JP2002230569A - Electronic map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display device such that, when a display is switched from a screen displaying a certain map to another screen displaying another map, the display position of the contents of the map displayed is easy to find on the screen after the switching, even if the display position is changed by the switching. SOLUTION: A coordinate calculating part 15, when receiving a direction to switch the display of a map from a user, determines display positions (display screen coordinates) on the display screen before and after the switching, by using characteristic point information imparted to at least one of first and second maps, for a characteristic point serving as a common mark for the maps before and after the switching. Based on the display screen coordinate values before and after the switching, a transition screen generating part 16 generates a transition screen which visually indicates to the user the transition of the display position of the characteristic point due to the switching, and a display part 17 displays the transition screen on the screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying a map on a screen using electronic data, and more particularly, to a first apparatus.
The present invention relates to a device for switching the display from the map to the second map.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a map has been used in such a manner that a maker prints it on paper and a user browses it. However, in recent years, map graphic data has been digitized in a predetermined format and stored in a computer, and when a user requests viewing of the map, the digital map data is taken out, the format is analyzed, and the computer is analyzed. A method of displaying an image on a display device connected to a computer is becoming popular.

[0003] In such a use form, when a user designates a specific target (station, public facility, store, etc.) on the map being displayed, a detailed map around the target is displayed. A system configured as described above has also been realized. In addition, GPS (Global Positioning System)
m) to determine the user ’s current location, so that a map around the current location is always displayed,
A map that scrolls the display content according to the movement of the user has been realized, and is used in a car navigation system and the like.

On the other hand, with the development of the Internet, map data also exists on various sites on a network. When map information is desired to be obtained, a site on which a map desired to access and use the Internet exists. It is also possible to refer to a map in such a way that the user searches and downloads the required map data to a user terminal and displays it.

When referring to various maps published on the Internet, the display may be switched from one map to another map across sites. For example, there is a case where the user wants to see a more detailed map around the venue of the event from a screen of a simple venue guide map disclosed on a site relating to the event. Also, when a part of the wide area map is to be viewed in more detail, the displayed map is switched.

[0006]

However, when switching the display from a map to a map, if the two maps have different drawing formats (scale, color scheme, direction, etc.), the map before switching and the map after switching are different. In many cases, the display position of a building or a road drawn on a map changes. This tendency is particularly strong when one of the maps is a realistic map accurately representing the terrain at a predetermined scale and the other is a simplified deformed map such as a guide map. In such a case, it is difficult for the user to grasp the correspondence between the contents displayed on both maps. For this reason, there is an inconvenience that although the landmark was used as a landmark on the map before switching, the position on the map after switching is not known, and it takes time to search for this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a method for switching display from a display screen of a certain map to a display screen of another map having a different format, the correspondence between the contents displayed on the first and second maps. It is an object of the present invention to provide a map display device which performs switching in such a manner that a user can recognize the map.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a map display device of the present invention displays a map on a screen using electronic map data, and displays a map from a first map to a second map. A map display device for switching, wherein electronic map data relating to at least one of the first and second maps includes absolute coordinate values indicating an absolute position on the earth for a feature point serving as a mark on the map. And feature point information having at least one of relative position information indicating a relative position in the map, and the map display device displays the display position of the feature point on a display screen of a first map. Calculating means for calculating the display position of the feature point on the display screen of the first and second maps by using the feature point information, and calculating the display position of the feature point on the display screen of the first and second maps. information A transition image generating means for generating a transition image visually representing a transition of a display position of a feature point accompanying the map switching; and a transition image from the first map to the second map while displaying the transition image. Switching means for performing switching.

According to this, the user can grasp the change in the display position of the display content accompanying the map change by using the position transition image representing the transition of the position of the feature point.
The correspondence between the positions of the display contents on both maps can be grasped at a glance, and the target display object can be easily found on the switched map.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a map display device according to the present invention. In the embodiment described below, it is assumed that the two types of maps to be switched are obtained by the map display device from different sites on the network. Further, in the following description, the first map is a simplified map showing a relative positional relationship between another building or the like as a landmark and the facility in order to show the position of a specific facility. (Deformed map), and the second map is a map (real map) that accurately indicates the positional relationship and size of terrain, buildings, roads, and the like based on latitude and longitude at a predetermined scale. Then, "The user displayed a first map indicating the location of the facility on the device from the first site that disclosed the information of the facility,
The device will be described on the assumption that the position cannot be ascertained and a second map, which is a real map, is obtained and displayed from a second site linked from the first site. " . On the deformed map (first map) display screen, a link text (hot spot) for receiving a display switching instruction to a real map (second map) is displayed. This link is realized by a tag unique to the present embodiment. Embodiment 1 (Outline) FIG. 1 shows a map display device 1 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration according to the first exemplary embodiment. In addition, the map display device 1 is shown together with external devices and systems related thereto.

The map display device 1 is realized by executing software installed in a device having a browser function, such as a personal computer or a portable terminal, by a CPU, and provides a server (here, a server for providing map information). Communication with the first server A and the second server B) via the network N is possible. Each server has a storage unit A1 storing various information necessary for displaying a map,
B1.

When the map display device 1 receives an instruction to switch the map from the user while the map 201 obtained from the server A is being displayed, the map display device 1 acquires the information of the switched map 202 from the server B and displays the switched map. Then, at the time of this switching, the map display device 1 displays a screen representing the transition of the screen display position before and after the switching with respect to a point (feature point) serving as a mark, which is commonly displayed on the map before and after the switching. To allow the user to visually grasp the transition of the display position of the map display contents on the screen before and after the switching.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of display map switching performed by the map display device 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7A shows the map before switching 201, and FIG. 7F shows the map 202 after switching. The screen 210 on which the map 201 is displayed is a homepage for introducing a certain restaurant. In addition to the map 201, a link text 211 for receiving an instruction to switch to a real map 202 is displayed. When the user does not understand the position of the restaurant only from the map 201 and wants to confirm the position on another map, if this link is clicked, the map display device 1 connects to the server B and switches after The map data is acquired, and the display is switched to the real map 202.

At the time of switching, first, FIG.
Immediately after erasing the map display screen 210 including the pre-switch map 201, a screen displaying a black circle at the display position of the pre-switch map display screen is displayed for a feature point, that is, a building or an intersection serving as a mark (FIG. b)). Thereafter, three screens (FIGS. (C), (d), and (e)) showing black dots are displayed to show how the display positions of the feature points change. Then, on the last black circle display screen ((e) in the figure), a black circle is displayed at the display position of the feature point on the display screen of the post-switch map, and immediately after this is deleted, the map displaying the post-switch map 202 is displayed. Display screen 2
20 ((f) in the same figure) is displayed. Note that a screen displaying a black circle indicating the transition of the display position of the feature point (FIG. 2B)
To (e)) is hereinafter referred to as a “transition screen”.

(Map) Next, in relation to the two types of maps to be displayed, the configuration of a server that provides these and the information held by the server for displaying the map will be described. FIG. 3 shows a display image of a map provided by each of the servers A and B. FIG. 3A shows a pre-switch map 20 in which information is stored in the storage unit A1 of the server A.
1 is a display image of FIG. The server A provides information on a certain restaurant. The map 201 is a part of the restaurant-related information provided by the server A and is a guide map indicating the location of the restaurant. Map 201
Is a simplified map (deformed map) showing the relative positional relationship between the restaurant and the landmark building, crossroads, T-junction, etc., and does not accurately represent distances, angles, etc. .

On the other hand, FIG. 3B shows the storage unit B of the server B.
1 is a display image of a post-switching map 202 in which data is stored in No. 1; The server B provides map information of various places in Japan. FIG. 2B shows a part of a map (a map around the location of the restaurant) stored in the map data storage B1. . The map 202 is a map (real map) that accurately represents the actual terrain at a predetermined scale.

The map 201 and the map 202 have overlapping drawing ranges. Furthermore, the range represented by the map 201 is a part of the range represented by the map 202. FIG. 4 shows the correspondence between the drawing ranges of the map 201 and the map 202.
FIG. 2 shows a map 202, and an outline of the map 201 is surrounded by a frame 400 in the map.

The storage units A1 and B1 store various information necessary for displaying a map on a screen. The line segments, character strings, and their drawing conditions (arrangement, color,
Information on the display format of the screen for displaying the map (the size of the map display area on the display screen, the character string displayed on the screen other than the map, the content and the link text, etc.) is stored in the storage unit A1. , B1. Further, the information (latitude and longitude at the four corners of the map 202 in FIG. 2B) representing the map drawing range by latitude and longitude is stored in the storage unit B1 of the server B that provides a realistic map. Only stored. With the above information,
Hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as “map data”. Further, regarding the deformed map 201, feature point information is stored in the storage unit A1 of the server A, which will be described later.

The map data for the pre-switching map 201 stored in the storage unit A1 for the pre-switching map includes a link for switching the display to the post-switching map 202 (link text 211 in FIG. 2A). However, this link is specified by a special tag. This dedicated tag is usually <MAPA> to distinguish it from the tag <A> used to specify the link destination and the data to be read from the link destination. The tag indicates that the map data and the feature point information are acquired from the designated link destination, and the map is displayed on the screen based on the acquired information “after the transition screen is displayed”.

The format of the tag is as follows: <MAPA HREF = [URL of map server] INFR
EF = [UR of map data file, feature point information file
L] >></MAPA>.

Next, the feature point information stored in the storage unit A1 of the server A will be described. FIG.
1 shows the structure and contents of feature point information held by the first information processing apparatus. The feature point information shown in the figure is a combination of the position (relative coordinates) of the feature point on the deformed map and the latitude / longitude information for each feature point. The feature point information includes a serial number column 510 in which the serial number of the feature point is stored, a relative coordinate column 520, and a latitude / longitude column 530. The relative coordinate column 520 further includes an x coordinate value column 521 and a y coordinate value The longitude field 530 is further divided into a latitude field 531 and a longitude field 532. The data in the relative coordinate column 420 is a two-dimensional coordinate value in which the size in each of the vertical and horizontal directions is set to 100 with the lower left corner of the map as the origin (0, 0).

FIG. 6 shows the relative positions of the feature points on the deformed map. The feature point information is stored in the server as a file, and the feature point information file has a dedicated format defined for its structure and extension. Although details will be described below, the positions of the feature points on the display screen of the real map after the switching are calculated based on the feature point information shown in FIG.

(Configuration of Map Display Device 1) Next, the configuration of the map display device 1 will be described. The map display device 1
As shown in FIG. 1, an interface unit 11 that receives a user's instruction, a communication unit 12 that connects to a server and obtains map data (format information and the like) and feature point information, and a map screen among information obtained by the communication unit 12 Map data storage unit 13 for storing map data necessary for display, communication unit 1
2, a feature point information storage unit 14 in which feature point information is stored, a coordinate calculation unit 15 for calculating a screen display position of a feature point, and a transition screen showing a transition of a feature point to a screen display position (FIG. It has a transition screen generation unit 16 that generates the data of b) to (e), a display unit 17 that displays a map display screen and a transition screen on a display (not shown), and the like.

The communication section 12 has a browser function and establishes communication with a map server to acquire map information. The communication unit 12 receives a user's instruction via the interface unit 11 and connects to the designated server in response to the instruction to acquire data necessary for displaying a map or switching a map. The process for connecting to the server via the network N and acquiring information is based on existing technologies such as HTTP and FTP.

As described above, the data acquired by the communication unit 12 is map data (data necessary for drawing a map,
Format information of a screen including a map) and feature point information (see FIG. 4). The communication unit 12 stores the map data in the map data storage unit 13 and stores the feature point information in the feature point information storage unit 14.
Respectively. When storing, the address of the server from which the data was obtained is added as identification information.
In the example shown in FIG.
01 for the map data and the feature point information, and for the post-switch map 202, only the map data is obtained.

In the case of normal map display or map switching without displaying the transition screen, the communication unit 12 instructs the display unit 17 when the storage of the acquired data is completed to display a screen on which the map is displayed. On the other hand, in the case of the map switching for displaying the transition screen, the communication unit 12 issues a start instruction to the coordinate calculation unit 15 when the data storage is completed. Whether the switching is to display the transition screen (whether to activate the coordinate calculation unit 15), the communication unit 12 determines whether the data acquisition instruction is performed by the switching-specific tag <MAPA> while displaying the transition screen. Determined by

When the map before switching is displayed, or when the map display is switched without displaying the transition screen from the map display screen, the interface unit 11 sends the communication unit 12 <A> in response to the user's map display instruction. (Including the server address and the data storage location address). On the other hand, a link for switching instruction in a form of displaying a transition screen from the map display screen before switching (FIG. 2)
When the user clicks on the link text 211) of (a), the interface unit 11 outputs the above-described <MAP.
The content of the tag A> is sent to the communication unit 12. Thus,
The communication unit 12 recognizes, based on the type of the tag, whether or not the map switching requires the display of the transition screen.

The communication unit 12 stores the information acquired from the server separately into map data and feature point information.
The distinction is determined by the identifier of the file in which each data is stored. The coordinate calculation unit 15
The display positions (display screen coordinates) of the feature points on each of the map display screens before and after the switching, which are used to generate the transition screen of the feature points, are obtained. However, the information on the “position” of the feature point information is only the relative coordinate value indicating the relative position in the map and the latitude / longitude information with respect to the deformed map (see FIG. 5). Therefore, the coordinate calculation unit 15
Is based on the relative position information and latitude / longitude information, and “the display coordinates of the feature points on the deformed map display screen”
And “display coordinate values of feature points on the display screen of the real map after switching” are obtained.

First, the processing for obtaining the above will be described.
The coordinate calculation unit 15 calculates the display screen coordinates of the feature points on the deformed map display screen, the relative coordinate values included in the feature point information, information on the screen format of the deformed map (map display position on the display screen), It is determined by calculation using the screen size of the display to be displayed. The coordinate calculation unit 15 sends the relative coordinate value information from the feature point information storage unit 14, the screen format information from the map data storage unit 13, and the display screen size from the display unit 17 to which the display is connected. get.

Here, the contents of the specific calculation will be shown using one of the characteristic points as an example. The calculation procedure is as follows. For example, on a display screen that is 15 cm long and 20 cm wide, the top 1 cm,
It is assumed that a map is displayed in a format having a margin of 4 cm below, 1 cm left, and 4 cm right, with north facing up. The display area of the map is 10 cm in length and 15 cm in width, and the lower left corner of the map display area is 1 right from the lower left corner of the display screen.
cm, 4 cm above.

Then, the relative coordinates (x, y) of the feature point are set to (30, 79). The x and y coordinate values of the relative coordinate values are
Since the width and height of the display area of the map are values (percentage) indicated as 100, respectively, if the size of the display area of the map is 10 cm in height and 15 cm in width, the positions of the feature points will be in the map display area. From the lower left corner up, 10 (c
m) × 30 ÷ 100 = 3 cm, right, 15 (cm) × 7
This corresponds to the position of 9 ÷ 100 ≒ 11.9 cm. Further, when the display positions of the feature points on the 15 × 20 (cm) screen including the margin are calculated, the positions on the display screen are 4 (= 3 + 1) cm upward from the lower left corner of the screen and 15.9 (= 1) on the left.
1.9 + 4) cm.

Therefore, the coordinate value of the display screen becomes (4, 15.9) with the origin at the lower left corner of the display screen. Next, the processing for obtaining is described. For this calculation, the latitude / longitude information in the feature point information and a part of the map data (latitude / longitude of the range drawn on the map) regarding the real map after switching are used.

The calculation procedure is as follows. Here, the real map after switching is 15 cm long and 20 wide.
It is assumed that the image is displayed in a format in which a margin of 1.5 cm vertically and 1 cm left and right is provided on a display screen of cm with the north facing up. The display area of the map is 12 cm long and 18 cm wide, and the lower left corner of the display area is 1 cm to the right and 1.5 cm above the lower left corner of the display screen. The drawing range of the map to be displayed is 2 minutes in latitude and 3 minutes in longitude (latitude: 35 degrees 40 minutes to 35 degrees 42 minutes north latitude, 139 degrees 10 minutes to 139 degrees 13 minutes east longitude) And Then, on the scale of the map at the time of display, one minute of latitude and one minute of longitude each correspond to 6 cm.

Assuming that the latitude and longitude of the feature point are 35 degrees 41 minutes north latitude and 139 degrees 12 minutes east longitude, the feature points are located above the lower left corner of the map display area by 6 points from the above map range.
cm (= 1 minute) and 12 cm (= 2 minutes) to the right. Further, when the display position of the feature point on the display screen of 15 × 20 (cm) including the margin is calculated, the display position on the screen is 7.5 (= 6 + 1.5) c from the lower left corner to the upper side.
m, 13 (= 12 + 1) cm to the left.

Therefore, the display screen coordinate value has a value of (7.5, 13) with the origin at the lower left corner of the display screen. The coordinate calculation unit 15 sends the display screen coordinate values on the map display screen before and after the switching of the feature points thus obtained to the transition screen generation unit 16. The transition screen generation unit 16 uses the display position of the feature point on the display screen of the map before switching based on the display screen coordinate value obtained by the coordinate calculation unit 15 as a start point, and displays the feature point on the display screen of the map after switching. Data for displaying a transition screen (FIGS. 2B to 2E) that visually represents the locus of movement of the feature point ending at the position is created and output to the display unit 17. The transition screen data is data indicating the shape of a figure (in this case, a black circle) indicating a feature point and the display position on the screen.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the transition of the feature points is shown on four screens. In this case, the first screen has the feature points at the positions indicated by the display screen coordinate values in the map before switching. Is displayed (FIG. 2B). 4
On the second screen, a feature point is displayed at the position indicated by the display screen coordinate value on the map after switching (FIG. 2E). The transition screen generation unit 16 calculates the display coordinate value (Xn, Yn) of the feature point displayed on the Nth transition screen by the following equation. Xn = Xa + (Xb−Xa) ÷ (M−1) × (N−
1) Yn = Ya + (Yb−Ya) ÷ (M−1) × (N−
1) (Xa, Ya): Display screen coordinate value on the map display screen before switching (Xb, Yb): Display screen coordinate value on the map display screen after switching M: Number of transition screens to be displayed (here, “4 The transition screen generation unit 16 obtains the display coordinate values for each of the four transition screens for each of the feature points by the above calculation, and outputs the display coordinate values to the display unit 17. At this time, the display coordinate values are grouped for each transition screen, and identification information indicating the display screen coordinate value of the transition screen to be displayed is added.

The display unit 17 displays a map display screen and a transition screen on a display (not shown). When displaying the map, the communication unit 12 displays the map on the display using the map data acquired from the server and stored in the map data storage unit 13. For the transition screen, display unit 1
A transition screen 7 displays a transition screen displaying black dots representing the feature points at predetermined time intervals (for example, 0.2 seconds) based on the display coordinate values of the feature points for each transition screen.

The flow of the transition screen display processing by the display unit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. At first Fig. 2 (a)
As shown in FIG. 5, a screen 210 including the deformed map 201 before switching is displayed. This is done by using the map data stored in the map data storage unit 13 by the communication unit 12,
This is displayed on the display unit 17. When the user instructs to switch the map from this state, the communication unit 12, the coordinate calculation unit 15, and the transition screen generation unit 16 perform the above-described operations to generate transition screen display data. When the display unit 17 receives the transition screen data from the transition screen generation unit 16, the display unit 17 deletes the map 201 from the screen and displays a black dot indicating a feature point on the screen according to the first transition screen data (FIG. 2).
(B)). In FIG. 2B, for convenience of explanation, the map and the feature points (black circles) are displayed together, but a transition screen showing only the feature points (black circles) is displayed at the moment when the map disappears. .

Thereafter, the display unit 17 generates the next transition screen at predetermined time intervals in accordance with the display order information added to the transition screen data, and switches and displays the next transition screen (FIG. 2C).
(D)). Then, the transition screen with the last display order (FIG. 2)
After displaying (e)), the communication unit 12 reads the map data stored in the map data storage unit 13. Then, after erasing the final transition screen, a post-switch map 202 is generated based on the map data and displayed on the screen (FIG. 2 (f)).

The interface unit 11 includes a display,
A map display screen is presented to a user via an input / output device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and various instructions are received from the user. Regarding the display of the map, when a display instruction is received from the user, the identification information (<A> or <MAP) of the map to be displayed and the server storing the map is received.
A> the content specified in the tag) to the communication unit 12
It instructs connection to the server and acquisition of various data related to the map to be displayed.

(Operation) Hereinafter, the operation of the map display device 1 in the present embodiment when switching the display map will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 shows a map display device 1.
6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment. First, the interface unit 11 sends a first map (the map 2 before switching) from the user.
01), and notifies the communication unit 12 in response to the display instruction (S7).
01: Yes). Then, the communication unit 12 acquires the map data and the feature point information of the map from the server A, and stores them in the map data storage unit 13 and the feature point information storage unit 14 with the identifier added thereto (S702). And the display unit 17
Is the map before switching 201 based on this map data.
(See FIG. 2A) on the display (S7).
03).

Then, when the interface unit 11 receives an instruction to display a second map (the map 202 in FIG. 2, hereinafter, referred to as a "post-switch map") from the user while the pre-switch map is displayed (S704: Yes). , Communication unit 1
2 acquires the map data of the map from the server B, adds the identifier to the map data, and stores the map data in the map data storage unit 13 (S70).
5).

Thereafter, the coordinate calculation section 15 performs the following processing on each feature point information. First, the coordinate calculation unit 15
Reads out one piece of feature point information from the feature point information storage unit 14 (S706), and switches the display screen coordinates of the feature point on the display screen of the map before switching to the values in the relative coordinate value field 520 of the feature point information. Part of the map data related to the previous map (location of the map display area on the display screen),
It is calculated from the display screen size (S707).

Next, the coordinate calculation unit 15 obtains the display screen coordinates of the feature point on the display screen of the switched map, and in this case, the value of the latitude / longitude column 530 in the feature point information on the feature point is used. It is calculated based on map data (latitude / longitude information of the area shown on the map, layout of the map display area on the display screen) relating to the map (S7).
08).

The coordinate calculating section 15 determines whether or not the above-described step S70 has been completed.
6 to S708 are repeated for all feature points,
When the processing is completed (S709: Yes), the calculated display screen coordinate values before and after the switching of all the feature points are grouped for each transition screen and transmitted to the transition screen generation unit 16. The transition screen generation unit 16 uses the received information on the display screen coordinates of the feature points as a starting point on the display screen coordinates on the map display screen before switching and ends on the line segment on the display screen coordinates on the map display screen after switching. Is generated for the four transition screens (FIGS. 2B to 2E) in which the black circles representing the feature points move, and output to the display unit 17 (S710).

When receiving the transition screen data, the display unit 17 deletes the displayed map before switching 201 from the display screen (S711). Next, after sequentially displaying / erasing the four transition screens at predetermined time intervals (S712), the switched map 202 is displayed on the screen based on the map data of the switched map 202 read from the map data storage unit 13. Is displayed (S713).

(Summary of Embodiment 1) As is clear from the above description, the map display device 1 according to the present embodiment
Receives a map switching request from the user while displaying the pre-switching map having the feature point information, acquires map data of the post-switching map from the server, and outputs the map information of the pre-switching map and the map of the post-switching map. Based on the longitude and latitude information included in the data, the display positions (display screen coordinates) on the display screens before and after the switch for the feature points that are common landmarks on the map before and after the switch
Ask for. Then, based on the display screen coordinate values before and after the switching, a transition screen that visually indicates to the user the transition of the display position of the feature point due to the map switching is generated and displayed on the screen.

Thus, even if the format differs greatly between the maps before and after the switching, the user can easily grasp the correspondence between the display positions of the objects (feature points) that are commonly displayed on the maps before and after the switching. Since it is possible, the position of the object to be checked on the map after switching can be easily found. In the present embodiment, the map is switched from “deformed map to real map”, but may be changed from “real map to deformed map”. In this case, the communication unit that has received the switching specification will use the post-switching map (deformed map).
Feature point information from the server and send it to the coordinate calculation unit.
The coordinate calculation unit obtains the map coordinates of the feature points on the map before switching (real map) using the feature point information.
Subsequent processing, that is, processing for obtaining display coordinates on the map before and after switching and generating and displaying a transition screen based on the coordinates is the same as the above-described “deformed map → real map”. (Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is characterized in that feature point information is added to each of the maps before and after switching, and that the feature point information does not include latitude / longitude information.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the map display device 10 according to the present embodiment. Map display device 2
Are the map display device 1 in the first embodiment.
However, the coordinate calculation unit 105 performs a process unique to the present embodiment. Further, the contents of the information held by the sites A ′ and C from which the map display device 2 acquires the map data are also different from those of the first embodiment.

First, the map information held by the sites A 'and C will be described. All of these sites maintain deformed and simplified map data, showing the locations of roads and buildings in almost the same area. In addition, each site holds feature point information on each map. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and an example of contents of feature point information according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9A shows the feature point information 900a held by the site A ′, and FIG. 8B shows the feature point information 900b held by the site C. The configuration of the feature point information is common, and includes a feature point number column 910, a relative coordinate column 920 indicating a relative position in the map, and an identification information column 930. What is different from the feature point information in Embodiment 1 (see FIG. 5) is that
The difference is that an identification information column 930 is provided instead of the latitude / longitude information column 530 in the first embodiment, and what is set in the identification information column 930 is a name added to a feature point. Although the two maps show the same area, not all the feature points registered respectively match. FIG.
As can be seen by comparing (a) and (b), the common feature points are the names “gas station A”, “2-chome crossroads”, and “café F” (feature point information 901 and 904, feature point information 902 and 905 and feature point information 903 and 90
6). (Configuration) Next, the map display device 2 according to the present embodiment.
The processing of each component will be described. However, description of the components that perform the same processing as in the first embodiment will be omitted.
It is the coordinate calculation unit 105 that performs the unique processing in the present embodiment.

The coordinate value calculating section 105 in the present embodiment
Calculates the feature point display position (display screen coordinates) on the display screen before and after switching without using the latitude / longitude information. When the coordinate value calculation unit 105 receives the storage end notification of the map data and the feature point information related to the switched map from the communication unit 12, the map before switching (the map being displayed) and the switched map are received from the feature point information storage unit 14. Characteristic point information (see FIG. 9). Then, these two types of feature point information are compared, and based on the contents of the identification information column 930, feature points common to the map before and after the switching are extracted. Then, the coordinate calculation unit 105 reads out relative position information before and after switching (contents of the relative coordinate value column 920) from feature point information before and after switching regarding the common feature point.

The coordinate calculation unit 105 calculates a display screen coordinate value which is a display position on the display screen before and after switching based on the relative coordinate value for each of the common feature points. The contents of the processing for obtaining the display screen coordinate values from the relative coordinates are the same as the processing when the coordinate calculation unit 15 obtains the display screen coordinate values of the feature points on the map before switching in the first embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

Further, the coordinate calculation unit 105 obtains the display screen coordinate values of the feature points before and after the switching, and thereafter the processing of the transition screen generation unit 16 and the display unit 17, that is, the transition screen based on the display screen coordinate values From the data generation and display to the display of the map after switching is the same as that of the first embodiment. (Operation) Hereinafter, the map display device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.
However, the operation when switching the display map will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the map display device 10. Steps common to the operation of the map display device 1 in Embodiment 1 (see FIG. 7) are denoted by the same step numbers, and description thereof is omitted. First, processing from displaying the map before switching to receiving a map switching instruction (steps S701 to S704).
Is the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of the present embodiment, the communication unit 12 that has received the switching instruction acquires the map data and the feature point information of the switched map from the server, and stores them in the map data storage unit 13 and the feature point information storage unit 14, respectively. An identifier is added and stored (S1001). The coordinate calculation unit 15 compares the feature point information of the map before and after the switching and determines the “name” (the identification information column 93).
A feature point (content point common to both maps) before and after the switching is extracted (S1002).

Thereafter, the coordinate calculation unit 15 performs the following processing on each of the characteristic points common to the maps before and after the switching. First, the coordinate calculation unit 15 determines, for a common feature point to be processed, feature point information (FIG. 9) related to the map before switching.
(A)) is read out (S1003), the display position (display screen coordinates) of the common feature point on the map display screen before switching, the value of the relative coordinate value column 920 of the feature point information, the map data of the map before switching (display) It is calculated from the display screen size (arrangement of the map display area on the screen) (S100).
4).

Next, the coordinate calculation unit 15 obtains a screen display position (display screen coordinates) on the switched map for the same common feature point. The calculation method is the same as in the case of the map before switching, and the feature point information (FIG. 9B) regarding the map after switching of the feature point is read (S100).
5) Calculate from the value of the relative coordinate value column 920 of the feature point information, the map data of the map after switching (arrangement of the map display area on the display screen), and the display screen size (S100)
6).

The coordinate calculation unit 15 determines whether or not the above-described step S10 has been completed.
The processing from 03 to S1006 is repeated for all common feature points (S1007: Yes). When the processing is completed, the calculated display screen coordinate values before and after switching all the feature points are transmitted to the transition screen generation unit 16. After calculating the display screen coordinate values before and after the switching of the feature point, the subsequent processing (generation and display of the transition screen) is the same as that of the map display device 1 in the first embodiment (S710 to S713).

In this way, even if both maps before and after switching are deformed maps, if both have feature point information, switching can be performed while displaying the transition screen. Furthermore, if identification information is added to a feature point, it is not necessary to include latitude / longitude information in the feature point information. Note that the identification information set in the identification information column 930 in the feature point information may be a character string representing a telephone number or an address.

(Modification) In the above-described two embodiments, switching of the map is performed by a certain server (WWW browser).
Is performed when the user clicks the link for switching set on the display screen of the map before switching obtained from the above, and it is assumed that there is a link between the map pages before and after switching. However, the switching pattern is not limited to this. Even if a link is not set between the map pages before and after the switching, the map can be switched across the transition screen.

FIG. 11 shows an operation screen 1100 for performing such switching. The operation screen 1100 selectively acquires three types of maps having different uses for a certain restaurant from independent map servers without links.
Map display area 1 for displaying
110, a guide map button 1120 for accepting a display request for a guide map (corresponding to the map before switching 201), a realistic map around the restaurant (corresponding to the map 202 after switching)
Detailed map button 1130 for receiving a display request for
A traffic map button 1140 is provided for receiving a display request for a transportation map. URLs of separate map servers are associated with the three types of buttons. No link is set between servers that provide these three types of maps.

When the user clicks one of the buttons on the operation screen 1100, the interface unit receives the button, notifies the communication unit of the URL of the server corresponding to the button, and obtains map data and feature point information. The determination whether to generate and display the transition screen is not based on the type of the tag, but on whether the button is clicked while the map is displayed in the map display area 1110. If a button is clicked during map display, the map being displayed is the map before switching, the map corresponding to the clicked button is the map after switching, and the map data and feature point information on the map after switching are obtained from the server. Above, the transition screen is generated and displayed using the map data of the pre-switching map that has already been obtained and the feature point information. The method for accepting the map display instruction and the processing after data acquisition from the server are the same as the processing in the above-described embodiment.

The feature point information needs to be held by at least one of the map servers before and after the switching. Therefore, feature point information does not need to be provided for all maps that can be specified from the selection screen, but the transition screen cannot be displayed by switching between maps that do not have feature point information. In this case, the coordinate calculation unit determines whether the transition screen can be displayed based on the presence or absence of the feature point information, and when it is determined that the transition screen cannot be displayed, instructs the display unit to display the switched map without displaying the transition screen. .

As described above, even if the maps before and after the switching are not previously linked by a link on the premise of the switching, if the feature point information is added to at least one of the maps before and after the switching, the transition screen can be displayed. The change of the display position can be indicated to the user. In the map display devices according to the first and second embodiments, the communication unit for acquiring data from the server has a browser function, but the map display device may be a part of the browser device. That is, a program capable of realizing the function of the map display device is made a part of the software for the WWW browser, and the software for the browser is installed in a terminal such as a personal computer. Incorporate it as

In the first and second embodiments, all the information on the map to be displayed is obtained from the outside via the network. However, the form of obtaining the information on the map is not limited to the one via the network. The information may be read from a recording medium such as an optical disk or a card, or all information on the map to be switched may be stored in a built-in storage device. Then, the map display device of the present invention can be realized by a stand-alone computer.

In the first and second embodiments, the transition of the display position of the landmark is shown. However, the display of a "line" on a map such as an arterial road or a railroad also includes If the same processing is performed by obtaining the screen display positions before and after switching for each point, such as extracting points at equal intervals, a transition screen indicating the transition of the display position of the “line” can be generated and displayed. .

In the above-described embodiment, the latitude and longitude are used as the reference indicating the absolute position on the earth. However, the reference indicating the absolute position need not be the latitude and longitude. Position information represented by a coordinate system other than the latitude and longitude may be used.
Also, in the above two embodiments, the switching pattern of “deformed map @ real map” and “deformed map @ deformed map” has been described. The present invention is also applicable to such a switching pattern. Such a change occurs when a part of the map display screen before the change is displayed on a map of the same area with a reduced scale. In this case, the feature point information only needs to be included in at least one map, and the feature point information may be used alone or in other information (for example, in a map as used in the first embodiment). The latitude / longitude of the feature point
Anything that can specify longitude can be used.
Only the longitude information or only the relative coordinate values may be used.
However, if only one of them has the feature point information, the map server that does not have the feature point information transmits the information (latitude and longitude of the area shown on the map, etc.) that can specify the latitude and longitude of the feature point. Must have. By doing so, even when only one of them has the feature point information, "the map having the feature point information → the map having no feature point", or the "map having no feature point information → having the feature point" It is possible to switch any of "map".

[0068]

As is clear from the above description, the map display device of the present invention displays a map on a screen using electronic map data, and switches the display from the first map to the second map. In the display device, the electronic map data relating to at least one of the first and second maps includes absolute coordinate values indicating an absolute position on the earth and a feature point serving as a mark on the map. Feature point information having at least one of relative position information indicating a relative position of the feature point, and the map display device displays, for the feature point, a display position on a display screen of a first map and a second Calculating means for calculating a display position on the map display screen using the feature point information; and information on the display position of the feature point on the first and second map display screens calculated by the calculating means. A transition image generating means for generating a transition image visually representing a transition of a display position of a feature point accompanying the map switching, and switching from the first map to the second map while displaying the transition image Switching means.

According to this configuration, the map display device of the present invention can allow the user to grasp the change in the display position of the display content due to the map switching by using the position transition screen showing the transition of the position of the feature point. Therefore, the user can grasp at a glance the correspondence between the positions of the display contents in both maps, and can easily find the target display contents in the switched map.

One of the first and second maps is a realistic map indicating the positional relationship of the object based on the absolute coordinate value, and the other is a simplified map of the relative positional relationship of the object. In the deformed map shown in the figure, the electronic map data of the deformed map includes information of absolute coordinate values indicating an absolute position of a target, and the electronic map data of the deformed map includes feature point information. The feature point information has absolute coordinate values of the feature points and relative position information indicating relative positions of the feature points in the deformed map, and the calculating unit calculates relative position information included in the feature point information. The display position of the feature point on the display screen of the deformed map is obtained using the absolute coordinate value included in the feature point information and the absolute coordinate value included in the electronic map data of the realistic map. Determining the display position of the feature point in the real display screen of the map Te, it can be.

According to this configuration, even if the map to be switched is a combination of a deformed map and a real map, the feature point information added to the deformed map and the latitude and Since the display position of the feature point before and after the switching can be obtained from the longitude value, similarly, the display position change of the display content accompanying the map switching can be provided to the user by the position transition screen showing the transition of the position of the feature point. The effect of allowing the user to grasp the information can be realized.

Further, the electronic map data of the first and second maps both include feature point information on a plurality of feature points, and the feature point information on the plurality of feature points includes relative position information of feature points and Having unique identification information added to the feature point, the calculation unit determines a feature point common to the first and second maps based on the identification information,
For the common feature point, a display position of a first and a second map on a display screen may be obtained based on relative position information included in the feature point information.

According to this configuration, even if the two maps to be switched are both deformed maps, the map display before and after the switching is performed based on the relative coordinate values and the identification information of the feature point information added to the deformed map. Since the display position of the feature point on the screen can be obtained, an effect of allowing the user to grasp the change in the display position of the display content due to the map switching can be realized by the position transition screen showing the transition of the position of the feature point.

In order to obtain the above effect, the identification information is at least one of an address and a telephone number corresponding to a feature point, and the calculating means is configured to determine at least one of the address and the telephone number. The first and second
It is also possible to determine a feature point common to the maps. Further, when the electronic map data is stored in at least one of the first and second maps in the map server, the map display device establishes communication with the map server to convert the electronic map data. It may have a communication means for acquiring.

According to this configuration, even when the map is displayed and switched using the map data stored in the remote server, the user can grasp the change of the display position of the display content accompanying the map switching. The effect can be realized. In addition, the present invention has a map display function for displaying a map on a screen using electronic map data obtained from a map server connectable on the Internet, and switching display from the first map to the second map. In the browser device, the electronic map data relating to at least one of the first and second maps includes, for a feature point serving as a landmark on the map, an absolute coordinate value indicating an absolute position on the earth and an absolute coordinate value in the map. And the feature point information indicating at least one of the relative position information indicating the relative position of the second map and the display position of the feature point on the display screen of the first map. Calculating means for calculating a display position on the display screen using the characteristic point information, and displaying the characteristic points on the first and second map display screens calculated by the calculating means. Image generation means for generating a transition image visually representing a transition of a display position of a feature point according to map switching based on the location, and a first map from a first map while displaying the transition image. And a switching means for switching to.

According to this, the browser is provided with a function of displaying a position transition screen representing the transition of the position of the feature point as the map is switched, so that various types of data published on the Internet are provided. Even when the map is displayed while being sequentially switched, an effect of displaying the transition image and allowing the user to grasp the change in the display position of the display content accompanying the map switching can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a map display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of display map switching performed by a map display device 1 in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display image of a map provided from a server in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an approximate correspondence between drawing ranges of two maps according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration and contents of feature point information in the embodiment in a table format.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing relative positions on the map of feature points in the deformed map of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the map display device in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a map display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration and an example of contents of feature point information according to the embodiment in a table format.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of the map display device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an operation screen used for map switching in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 10 Map display device 11 Interface unit 12 Communication unit 13 Map data storage unit 14 Feature point information storage unit 15, 105 Coordinate calculation unit 16 Transition screen generation unit 17 Display unit A, A ', B, C server A1, A1' , B1, C1 storage unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G08G 1/0969 G08G 1/0969 5E501 G09B 29/00 G09B 29/00 A 5H180 F-term (Reference) 2C032 HB05 HB31 HC11 HC22 HC24 HC30 2F029 AA02 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC14 AC16 5B050 AA08 BA07 BA17 CA07 CA08 EA05 EA19 FA02 FA09 FA13 FA17 FA19 5B069 AA01 BA03 CA04 DD11 DD17 KA04 5B075 ND06 PQ02 UU14 5E501 AA13 AC15 EB14 FA03 FB03A03 AC15 FB013 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF32 FF38

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A map display device for displaying a map on a screen using electronic map data and switching display from a first map to a second map, wherein at least one of the first and second maps is provided. The electronic map data related to one of the features has at least one of an absolute coordinate value indicating an absolute position on the earth and relative position information indicating a relative position on the map for a feature point serving as a mark on the map. Point information is included, and the map display device displays, for the feature point, a display position on a display screen of a first map and a display position on a display screen of a second map,
Calculating means for calculating using the characteristic point information; and calculating the characteristic points associated with the map switching based on the information on the display positions of the characteristic points on the display screens of the first and second maps calculated by the calculating means. A transition image generating means for generating a transition image visually representing a transition of a display position; and a switching means for switching from a first map to a second map while displaying the transition image. Map display device. 2. One of the first and second maps is:
It is a realistic map showing the positional relationship of the object based on the absolute coordinate values, and the other is a deformed map shown in a simplified diagram of the relative positional relationship of the object, wherein the electronic map data of the deformed map is The electronic map data of the deformed map includes feature point information, and the feature point information includes the absolute coordinate value of the feature point and the absolute coordinate value of the feature point. It has relative position information indicating a relative position of the feature point in the deformed map, and the calculating means uses a relative position information included in the feature point information to determine a display position of the feature point on the display screen of the deformed map. And calculating the absolute map value included in the feature point information and the absolute coordinate value of the drawing target included in the electronic map data of the realistic map on the display screen of the realistic map. Kicking determining the display position of the feature point, the map display device according to claim 1, wherein the. 3. The electronic map data of the first and second maps both include feature point information on a plurality of feature points,
The feature point information on the plurality of feature points each has relative position information of the feature point and unique identification information added to the feature point, and the calculating unit performs the first and the second based on the identification information. 2
A feature point common to the first and second maps based on relative position information included in feature point information of the first and second maps. 2. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein a display position in is obtained. 4. The identification information is at least one of an address and a telephone number corresponding to a feature point, and the calculating unit is configured to display at least one of the address and the telephone number on the first and second maps. The map display device according to claim 3, wherein a common feature point is determined. 5. At least one of the first and second maps, electronic map data is stored in a server, and the map display device establishes communication with the server to establish an electronic map. The map display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising communication means for acquiring data. 6. Displaying a map on a screen using electronic map data obtained from a server connectable on the Internet,
A browser device having a map display function for switching display from a first map to a second map, wherein electronic map data relating to at least one of the first and second maps includes a mark on the map and The feature point includes feature point information indicating at least one of an absolute coordinate value indicating an absolute position on the earth and relative position information indicating a relative position on a map. Regarding the feature points, a display position on the display screen of the first map and a display position on the display screen of the second map are
Calculating means for calculating using the feature point information; and display positions of the feature points accompanying the map switching based on the display positions of the feature points on the display screens of the first and second maps calculated by the calculating means. And a switching means for switching from the first map to the second map while displaying the transition image. Browser device.