JP3307843B2 - Map display device in hypertext structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying an appropriate map in accordance with the contents of nodes in a hypertext structure, and more particularly, to optimizing a display map area by excluding projecting points and the like and inserting landmarks. In addition, the map display speed is improved by storing a map corresponding to the nodes in advance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the advance of network technology,
It has become possible to search a hypertext structure existing on a worldwide network from a single computer and present a huge number of hypertext documents on a local computer.

[0003] As shown in FIG. 27, a hypertext document is linked to another text related to a phrase in the document in advance, so that the linked document can be freely referred to by a user's instruction. This is a structured document. Each linked document is called a node.

[0004] Some of these hypertext documents include:
Many include geographic information such as place names and facility names. When reading such a hypertext document, a map of the related area is displayed at the same time, so that the document can be more easily understood.

However, in practice, maps are rarely added to hypertext documents. Then, the map data on the computer at hand is displayed. Conventionally, in order to display a map of a certain area in a map database, it has been necessary to input a place name, a facility name, or a leaf name to perform a search.

For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-93366, "Character processing apparatus", a method is considered in which a map index is searched using an input place name as a key and a map of the searched area is displayed. Can be Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-2
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 20045, “Image Output Control Method and Apparatus”, a user inputs a plurality of points to be displayed to determine a map area.

[0007]

However, since the map database contains place names, facility names, and the like having the same name, the extracted geographical information may not be used to identify a region. The region can be specified more accurately by referring to multiple pieces of geographic information.

In addition, since a document may include a plurality of place names and facility names, a plurality of place names and facility names may be used instead of individually displaying a map corresponding to a single place name and facility name. It is desirable to display a map in a range that can be displayed.

Therefore, a more appropriate map can be displayed by extracting a plurality of place names and facility names from a document and performing a map search in consideration of them.

However, since it is difficult to grasp a meaningful unity in an ordinary document, it is difficult to extract a plurality of appropriate place names and facility names from the document.

Further, the document contains many words which cannot be determined as place names or facility names, such as "Nakano" and "Shibuya" as personal names.

As a result, there has been no method of extracting a plurality of place names and facility names from a document and extracting an appropriate map in consideration of the names.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem, and efficiently extracts a map area related to the contents of a node in a hypertext structure for a hypertext document having geographic information. It is an object of the present invention to be able to easily display a related map when referring to a node in a hypertext structure.

[0014]

Therefore, in the apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the display map data, a map search keyword classified according to whether or not it is a word expressing only a point, and a latitude indicating the position are provided. , A correspondence table consisting of correspondences with longitudes, and when presenting a node in the hypertext structure, if the node content includes a phrase expressing a point, extract all map search keywords from the node content. By extracting an area in the map database including all points corresponding to the extracted keyword, a map related to the node is displayed.

When the size of the map related to the node is larger than a predetermined value, the sum of the distances of the points indicated by the keywords from the points other than the own point is calculated, and the corresponding point whose value protrudes is calculated. , The map area to be displayed is appropriately narrowed.

Similarly, when the size of the map related to a node is larger than a preset value, all related maps for another node linked from the node are obtained, and an area including all those areas is set as an initial area. Then, an appropriate map area is displayed by comparing the obtained area and displaying the smaller one.

Further, when a part or all of the keywords extracted from the nodes in the hypertext structure correspond to a plurality of points, and the map area is ambiguous, the keywords corresponding to only one point may be changed. If there is one or more, the sum of the distances to those points is calculated. If not, the sum of the distances to all points other than yourself is calculated, and the point having the smallest value of the sum of the distances is selected. The ambiguity of the area has been resolved.

Further, when a predetermined landmark is not included in the map area associated with the node in the hypertext structure, the map is enlarged so that the landmark closest to the center of the map area is included in the map area. By associating regions with nodes, a map that is easier to understand is displayed.

In the case where the map search keyword includes not only a keyword corresponding to a point but also a keyword having a linear counterpart such as a road or a track, and a node in the hypertext structure includes a keyword corresponding to a linear counterpart. In, a more appropriate map is displayed by extracting the map area so that a part of the linear object is included in the map area.

Further, a node is searched by using a keyword for map search, the node that has been searched is associated with a map area in advance, and the result is stored, so that a map can be displayed at high speed. ing.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention provides a display map data storage means, a map display means for displaying a specified area of the display map data on a screen, and a hyper display. It stores a hypertext document presenting means for presenting a node in a text structure, a map search keyword classified according to whether or not it is a word expressing only a point, and a correspondence table comprising correspondence between data on the position of the point. Means, by referring to the correspondence table, when the node content being presented by the hypertext document presentation means includes a keyword expressing a point, extracting all map search keywords from the node content; Keyword corresponding point generating means for obtaining a point set corresponding to A related map extracting means for applying said map display means and extracted from, those having a map display means for displaying a map associated with the node, can be displayed to create a map from the keyword.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the correspondence table has a correspondence between a map search keyword and a latitude and a longitude indicating the position thereof, and the map search extracted from the contents of the node being presented. It is provided with keyword-corresponding point generating means for obtaining the latitude and longitude corresponding to the keyword for use, and can display a map related to the node using a place name table expressed by latitude and longitude.

In the invention according to a third aspect of the present invention, the correspondence table has a correspondence between a map search keyword and an area code defined for each area to which the position belongs, and the correspondence table uses the contents of the node being presented. The apparatus is provided with keyword-corresponding area code generating means for obtaining an area code corresponding to the extracted keyword for map search, and is capable of displaying a map related to a node using a place name table represented by the area code. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the size of the map related to the presenting node is larger than a predetermined value, each of the points in the point set is determined as a point other than the own point. And a projection point excluding means for excluding a point where the value protrudes is obtained, so that a map area to be displayed can be appropriately narrowed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the size of the map related to the presenting node is larger than a predetermined value, the map area of the area code of each point in the point set is set. It is provided with a projecting point exclusion means for calculating the sum of the distance between the specific point of the above and a specific point of a point other than the user, and excluding the point where the value protrudes. Can be appropriately narrowed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when the size of the map related to the presenting node is larger than a predetermined value, the related map for all the nodes linked from the node is displayed. A map area including all areas of the map area, and comparing the map area with the map area obtained first, providing a smaller one to the map display means. A simple map can be displayed.

[0027] The invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is adapted to be applied to a case where a plurality of points in a point set obtained from the presenting node are points corresponding to one keyword, and the map area is ambiguous. , For all of the plurality of points, obtain the sum of the distances to all the points that have been determined to correspond to the keyword in the point set, and select a point having the smallest sum of distances from the plurality of points. Therefore, even if there is a place name corresponding to a plurality of points, an appropriate map can be displayed.

[0028] In the invention according to claim 8 of the present invention, since the point set obtained from the presenting node is all composed of a set of a plurality of points corresponding to one keyword, the map area is limited. When ambiguous, find the sum of the distances from all the points in the point set to the points other than yourself, and select the point with the smallest value for each set of multiple points whose correspondence with the keyword has not been determined. By doing so, an ambiguous point elimination means for eliminating ambiguity is provided, and an appropriate map can be displayed even if all place names correspond to a plurality of points.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for storing a list of landmarks serving as landmarks for understanding a map, wherein the map area associated with the presenting node is provided in the map area. When a landmark in the landmark list is not included, a means for associating the map area enlarged so that the landmark closest to the center of the map area is included in the map area with the node is provided in the related map extraction means. It is possible to display an easily understandable map by putting a landmark on the map.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the map search keywords in the correspondence table include not only keywords corresponding to points but also keywords having linear counterparts, and nodes in the hypertext structure are When a keyword corresponding to the linear shape corresponding object is included, a means for extracting a map area so that the shape of the linear shape corresponding object is included in the map area in a certain amount or more is provided. By including it, a more appropriate map can be displayed.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hypertext structure search means for searching for a node in the hypertext structure using the map search keyword for an arbitrary hypertext structure, Node-related map storage means for storing the correspondence between nodes and map regions in the structure, and associating nodes with map regions by obtaining relevant map regions from the map search keywords obtained for all searched nodes; Means, and means for obtaining and displaying a corresponding map area from the node-related map storage means when searching for the hypertext structure. By creating and saving a map, you can display the map at high speed. It is intended.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) A map display device according to a first embodiment extracts a map based on the latitude and longitude of a point name in a node of a hypertext document.

As shown in FIG. 1, an arbitrary hypertext document 1 and a hypertext document presenting means 2 for presenting an arbitrary designated node in the hypertext structure
And a table 3 of correspondence between the contents 3 of the nodes presented by the hypertext document presenting means 2, the map search keywords and the latitude and longitude representing the positions thereof, the keyword corresponding point generating means 5, and the keyword corresponding point generating means 5, a set of keyword corresponding points 6, map data for display 7, a related map extracting means 8 for extracting a related map based on the set of keyword corresponding points 6, and a map display means capable of displaying a map of an arbitrary area 9 is provided.

Correspondence Table 4 between Map Search Keywords and Positions
Is a table associating keywords representing place names and facility names with latitudes and longitudes representing their positions, as shown in FIG. 2, and specifying a keyword to search a map around a point corresponding to the keyword. Used to Keywords are classified in advance into keywords that are also used as personal names, such as "Nakano" and "Shinagawa", and keywords that always represent points, such as "Nakano Station", "Shinagawa Ward", "Zushi City", and "Zushi City Hall". is there. In FIG. 2, a keyword marked in the column of a point phrase always represents a point. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of points may correspond to one keyword.

The keyword corresponding point generating means 5 extracts the keywords listed in the correspondence table 4 from the contents 3 of the nodes presented by the hypertext document presenting means 2, and uses the correspondence table 4 to determine the point corresponding to the keyword. Set 6 is determined.

The related map extracting means 8 cuts out a map area just including the points included in the keyword corresponding point set 6 from the display map data 7 and sends it to the map display means 9. The map display means 9 can display the map data of the given arbitrary area on a display screen at an appropriate scale.

The operation procedure of the apparatus according to the first embodiment is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Step 301: The hypertext document display means 2 presents an arbitrary node in an arbitrary hypertext document 1 as presentation node contents 3.

Step 302: The keyword-corresponding point generating means 5 checks whether or not the presented node contents 3 include a keyword classified as a keyword representing only a point in the correspondence table 4, and if there is, proceeds to step 303.
If not, end.

Step 303: Correspondence table 4 based on node contents
Are extracted, and the keyword corresponding point generating means 5 obtains a set 6 of points corresponding to all the extracted keywords using the correspondence table 4.

Step 304: The related map extracting means 8
A map area including all the point sets 6 obtained in step 303 is extracted. For the area to be extracted, determine the northern, eastern, southern, and western points from the set of points, and further enlarge the rectangle on which the points lie on the upper, right, lower, and left sides, respectively, at 1.2 times the scale. Ask. The enlargement ratio can be appropriately adjusted according to the visibility of the map. If there is only one point, a map area around the point having a predetermined size is extracted.

Step 305: The map area is sent to the map display means 9 and displayed.

A specific example will be described. Assume that the content 3 of the node in the hypertext document 1 presented in step 301 is as shown in FIG. In step 302, it is checked whether or not a keyword representing a point is always included in the node contents. Since “Zushi City Office” and “Zushi City” are included here, the process proceeds to step 303. At this stage, the node content is "Nakano" as a person's name
Inappropriate map display such as when "Shibuya" is included but other geographic information is not included can be avoided. However, "Nakano", "Shibuya" or the like means a place name, and a map may not be displayed when a map is required. In order to avoid that a necessary map cannot be displayed, the process may be terminated only when there is no keyword that may represent a point.

In step 303, the keyword corresponding point generating means 5 extracts four keywords "Zushi", "Zushi City Office", "Zushi City" and "Kamakura" from the node contents 3 and generates a keyword composed of four corresponding points. A corresponding point set 6 is generated.

In step 304, the related map extracting means 8 extracts a map area including all four points from the point set 6 corresponding to the four keywords. FIG. 5 shows points corresponding to the four keywords and an area including them. Here, the points corresponding to "Kamakura" are at the northern and western ends, "Zushi City" is at the eastern end, and "Zushi City Hall" is at the southern end. The rectangle indicated by the dotted line is a rectangle made from these northern, eastern, southern, and westmost points, and the rectangle indicated by the solid line is obtained by enlarging the rectangle indicated by the dotted line by 1.2 times.

Finally, in step 305, the related map extracting means 8 sends the map area indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 to the map display means 9 as a related map and displays it.

As described above, in the device of the first embodiment,
For a hypertext document, check whether there is a keyword that always expresses a point in the node contents in the hypertext structure, and if so, extract all the point search keywords. Since a related map area is extracted, an appropriate map can be displayed when a node is presented in a hypertext structure.

(Second Embodiment) A map display device according to a second embodiment extracts a map based on a region code of a point name in a node of a hypertext document.

As shown in FIG. 6, instead of the correspondence table 4 in the first embodiment (FIG. 1), as shown in FIG.
A correspondence table 10 is used for a map search keyword, a code defined for each area to which the point represented by the keyword belongs, and a map area just including the area. As the code defined for each area, a code defined as JISX0402 municipal code was used. However, the same effect can be obtained with any code that uniquely determines the area code corresponding to the point represented by the keyword. . Further, instead of the keyword corresponding point generating means 5 and the keyword corresponding point set 6 in the first embodiment (FIG. 1),
A keyword-corresponding area code generating means 11 and a keyword-corresponding area code 12 are provided. Other configurations are first
There is no difference from the embodiment (FIG. 1).

In the first embodiment, a map area including a plurality of points must be extracted in step 304 of FIG. To do this, you need to find the northern, eastern, southern, and westmost points from among multiple points.

In the second embodiment, the efficiency of map area extraction is improved by assigning a unique code to each region in advance.

In the second embodiment, instead of extracting a map area including points corresponding to a plurality of keywords in step 304 in the operation (FIG. 3) of the first embodiment,
The keyword-corresponding area code generation means 11 obtains a set of area codes 12 from a plurality of keywords using the correspondence table 10, and the related map extraction means 8 further obtains the area code set 12
Is obtained from the correspondence table 10. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the example of FIG. 4 shown in the first embodiment, the keyword-corresponding area code generation means 11 generates a keyword-corresponding area code set 12 composed of a code "14208" of Zushi City and a code "14204" of Kamakura City. Then, the related map extracting means 8 finds a map area including Zushi City and Kamakura City and sends it to the map display means 9 for display.

As described above, in the device of the second embodiment,
Since the map area related to the content of the node is extracted from the plurality of keywords using the correspondence table between the area code and the map area corresponding to the area code set in advance, the related map can be displayed efficiently.

(Third Embodiment) A map display device according to a third embodiment extracts a map of an appropriate size by excluding projecting points from point names in nodes of a hypertext document.

As shown in FIG. 8, a protruding point excluding unit 13 for excluding an inappropriate point from the set of points generated by the corresponding point generating unit 5 is provided. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

In the devices of the first and second embodiments, if a keyword meaninglessly related to the content of the node is extracted, an unnecessarily large map is displayed.

For example, if the node contents in FIG. 4 happen to include the phrase “Tokyo”, the rectangle 9 in FIG.
As in 01, an extensive map including Tokyo is displayed.

Even if the phrase "Tokyo" is meaningfully related to the node content, if the main content of the node relates to Zushi city, it is desirable to display a map around Zushi city. It is considered that a point having no relation to the main contents of the node is in a state of being protruded in terms of distance and isolated as compared with other points having relation to the contents.

In the apparatus according to the third embodiment, in order to prevent the display of an unnecessarily large map, points protruding in distance from a set of points generated by the corresponding point generating means 5 are excluded.

The operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step 1001 to Step 10
The operation up to step 04 is the same as the operation from step 301 to step 304 in the operation of the first embodiment (FIG. 3).

Step 1005: If the area extracted in step 1004 is larger than a preset value, the flow advances to step 1006. Step 100 if not big
Proceed to 8. The determination as to whether the area is larger than a preset value is based on whether the actual distance of the longer side of the rectangular area exceeds 100 km. This criterion may be anything as long as it gives an upper limit to the size of the map area from the viewpoint of legibility of the map.

Step 1006: Projection point exclusion means 13
Creates a new point set 6 by excluding projecting points from the point set 6 obtained in step 1003.

Step 1007: Related map extracting means 8
Extracts a map area including all the point sets determined in step 1006.

Step 1008: The extracted map is sent to the map display means 9 and displayed.

Projection point exclusion means 13 in step 1006
The point exclusion process will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step 1101: For all the points in the point set, the sum of the distances to points other than the user is calculated.

Step 1102: At a point in the point set,
A point where the value obtained in step 1101 is the minimum and a point where the value is the maximum are selected.

Step 1103: The maximum value and the minimum value obtained in Step 1101 are compared with each other. If the maximum value is 10 times or more the minimum value, it is determined that the point having the maximum value is a protruding point. To step 1104. If it is less than 10 times, the process ends. The value of 10 times, which is a criterion for protrusion, can be appropriately adjusted so that appropriate exclusion processing can be performed.

Step 1104: The point having the maximum value obtained in Step 1101 is excluded from the point set, and Step 1
Return to 102.

A specific example will be described. In FIG. 9, the distance between the points is shown on a line connecting the points. Here, it is assumed that the distance between Tokyo and Kamakura is 40, the distance between Tokyo and Zushi is 38, the distance between Tokyo and Zushi is 38, and the distance between Tokyo and Zushi City Hall is 44. The unit of the distance here uses the unit in the coordinate system inside the map data. Step 1
At 101, the sum of the distances between Tokyo and all other locations can be calculated as 160.

Similarly, the sum of the distance can be calculated as 13 for Kamakura, 10 for Zushi and Zushi City, and 11 for Zushi City Hall.

In step 1102, the maximum value 160 and the initial value 10 are selected.

In step 1103, the two values are compared. If the maximum value is 10 times or more the minimum value, the flow advances to step 1104. In step 1104, “Tokyo” having the maximum value is excluded from the point set, and the process returns to step 1102.

Again, at step 1102, the maximum value 13 and the minimum value 10 are selected.

In step 1103, the two are compared, and the process is terminated because the maximum value is not more than 10 times the minimum value.

As a result, "Tokyo" is excluded, and the rectangle 902 in FIG. 9 is extracted as a map area.

Here, description has been made on the assumption that a point is represented by latitude and longitude and the distance between two points can be immediately obtained. However, the point is represented by spread data such as an area code. If so, the distance between the two points is not immediately determined. In such a case, the representative point may be determined, and the distance between the representative points may be set as the distance between the two points. For example, assuming a rectangular area surrounded by latitude lines and meridians, the above method can be applied if the northeast end point is set as a representative point.

As described above, in the third embodiment, when the size of the map related to the node in the hypertext structure is larger than a preset value, the corresponding point which is far apart and is far away is excluded. By
The map area to be displayed can be appropriately narrowed.

(Fourth Embodiment) The map display device according to the fourth embodiment generates a map using a node linked to a node of a hypertext document.

As shown in FIG. 12, a link map generating means 14 for examining a map relating to all nodes linked from a node in the hypertext structure and displaying a map area including all of them on the map display means 9. It has. Here, the rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), but there is no change even if the configuration of the second embodiment is used.

In the device of the fourth embodiment, when a keyword semantically unrelated to the content of a node is extracted in the devices of the first and second embodiments,
In order to prevent an unnecessarily large map from being displayed, a map area including all map areas related to another node linked to the node is generated.

Here, in a hypertext document, the contents of a node linked to a certain node are related to the contents of the original node, and are related to a theme that specializes a part of the contents of the original node. It uses the property that it is often described.

For example, when the word "Tokyo" is included in the node contents in FIG. 4, a map area like a rectangle 901 in FIG. 9 is obtained.
It is assumed that a link is provided to a node having the content shown in FIG. Comparing the map area related to the content of FIG. 13 with the area of FIG. 9, the area related to the content of FIG. 13 is smaller,
This is selected.

The operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The operations from step 1401 to step 1404 are the same as the operations from step 301 to step 304 in the operation of the first embodiment (FIG. 3).

Step 1405: If the area extracted in step 1404 is larger than a preset value, the flow advances to step 1406. If not, step 140
Go to 9. The determination as to whether the area is larger than a preset value uses the same criterion as in the third embodiment.

Step 1406: link map generating means 9
Finds all linked nodes from the node being presented, and finds an associated map for each node. The related map of the linked node is obtained by the method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

Step 1407: A map area including all the related maps obtained in step 1406 is obtained.

Step 1408: The map area obtained in step 1407 is compared with the map area extracted in step 1403, and the smaller one is set as the related map area of the node being presented.

Step 1409: The map area is displayed on the map display means 9.

As described above, in the device of the fourth embodiment,
When the size of the map related to a node is larger than a preset value, all related maps for another node linked from the node are obtained, and the sum of those regions is used as the related map of the node, so that the appropriate map can be obtained. A simple map area can be displayed.

(Fifth Embodiment) The map display device according to the fifth embodiment can extract an appropriate map even if there is an ambiguous point name in a node of a hypertext document.

As shown in FIG. 15, the corresponding point generating means 5
Is provided with an ambiguous point excluding unit 15 for excluding an ambiguous point from the keyword corresponding point set 6 generated by. here,
When a plurality of points in the keyword corresponding point set 6 correspond to one keyword, the plurality of points are called ambiguous points. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

In the first and second embodiments, an unnecessarily large map area is obtained when a plurality of points correspond to one keyword.

In the third embodiment, an appropriate map area is obtained by excluding points protruding from a distance, but the ambiguity of the map area when there are a plurality of points corresponding to one keyword. Cannot always be completely eliminated.

For example, in the example of FIG. 4, it is assumed that there are a plurality of points corresponding to “Zushi”, and all of the ambiguous points are within the allowable range of the distance in the third embodiment, so that the points are protruding. If not, the rectangle 160 shown in FIG.
A wide area such as 1 is obtained.

In the fifth embodiment, when there are a plurality of points corresponding to one keyword, the point having the smallest sum of the distances to the points whose correspondence with the keyword is determined is selected. The ambiguity of has been resolved.

The operation of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step 1701 to step 17
The operations up to 03 are the same as the operations from step 301 to step 303 in the operation of the first embodiment (FIG. 3).

Step 1704: It is checked whether or not a plurality of points corresponding to the same keyword are included in the points obtained in step 1703, and if they are included, the process proceeds to step 1705. If not included, step 1708
Proceed to.

Step 1705: Ambiguous point exclusion means 15
Extracts all sets of a plurality of points corresponding to the same keyword from the points obtained in step 1704.

Step 1706: For all ambiguous points, the sum of the distances to all points where the point corresponding to the keyword is determined to be one is obtained.

Step 1707: From each set of ambiguous points, the remaining points are excluded except for the point whose value obtained in step 1706 is the minimum, and the process proceeds to step 1708.

Step 1708: Related map extracting means 8
Extracts a map area including all remaining points and sends it to the map display means 9 for display.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, when a part of a keyword extracted from a node in the hypertext structure corresponds to a plurality of points, the correspondence with the keyword is determined when the map area is ambiguous. By determining the distances to all the points where the vehicle is running and selecting the closest point, ambiguity can be resolved and an appropriate map can be displayed.

(Sixth Embodiment) The map display device according to the sixth embodiment can extract an appropriate map even if all the place names of the nodes of the hypertext document are ambiguous. The device configuration is the same as the configuration of the map display device of the third embodiment.

In the apparatus of the fifth embodiment, the ambiguity of the map area due to the keywords corresponding to a plurality of points is eliminated by using the sum of the distances to the points where the correspondence with the keywords is determined. However, there are cases where all of the keywords extracted by the keyword corresponding point generation means 5 correspond to a plurality of points.

In the apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, as in the apparatus according to the third embodiment, a point is determined using the sum of distances to points other than the user. The operation of the sixth embodiment is the same as the operation of the third embodiment except for the operation of removing the projecting point by the projecting point removing means 13 in step 1006 of the third embodiment (FIG. 10).

The operation of the protruding point exclusion means 13 in the sixth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step 1801: It is checked whether or not the point is uniquely determined for all the keywords. If not, step 18
Go to 02.

Step 1802: For all the points, the sum of the distances to points other than yourself is calculated.

Step 1803: The value obtained in step 1802 is checked, and the point having the minimum value is selected for each group of a plurality of points for which the point corresponding to the keyword has not been determined.

As described above, in the device according to the sixth embodiment,
When the map area cannot be determined because all of the keywords extracted from the nodes in the hypertext structure correspond to the plurality of points having the same name, the sum of the distances of the points indicated by the keywords to the points other than the user is calculated, Corresponding points are sequentially eliminated from the point having the largest value, and when points corresponding to all keywords are determined, a map area including all of the points is obtained to eliminate ambiguity.

(Seventh Embodiment) The map display device according to the seventh embodiment enlarges the extracted map area so that the landmark is included when there is no landmark spot name in the extracted map area. is there.

As shown in FIG. 19, a list 18 of landmarks which are easily selected as landmarks such as stations and interchanges is provided. The landmark list is a list of landmarks selected in advance in order to make the map easy to see by displaying the map in the map, and includes a landmark name and its position as shown in FIG. Other configurations may use any of the first to sixth embodiments.

In the apparatus of the seventh embodiment, a map area related to the content of the node being presented is obtained. If the obtained map area does not include a landmark in the landmark list, the map area of the obtained map area is determined. The landmark closest to the center is obtained, and the map area is extended so as to include the obtained landmark.

As described above, in the device of the seventh embodiment,
When the map area associated with the node in the hypertext structure does not include a preset landmark, a map area enlarged so that the landmark closest to the center of the map area is included in the map area. Thereby, a map that is easier to understand can be displayed.

(Eighth Embodiment) The map display device according to the eighth embodiment is designed so that when a node of a hypertext document has a road name or a track name, the extracted map appropriately includes the road or the track. Is what you do.

As shown in FIG. 21, in the correspondence table 4 of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), when the keyword represents not a point but a linear counterpart such as a road or a track, the latitude indicating the position, It holds not a longitude but a sequence of points representing a line shape. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, place names and facility names associated with points are used as map search keywords. However, sentences generally include words that do not correspond to points but can specify an area to some extent, such as “National Route 246” and “Yokosuka Line”. The corresponding object indicated by these phrases is not a point but a line shape such as a road or a track.

In the eighth embodiment, in addition to the keyword corresponding to the point, the map area is determined using the keyword indicating the linear object.

The operation of the eighth embodiment is the same as the operation of the first embodiment except for steps 303 and 304 of the operation (FIG. 3) of the first embodiment. In the eighth embodiment, in step 303 of the operation (FIG. 3) of the first embodiment, the keyword corresponding point extracting means obtains a point sequence representing a point or a line shape corresponding to the keyword.
In step 304, when a linear counterpart is obtained in step 303, the map area is extracted so that a part of the linear counterpart is included in the map area.

The operation of extracting a map area in the eighth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Step 2001: A map region including all the points in the point set and including at least one point for each of the linear counterparts is extracted.

Step 2002: The center of the extracted map area is fixed, and a point sequence representing the shape of each of the points and the line-shape counterparts in the line-shape counterpart set in the area reduced to が is displayed. Check whether at least one is included, and terminate if it is included. If not included, the process proceeds to step 2003.

Step 2003: At least one of the point sequence representing the shape of each of the points and the line-shape counterparts in the line-shape counterpart set is set in the area reduced in half while fixing the center of the map area. Expand the map area so that one is included.

This will be described with a specific example. It is assumed that the keyword “Yokosuka Line” and its shape are registered in the correspondence table 3. Since the content shown in FIG. 13 includes the phrase “Yokosuka Line”, the keyword corresponding point generation means generates a line shape corresponding object representing “Yokosuka Line” together with each of the points “Ikego” and “Higashizushi Station”. Generate.

First, in step 2001, a map area including "Ikego" and "Higashizushi" and at least one point of the "Yokosuka line" is extracted as a rectangle 2101 in FIG. Next, in step 2002, it is checked whether or not at least one point sequence representing the shape of the “Yokosuka line” is included in the area 2102 reduced in size by fixing the center of the map area to ２. Here, since it is not included, the process proceeds to step 2003.

In step 2003, one of the dot sequences representing the shape of the "Yokosuka line" is fixed at 1/2 of the center of the map area.
The map area is enlarged until it is included in the reduced area 2104, and the rectangle 2103 in FIG. 23 is extracted as the map area.

As described above, in the device according to the eighth embodiment,
If the map search keyword includes not only a keyword corresponding to a point but also a keyword having a linear counterpart, and the node in the hypertext structure includes a keyword corresponding to the linear counterpart, the node of the linear shape counterpart By cutting out the map area so that a part is included in the map area, a more appropriate map can be displayed.

(Ninth Embodiment) The map display device of the ninth embodiment links a map extracted in advance to a node of a hypertext document so that a map related to the node can be displayed immediately. It is to be.

As shown in FIG. 24, a hypertext structure search means 16 and a node-related map storage means 17 are provided. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Here, the configuration of the first embodiment is used, but the effects are the same even if any of the second to eighth embodiments is used.

In the apparatus according to the first embodiment, nodes are first presented, and a map area related to the node being presented is obtained and displayed each time. In this method, a map area is extracted every time a node is presented, so that it takes time and is inefficient.

In the apparatus according to the ninth embodiment, a hypertext structure is searched in advance by using a map search keyword in the correspondence table, and the result of executing the association between each node and the map area is stored. When presenting a node, a related map is displayed at high speed.

The operation of the ninth embodiment is divided into a search result storage procedure for associating a map in advance and a search result map display procedure for actually displaying nodes.

First, the search result storage processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

Step 2301: The hypertext structure search means 16 searches for nodes while sequentially applying all the map search keywords in the correspondence table 4.

Step 2302: The keyword-corresponding point generating means 5 obtains a set of map search keywords contained in each node for all nodes searched by the hypertext structure searching means 16.

Step 2303: For all the nodes that have been searched, relevant map areas are obtained, and the results are stored in the hypertext search result storage means 17.

A method for obtaining a related map area for all the nodes that can be searched in step 2303 is as follows.
Any of the methods in the apparatuses according to the eighth to eighth embodiments may be used.

Next, a search result map display procedure when actually presenting a node in the hypertext structure will be described with reference to FIG.

Step 2401: The node in the hypertext structure for which the search has been performed in advance is displayed on the hypertext document display device 2.

Step 2402: It is checked whether the presented node is stored in the hypertext search result storage means 17, and if it is stored, the corresponding map area is obtained. If not, the process ends.

Step 2403: The map area is sent to the map display means 9 and displayed.

As described above, in the device of the ninth embodiment,
In a hypertext structure that has the function of searching for nodes by specifying keywords, search for nodes in the hypertext structure using map search keywords, and find the map search keywords used in the search for the nodes that could be searched. By extracting a region in the map database including the corresponding point, the node is associated with the region in the map database in advance, and a related map extracting means capable of storing a result is provided. When searching for a text structure, a map can be displayed at high speed based on the saved result.

[0147]

As is apparent from the above description, the map display device of the present invention efficiently targets a hypertext document having geographical information for a map area related to the contents of a node in the hypertext structure. Can be extracted and displayed with relevant relevant maps.

In particular, by excluding the salient points from the point names in the contents of the nodes, it is possible to extract and display only a map area in a range deeply related to the contents of the nodes. You can refer to a good map.

[0149] Further, when no landmark is included in the extracted map, the nearest landmark can be included in the map, so that the range of the displayed map can be easily understood intuitively.

Further, since a map area is extracted in consideration of roads and railway tracks, a more appropriate map area can be extracted as compared with a case where a map area is extracted only by a point name.

Furthermore, since the map area related to the node is extracted and stored in advance, the map can be referred to immediately when searching for the node.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a correspondence table in the device of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing node contents for explaining the operation of the apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a map for explaining the operation of the device of the first embodiment,

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a correspondence table in the device of the second embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a map for explaining the operation of the device of the third embodiment,

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the device according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a protruding point exclusion processing procedure of the device according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates node contents for explaining the operation of the device according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device of the fourth embodiment,

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a map for explaining the operation of the device according to the fifth embodiment,

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 shows a landmark list in the device according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a correspondence table including linear objects in the apparatus according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the operation of the device according to the eighth embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a map for explaining the operation of the device according to the eighth embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a search result storage processing procedure of the device according to the ninth embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a search result map display procedure of the device of the ninth embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a structure of a hypertext.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hypertext document 2 Hypertext document presentation means 3 Contents of node being presented 4, 10 Correspondence table 5 Keyword correspondence point generation means 6 Keyword correspondence point 7 Display map data 8 Related map extraction means 9 Map display means 11 Keyword correspondence area Code generating means 12 Keyword corresponding area code 13 Outstanding point excluding means 14 Link map generating means 15 Ambiguous point excluding means 16 Hypertext structure searching means 17 Node related map storage means 18 Landmark list

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/30 G06F 12/00 G06F 17/21 G09B 29/00 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. Map data storage means for display, map display means for displaying a specified area of the map data for display on a screen, hypertext document presenting means for presenting nodes in a hypertext structure, Means for storing a correspondence table composed of correspondences between map search keywords classified according to whether or not the words represent only a point and data relating to the position of the point, and by referring to the correspondence table, Keyword corresponding point generating means for extracting all map search keywords from the node contents when a node content being presented by the text document presenting means includes a keyword representing a point, and obtaining a set of points corresponding thereto; A map area including the entire set of points is extracted from the display map data and provided to the map display means. A related map extracting unit, the map display device characterized by having a map display means for displaying a map associated with the node. 2. The correspondence table has a correspondence between a map search keyword and a latitude and longitude indicating the position, and obtains a latitude and a longitude corresponding to the map search keyword extracted from the contents of the node being presented. 2. The map display device according to claim 1, further comprising keyword corresponding point generation means. 3. The correspondence table has a correspondence between a map search keyword and a region code defined for each region to which the position belongs, and an area corresponding to the map search keyword extracted from the contents of the node being presented. 2. The map display device according to claim 1, further comprising a keyword-corresponding area code generating means for obtaining a code. 4. When the size of the map related to the node being presented is larger than a preset value, the sum of the distances of the respective points in the point set to other points is calculated. 3. The map display device according to claim 2, further comprising a protruding point excluding means for excluding a protruding point. 5. When a size of a map related to the node being presented is larger than a predetermined value, a specific point of a map area of a region code of each point of the point set and a specific point of a point other than the user are specified. 4. The map display device according to claim 3, further comprising a protruding point excluding unit that obtains the sum of the distances from the points and excludes points where the value protrudes. 6. When a size of a map related to the presenting node is larger than a preset value, a map area including all related map areas for all nodes linked from the node is extracted. 4. The map display device according to claim 2, further comprising a link map generation unit that gives a smaller one to the map display unit as compared with the map region obtained first. 7. When the map area is ambiguous because a plurality of points in the point set obtained from the presenting node are points corresponding to one keyword, the plurality of points are determined for all of the plurality of points. Ambiguous point elimination means for finding the sum of the distances to all points whose correspondence with the keyword in the point set is determined, and for eliminating the ambiguity by selecting the point having the smallest sum of the distances from the plurality of points The map display device according to claim 2, 4 or 6, further comprising: 8. When the map area is ambiguous because the point set obtained from the node being presented is composed of a set of a plurality of points corresponding to one keyword, the point set in the point set Ambiguity points that determine the sum of the distances from all other points to other points and select the point with the smallest value for each group of multiple points that have not been determined to correspond to the keyword. The map display device according to claim 2, further comprising an exclusion unit. 9. A means for storing a list of landmarks serving as landmarks for understanding a map, wherein a landmark in the landmark list is included in a map area associated with the presenting node. 2. The related map extracting means further comprising means for associating the map area enlarged so that a landmark closest to the center of the map area is included in the map area with the node when the node is not present. Item 9. The map display device according to any one of Items 8. 10. The map search keyword in the correspondence table includes not only a keyword corresponding to a point but also a keyword having a linear counterpart, and a node in the hypertext structure includes a keyword corresponding to a linear counterpart. in this case, one of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the shape of the line shape counterpart is provided with means for extracting the map area to be included in a certain amount or more map area
A map display device according to any. 11. A hypertext structure search means for searching a node in the hypertext structure using the keyword for map search for an arbitrary hypertext structure, and a correspondence between a node in the hypertext structure and a map area. Node-related map storage means for storing; means for obtaining a related map area from the map search keywords obtained for all searched nodes; associating the nodes with the map area; and searching for the hypertext structure a map display device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a means for determining and displaying a map area corresponding from the node related map storage means when.