JP2571031B2 - Map image creation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map image creating apparatus such as a personal computer or a word processor for creating a map such as a guide map.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the sense of operability, a computer system having a good user interface has been one of the major issues for many years. For example, when an arbitrary drawing such as a guide map is created using a graphic function of a personal computer or the like, there is a problem how much simple operation is performed to complete an intended image such as a map. When drawing a certain element of a map, for example, a railway using a typical personal computer graphics device, the following operation was required. (A) First, two parallel lines are drawn.

[Outside 1] Generally, this is done by inputting the starting and ending positions of each line into the machine and giving the machine instructions to draw a line between the points. (B) Next, partition the inside of the parallel line.

[Outside 2] (C) Further, the inside is painted every other one.

[Outside 3] This is generally performed by designating a closed area to be filled with a locator device (for example, a cursor) and giving a <paint> instruction to the machine. As another example, let's talk about creating a road that includes a crossroad.
(A) First, two parallel straight lines are drawn, and (B) two parallel lines that intersect (for example, are orthogonal to) the parallel lines are drawn. As a result,

[Outside 4] There is an intersection as shown by. (C) Delete four line segments in the intersection

[Outside 5] . As described above, in a conventional typical graphics device, output primitives such as lines and regions which are the minimum units constituting a picture to be created by an operator are individually defined through input from the operator, and these are defined. The desired picture (Ikuka model) is constructed by the set, and each output primitive is subjected to image conversion (scan conversion) to obtain an image represented by a set of points.

[0003]

Obviously, the above-mentioned conventional graphics device requires a huge amount of processing and processing time for converting each output primitive into an image depending on the resolution of the device. It is assumed that it becomes something. In addition, it is assumed that a very large operation burden is required on the user side to define the model. Such a method may be suitable for creating a very fine image such as art graphics. However, it is wasteful and time-consuming to create an image that does not require exceptional and fineness, for example, a map such as a simple guide map. An object of the present invention is to enable a map image of a specified type to be drawn at a specified display position.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. An apparatus for drawing a map image of a road, a railroad or the like, wherein the first specifying means arbitrarily specifies a type of a map image to be drawn and created from a plurality of types of map image maps such as a road and a railroad. The second designation means arbitrarily designates a desired display position and a drawing direction of the map image to be created on the display screen. The determining means determines whether or not the display position specified by the second specifying means intersects with the display position where the map image has already been drawn and created. The map image changing means, when determined to intersect by the discriminating means, maps the already drawn and created map image at the intersection position with the already drawn and created map image at the intersection position by the second specifying means. The display position is changed to a map image of a three-dimensional intersection with the specified map image. The map image drawing means draws and creates the map image of the three-dimensional intersection changed by the map image changing means at the display position specified by the second specifying means.

[0005]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. road,
An apparatus for drawing a map image of a railway or the like, wherein the first designating means arbitrarily designates a type of a map image to be drawn and created from among a plurality of types of map images such as a road and a railway. The desired display position of the map image to be created on the display screen and its drawing direction are arbitrarily designated by the designation means. Then, the determining unit determines whether the display position specified by the second specifying unit intersects the display position where the map image has already been drawn and created. A map image of a three-dimensional intersection of the already drawn and created map image at the intersection position and the already drawn and created map image at the intersection position and the map image whose display position is specified by the second specifying means. The map image of the three-dimensional intersection changed by the map image changing means is drawn and created by the map image drawing means at the display position specified by the second specifying means. Therefore, when the type of the map image, the display position, and the drawing direction are designated, if the designated display position intersects with the already created map image, the already created map image is replaced with a new designated map image. Can be automatically changed to a map image of a grade separation and drawn.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail. <Structure> FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of this embodiment. By using this embodiment, a simple map can be created easily, quickly, and easily. CPU1 controls the entire device
The display memory 2 stores display image data representing a simple map for one screen by a set of bits, and the display image data is sent to the display unit 3 and displayed on the screen.

The display memory 2 is partitioned by grid-like blocks, each block having a size of N × M pixels, and various fonts in various blocks so as to form a simple map image. Filled out and used. The image source of the display memory 2 is stored in the map memory 4 and the intersection information memory 5. In this example, the map memory 4
Stores, in principle, one font code as font source code information at a position indicating each block position (block number) in the display memory 2. In other words, this font code is the basis of the font written in the block at the corresponding position in the display memory 2.
The font code memory 6 is a source of such a font code.

Each position (storage address) in the map memory 4 is 1
Can store only font codes for each item. On the other hand, where fonts intersect and overlap, the density of information is higher than elsewhere. Therefore, in order to set such intersection source code information to be accessible, intersection information (a kind of font code group) is created in the intersection information memory 5, and a pointer to this intersection information is specified in the map memory 4. It is located at a location, i.e., the location on the image that indicates the block where the cross font will be entered.

That is, in this embodiment, the map memory 4 and the intersection information memory 5 constitute a means for storing the source code of the image. However, as will be described later, the sources of all the cross fonts are not stored in the intersection information memory 5, but relatively simple cross fonts are prepared in the font pattern memory 7. Is located in the font code memory 6, and therefore, in the case of a relatively simple intersection, the intersection font code is set in the map memory 4.

The illustrated embodiment further includes a touch tablet 8, a direction component register 9, and a state component register 10 as one configuration example of the trajectory input means. The touch tablet 8 is arranged on the screen of the display unit 3, and the user can input a locus of a map component desired to be added to the imaged simple map via the touch tablet 8.
The input information of the touch tablet 8 is analyzed for each block with respect to the state of the font in the block, whether penetrating or branching, and the result is placed in the direction component register 9 and the state component register 10.

On the other hand, the designation of the type of the font to be added to the image is input via the key input unit 11 and stored in the type information register 12.

As will be described later, the input font code determined by the input information is collated with the contents of the corresponding position on the map memory 4 by the automatic intersection analysis function of the CPU 1 and analyzed for the presence or absence of the intersection and the mode. You. If there is no intersection, the input font code is set in the map memory 4. At the time of the first type of intersection, an intersection font code is selected and stored in the map memory 4. In the case of the second type of intersection (in the case of a type of intersection not prepared in the font code memory or the font pattern memory), intersection information as a set of font codes is set in the intersection information memory 5.

The source code information set in the map memory 4 and the intersection information memory 5 in this way is converted into a font pattern and set in the display memory 2.
That is, when the font code accessed from the map memory 4 is a font code, the font code is converted into an address, a specific font is read from the font pattern memory 7, and the read font is displayed at the display address indicated by the font code storage address. The data is transferred to a specific block on the memory 2.

On the other hand, if the pointer accessed from the map memory 4 is the pointer to the intersection information memory 5, the font creating unit 13 is activated, and an intersection font is generated via this element 13. More specifically, the font creating unit 13 extracts a specific font from the font pattern memory 7 using the information defining the font included in the intersection information, and extracts the phase definition information (direction and state information) included in the intersection information. Information), the extracted fonts are combined with each other. For the required mask processing during synthesis,
The mask pattern memory 14 is also used as appropriate.

[0015]Font code and font pattern (Figure
2) The font code stored in the font code memory 6 and
Font pattern stored in font pattern memory 7
FIG. 2 shows an example of the correspondence between the components. For example, "10"
The font code (in hexadecimal notation) is the pattern of the horizontal road
Corresponding to fonts with. In the example shown, the vertical and horizontal
We prepare in various fonts, but only one font
And rotate the other font by rotating one font
You may make it. The same is true for the upper right and upper left
The same can be said for fonts having different inclinations.

In the illustrated example, the basic type of the font is defined by the upper digits of the font code, and such a font type is specified via the key input unit 11. For example, the upper digit “2” indicates a railway of the National Railways, and the upper digit “4” indicates a river. On the other hand, the lower digit of the font code indicates the direction of the font and other phases, and the lower digit is selected through a locus input to the touch tablet 8 (however, the phase of the font code after “50” does not change). Because it indicates a font,
These font codes are selected only through the key input unit 11).

[0017]Data structure (Figure 3)  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a data structure. (I)
Is an imaged simple land displayed on the screen of the display unit 3.
It is an example of a diagram (may be considered as the contents of the display memory 2).
No). (B) Map memory for storing image sources
4 shows the contents of (a) and the image shown in (a).
It corresponds to the position. Of these codes, "80",
Codes exemplified by “81” and “82” are shown in (c).
A pointer to each segment of the intersection information memory 5;
Has become. Each segment consists of multiple memory cells.
And the first cell contains the number of fonts that intersect,
The second and subsequent cells contain information about each font in code format.
Is in. In this example, the font information has an 8-bit configuration.
Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The fourth bit indicates the presence or absence of a bridge.
The eye is a bit of a penetrating or branching, the lower 3 bits are a direction
Is the data indicating Type data is key as described above
The state and direction are determined by the type designation from the input unit 11.
Is determined through trajectory input to the touch tablet 8
You. The bridge bit can be selected via the key input.

As can be seen from FIGS. 3A and 3B,
The font codes "18" and "1A" indicate relatively simple crossing fonts (see also FIG. 2).
The remaining font codes are font codes that generate fonts without intersection.

<Operation> Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be briefly described. First, the user enters the key input unit 11
The user selects a font type, such as a road or a railroad, to be plotted, and inputs a trajectory or a position designation using the touch tablet 8. When there is no input from the touch tablet 8, the CPU 1 regards the input as being completed and performs a locus input process (update of the map memory 4 and the intersection information memory 5 based on the input) which will be described in detail later.

After refreshing the source information in this way, the CPU 1 sequentially converts the refreshed source information into a font and sets it in the display memory 2. The updated contents of the display memory 2 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 3.

It is convenient to notify the user of the fact that the drawing processing is being performed or completed in a message format via the display unit 3 or the like. In this case, the user enters the sign of input OK, and then proceeds to the next drawing input.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed flowchart of the trajectory input process. This flowchart shows the processing of one block of an image. The input font code at a certain block position designated via the input device (8, 11) is compared with the contents of the corresponding position in the map memory 4. The contents of the map memory 4 are updated according to the analysis result, and the intersection information is created or added to the intersection information memory 5 under a predetermined intersection condition.

More specifically, an input font code is obtained from the information on the type of the designated font and the direction and state information of the font at the input position of interest (S1), and the contents of the map memory at the corresponding position are obtained. Is read (S2).

Under certain conditions, the input font code becomes the new contents of the map memory (S7, overwrite). That is, when the contents of the read map memory are not data (NO in S3), when the input font code is a code having no different phase, for example, an independent code of a school or a fire station (NO in S5), and This is the case when the direction of the font code is the same as the direction of the old font code read from the map memory (YES in S6).

Under certain other conditions, an intersection font code is selected and returned to the map memory. That is, what is read from the map memory is a font code other than the intersection code (pointer to the intersection information memory),
And none of the above overwrite conditions are satisfied,
No bridge is specified in the input code or readout code (YE in S8)
S), having a vertical or horizontal direction (YES in S9), and in the penetrating state (YES in S10), it is checked whether the input font code and the old font code belong to the same type of font (S11). If the type is the same, a crossroads font code is selected. If the types are different, a bridge font code having a bridge in the direction of the input font is selected and set in the map memory (S12, S13). For example, when a new font code indicating a horizontal road is input to an old font code defining a vertical road, a crossroad font code indicated by <1A> is selected (FIGS. 3A and 3B). 2). On the other hand, when an input font code indicating a horizontal road collides with an old font code defining a vertical railway line, a font code indicating a horizontal road with a bridge having a value of <18> is selected. .

Under still other conditions, the intersection information is created in the intersection information memory 5 and its pointer is set to the original position in the map memory. That is, in the case of a collision between fonts with a bridge, an oblique direction, or a branch (NO in S8, S9, S10), the intersection information memory 5 is increased by 3 bytes and overlaps (intersects). Put "2" in the first byte as the number of fonts,
8-bit font information corresponding to the read code (FIG. 3
(Information having the format shown in (d)) is placed in the second byte, 8-bit font information corresponding to the input font code is placed in the third byte, and a pointer indicating an intersection segment consisting of these bytes is stored in the map memory 4. (S14 to S18).

If the content read from the map memory 4 has the value of a pointer (in this case, if it is <80> or more), the intersection segment of the intersection information memory is accessed using this pointer, and the first byte is read. Is added to the number of overlapping fonts, and the intersection segment is lengthened by one byte, and 8-bit font information corresponding to the input font code is written therein (S19 to S19).
S21). By executing the above processing for all input positions, the refresh of the font source code information is completed.

After the updating of the display processing map memory 4 and the intersection information memory 5 is completed, the contents of the display memory 2 are updated using these. For example, the code is sequentially read out from the map memory 4. If the read content is a font code other than a pointer to the intersection information memory, it is simply converted to an image. That is, the font code is converted into an address, the corresponding font is read from the font pattern memory 7, and the font is written in a block on the display memory 2 defined by the font code storage position (address).

When the content read from the map memory 4 is a pointer to the intersection information memory 5, the font creating unit 13 is started, and the intersection information is read from the intersection information memory 5 using the pointer. For example, in an intersection segment indicated by a pointer having a value of <81> in FIG. 3, the number of fonts is two, and the first font information defines a font to be a penetrating road, and a second font information. The font information defines the font of the road that branches to the upper right. In this case, the font creation unit 13
For example, a pattern of a three-cornered road branched to the upper right as shown in the image of FIG. First, the font of the road is read from the font pattern memory using the first font information, and the road is painted. Next, using the second font information, the font of the road inclined to the upper right is read from the font pattern memory 7 and painted in the same manner. Further, the font creating unit 13 selects the mask pattern information from the mask pattern memory 14 using the information on the upper right branch included in the second font information, and uses this to determine the lower left half of the filled upper right inclined road. Clear and leave only the upper right corner. Then, the pattern of the remaining upper right inclined road and the pattern of the first filled road are combined by OR, and the resulting pattern is outlined. As a result, a triangular pattern having a road that branches to the upper right from a horizontal road is obtained. This pattern is set in the corresponding block of the display memory 2. Other fonts can be easily synthesized by using the intersection information.

<Summary and Modification of Embodiment>
In other words, the image is created in the style of a tension picture, and it is very easy to create an image element having a continuous trajectory. That is, the user only has to input the trajectory and specify the type, and the operation is extremely easy. Also, the processing on the device side only needs to update the source code information and convert and update the source code information into an image. Especially,
Since font memory is used, conversion to images can be performed at high speed.

Further, basic matters are determined by designating the type of font, and fine details (phase) are determined along with the position by inputting a locus. In the embodiment, the phase of the font at the block position is only the distinction between the direction and the penetration / branch, but can also include the position occupied in the block. In any case, it is much more efficient than the conventional method of inputting one line segment and one area.

Regarding the crossing, in the above-described embodiment, a three-dimensional crossing between fonts having the same type is not assumed. For example, a command key for a three-dimensional intersection is provided on the keyboard, and the order of the intersection is switched for each key input. For example, in the case of a road-road intersection, a flat intersection should be selected at first, and a single push will bring one road to the front, and another push will bring another to the front. To

Regarding the detection and analysis of the intersection, in the above embodiment, the detection and analysis of the intersection are performed by comparing font codes which are font sources. The font code to be collated includes information defining a font type and information defining a font phase. Therefore, it is possible to detect and identify the presence / absence and the mode of the intersection of the fonts very easily. If the image is defined by a set of vectors as in the past, it is very difficult to automatically detect and identify the collision between the patterns and the mode of the collision. However, the analysis takes time.

[0034]

According to the present invention, when the type of the map image, the display position, and the drawing direction are specified, if the specified display position intersects with the already created map image,
An already created map image can be automatically changed to a new designated map image and a three-dimensional intersection map image and drawn, and a three-dimensional intersection map image can be easily obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing correspondence between font codes and fonts.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a main part of the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 display memory 4 map memory 5 intersection information memory 8 touch tablet 11 key input unit

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device for drawing a map image of a road, a railroad or the like, comprising: a first device for arbitrarily specifying a type of a map image to be drawn and created from a plurality of types of map image maps such as a road and a railroad. Designation means, second designation means for arbitrarily designating a desired display position of the map image to be created on the display screen and a drawing direction thereof, and display position designated by the second designation means, Determining means for determining whether or not the map image intersects with the display position where the drawing has already been drawn and created; and when it is determined that the map image intersects, the map image which has already been drawn and created at the intersection position is A map to be changed to a map image of a three-dimensional intersection of the already drawn and created map image at the intersection position and the map image whose display position is designated by the second designation means Image changing means, and map image drawing means for drawing and creating a map image of the three-dimensional intersection changed by the map image changing means at a display position designated by the second designating means. Map image creation device.