JP2004191218A - Navigation equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of such a situation that land marks are displayed in mutually overlapped state or a road becomes in due to many land marks. <P>SOLUTION: In navigation equipment which displays land mark information on a map, a displayed image is divided into a plurality of divisions, and the number of land marks existing in each division is counted for every land mark. Then the numbers of land marks, existing on the boundary lines of the divisions and in the divisions, are displayed on a map image in mutually overlapping state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation device, and more particularly to a navigation device that displays landmark information on a map.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The in-vehicle navigation device detects the position of the vehicle and reads map data around the vehicle position from a map storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD. Thereafter, the map and the guidance route are drawn on the display screen, and the vehicle position mark is drawn so as to overlap a predetermined position on the map. Then, as the current position changes due to the movement of the vehicle, the vehicle position mark on the screen is moved along the guidance route, or the vehicle position mark is fixed at a predetermined position and the map is scrolled, and the vehicle position mark is always around the vehicle position. The detailed map of can be seen at a glance.
[0003]
Such a navigation device has a function of displaying facilities (stores) such as a bank, a gas station, a convenience store, a family restaurant, a fast food, a hotel, and a parking lot on a map with different landmarks for each affiliated store. For example, in the case of a gas station, landmarks such as Jomo, Mobile, Esso, Nisseki Mitsubishi, and General are displayed at the location. Currently, 532 types of landmarks (shopmarks) are registered, and landmarks of a category (facility type) designated by the user are displayed on a map.
By the way, in a downtown area or the like, the density of landmarks becomes large, and it becomes impossible to identify the landmarks by overlapping each other, or a situation occurs in which a road cannot be seen by many landmarks. FIG. 6 shows an example in which landmarks A to D are displayed on one screen. The number of landmarks is large and the map is difficult to see.
[0004]
For this reason, the applicant of the present application has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-213302 the common landmarks of facilities belonging to the same category and, when a landmark is designated, details of the designated landmark. The landmark display method of (1), the landmark of the facility belonging to the same category is made common, and only the landmark of the desired category is displayed, and when a landmark is designated, the details of the designated landmark are displayed. A second landmark display method is proposed.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-213302 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
With the proposed first landmark display method, the number of landmarks displayed on the map cannot be reduced. In the second landmark display method, the number of landmarks displayed on the map can be reduced. However, in a downtown or the like where the number of landmarks in the desired category is large, the desired landmarks overlap each other and cannot be identified. A situation in which a road is invisible at many landmarks occurs.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to avoid a situation in which landmarks are displayed so as to overlap each other or a road is not visible with many landmarks.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a navigation device that displays landmark information on a map, divides a display screen into a plurality of sections, counts the number of each landmark present in each section, and defines a section boundary line and each The number of landmarks is displayed on the map image. In this case, the type (category) of the landmark to be displayed is set, and the number of each landmark according to the set type is counted and displayed. Further, a section corresponding to a map display method such as a plane map or a bird's-eye view is generated, and the number of each landmark in the section corresponding to the map display method is counted and displayed. Further, the display is switched on a display unit between a normal landmark display and a display of the number of landmarks in a section as appropriate.
[0007]
In this manner, it is possible to avoid a situation in which landmarks are displayed so as to overlap each other or a road is not visible with many landmarks. In addition, it is possible to recognize how many shops (facilities) are on which side and how many shops are desired. In addition, by switching, landmark display similar to the conventional one is performed, so that the position of the landmark can be grasped. In addition, it is possible to divide the area according to a map display method such as a plane map and a bird's-eye view.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
(A) Schematic of the present invention FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the display screen is divided into, for example, nine 3 × 3 sections (block 1 to block 9), and the number of each landmark present in each section is counted. As shown in B), the boundary line (dotted line) BBL and the number of landmarks in the block are displayed so as to be superimposed on the map image MP. For example, in block 5, since the number of landmarks A = 5, the number of landmarks B = 4, the number of landmarks C = 0, and the number of landmarks D = 1, the number of landmarks A in block 5 in FIG. In the upper part, "A: 5 B: 4 C: 0 D: 1" and the number of landmarks are displayed. A, B, C, and D in "A: 5 B: 4 C: 0 D: 1" can be displayed as landmarks, and the landmark information with zero number can be omitted.
[0009]
(B) Configuration of Navigation Device FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the navigation device of the present invention.
The map database 11 includes a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, and a hard disk, and a read / write device that reads and writes data from and to the storage medium. Map information is recorded on the storage medium. The map state consists of (1) the road layer, (2) the background layer for displaying objects on the map, (3) the character layer for displaying characters such as city names, and (4) the location of facilities (stores). And a landmark layer for displaying landmarks as needed. The landmark layer holds the landmark data shown in FIG. 3A for each landmark. Landmark data is
(1) Coordinate and latitude position of the store (landmark display position),
(2) Landmark code,
(3) Store category (restaurant, hotel, bank, gas station, etc.),
(6) Has the name of the store. In the example of FIG. 3A, a landmark 50 is displayed at the location (x1, y1) of the AAA restaurant on the map as shown in FIG. 3B.
[0010]
The vehicle position detector 12 measures the current position of the vehicle, and includes a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a moving distance, a gyro for detecting a moving direction, a position calculation CPU, a GPS receiver, and the like. The map data acquisition unit 13 reads map information corresponding to the vehicle position from the map database 11, and inputs (1) road layer information to a map matching unit and a guide route search unit (not shown), and (2) background data. The layer information and the character layer information are input to the display control unit 14, and (3) the landmark layer information is input to the landmark detection unit 15 and the landmark image generation unit 16.
[0011]
The display control unit 14 generates a dot image from the input map information according to the map display format (plane map, bird's-eye map, etc.) set by the map display setting unit 17, stores the image in a built-in VRAM, and stores the image in a predetermined size. Is cut out from a position in the VRAM corresponding to the current position of the vehicle and input to the display unit 18 to display a map.
The landmark setting unit 19 sets and inputs a landmark category to be displayed. The map division format setting unit 20 divides the display screen into a plurality of partitions based on the map display format, and inputs the partition information to the landmark detection unit 15 and the landmark-related image generation unit 21. For example, when displaying a planar map, the display screen is divided into nine 3 × 3 blocks (blocks B1 to B9) as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the image is divided into five sections (blocks B1 to B5) as shown in FIG.
The landmark detection unit 15 determines the land existing in each current section from (1) current vehicle position, (2) category of landmark to be displayed, (3) section information, and (4) landmark layer information. A mark is detected, and the detected landmark code and section are grouped and input to the landmark number totaling section 22, and the landmark number totaling section 22 counts the number of detections for each section and for each landmark. Tally.
[0012]
The landmark-related image generation unit 21 generates a section boundary line BBL (see FIG. 1 (B)) based on the section information, and also outputs the landmarks present in each block and the number of landmarks in the section indicating the number of the landmarks. Then, these are combined and output as a landmark-related image. The landmark display switch setting unit 23 sets whether to display a normal landmark image or to display an image of the number of landmarks in a section. When displaying a normal landmark image, the switching unit 24 selects a landmark image output from the landmark image generating unit 16 and inputs the landmark image to the display unit 18 to display a display similar to the conventional example of FIG. Do.
On the other hand, when displaying the image of the number of landmarks in a section, the switching section 24 selects a landmark-related image and inputs it to the display section 18, and as shown in FIG. Display the number in each compartment.
FIG. 5 is an example in which a landmark-related image (block boundary line BBL and the number of landmarks in each block) is displayed on a map when the bird's-eye map MAP is displayed.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention described above, it is possible to know how many (in directions) the facilities (stores) desired by the user are and without disturbing the map display. This makes it possible to give the user useful driving information.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to avoid a situation in which landmarks are displayed so as to overlap each other or a road is not visible with many landmarks.
Further, according to the present invention, the same landmark display as that of the related art can be displayed by switching, so that the position of the landmark can be grasped.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform division into sections and display the number of landmarks in each section according to a map display method such as a planar map and a bird's-eye view.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a navigation device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of landmark data.
FIG. 4 is an example of division of a display screen when displaying a planar map and a bird's-eye view map.
FIG. 5 is an example in which a landmark-related image is displayed on a map when a bird's-eye view map is displayed.
FIG. 6 is an example in which landmarks A to D are displayed on one screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Map database 12 Vehicle position detection part 13 Map data acquisition part 14 Display control part 15 Landmark detection part 16 Landmark image generation part 17 Map display setting part 18 Display part 19 Landmark setting part 20 Map division format setting part 21 Landmark-related image generation unit 22 Landmark number counting unit

Claims (4)

In a navigation device that displays landmark information on a map,
Means for generating a map image around the own vehicle position,
Means for dividing the display screen into a plurality of sections and counting the number of each landmark present in each section,
Means for displaying the parcel boundaries and the number of each landmark in the parcel superimposed on the map image,
A navigation device comprising: There is a means for setting the type of landmark to be displayed,
The counting means counts the number of each landmark according to the set type,
2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: A means for generating sections according to a map display method such as a planar map and a bird's eye view is provided,
The counting means counts the number of each landmark corresponding to the set type in a section corresponding to the map display method;
2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein: Means for instructing switching between a normal landmark display and a landmark number display in the section,
2. The navigation device according to claim 1, further comprising: displaying a landmark or displaying the number of landmarks in a section according to a designated display method.

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