JP2002310689A - Mobile navigation device and map image display method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile navigation device and map image display method, having superior visual confirmability capable of displaying a realistic map image corresponding to the actual scene observed from a mobile, regardless of the area, the season or the time zone. SOLUTION: This mobile navigation device comprises a position detecting means 10 for detecting the present position and present azimuth of the mobile, a map information acquiring means 20 for acquiring map information from a storage medium or the outside, and an output means 50 for displaying the map image for the present position periphery or an arbitrary position periphery, on the basis of the map information. This device further comprises a time detecting means 70 for detecting the present date and time at the present position, a celestial position calculating means 80 for calculating the sky position of a celestial body at the present position and the present date and time, and a display form changing means 90 for changing the display form of the map image, on the basis of the present position, the present azimuth, the present date and time, and the position of the celestial body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of mobile navigation, and more particularly to a mobile navigation apparatus and a map image display method for displaying a map image with excellent visibility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a mobile navigation device,
Using a GPS (Global Positioning System) to detect the current position of the moving object, display a map image around the current position, and guide the route to the destination, thereby moving I am trying to achieve comfortable movement by my body.

In a mobile navigation device that displays and guides such a map image, various display methods have been proposed for improving the visibility of the displayed map image. For example, there is a method of displaying a map in a three-dimensional manner from the viewpoint of a user driving a moving body, and a road, a building, a sign, and the like are pseudo-three-dimensionally displayed by a three-dimensional projection so that the map is observed from the moving body. Some are trying to reproduce the actual scene on the display image. Further, there is an image display apparatus that attempts to improve the visibility by expressing the atmosphere of day and night by changing the display color of the map image in conjunction with a preset day and night time zone.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional navigation device, the display color of the map image changes at a timing different from the actual scene change, for example, when moving to an area with a different time difference. As a result, the visibility deteriorates and the user may feel uncomfortable or uncomfortable. In addition, there has been a problem that time is required to correct a preset time zone or to set a time zone for each region or season.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and is a realistic map image corresponding to an actual scene observed from a moving body regardless of the area, season, or time zone. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a mobile navigation apparatus and a map image display method that can display a map and have excellent visibility.

[0006]

In a mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, a position detecting means for detecting a current position and a current azimuth of a moving object, and a map information obtaining means for obtaining map information from a storage medium or from outside. And a time detecting means for detecting a current date and time at the current position in a mobile navigation device having an output means for displaying a map image around the current position or an arbitrary position based on the map information. And celestial position calculating means for calculating the celestial sky position at the current date and time, and a display for changing the display mode of the map image based on the current position, the current azimuth, the current date and time, and the celestial sky position It is provided with a form changing means.

In the mobile navigation device according to the present invention, the celestial body is the sun.

In the mobile object navigation device according to the present invention, the celestial object position calculating means calculates an elevation angle based on the current position as a celestial object sky position.

In the mobile object navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the celestial object position calculating means calculates an azimuth angle based on the current position as a celestial object sky position.

[0010] In the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the celestial body position calculating means calculates an elevation angle and an azimuth angle with respect to the current position as the sky position of the celestial body.

In the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the display mode changing means may include any one or any of a type, a display color, a display density, a display shape, and a display shadow of a display target displayed on the map image. The display form is changed by a combination of the above.

Further, in the mobile navigation device according to the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of all or a part of the display target displayed on the map image.

In the mobile object navigation device according to the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the celestial object displayed on the map image.

Further, in the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the map image in a stepwise manner according to the change of the sky position of the celestial body.

Further, in the mobile object navigation device according to the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the map image in the morning, afternoon, in the evening, according to the change of the sky position of the celestial body.
It is designed to change to four stages at night.

Further, in the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the display mode changing means continuously changes the display mode of the map image in accordance with a change in the sky position of the celestial body.

Further, in the mobile navigation device according to the present invention, the position detecting means and the time detecting means may include:
It uses a satellite positioning system.

Further, in the mobile navigation device according to the present invention, the satellite positioning system is a GPS.

Further, in the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention, the time detecting means uses information on the current date and time at the current position received from the outside.

Further, the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention includes weather detecting means for detecting the current weather at the current position, and the display form changing means includes a current position, a current direction, a current date and time. The display mode of the map image is changed based on the sky position of the celestial body and the current weather.

Further, in the mobile navigation device according to the present invention, the weather detecting means detects the weather using any one or a combination of the following. (1) Information from mobile equipment sensors such as thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, wind / anemometer, rain / mist / snow sensor, road surface sensor, rain sound / wind sound / thunder sound sensor, etc. (2) Wiper drive Information on driving of mobile equipment such as speed, fog lamp lighting intensity, window defogger lighting, etc. (3) Information on current weather around current position received from outside (4) Input information on current weather by user

Further, the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention is provided with input means for inputting a current position, a current direction, and a current date.

Further, the mobile navigation apparatus according to the present invention is provided with storage means for storing the display form of the map image and input means for selecting the stored display form.

Also, in the map image display method according to the present invention, a position detecting step of detecting a current position and a current azimuth, a map information obtaining step of obtaining map information from a storage medium or an external device, A map image display method comprising: an output process of displaying a map image around a position or an arbitrary position; a time detection process of detecting a current date and time at a current position; and a current position and a current date and time. And a display form changing step of changing the display form of the map image based on the current position, the current direction, the current date and time, and the sky position of the celestial object. It was done.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile navigation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 10 is a position detecting means for detecting a current position and a current azimuth of a moving body on which the device is mounted,
Reference numeral 20 denotes a map information acquisition unit for acquiring map information from a storage medium or from the outside, and 30 denotes an input unit for the user to input an instruction such as a destination and various operations and settings.

Numeral 40 denotes control means for controlling the entire apparatus, a processing means 41 for performing various arithmetic processing, a route search means 42 for searching for a guide route from a current position to a destination based on map information, and processing data and the like. A storage unit 43 for storing is provided.

Reference numeral 50 denotes output means for providing a user with a guidance route. The output unit 50 includes a display output unit 51 that displays a current position and a guide route on a map image based on map information to provide guidance, and a voice output unit 52 that outputs a voice guidance message to provide guidance. The contents of the voice guidance message are stored in the voice message generating means 60 provided in the control means 40.
Generated by The voice message generating means 60 stores words or phrases necessary for voice guidance as voice waveform data, and selects voice waveform data such as words or phrases representing a guidance message corresponding to the voice guidance when voice guidance is provided. To generate a voice guidance message.

Reference numeral 70 denotes time detecting means for detecting the current date at the current position. The time detecting means 70
Based on the world standard time including the date, the standard time of the area to which the current position belongs in consideration of the time difference around the world is detected. For example, by using GPS, a precise current date and time based on atomic clock information mounted on a GPS satellite can be easily detected at the same time as the current position and the current azimuth.

The control means 40 is provided with the position detecting means 10.
Celestial position calculating means 8 for calculating the current position and the sky position of the celestial object at the current date and time based on the current position detected by the time detecting means 70 and the current date and time detected by the time detecting means 70
0, display form changing means 90 for changing the display form of the map image displayed on the display output means 51 based on the current position, the current direction, the current date and time, and the sky position of the celestial body.

The celestial position calculating means 80 calculates the celestial object's sky position at the current position and the current date and time, in particular, the elevation angle of the sun with respect to the current position (0 ° in the horizon direction, + 90 ° in the zenith direction). 0 ° ~ ±
90 °) and the azimuth (expressed from 0 ° to 360 ° clockwise with true north being 0 °). The sky position of the sun can be easily specified by the elevation angle and the azimuth angle.

The display mode changing means 90 changes the display mode such as the display color, display shape, and display shadow of the display object displayed on the map image. With respect to the display shadow, a shadow is drawn on a display object such as a building to be displayed three-dimensionally in three dimensions, using the sky position of the sun calculated by the celestial position calculation means 80 as a light source.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a device configuration of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment. 1
1 is a direction sensor such as a gyro or a geomagnetic sensor for detecting the direction of the moving object, 12 is a distance sensor for detecting the speed and moving distance of the moving object, 13 is the current position of the moving object based on information received from GPS satellites. Are calculated, and these correspond to the position detecting means 10 in FIG. Here, the GPS receiver 13 also functions as the time detecting means 70 in FIG.

Reference numeral 21 denotes, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Dis
c-Read Only Memory) or DVD-ROM (Digital
This is a map information reading device that reads map information including road network data and polygon data stored in a storage medium such as a Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), and corresponds to the map information acquisition means 20 in FIG. Reference numeral 31 denotes an input device such as an operation switch for the user to input an instruction such as a destination and various operations / settings, and corresponds to the input means 30 in FIG.

A navigation ECU 44 controls the entire apparatus.
(Electronic Control Unit), which mainly performs various arithmetic processing.
1 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 4 corresponding to the storage means 43 of FIG. 1 and storing a processing program and the like.
6. RAM (Random Access M) for storing processing data
emory) 47, a display / voice control unit 48 for performing image / voice processing of map information and guidance routes, and an input / output control unit 49 for controlling input / output information.
Corresponds to 0.

The route searching means 42, voice message generating means 60, celestial body position calculating means 80, and display mode changing means 90 in FIG. 1 are realized by the processing by the navigation ECU 44.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a display device such as a monitor display for displaying the guide route by a map image, and reference numeral 54 denotes a voice output device such as a speaker for guiding the guide route by voice. These are display outputs provided by the output means 50 of FIG. Means 51 and audio output means 52.

Next, the operation of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic operation of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment.

First, the position detecting means 10 detects the latitude and longitude and the current direction of the current position of the moving object (step ST).
1). Next, the current time is detected by the time detecting means 70 (step ST2).

Next, the celestial position calculating means 80 calculates the expressions (1) to (6) based on the latitude and longitude of the current position and the current date and time.
To calculate the elevation angle θ and azimuth A of the sun at the current date and time at the current position (step ST3). θ = sin ⁻¹ (sinφsinδ + cosφcosδcosh) Expression (1) A = cot ⁻¹ (sinφcoth−tanδcosφcosech) Expression (2) (in expression (2), if sinhcotA> 0, A = A + 18)
0 °) δ = sin ⁻¹ (0.398 × sin (4.841 + η +
0.033 × sin η)) Expression (3) η = (2π / 365) × T Expression (4) h = (To−12) × 15 Expression (5) To = T _GMT + Lo / 15 Expression (6) The contents of each character variable in the above expressions (1) to (6) are shown below. θ: elevation angle of the sun (0 ° in the horizon direction, +90 in the zenith direction)
°, and the opposite direction is -90 °, which is represented by 0 ° to ± 90 °. A) Azimuth of the sun (0 ° in true north direction, 0 clockwise)
Expressed from ° to + 360 °. ): Latitude of the current position detected by the position detecting means 10 (North latitude is represented by plus and South latitude is represented by minus) δ: Declination of the sun h: Hour angle from the south of the sun T: Detected by the time detecting means 70 The current date and time (the day of the week with January 1 as the first day) To: current time (local time) T _GMT : current time detected by the time detecting means 70 (Universal Standard Time) Lo: position detecting means Longitude of current position detected by 10
(The east longitude is represented by plus and the west longitude is represented by minus.)

The subsequent steps ST4 to ST11 are processed by the display form changing means 90. The display mode changing means 90 determines whether or not the calculated elevation angle θ of the sun is larger than 12 ° (step ST4). Here, if the elevation angle θ of the sun is larger than 12 °, the image mode is set to the day mode (step ST8).

If the elevation angle θ of the sun is 12 ° or less in step ST4, it is determined whether the elevation angle θ of the sun is 0 ° or more and 12 ° or less (step ST5). If the elevation angle θ of the sun is less than 0 °, the image mode is set to the night mode (step ST6).

If the elevation angle θ of the sun is not less than 0 ° and not more than 12 ° in step ST5, it is determined whether or not the current time To is between 0:00 in the night and 12:00 in the day (step ST5).
9). Here, if the current time To is between 12:00 in the daytime and 0:00 in the night, the image mode is set to the evening mode (step ST10).

In step ST9, if the current time To is between midnight at midnight and 12:00 at noon, the image mode is set to morning mode (step ST10).

Finally, steps ST6, ST8, S
The display mode of the map image is changed according to each of the morning, daytime, evening, and night image modes set in T10 and ST11, and the display output unit 51 displays the map image (step ST11).
7).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a map image of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4A is an image when the image mode is the morning mode, and FIG.
4C shows an image when the image mode is in the day mode, FIG. 4C shows an image when the image mode is in the evening mode, and FIG. 4D shows an image when the image mode is in the night mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data of a display color and a display shape of a map image of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment. Here, the RGB value data of the sky display color and the bit pattern data of the display shape of the sun in the morning, daytime, evening, and night image modes stored in the ROM 46 are shown.

The display mode changing means 90 reads the RGB value data of the sky display color and the bit pattern data of the sun display shape stored in the ROM 46 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the sky and the sun in the map images in the morning, noon, evening, and night image modes are displayed in the sky display color and the sun display shape according to the data.

The display form changing means 90 obtains, for example, 101 and 11 in FIG. 4 from the relationship between the elevation angle and azimuth angle of the sun and the current position and relative position / azimuth of the moving object.
Shading by sunlight is drawn on the pole surface of the sign indicated by 1, 121, 131.

Here, the RGB value data of the display color is represented by R
Although stored in the OM 46, it can also be obtained by a calculation formula using the sun's elevation angle and azimuth as variables.

Although a map image around the current position of the moving object is displayed here, a map image around an arbitrary point can be similarly displayed.

Also, here, an example in which the sky position of the sun is calculated as a celestial object has been described. However, the sky position of another celestial object is calculated in the same manner, and the display form of the map image is changed in consideration of the celestial object. You may make it. For example, calculate the sky position of the moon in addition to the sun, and display a map image that expresses dim light and shade caused by the influence of moonlight, or displays the phase of the moon, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse, etc. in the sky It may be.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the position detecting means 1 for detecting the current position and the current direction of the moving object.
0, a map information acquisition means 20 for acquiring map information from a storage medium or from outside, and an output means 50 for displaying a map image around a current position or an arbitrary position based on the map information. Time detecting means 70 for detecting the current date and time at the current position
Celestial position calculating means 80 for calculating the celestial object's sky position at the current position and the current date and time; and displaying a map image based on the current position, current azimuth, current date and time, and celestial object's sky position. Since the display mode changing means 90 for changing the mode is provided, it is possible to display a realistic map image corresponding to the actual scene observed from the moving object regardless of the region, season, and time zone, A mobile navigation device and a map image display method with excellent visibility can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the celestial body position calculating means 80 calculates the celestial sky position of the sun as a celestial object, so that it displays a realistic map image in consideration of the influence of sunlight. Can be.

Further, according to the first embodiment, a realistic map image accurately representing the influence of sunlight is displayed regardless of when, in any region of the world, and in which direction the moving body is moving. can do.

According to the first embodiment, the change of the display mode of the map image by the display mode changing means 90 is automatically performed based on the current position information and the current time information of the mobile unit. There is no need to correct the timing of changing the display mode depending on the region, season, time zone, or the like where the user moves, or to perform the presetting, and the memory for storing the setting information in advance can be reduced.

According to the first embodiment, the celestial body position calculating means 80 calculates the elevation angle and the azimuth angle based on the current position as the sun's sky position, so that the sun's sky position can be easily calculated. Can be identified.

According to the first embodiment, the display mode changing means 90 changes the display mode of the sun displayed on the map image, so that a more realistic map image including the sun is displayed. be able to.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the display mode changing means 90 changes the display mode of the map image stepwise according to the change of the sky position of the sun. Can be easily displayed.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the display mode changing means 90 changes the display mode of the map image to four stages of morning, daytime, evening and night according to the change of the sky position of the sun. Therefore, a realistic map image can be displayed more easily.

According to the first embodiment, since the position detecting means 10 and the time detecting means 70 use the GPS, it is possible to easily detect the current position, the current direction, and the date and time simultaneously. Can be.

Although not shown, other embodiments based on the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described below. Embodiment 2 FIG. In the second embodiment, the celestial body position calculating means 80 may calculate either the elevation angle or the azimuth angle of the sun. For example, only the elevation angle of the sun may be calculated, and the display color of the map image may be changed according to the elevation angle. Alternatively, only the azimuth of the sun may be calculated, and the display shadow of the map image may be changed according to the azimuth.

According to this, the sky position of the sun can be calculated more easily.

The calculation of the elevation angle and the azimuth angle of the sun is not limited to the use of the formulas (1) to (6) in the first embodiment. It may be calculated using a numerical table or the like.

Embodiment 3 In the third embodiment, the display mode changing unit 90 changes the display mode based on any one or a combination of the type, display color, display density, display shape, and display shadow of the display target displayed on the map image. It may be.

That is, in the first embodiment, only the display color of the sky, the display shape of the sun, and the display shadow of the pole of the sign are changed according to the elevation angle and the azimuth angle of the sun. May be changed, a gradation based on the display density may be added, or the display mode may be changed by a combination of the type of display target, display color, display density, display shape, and display shadow.

According to this, the degree of freedom of the display form of the map image is improved, and the visibility can be further improved.

Embodiment 4 In the fourth embodiment, the display mode changing unit 90 may change all the display modes of the display target displayed on the map image.

That is, in the first embodiment, only the display color of the sky is changed according to the elevation angle and the azimuth angle of the sun. For example, a map image of a road, the ground, a building, the sea, a lake, a mountain, or the like is changed. May be changed for all the display objects displayed in. In the first embodiment, only the display shape of the sun is changed according to the elevation angle and the azimuth angle of the sun. However, the display shape is changed for all display targets displayed on the map image as described above. You may make it.

According to this, the degree of freedom of the display object for changing the display mode of the map image is improved, and the visibility can be further improved.

Embodiment 5 FIG. As a fifth embodiment, the display mode changing means 90 may continuously change the display mode of the map image according to the change in the sky position of the sun.

That is, in the first embodiment, the display color and the display shape of the display object are changed in four stages of morning, noon, evening and night based on the information of the elevation angle and the azimuth angle of the sun. The display color and the display shape may be changed in stages.

According to this, a realistic map image can be displayed more accurately.

Embodiment 6 FIG. In the sixth embodiment, a satellite positioning system other than the GPS may be used as the position detecting means 10 and the time detecting means 70.
For example, GLONASS (Globa) operated by Russia
l Other satellite positioning systems such as Navigation Satellite System) may be used.

According to this, the current position, the current direction, and the date can be easily detected at the same time.

Embodiment 7 As a seventh embodiment, the time detecting means 70 may use information on the current date and time at the current position received from the outside. For example, like a radio-controlled timepiece, accurate current year / month / day / time information of the area broadcasted by radio may be received and used.

According to this, the date and time can be detected more easily.

Embodiment 8 FIG. Embodiment 8 includes a weather detecting means (not shown) for detecting the current weather at the current position, and the display mode changing means 90 includes a current position, a current direction, a current date and time, and a sky position of the sun. The display mode of the map image may be changed based on and the current weather.

That is, in the first embodiment, an example in which the display color of the sky and the display shape of the sun are changed on the assumption that the weather is fine is described. However, the actual weather at that time is detected. For example, the display color of the sky is changed according to the weather, or the type of display target such as rain, fog, snow, lightning, clouds, wind (displaying fast-moving clouds or fluttering flags, etc.) May be additionally displayed.

According to this, it is possible to display a more realistic map image in consideration of the influence of weather.

Embodiment 9 FIG. In the ninth embodiment, the weather detecting means may detect the weather using any one or a combination of the following. (1) Information from mobile equipment sensors such as thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, wind / anemometer, rain / mist / snow sensor, road surface sensor, rain sound / wind sound / thunder sound sensor, etc. (2) Wiper drive Information on driving of mobile equipment such as speed, fog lamp lighting intensity, window defogger lighting, etc. (3) Information on current weather around current position received from outside (4) Information on current weather by user from input means 30 Input information

The above item (1) is to equip a moving body with the various sensors relating to weather and detect weather based on information from these sensors. The above item (2) is to detect weather such as rainy weather, dense fog, and cold from the driving state of a mobile device such as a wiper, a fog lamp, and a window defogger. Item (3) above is based on VICS (Vehicle Information and Communicati
on System, road traffic information communication system), the Internet, etc., to detect weather based on weather information received from outside. The item (4) detects the weather based on the input information on the current weather input by the user via the input means 30.

Further, for example, by applying the above item (4), the user inputs weather information different from the actual current weather via the input means 30 and a real image in which the influence of the input weather is considered. It is also possible to display a typical map image.
For example, although the actual weather is fine, a map image of a snow scene can be displayed by the user's instruction and input of the snow weather via the input means 30.

According to this, the weather can be easily detected.

Embodiment 10 FIG. As the tenth embodiment,
The input means 30 may allow the user to input the current position, current direction, and current date.

That is, by allowing the user to input an arbitrary current position, current direction, and current date and time through the input means 30, any point, direction, date and time different from the actual ones can be obtained. A realistic scene at the time can be displayed at any time.

Further, for example, a data string of an arbitrary current position, current direction, current date, time and date is input via the input means 30.
By continuously inputting from an external device such as a PC (personal computer) at a high speed, any point, direction,
It can also be configured to display a realistic scene change at the time of year, month and day at high speed.

Further, for example, in accordance with a storage instruction of the user through the input means 30, the data history of an arbitrary current position, current azimuth, and current date and time during the movement is stored in the storage means 43 and used by the input means 30. According to the reproduction instruction of the user, a realistic scene at the time of the past movement can be reproduced and displayed at a high speed by the data string stored in the storage means 43.

According to this, a realistic map image corresponding to an actual scene at an arbitrary position, current direction, and time can be displayed at any time.

Embodiment 11 FIG. As an eleventh embodiment,
The display mode of the map image may be stored in the storage unit 43 so that the user can select the stored display mode by the input unit 30.

That is, by allowing the user to select and instruct a preferred display mode via the input means 30, a realistic realistic scene in which the influence of the elevation and azimuth angles of the sun different from the actual one is taken into account is taken into account. Can be displayed continuously. For example, although it is actually morning, it is possible to continuously display a scene colored by the sunset at dusk.

According to this, the map image can be displayed in a display form that matches the user's preference.

In the embodiment, an example in which the azimuth sensor 11, the distance sensor 12, and the GPS receiver 13 are used as the position detecting means 10 has been described. However, an optical fiber gyro, a vibration gyro, an acceleration sensor, and the like may be used. Other sensors, map matching, D-GPS (Differential
l GPS), PHS (Personal Handyphone System)
Alternatively, a wireless network such as a location information service in a mobile phone may be used. In this case, the same effect can be obtained.

Further, in the embodiment, a map information reading device 21 that reads map information stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM is used as the map information acquisition means 20, and a processing program is stored. An example in which the ROM 46 is used as the storage means for performing the processing and the RAM 47 is used as the storage means for storing the processing data has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
mory) and other memory ICs (Integrated Circuits)
And CD-R (Recordable), CD-RW (Rewrita
ble), DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, MD (Mini
Disk), magnetic disks such as flexible disks and hard disks, memory cards such as IC memory cards, magnetic memory cards and optical memory cards, magnetic tapes such as cassette tapes, and other readable and writable nonvolatile memories. Alternatively, a storage medium having the same characteristics may be used, and the same effect can be obtained in this case.

The map information reading device 21 and the ROM 4
6. The RAM 47 may share one of these storage media, thereby simplifying the device.

Further, it is configured so that data communication can be performed wirelessly with an external information server or the like to obtain map information or the current time from the outside using the Internet or the like, or to send the current position, destination, or current location to the outside. The time and the like may be transmitted, the celestial object position calculation processing, the display form change processing, the route search processing, and the voice message generation processing may be performed externally, and the processing results may be received and used, thereby further simplifying the apparatus. It is possible to

Further, in the embodiment, an example in which an input device 31 such as an operation switch is used as the input means 30 has been described. May be used.

Further, in the embodiment, the example in which the display device 53 such as a display monitor and the audio output device 54 such as a speaker are used as the output means 50 has been described.
(Cathode Ray Tube, cathode ray tube) Monitors, LCD monitors, head-up displays, various display monitors such as portable display terminals, as well as audio output devices such as headphones, earphones, and voice synthesizers, and other output devices such as printers May be used.

Further, in the embodiment, an example in which a navigation device mounted mainly on a vehicle is assumed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
Navigation system mounted on other moving objects such as ships and airplanes, and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
) May be applied to a portable information terminal device carried by a person. Further, the present invention is not limited to devices mounted on a mobile body, and may be applied to a map display device fixedly installed in an office or the like. In such a case, similar effects can be obtained.

[0100]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the position detecting means for detecting the current position and current direction of the mobile object, the map information obtaining means for obtaining map information from a storage medium or from outside, A mobile navigation device including an output unit that displays a map image around the current position or an arbitrary position based on the current position, a time detection unit that detects a current date and time at the current position,
Astronomical position calculating means for calculating the celestial sky position at the current position and the current date and time, and changing the display mode of the map image based on the current position, current azimuth, current date and time, and celestial sky position Display mode changing means, which can display a realistic map image corresponding to the actual scene observed from the moving object regardless of the region, season, and time zone. There is an effect that a mobile navigation device can be obtained.

According to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, the celestial body is the sun.
There is an effect that a realistic map image in consideration of the influence of sunlight can be displayed.

According to the mobile object navigation apparatus of the present invention, the celestial object position calculating means calculates the elevation angle based on the current position as the celestial object's sky position, so that the celestial object's sky position can be easily calculated. There is an effect that it can be calculated.

According to the mobile object navigation apparatus of the present invention, the celestial object position calculating means calculates the azimuth angle based on the current position as the celestial object's sky position. Can be calculated.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the celestial object position calculating means calculates the elevation angle and the azimuth angle based on the current position as the celestial object's sky position, so that the celestial object object can be easily obtained. There is an effect that the sky position can be specified.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the display mode changing means includes the type, display color, display density, display shape, display type, and the like of the display target displayed on the map image.
Since the display mode is changed by any one or any combination of the display shadows, the degree of freedom of the display mode of the map image is improved, and the visibility is further improved.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of all or a part of the display object displayed on the map image. There is an effect that the degree of freedom of the display object whose display mode is changed is improved and the visibility is further improved.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the celestial object displayed on the map image, so that a more realistic map image including the celestial object is displayed. Can be displayed.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation apparatus of the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the map image stepwise according to the change of the sky position of the celestial body. There is an effect that a simple map image can be easily displayed.

According to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the map image to four stages of morning, daytime, evening, and night according to the change of the sky position of the celestial body. As a result, a realistic map image can be displayed more easily.

Further, according to the mobile object navigation device of the present invention, the display mode changing means continuously changes the display mode of the map image according to the change of the sky position of the celestial body. There is an effect that a simple map image can be displayed more accurately.

According to the mobile navigation device of the present invention, the position detecting means and the time detecting means use the satellite positioning system, so that the current position,
There is an effect that the current direction and the date can be easily detected at the same time.

Further, according to the mobile navigation device of the present invention, the satellite positioning system is a GPS, so that the current position, current direction, and date can be detected more easily. effective.

Further, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, the time detecting means uses the information on the current date and time at the current position received from the outside. Further, there is an effect that detection can be easily performed.

Further, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, it is provided with weather detecting means for detecting the current weather at the current position, and the display mode changing means includes the current position, the current direction, the current date and time. Since the display form of the map image is changed based on the sky position of the celestial body and the current weather, there is an effect that a more realistic map image can be displayed in consideration of the influence of the weather.

Further, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, the weather detecting means detects the weather using any one or a combination of the following, so that the weather can be easily detected. There is an effect that can be. (1) Information from mobile equipment sensors such as thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, wind / anemometer, rain / mist / snow sensor, road surface sensor, rain sound / wind sound / thunder sound sensor, etc. (2) Wiper drive Information on driving of mobile equipment such as speed, fog lamp lighting intensity, window defogger lighting, etc. (3) Information on current weather around current position received from outside (4) Input information on current weather by user

Further, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, since the input means for inputting the current position, the current direction, and the current date is provided, any position, the current direction, the date, and the like can be obtained. There is an effect that a realistic map image corresponding to the actual scene at the date and time can be displayed at any time.

Further, according to the mobile navigation apparatus of the present invention, since the storage means for storing the display form of the map image and the input means for selecting the stored display form are provided, the preference of the user is provided. There is an effect that the map image can be displayed in a display mode suitable for the map image.

According to the map image display method of the present invention, a position detecting step of detecting a current position and a current direction, a map information obtaining step of obtaining map information from a storage medium or an external device, and a map information obtaining step A map image display method including an output process of displaying a map image around a current position or an arbitrary position, a time detection process of detecting a current date and time at the current position, and a current position and a current date and time. An astronomical position calculating step of calculating a celestial sky position at a time, and a display mode changing step of changing a display mode of a map image based on a current position, a current azimuth, a current date, time, and an astronomical object sky position are provided. This makes it possible to display a realistic map image corresponding to the actual scene to be observed, regardless of the region, season, or time zone, thus improving visibility. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile navigation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a device configuration of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a schematic operation of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a map image of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data example of a display color and a display shape of a map image of the mobile navigation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Position detection means, 11 Direction sensor, 12 Distance sensor, 13 GPS receiver, 20 Map information acquisition means, 21 Map information reading device, 30 Input means, 31
Input device, 40 control means, 41 processing means, 42 route search means, 43 storage means, 44 navigation ECU, 45
CPU, 46 ROM, 47 RAM, 48 display / voice control unit, 49 input / output control unit, 50 output means, 51
Display output means, 52 voice output means, 53 display device, 54 voice output device, 60 voice message generation means, 70 time detection means, 80 celestial position calculation means, 9
0 display mode changing means, 100 sun in image mode in morning mode, 101 sign in image mode in morning mode, 10
2 Sky in the morning mode, 103 Road in the morning mode, 104 Ground in the morning mode, 110 Sun in the daytime mode, 11
1 sign in image mode is day mode, 112 image mode is sky in day mode, 113 image mode is road in day mode, 114 image mode is ground in day mode, 120
Sun in image mode in evening mode, 121 sign in image mode in evening mode, 122 sky in image mode in evening mode, 123 road in image mode in evening mode, 124
Ground when image mode is evening mode, 131 sign when image mode is night mode, 132 sky when image mode is night mode, 133 road when image mode is night mode, 134
Ground value when the image mode is the night mode, RGB value data of the display color of the sky in each image mode, 202 each image mode, and bitmap data of the display shape of the sun in each image mode.

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 26, 2001 (2001.9.2)
6)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G09G 5/00 550 G09G 5/00 550B 550C 5/36 510 5/36 510B F-term (Reference) 2C032 HB02 HB06 HC08 HC13 HC31 HD04 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC04 AC06 AC14 AC19 5C082 AA00 AA21 AA37 BA14 BA34 BB42 CA12 CA76 CB01 CB03 DA42 DA86 MM05 MM10 5H180 AA01 BB05 BB13 BB15 CC27 FF25 FF25 FF25 FF22 FF22

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a current position and a current azimuth of a moving object, a map information obtaining means for obtaining map information from a storage medium or from outside, and a vicinity of the current position or an arbitrary position based on the map information Output means for displaying a map image of the object, a time detecting means for detecting a current date and time at the current position, and a celestial object at the current position and the current date and time Celestial position calculating means for calculating a celestial position, and display form changing means for changing a display form of the map image based on the current position, the current direction, the current date and time, and the celestial sky position. Moving object navigation device. 2. The mobile navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the celestial body is the sun. 3. The mobile object navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the celestial object position calculating means calculates an elevation angle based on a current position as a celestial object sky position. 4. The mobile object navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the celestial object position calculating means calculates an azimuth angle based on a current position as a celestial object sky position. 5. The mobile object navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the celestial object position calculating means calculates an elevation angle and an azimuth angle based on the current position as the celestial object's sky position. 6. The display mode changing means changes the display mode by any one or a combination of a type, a display color, a display density, a display shape, and a display shadow of a display target displayed on a map image. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein 7. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the display mode changing means changes the display mode of all or a part of the display target displayed on the map image. 8. The mobile object navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the display form changing means changes a display form of a celestial object displayed on the map image. 9. The mobile object navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the display form changing means changes the display form of the map image stepwise according to a change in the sky position of the celestial body. 10. The movement according to claim 9, wherein the display mode changing means changes the display mode of the map image to four stages of morning, daytime, evening, and night according to a change in the sky position of the celestial body. Body navigation system. 11. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the display mode changing means continuously changes the display mode of the map image according to a change in the sky position of the celestial body. 12. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the position detecting means and the time detecting means use a satellite positioning system. 13. The mobile navigation system according to claim 12, wherein the satellite positioning system is a GPS. 14. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the time detecting means uses information on the current date and time at the current position received from the outside. 15. A weather detecting means for detecting the current weather at the current position, wherein the display form changing means is configured to perform the operation based on the current position, the current azimuth, the current date and time, the celestial sky position, and the current weather. 2. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the display mode of the map image is changed by changing the display mode. 16. The mobile navigation system according to claim 15, wherein the weather detecting means detects the weather using any one or a combination of the following. (1) Information from mobile equipment sensors such as thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, wind / anemometer, rain / mist / snow sensor, road surface sensor, rain sound / wind sound / thunder sound sensor, etc. (2) Wiper drive Information on driving of mobile equipment such as speed, fog lamp lighting intensity, window defogger lighting, etc. (3) Information on current weather around current position received from outside (4) Input information on current weather by user 17. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising input means for inputting a current position, a current direction, and a current date and time. 18. The mobile navigation system according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing a display form of the map image, and input means for selecting the stored display form. 19. A position detecting step of detecting a current position and a current direction, a map information obtaining step of obtaining map information from a storage medium or an external device, and a map image around the current position or an arbitrary position based on the map information. An output step of displaying a map image display method, wherein a time detecting step of detecting a current date and time at the current position, and a sky position of a celestial object at the current position and the current date and time are performed. Calculating a celestial body position calculating step, and a display form changing step of changing a display form of the map image based on the current position, the current azimuth, the current date and time, and the celestial sky position. Characteristic map image display method.