JP2002005672A - Map information display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a display form for displaying a plurality of map information having different reduction scales, which is easy to see and effective, taking into consideration as to not restrict the display region size. SOLUTION: After a map image of a reduction scale, corresponding to a wide region map is displayed as a main image, a detailed map area by a different reduction scale, is displayed overlapped within a display region on the main image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map information display device for displaying a map as an image based on data as map information. For example, the present invention detects the current position of a moving object and displays the current position on a map. It is suitable for a navigation device or the like having this as a main function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, navigation devices mounted on moving bodies such as automobiles have become widespread. In recent years, such a navigation device has various functions. As its basic functions, for example, it measures the current position of a moving car or the like, and determines the measured current position. The user is informed of the current position by displaying it on a map or the like.

[0003]

By the way, as a user who uses the navigation device when actually driving, for example, an intersection of a slightly ahead area in a certain wide area, or a traffic congestion state of a road. On the other hand, there is a demand for grasping fairly detailed information on the surrounding situation considered to be close to the current position. In other words, the user needs both information, that is, information in a relatively wide range based on the current position and detailed information near the current position, and further displays these information on the screen. It would be more convenient if they could be viewed simultaneously without switching. However, at present, the display of the map information in the navigation device is limited to one scale.
One map image is displayed. For this reason, it is not possible to simultaneously see and grasp the detailed information of the surroundings near the current position and the information of the surrounding wide area as described above.

Therefore, as a countermeasure, for example, the display area is divided into two on one display screen, and one map area displays a wide range of map information at a certain scale, and the other display area displays the current map information. It is possible to consider a display mode in which map information is displayed on a smaller scale so that details of a peripheral area close to the position can be understood, and a navigation device that performs map information display in such a display mode has been proposed. . However, in the case of such a display method, in order to compare the wide-range map information with the more detailed map information, the viewpoint must be moved, which is disadvantageous in that the recognition is easy. . In addition, in the case of such a display, the practicality is poor unless a plurality of display areas have a display area size that is easy to see. For example, it is practically necessary to increase the screen size of the display monitor. . As the screen size of the display monitor increases, the installation space must be increased accordingly. For example, when the display monitor is installed in a room having a limited space, it is disadvantageous.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a plurality of pieces of map information having different scales as map information including a specific reference position such as the current position of a vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a more advantageous display form of the plurality of pieces of map information in terms of viewability, display area size, and the like in a case where the map information is displayed in one display screen.

Therefore, a map information display device capable of displaying and outputting map information using the map information is configured as follows. That is, first map image data generating means for generating first map image data based on map information of a certain scale, and first map image data based on map information of a scale different from the first map image data. A second map image data generating means for generating second map image data including a reference position set on the image data; a reference position on the first map image data; Display control for superimposing and displaying the second map image data on the superimposed display area set in the display area on the first map image data after the reference position is made to correspond to the reference position Means were provided.

According to the above configuration, after displaying the first map image on a certain scale, the display area of the first map image includes a reference position such as a pointer indicating the current position. In addition, the second map image is superimposed and displayed on a scale different from that of the first map image. That is, according to the present invention, instead of displaying a plurality of pieces of map information having different scales in individual display areas, the plurality of pieces of map information are displayed in the display area of the first map image displayed on the main screen. The second map image is displayed so as to correspond to the reference position on the map.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As the map information display device of the present embodiment, for example, a case where the present invention is applied to a navigation device mounted on a moving body such as an automobile will be described. The following description will be made in the following order. 1. Navigation device 2. Map information display 2-1. Display form example 2-2. Processing operation 2-3. Modified example

1. Navigation Apparatus FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the entire navigation apparatus according to the present embodiment. The navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes, for example, a navigation body 2, a display monitor 3, a GPS antenna 5, a traffic information receiving antenna 7, an autonomous navigation unit 6, a remote controller 8, and the like. .

Although the detailed configuration of the navigation main body 2 will be described later, it is based on the map information read from the recording medium 9 reproduced inside the navigation main body 2 and the current position information.
For example, on the display screen 3a of the display monitor unit 3, the current position of the vehicle can be displayed on a map, and a drive route and navigation information serving as various guides can be displayed.

The recording medium 9 is, for example, a CD in this case.
-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DV
D-ROM (Digital Video Disk / Digital Versatile)
The disk is a disk such as a Disk-Read Only Memory, and the map information is stored as described above.

The display screen 3a of the display monitor 3
Is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like, and is displayed based on image information output from the navigation main body 2. The receiving unit 3b is a receiving unit that receives command information sent from the remote controller 8. This received information is transmitted to the navigation body 2 as described later.

Although not shown here, the navigation device of the present embodiment may be provided with an audio output unit such as a speaker. In this case, the navigation body unit 2 outputs voice navigation information such as a predetermined point (intersection), traffic congestion, right / left turn points, and wrong route directions to the voice output unit. , A warning sound or a guide sound can be output.

A GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 5 is provided for receiving radio waves from a GPS satellite, for example. The radio wave received by the GPS antenna 5 is demodulated as received data and taken into the navigation main body 2, and is used for measuring the current position of the own vehicle as described later.

The traffic information antenna 7 can receive road traffic information transmitted by, for example, FM multiplexing, optical beacon, radio beacon, etc. under a predetermined road traffic information communication system. The received road traffic information includes, for example, information on road congestion and parking lots. The navigation main unit 2 displays road congestion based on these road traffic information, It is possible to execute the presentation of the required time based on the situation, the guidance display of the parking lot, and the like.

The autonomous navigation unit 6 is a part for detecting traveling information such as a traveling speed and a traveling azimuth of the own vehicle. For example, as shown in the figure, a vehicle speed for detecting a vehicle speed pulse that changes according to the traveling speed of the own vehicle. The vehicle includes a sensor 6a and a gyro 6b for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle. The traveling information detected by the autonomous navigation unit 6 is also output to the navigation body 2 and used to measure the current position of the vehicle. In particular, such an autonomous navigation unit 6 is used when, for example, a vehicle enters a tunnel or an underground passage, and the GPS antenna 5 cannot receive radio waves from satellite communication.
Used to measure the current position of the vehicle.

The remote controller 8 is used by a user to operate the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment, and includes various operation keys, a signal generator for generating a command signal in response to operation of the operation keys, a command signal As an infrared intensity modulation signal.
The command output by the infrared rays is received by the receiving unit 3b.

In addition, as the operation means, other than this,
For example, it may be a remote controller by radio wave transmission, a remote controller connected to the navigation main unit 2 by wire, or an operation unit provided on the housing of the navigation main unit 2 or the display monitor unit 3.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the navigation main body 2. In FIG. 2, a positioning unit 4 is a part that measures the current position of the own vehicle, and executes, for example, a predetermined calculation process based on GPS reception data transferred from the interface 14 and travel information of the own vehicle. Thus, latitude / longitude information as position information indicating the current position of the vehicle is obtained.

A ROM (Read Only Memory) 11 stores various programs for the navigation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment to execute required processing, and various non-rewritable factory preset data. The memory 12 includes, for example, a flash memory and an EEPROM capable of storing and holding its contents even when power is not supplied.
M (Electrically Erasable Read Only Memory)
So-called backup data is stored and held. Various types of backup data are available here. For example, various types of information including a destination set by the user and a route corresponding to the destination are stored.

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memor)
y) 13 is used as a work area when the control unit 19 executes various processes, and the disk driver 1
A process for generating navigation image information based on map information and the like reproduced from the recording medium 9 by the CPU 8 is also executed by using the DRAM 13.

An interface (I / F) 14 is provided for connecting an external device to the navigation body 2. In this case, data received from the GPS antenna 5 is input to the interface 14 via the terminal 30. In addition, the traffic information antenna 7 is connected via the terminal 35.
The data of the road traffic information received at is input. Via a terminal 31, a vehicle speed pulse detected by a vehicle speed sensor of the autonomous navigation unit 6 is input. The traveling direction information of the own vehicle detected by the gyro 6b is input via the terminal 32. The data received from the GPS antenna 5 and the travel information (vehicle speed pulse and travel direction information) from the autonomous navigation unit 6 are transferred to the positioning unit 4 via the bus 20. The positioning section 4 inputs the transferred information as a parameter (detection item) and measures the current position of the own vehicle. The data of the road traffic information from the traffic information antenna 7 is transmitted to the DRA under the control of the control unit 19, for example.
The control unit 19 refers to the road traffic information written in the DRAM 13 and is stored and stored in the M13. Image processing control and the like are also performed so that traffic information is reflected.

The clock section 15 measures the current date and time, and the time information is used for time management required in the navigation device 1.

The input section 16 is connected to the receiving section 3b of the display monitor section 3 via the terminal 33, and receives a command signal from the remote controller 8 received by the receiving section 3b. Then, after converting the input command signal into a format that can be transmitted by the internal bus 20, the command signal is transferred to the control unit 19 via the bus 20. Control unit 1
In step 9, a required control process is appropriately executed based on the input command signal.

The display driver 17 generates image information for display under the control of the control unit 19 and outputs the generated image information to the display screen unit 3 a of the display monitor unit 3 via the terminal 34. For example, based on the map information read from the recording medium 9 and the current position information of the own vehicle calculated by the positioning unit 4, an image signal indicating the current position of the own vehicle is generated and output to the display monitor unit 3.

The disk driver 18 is a part for reproducing the recording medium 9 and is provided with a reproducing function corresponding to a media format actually adopted as the recording medium 9. For example, map information and the like reproduced from the recording medium 9 are transferred to the DRAM 13 via the bus 20 and held there, and are referred to by the control unit 19 at required timing and used as display data.

The control unit 19 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Pro
cessing unit) and executes required control for each circuit unit. Thereby, various operations in the navigation device described above are realized.

2. Map information display 2-1. Display Form Example FIG. 3 shows a display form example of map information by the navigation device of the present embodiment having the above configuration, and shows display contents on a display screen 3a of the display monitor unit 3. FIG. 3A shows a display example of map information in the normal mode. In this case, for example, in a state where the current position pointer P indicating the detected own vehicle position is substantially at the center, map information on a predetermined reduced scale which is a wide area is displayed as the main image 100.

In the state shown in FIG. 3A, it is assumed that the user switches the mode from the normal mode to the map superimposed display mode by operating the remote controller 8 or the like. Then, the display content of the display screen 3a changes as shown in FIG. That is, the main image 100 displayed so far
In the above, for example, as shown, the detailed map area 10
1 is superimposed and displayed. In this case, the detailed map area 101 displays map information showing the surroundings considered to be closer to the current position pointer P in more detail. That is, the map information is displayed on a predetermined scale that includes the current position pointer P in the area and is smaller than the scale of the map information displayed as the main image 100.

For example, when the map information is continuously displayed in the map superimposed display mode, if the current position of the own vehicle changes, for example, the detailed map area 101 is displayed.
By moving the current position pointer P in, the change of the own vehicle position is indicated. Also, the current position pointer P
Is displaced, for example, the detailed map area 10
1 itself moves on the main image 100. In such a display form, for example, the main image 100
In the above, an image is obtained in which the position around the current position pointer P is always displayed in an enlarged manner.

When the display in the map superimposed display mode is performed in this manner, for example, when the user looks at this display, detailed information around the current location of the own vehicle and road conditions around a wider area are simultaneously displayed. You can figure out. The information of both of them is stored in the current position pointer P
Are displayed in the same display area with reference to. For this reason, it is not necessary to move a large viewpoint, for example, as compared with a case where these pieces of map information having different scales are divided and displayed for different display areas, and thus it is easier to see. In addition, with such a display, it is needless to say that, for example, an operation of switching display contents in order to alternately view maps of different scales does not have to be performed. In addition, for example, in a same display area as the main image, for a certain predetermined position on the end side that does not overlap with the reference position, a detailed map centered on this reference position is already displayed. ing. However, in this case, the reference position is displayed on each of the main screen and the detailed map. For example, a disadvantage is that the surrounding information in the main image is difficult to see by displaying the detailed map. Holding On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the reference position is overlapped between the main image and the detailed map, detailed information is provided around the reference position, and information in a wider area is provided in other areas. For example, a method of presenting information suitable for a user's request can be effectively performed using the display area.

In FIG. 3B, the frame shape of the detailed map area 101 is a true circle, but is not limited to this. For example, the frame shape may be an ellipse or a polygon such as a square. It may be a shape. It is also conceivable that such a frame shape can be deformed as desired by a user operation, for example.

2-2. Processing Operation The flowchart of FIG. 4 shows a basic processing operation for realizing display of map information in the map superimposed display mode as shown in FIG. 3B. The processing shown in this figure is executed by the control unit 19 of the navigation main unit 2. Here, first, in step S101, it is determined whether or not the map information display mode is currently set. If an affirmative result is obtained, the map information display mode in steps S102 to S106 is determined. The display control process corresponding to the mode is executed.

Step S102 is a display control process for the main image 100 in FIG. In other words, after recognizing the current position information measured by the positioning unit 4, as map information including this current position, 1 / n
The map information portion of the reduced scale is retrieved from the recording medium 9 loaded in the disk driver 18 and read out. And
The read map information is transferred to the DRAM 13, where a drawing process for converting the map information into image data for display is executed. In this case, for example, in addition to the current position pointer P indicating the current position on the image data as the map information, if necessary, the drawing process for reflecting the road traffic information acquired at this time is performed. Will also be run. Further, for example, a drawing process for making the route determined and determined by the control unit 19 according to the destination set by the user visible is also performed. The image data thus generated is output to the display driver 17. Thus, for example, first, the main image 100 is displayed as shown in FIG.

In the next step S103, the display reference position of the detailed map area 101 on the main image 100 drawn and displayed as described above is determined.
The display reference position here is, for example, the center position of the position where the detailed map area 101 is to be displayed on the main image 100, and is determined according to a predetermined rule corresponding to the position where the current position pointer P is to be arranged. To be.
Then, in the next step S104, a drawing process of cutting out the size shape as the detailed map area 101 in the main image 100 with the display reference position as the center is executed.

In the next step S 105, map information of a scale 1 / m including the display reference position is retrieved from the recording medium 9, read out, and written to the DRAM 13. Here, a scale 1 / n corresponding to the map information of the main image,
At 1 / m corresponding to the current map information, n <m. That is, the scale of 1 / m is larger, and the map is more detailed. And this DRAM 13
After converting the map information of the reduced scale 1 / m written into the image data into image data, the display reference position is located at an appropriate position, and the image data is cut into the shape size of the detailed map area 101. Do. That is, the cut image data becomes display data as the detailed map area 101. In the next step S106,
A drawing process of pasting the display data as the detailed map area 101 cut out as described above to the image region cut out by the process of the previous step S104 is executed. Thereby, for example, DR
On the AM 13, display data in which the detailed map area 101 is superimposed on the main image 100 is drawn. Then, the display data is transferred to the display driver 17.
Output to As a result, the main image 1 is displayed on the display monitor 3 as shown in FIG.
An image in which the detailed map area 101 is superimposed on the image 00 is displayed.

In the first step S101,
If you get a negative result as normal mode,
The process proceeds to step S107. In step S107, the same processing as in step S102 is executed, and the process is temporarily exited. Therefore,
As a result, only the map information of only the main image as shown in FIG. 3A is displayed.

2-3. Modifications Next, modifications of the display mode in the map superimposition display mode will be sequentially described. One is to make the size of the detailed map area 101 variable, for example, as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 3B described above. This is made possible, for example, by a user operation. Thereby, for example, when the user wants to grasp a larger range as a surrounding situation near the current position, the size of the detailed map area 101 can be made larger than before. The usability is improved. It is also conceivable that the control unit 19 adaptively variably controls the size of the detailed map area 101 according to a predetermined rule based on the information amount of a store or the like registered in the map information. is there. Further, for example, when the current position approaches a destination registered in advance, control may be performed so that the size of the detailed map area 101 is automatically increased.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a display form according to another modification.
Shown in For example, assume that the display in the normal mode is as shown in FIG. Here, the road Rt on which the current position pointer P indicating the current vehicle position is traveling.
However, for example, it has a shape that bends largely to the left. Here, for example, assuming that the road which is a route set according to the destination registered by the user is this road Rt, for example, in the shape of the detailed map area 101 as shown in FIG. This makes it difficult to see the information of the previous route. Therefore, as a modified example, when the detailed map area 101 is displayed as shown in FIG. 5B, the detailed map area 101 is displayed in accordance with the shape of the road on the map at that time. The shape is adapted to change adaptively. As a result, the information on the road on which the vehicle travels can be better seen.

For this purpose, for example, first, a plurality of patterns of data on the frame shape as the detailed map area 101 are stored in the ROM 11 or the like. The control unit 19 determines the shape of the road on which the own vehicle is predicted to travel based on the map information and information such as a route to the destination. Then, an appropriate frame shape as the detailed map area 101 is selected from the determined road shape, and for example, the processing shown in FIG. 4 is executed according to the selected frame shape.

FIG. 6 shows a display form example as still another modification. In this modified example, a plurality of detailed map areas are displayed on the main image 100. Here, two detailed map areas 101-1 and 101-1 are displayed.
101-2 is displayed. These detailed map area 1
01-1 is map information with a scale smaller than the scale of the map information as the main image 100. The detailed map area 101-2 displayed in the detailed map area 101-1 is the detailed map area 101-2.
It is set as map information on a scale smaller than one. That is, as an image, a part of the main image 100 is displayed so as to be enlarged to some extent by the detailed map area 101-1, and furthermore, a part of the detailed map area 101-1 is displayed by the detailed map area 101-2. Is further enlarged and displayed. Thereby, for example, in the map information of the main image 100, the range is too wide,
In the detailed map area 101-, when the range is too narrow, the intermediate range is set to the detailed map area 1-.
01-2. In this modification, for example, a detailed map area with a smaller scale can be displayed on the detailed map area 101-2. That is, it is conceivable to display three or more detailed map areas having different scales in a hierarchical manner. Although detailed description is omitted here, as display control for realizing such display, for example,
It can be easily realized by applying the processing shown in steps S102 to S106 in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a display mode as still another modification. In FIG. 7, the detailed map area 1
The map information displayed at 01 is a bird's eye view. That is, so-called 3D display is performed. The information near the current position is, for example, such a 3D image rather than a normal planar map image,
Since it is easy for the user to grasp, by adopting such a display form, it is possible to obtain information on the current position more particularly. Such a display is displayed on the recording medium 9.
As long as there is bird's-eye view map image data as the map information recorded in, the processing can be realized according to the processing shown in FIG.

It should be noted that there are various other possible display forms as the detailed map area 101 on the main image 100 according to the present invention. Further, the drawing and display control processing for this need not be limited to the processing shown in FIG. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a navigation device mounted on a moving body such as an automobile is taken as an example. However, the invention can be applied to, for example, a portable navigation device. Further, the concept of the map information display device of the present invention can be applied to, for example, an application program for displaying map information by a personal computer or the like, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first map image at a certain scale corresponding to the wide area map is displayed as the main image, and the first map image is displayed in the display area on the main image. It is possible to superimpose and display the second map image (the detailed map area) on a scale different from that of the second map image.
Thus, for example, the user can simultaneously grasp a state of a wide area in a certain area and a detailed state around a specific position in the wide area. In other words, for example, in grasping both, it is not necessary to largely change the viewpoint. Further, according to the present invention, for example, in the case of a navigation device, the above-described detailed map area is displayed in an image such that the reference position substantially overlaps, such as the current position. A display image in which the reference position is enlarged as it is can be obtained. For this reason, inconvenience that necessary information around the reference position cannot be seen is unlikely to occur, and also in this respect, the visibility and the ease of use are maintained. In addition, from another viewpoint, as the present invention,
It is not necessary to display the main image and the detailed map area in separate display areas, respectively. For example, even if the display screen size is the same as before, the visibility is not impaired. For this reason, it is not necessary to enlarge the display screen size more than necessary, and it is useful for a device such as a navigation device or a display of a portable device that requires a certain size reduction. It becomes. Also, for example, even when compared with a case where a detailed map area is displayed on the end side in the same display area as the main image, the visibility is sufficiently maintained, and the display area can be more effectively utilized. Become.

In the present invention, the display area size of the detailed map area can be changed according to, for example, a user operation or a scale. Further, the shape of the display area of the detailed map area can be changed according to, for example, the shape of the surrounding road. Further, it is also possible to display a detailed map area of a further different scale in one detailed map area. Further, in the display of the detailed map area, this is performed in a bird's-eye view. With these configurations, the ease of viewing the map image, the ease of grasping the map information, and the like are improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a navigation device as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a navigation main body.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display mode in a map superimposed display mode as the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a display control process in a map superimposed display mode.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display mode example in a map superimposed display mode as a modification.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a display mode example in a map superimposed display mode as a modification.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a display mode example in a map superimposed display mode as a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 navigation device, 2 navigation body,
3 display monitor section, 4 positioning section, 5 GPS antenna, 6 autonomous navigation unit, 6a vehicle speed sensor, 6
b gyro, 7 traffic information antenna, 8 remote controller, 9 recording medium, 11 ROM, 12 memory, 13 DRAM, interface, 15 clock section, 16 input section, 17 display driver, 18 disk driver, 19 control section, 20 bus, 100 Main screen, 101, 101-1, 101-2 Detailed map area

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HB22 HB24 HC08 HC11 HC15 HC23 HC24 HC26 HD03 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC02 AC04 AC14 AC18 AD07 5B050 BA06 BA17 CA07 FA02 FA09 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 BB13 FF12FF13FF13FF05FF13 FF33

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A map information display device capable of displaying and outputting map information using map information, comprising: first map image data for generating first map image data based on map information of a certain scale; Generating means for generating second map image data including a reference position set on the first map image data, based on map information having a different scale from the first map image data; A map image data generating unit, wherein a reference position on the first map image data corresponds to a reference position on the second map image data, and A display control means for superimposing the second map image data on the superimposed display area set in the display area and outputting the superimposed display data. 2. The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein said display control means is capable of changing a size of said superimposed display area in which said second map image data is displayed. . 3. The display control means according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed display area in which the second map image data is displayed is variably displayed according to a predetermined condition. The map information display device according to claim 1. 4. The second map image data generating means is capable of generating a plurality of second map image data based on map information of different scales respectively. With respect to image data, another second map image data can be superimposed and displayed on a superimposed display area further set within a display area of a certain second map image data, and can be displayed and output. The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein said second map image data generating means is capable of generating said second map image data in a bird's eye view.