal to the plane XY, the look-down angle is θ, and the spread angle is ψ. The illustrated rectangle abcd shows the display range 16a of the display monitor 16 so as to be enlarged in FIG. 3, and the trapezoid ABCD in FIG. 4 shows the road map range 22 displayed on the display monitor 16. A point o indicates the center of the rectangle abcd. Point O indicates a position corresponding to point o on the road map.

  As shown in FIG. 2, since the road map on the lower side ab side of the display range 16a of the display monitor 16 is displayed at a scale ratio larger than that of the upper side cd side, if the current location of the vehicle is displayed on the lower side ab side, Can be enlarged and displayed. Therefore, the occupant can grasp the road map information around the current location in detail, and can simultaneously grasp a wide range of road maps in the direction of the destination.

  When displaying a bird's eye view of a road map, it may be possible to store road map data in a bird's eye view display format in the DVD-ROM 19 in advance, but the amount of data becomes enormous. Therefore, the road map data stored in the DVD-ROM 19 is converted into bird's eye view data by software processing and displayed on the display monitor 16. Data conversion is performed by converting coordinates on the road map into coordinates on the display range 16a of the display monitor 16.

  Next, the scrolling of the road map displayed in the bird's-eye view displayed on the navigation device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is a display screen of the display monitor 16 when the road map 41 is not scrolled. On the display screen, in addition to the road map 41, a sky 42 is displayed in the upper quarter area of the display screen. A horizon 43 is displayed at the boundary between the road map 41 and the sky 42. The horizon 43 bends in the shape of an arc in a convex upward direction according to the scroll amount of the road map 41. In the road map 41, the vehicle position mark 45 displayed on the road 44 together with the road 44 is displayed. In addition, buildings 46 to 48 that are three-dimensionally displayed are displayed on the road map. The horizon 43 when not scrolling is a straight line.

  FIG. 4B is a display screen of the display monitor 16 when the road map 41 on which the vehicle position mark 45 is displayed is scrolled until the building 46 is displayed in front of the display screen. As the road map 41 is scrolled, the vehicle position mark 45 moves outside the road map range 22 and is not displayed. Since the road map 41 is scrolled, the horizon 41 is bent in a convex direction. FIG. 4C is a display screen of the display monitor 16 when the road map 41 is further scrolled until the building 47 is displayed in front of the display screen. Since the amount of scrolling of the road map 41 has further increased, the amount of bending of the horizon 41 is further increased.

  Next, a deflection display method of the horizon 43 of the road map displayed in the bird's eye view displayed on the navigation device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the road map 41, the sky 42, and the horizon 43 when the road map 41 is not scrolled. The horizon 43 is displayed as a straight line so as to pass through the reference point 51 located at the center of the display screen and at a quarter height from the top.

  When the road map 41 is scrolled, as shown in FIG. 5B, the horizon 43 is deformed by moving both ends thereof downward while maintaining the position passing through the reference point 51. At this time, the horizon 43 is deformed while maintaining the arc shape. As a result, the horizon 43 is displayed so as to be bent. This downward movement amount k increases in proportion to the scroll amount, that is, the movement distance of the road map range 22 of the road map before and after scrolling. Further, as both ends of the horizon 43 move downward, the area of the sky 42 also changes. As a result, an area where the sky 42 and the road map 41 overlap is displayed. If the road map 41 is also bent in order not to generate this overlapping area, it takes time to process the conversion from the road map data. Therefore, the overlapping area is displayed with the sky 42 hiding the road map 41.

  Next, the display processing of the horizon of the road map of the bird's eye view display in the navigation device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed by the control circuit 11 executing a program that starts when the occupant displays a bird's eye view road map on the display monitor 16.

  In S <b> 601, the current position detection device 14 detects the current position of the vehicle that is the vehicle position. In step S602, the road map range 22 of FIG. 2 is calculated from the current position of the vehicle, and the road map data of the road map range 22 is read. In step S603, the position coordinates of the position O on the planar road map corresponding to the center position o of the display monitor 16 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are read. In step S604, the road map data is converted into bird's eye view data. In step S605, a road map displayed in a bird's eye view is displayed on the display monitor 16.

  In step S606, the position map of the position P on the planar road map corresponding to the center position o of the display monitor 16 when the road map is scrolled is read. In step S607, the distance between the position O and the position P is calculated. The calculation of this distance corresponds to the calculation of the scroll amount. In step S608, the road map data in the road map range 22 when scrolling is read. In step S609, the road map data is converted into bird's eye view data. In step S610, the amount of downward movement of both ends of the horizon 43 is calculated based on the distance calculated in step S607. In step S611, the horizon 43 is bent by lowering both ends of the horizon 43 while maintaining the arc shape, and a road map in a bird's eye view is displayed on the display monitor 16.

  In step S612, it is determined whether scrolling has been completed, that is, whether the display screen has returned to the screen before scrolling. Whether or not the display screen has been returned is determined based on whether or not the position O and the position P are the same position. When the display returns to the display screen before scrolling, the process is terminated. When not returning, it returns to step S606.

The navigation device 1 according to the above embodiment has the following operational effects.
(1) Since the horizon of the road map is bent based on the amount of scrolling of the road map displayed in the bird's eye view, it is possible to grasp how much the road map has been scrolled by the amount of bending.
(2) There is no need to newly provide an indicator or the like for displaying how much the road map has been scrolled.
(3) The horizon displayed on the road map is easily visible to the passengers. In addition, it is possible to grasp how much the road map has been scrolled by looking at the bending of a part of the horizon without looking at the entire horizon. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention is excellent in the visibility of the scroll amount.

The above embodiment can be modified as follows.
(1) In the above embodiment, scrolling is performed without changing the display direction of the road map displayed on the display monitor 16, but scrolling is also performed when the display direction of the road map in the bird's eye view display is changed. The horizon is bent according to the amount, and the scroll amount can be grasped by the amount of bending of the horizon.
(2) In the above embodiment, the horizon is bent based on the scroll amount of the road map. However, as long as the shape of the horizon is changed based on the scroll amount of the road map, the invention is not limited to bending. For example, when the road map is scrolled, the horizon may become wavy and the number of waves may increase as the scroll amount increases.
(3) In the above embodiment, when the road map is scrolled, the horizon is deformed. However, not only the horizon but also the horizon may be deformed.

The correspondence between the elements of the claims and the embodiments will be described.
The scroll means of the present invention corresponds to the control circuit 11 and the input device 17, and the scroll amount calculation means corresponds to the control circuit 11. The deformation display means corresponds to the control circuit 11 and the display monitor 16, and the map display device corresponds to the navigation device 1. In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and when interpreting invention, it is not limited to the correspondence of the component of said embodiment and this invention at all.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of a bird's-eye view. It is the figure which expanded and displayed the viewpoint M and the rectangle abcd of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the scroll of the road map of a bird's-eye view display. It is a figure for demonstrating the bending display method of the horizon of the road map of a bird's-eye view display. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of the horizon of the road map of a bird's-eye view display.

Explanation of symbols

1 Navigation device 11 Control circuit 12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Current location detection device 15 Image memory 16 Display monitor 16a Display range of display monitor 17 Input device 18 Disk drive 19 DVD-ROM
21 Line of Sight 22 Road Map Range 41 Displayed on Display Monitor Road Map 42 Sky 43 Horizon 44 Road 45 Own Vehicle Position Marks 46-48 Building 51 Reference Point

Claims (3)

In a map display device for displaying a road map of a bird's eye view display in which a horizon or a horizon is displayed on a display monitor,
Scroll means for scrolling the road map;
Scroll amount calculating means for calculating the scroll amount of the road map;
A map display device comprising: a deformation display means for deforming and displaying the horizon line or the horizontal line based on the scroll amount. The map display device according to claim 1,
The map display device characterized in that the deformation display means bends and displays the horizon or horizon. In a map display method of displaying a road map of a bird's eye view display on which a horizon or a horizon is displayed on a display monitor,
When the road map is scrolled, the horizon or horizon is bent and displayed,
The map display method according to claim 1, wherein when the scroll amount of the road map is increased, the deflection of the horizon or the horizon is increased.

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