JP3591216B2 - Map display device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle map display device, and more particularly to a device for simultaneously displaying a designated position such as a scroll center and a display required position such as a current position.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a map display device that detects a current position of a vehicle and superimposes and displays the current position on map data has been used for a navigation system or the like. In such a map display device, the user often scrolls the map data in order to check the map data at an arbitrary position. In this case, the current position is off the display screen with the scroll. Therefore, the relationship between the designated position that the user wants to check and the current position of the vehicle becomes unclear.
[0003]
Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-339163, a map in a range in which the scroll center and the current position are simultaneously displayed in order to make it easy to grasp the relationship between the current position and the displayed map even during map scrolling is stored in a map. A technique of reading from a device and displaying it is described.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional technology, as the distance between the scroll center and the current position increases, the scale of the map required to simultaneously display the two decreases, and the details of the specified position (that is, the scroll center) that the user wants to check are determined. There was a problem that was difficult to understand.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the related art, and has as its object to display details near a user-specified position, and simultaneously display a display required position such as a current position, and display both positions. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular map display device capable of easily grasping the relationship.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display unit for displaying map data, a specifying unit for specifying an arbitrary position on a map, and a display required position existing outside the display range of the map data near the specified position. In this case, there is provided a display control means for partially changing the scale of the map data near the required display position and displaying the map data near the designated position and the required display position. Rather than changing the scale of the entire displayed map, a detailed map around the specified position is displayed by changing only the scale near the required display position while maintaining the scale of the specified area around the specified position. The required display position can be displayed at the same time. In addition, "outside the display range" includes not only a case where the display is actually out of the display range but no display, but also a case where the display is located near the boundary of the display range and will not be displayed in the near future.
[0007]
In this case, the display control means may be arranged such that, of the read map data, a tangent line which is orthogonal to a straight line connecting the designated position and the display required position and which is in contact with an ellipse within a display range centered on the designated position. It is preferable to partially change the scale on the display required position side. This makes it possible to accurately grasp the positional relationship with the display-required position while ensuring the map data near the designated position.
[0008]
In the present invention, before Symbol display control means, it is possible to reduce the scale toward the display required position from the specified position. By gradually reducing the scale, it is possible to suppress inconsistency in display at the scale change boundary and discomfort given to the user.
[0009]
In the present invention, the required display position may be a current position of the vehicle . Thus, the relative positional relationship between the designated position and the current position can be easily grasped, and the operation to the designated position can be smoothly performed. Further, in the present invention, the display range may be set based on the amount of movement for one frame scrolled inside the screen of the display means, or set based on the size of the current position mark inside the screen of the display means. You may.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration block diagram of the present embodiment. The basic configuration is almost the same as that of a known navigation device, and the position evaluation sensor unit 10 includes an absolute position sensor such as a GPS, a wheel speed sensor, and a relative position sensor such as a gyro sensor, and detects a current position of the vehicle. It is supplied to the control unit 16. A map data storage unit 18 such as a CD-ROM stores road information (road types, roads, etc.) necessary for road map display and route search. The map data and the current position are displayed in a superimposed manner on the display unit 20 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal by using the. Further, the control unit 16 reads out the road information stored in the map data storage unit 18, searches for the optimal route to the input destination by a known Dijkstra method or the like, displays it on the display unit 20, displays it on the display unit 20, and displays the audio output unit. A guidance voice is output from 22. The operation unit 24 is used when a user inputs a destination or the like, or when a map displayed on the display unit 20 is scrolled to display a map near an arbitrary position, and functions as an arbitrary position designation unit. Instead of the control unit 16 searching for a route to the destination using the road information in the map data storage unit 18, the input destination data is sent to an information center or the like by a transmitter, and the information center side transmits the destination data. A configuration in which a route to the destination is searched and route data is returned to the control unit 16 is also possible.
[0012]
In such a configuration, for example, when the user scrolls the map displayed on the display unit 20 in order to check the status on the route to the destination, the current position is out of the screen with the scrolling. May be lost. In such a case, by displaying the map data of a wider area on the display unit 20 by reducing the scale of the currently displayed map data, both the designated position and the current position can be displayed. Detailed information cannot be determined from the data.
[0013]
Therefore, when the user operates the operation unit 24 to scroll the map, the control unit 16 partially changes the scale near the current position (partially reduces the scale) if the current position display goes off the screen. The current position can be displayed without losing detailed information near the designated position.
[0014]
FIG. 2 shows a processing flowchart of the control unit 16. When the user operates the scroll switch SW (S101), the map data displayed on the display unit 20 is scrolled frame by frame (S102). Then, it is determined whether or not the current map is on the detailed information display scale (S103). If the scale of the current map is smaller than a predetermined value (for example, 1/80000) (that is, a wide range of map data has already been displayed), and if the current position display does not deviate from the screen even when scrolling, no processing is performed. Not performed. On the other hand, if the current map scale is larger than the predetermined value and the map is a detailed information display map, it is further determined whether or not the position (x, y) of the current position display mark on the screen is within a predetermined range. You. This determination is for confirming whether or not the current position display may deviate from the screen. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the coordinates of the four corners of the screen are (X0, Y0), When (X0, Y1), (X1, Y0), (X1, Y1) are set, and the value obtained by adding the size of the current position display mark and the movement amount for one frame of the scroll is α,
(Equation 1)
X0 + α <x <X1-α
And,
(Equation 2)
Y0 + α <y <Y1-α
It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied (S104). The range that satisfies these inequalities is a region surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 3. In this case, no processing is performed because the current position display is surely within the display screen. On the other hand, if the above inequality expression is not satisfied, the current position display deviates from the screen and is not displayed in the next scrolling, so that it is determined that the current position display is substantially out of the display range. A current location screen is created (S105) and inserted into the displayed map screen (S106). Of course, in the process of S104, it is determined whether or not the current position display has actually deviated from the display range.
X0 <x <X1
And [Equation 4]
Y0 <y <Y1
May be determined.
[0015]
FIG. 4 schematically shows the current location screen creation process, which is the process in S105. FIG. 4A shows a case where the current position display 100 deviates from the screen 200, and the designated position, that is, the center of the display range is indicated by reference numeral 300. In this case, the control unit 16 determines whether or not the tangent 500 of the ellipse 400 and the display range 200 are orthogonal to the straight line connecting the display range center 300 and the current position display 100 and centered on the display range center 300 which is the designated position. The map data scale on the current position side with respect to the tangent line 500 is partially increased so as to fall within the enclosed triangular area 600. Then, the display distance between the current position display 100 and the display range center 300 is reduced as shown by the arrow in the figure, and the current position display 100 is displayed together with the display range center 300 as shown in FIG. become. What should be noted here is that the scale of the original map data is maintained except for the triangular area 600 of the display range 200, and therefore, detailed information is displayed near the designated position of the display range center 300. The user can confirm the current position while visually confirming the detailed information.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 4B, when the control unit 16 partially changes the scale of the map data on the current position side with respect to the tangent 500, the control unit 16 gradually reduces the scale from the designated position to the current position. (That is, the scale is reduced according to the distance from the designated position). This is to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable because the scales are different on both sides of the tangent line 500. Of course, it is also possible to reduce the scale of the map near the current position uniformly with respect to the tangent 500. When the current position screen is created by partially reducing the scale of the map in the vicinity of the current position, it is also preferable to thin out the road types to be displayed. Specifically, roads below the prefectural road are thinned out and only the national roads are displayed. The current position is displayed together with the specified position so that the user can easily understand the relative positional relationship between the specified position and the current position. For the user, detailed map data near the current position is not necessarily provided. It is not necessary.
[0017]
FIG. 5 shows how the map data changes by the above-described series of processing. In FIG. 5A, detailed map data having a certain scale is displayed together with the current position display 100 and the guide route 700 to the destination. From this state, if the user scrolls the map to the upper right to check the map data (or traffic information data sent from the information center) near an arbitrary position on the route, the screen shown in FIG. 100 is located at the lower left of the screen 200, and if the scroll is continued while maintaining the reduced scale as in the related art, the current position next deviates from the screen 200. Then, since the control unit 16 performs the above-described processing to create a new current location screen, the scale of the map in the vicinity of the current position is partially reduced even if the screen is further scrolled to the upper right as shown in FIG. Thus, the display 100 is continuously displayed on the screen 200, and the relative positional relationship between the designated position at the center of the display range and the current position can be grasped.
[0018]
As described above, the present embodiment has been described by taking the current position as an example of the display required position in the embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to use any position that is recognized as necessary to be displayed on the screen. it can. Such a position may be, for example, a destination, and the scale of the map near the destination may be partially reduced so that the designated position and the destination can be simultaneously displayed on the screen. Further, it is conceivable that both the designated position, the current position, and the destination are displayed on the screen by partially reducing both the map scale near the current position and the map scale near the destination.
[0019]
Further, in the above embodiment, the tangent 500 of the ellipse 400 centered on the display range center 300 which is the designated position is used as a reference, but a circle or a polygon may be used instead of the ellipse 400, and the radius of the ellipse 400 may be used. May be arbitrarily set within a range that does not impair detailed map data near the designated position.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to displaying the details in the vicinity of the position designated by the user, the display position such as the current position is also displayed at the same time, so that the positional relationship between the two can be easily grasped.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a processing flowchart of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a display range and a current position according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a current location screen creation process of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating processing during scrolling according to the embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 position evaluation sensor unit, 16 control unit, 18 map data storage unit, 20 display unit, 22 audio output unit, 24 operation unit, 100 current position display, 200 display range, 300 display range center (designated position), 400 ellipse, 500 tangents, 600 triangular areas, 700 guidance routes.

Claims (8)

Display means for displaying map data;
Specifying means for specifying an arbitrary position on the map,
Determining means for determining whether a display required position is included in the display range of the map data near the designated position,
When the display-necessary position is not included, a scale setting unit that partially changes the scale of the map data near the display-necessary position so as to include the display-necessary position,
Display control means for displaying the required display position on the map data near the designated position at the scale set by the scale setting means ;
A map display device for a vehicle, comprising: Display means for displaying map data;
Specifying means for specifying an arbitrary position on the map,
When the display required position exists outside the display range of the map data in the vicinity of the designated position, the scale of the map data in the vicinity of the display required position is partially changed to change the map data in the vicinity of the designated position and the display required position in the map data. Display control means for displaying;
Has, the display control means, said orthogonal to the straight line connecting the display required position and the designated position of the map data, and the relative tangent to the display range ellipse centered on the designated location car dual map display device you characterized by partial change the scale of the display required position. 3. The map display device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit reduces the scale from the designated position to the required display position. The map display device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display required position is a current position of the vehicle. 5. The vehicle map display device according to claim 1, wherein the display range is set based on a movement amount of one frame in a scroll inside the screen of the display unit. The vehicle map display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display range is set based on a size of a current position mark inside a screen of the display unit. Display means for displaying map data;
  Scroll means for scrolling the map data;
  When there is a display required position including the current vehicle position outside the display range of the map data near the scroll center, the scale of the vehicle display required position vicinity area in the map data is partially made smaller than the current scale. Display control means for displaying the required display position on the map data near the center of the scroll by maintaining the scale of other areas,
  A map display device for a vehicle, comprising: The map display device for a vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the display required position is a current vehicle position and a destination.

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