JP4721228B2 - Regional representative point acquisition device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a regional representative point acquisition device that identifies a representative point of a region on a map.

  In map data used for guidance route search and display of map images around the vehicle position in a car navigation device or the like, generally, shape information for representing the shape of the region is included. This shape information includes the coordinates of the outer edge of the region. When a region is set as the destination, the representative point of the corresponding region is specified based on these coordinates, and the target point A guided route search using the ground is performed.

However, in small cities and the like, shape information may not be prepared, and in such a case, it is not possible to specify a representative point in the area. For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for generating a city center as a representative point of a region and setting the city center as a destination.
JP-A-11-344356

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, it is not clear what information the city center as a representative point of the area is generated based on, and the representative point of the area is not necessarily acquired appropriately. I can't say I can.

  The objective of this invention solves the subject mentioned above, and provides the regional representation point acquisition apparatus which can acquire the representation point of a region appropriately.

  The present invention is an area representative point acquisition device for specifying a representative point of an area on a map, based on road information in which a coordinate array representing a road shape is associated with identification information of an area through which the road passes. A coordinate array acquisition unit that acquires a coordinate array corresponding to the identification information of the predetermined region, and a representative that identifies a representative point of the predetermined region based on the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit. And a point specifying means.

  According to this configuration, the coordinate array included in the road information of the road passing through the predetermined area is acquired, and the representative point of the predetermined area is specified based on the coordinate array. That is, the representative point of the predetermined area can be appropriately acquired using the coordinate array representing the shape of the road included in the road information of the road passing through the predetermined area.

  Further, in the area representative point acquisition device of the present invention, when there are a plurality of road information including the identification information of the predetermined area, the representative point specifying unit selects a coordinate array included in any of the road information, Based on the selected coordinate arrangement, a representative point of the predetermined area may be specified.

  In the area representative point acquiring apparatus according to the present invention, the coordinate array acquiring unit selects a coordinate array having an intermediate arrangement order when the road information is rearranged in the order of identification information of the road information determined in advance. You may do it.

  According to this configuration, the road information is identified when the identification information of the road information is given according to the arrangement of the corresponding road, for example, in order from north to south, or from east to west. When the information is rearranged in the order of information, a coordinate array having an intermediate arrangement order is selected, and a representative point in a predetermined area is identified based on the selected coordinate array, thereby making the position of the representative point appropriate. be able to.

  In the area representative point acquisition device according to the present invention, the representative point specifying unit specifies a coordinate having an intermediate arrangement order as a representative point of the predetermined area in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit. May be.

  Since coordinates in the middle of the arrangement order in the coordinate array are considered to be most likely to be located in the predetermined area, according to this configuration, by specifying the coordinates as representative points of the predetermined area, The position can be appropriate.

  In the area representative point acquiring apparatus according to the present invention, the representative point specifying unit is configured to represent the predetermined area based on the arrangement density of each coordinate in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit. You may make it pinpoint a point.

  In the area representative point acquisition device according to the present invention, the representative point specifying unit divides the map into predetermined regions, and the coordinate in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit is the largest among the predetermined regions. You may make it specify the coordinate corresponding to the predetermined area | region arrange | positioned as a representative point of the said predetermined area.

  Since the coordinates corresponding to the region where the most coordinates in the coordinate array are arranged are considered to be most suitable as the representative points of the predetermined area, according to this configuration, the coordinates can be specified as the representative points of the predetermined area. The position of the representative point can be made appropriate.

  From the same viewpoint, the regional representative point acquisition device according to the present invention is configured such that the representative point specifying unit has a predetermined region in which the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit are most frequently arranged among the predetermined regions. A predetermined number in which the number of coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit is the largest among the new predetermined areas obtained by further dividing the predetermined area when there are a plurality of the coordinates in three or more. You may make it identify the coordinate corresponding to an area | region as a representative point of the said predetermined area.

  From the same point of view, the regional representative point acquisition device according to the present invention is such that the representative point specifying unit is in a predetermined region in which the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit are arranged most frequently. In addition, when two coordinates exist, an intermediate coordinate between the two coordinates may be specified as a representative point of the predetermined area.

  From the same point of view, the regional representative point acquisition device according to the present invention is such that the representative point specifying unit is in a predetermined region in which the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit are arranged most frequently. In addition, when there is one of the coordinates, the coordinate may be specified as a representative point of the predetermined area.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately acquire a representative point of a predetermined area using a coordinate array representing the shape of the road included in road information of a road passing through the predetermined area.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a car navigation device to which an area representative point acquisition device of the present invention is applied. A car navigation device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle and includes a main body 10, a hard disk drive (HDD) 20, an operation unit 30, a communication unit 40, a GPS reception unit 50, a self-contained navigation sensor 60, a display 70 and a speaker 80. Is done.

  The HDD 20 is equipped with a hard disk 22 and reads map data recorded on the hard disk 22. The map data includes road information. As shown in FIG. 2, this road information identifies a road ID that is identification information of the road, a road name that is identification information of the road, and a plurality of road information having the same road name, as shown in FIG. The house number (No) to be used, the name of the area through which the road passes, the latitude and longitude, and a plurality of road coordinates for representing the shape of the road are arranged in order along the road extending direction. And a coordinate array formed. The map data recording medium is not limited to the hard disk 22, and may be a DVD, a CD-ROM, or the like, and a drive corresponding to the recording medium is prepared.

  The operation unit 30 has operation buttons, joysticks, and the like (not shown), and is operated by the user in setting search information such as setting a destination when searching for a guidance route. The communication unit 40 is, for example, a mobile phone, and communicates with the outside in order to acquire various information necessary for the car navigation device 100. The GPS receiver 50 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites necessary for detecting the position of the vehicle. The self-contained navigation sensor 60 is composed of a gyro for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a distance sensor that generates a pulse (vehicle speed pulse) at every constant travel distance.

  The main body 10 includes a control unit 102, a buffer memory 104, a map drawing unit 106, an operation screen / mark generation unit 108, a guidance route storage unit 110, a guidance route drawing unit 112, a representative point storage unit 114, a facility list drawing unit 116, and an image. The combining unit 118 is configured. In the present embodiment, the control unit 102 corresponds to a coordinate array acquisition unit and a representative point identification unit.

  The control unit 102 controls the entire car navigation device 100. Specifically, the control unit 102 determines the position, direction, and position of the vehicle based on the GPS signal received by the GPS receiving unit 50, the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the autonomous navigation sensor 60, and the output interval of the vehicle speed pulse. Calculate the speed. Further, the control unit 102 instructs the HDD 20 to read the map data recorded on the hard disk 22. For example, when the vehicle is traveling, the control unit 102 instructs reading of map data corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle position. The map data read by the HDD 104 according to this instruction is stored in the buffer memory 104. The map drawing unit 106 generates a map image based on the map data stored in the buffer memory 104.

  In addition, the control unit 102 issues an image generation instruction to the operation screen / mark generation unit 108 according to the operation of the operation unit 30 by the user or the operation state of the car navigation device 10. In response to this instruction, the operation screen / mark generator 108 generates images of various menu screens, vehicle position marks, and cursor marks.

  Further, the control unit 102 reads out map data stored in the buffer memory 104 in accordance with an operation of the operation unit 30 for a guided route search by the user, and uses a predetermined route search algorithm based on the map data. To set a guide route to the destination. Information on the set guide route is stored in the guide route storage unit 110. The guide route drawing unit 112 generates a guide route image based on the guide route information stored in the guide route storage unit 110.

  Further, the control unit 102 reads road information in the map data stored in the buffer memory 104 in response to an operation of designating a region name by the operation unit 30 by the user, and represents a representative point of the region based on the road information. Process to get. Details of the regional representative point acquisition will be described later. Information on the acquired representative points of the area is stored in the representative point storage unit 114 and used as a destination in the guidance route search.

  Further, the control unit 102 instructs the image composition unit 118 to perform image composition in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 30 by the user or the operation state of the car navigation device 10. In response to this instruction, the image synthesis unit 118 appropriately synthesizes various images generated by the map image drawing unit 106, the operation screen / mark generation unit 108, the guidance route drawing unit 112, and the facility list drawing unit 116, and is obtained. The displayed image is displayed on the display 70.

  In addition, the control unit 102 generates sound according to the operation of the operation unit 30 by the user or the operation state of the car navigation device 10 and causes the speaker 80 to output the sound. For example, the control unit 102 generates guidance voice such as an instruction to turn at an intersection based on the guidance route information during route guidance, and causes the speaker 80 to output the guidance voice.

  Next, the details of the process of acquiring regional representative points in the car navigation device 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first operation for acquiring regional representative points.

  The control unit 102 determines whether or not the area name is designated by operating the operation unit 30 by the user (S101). The map data includes a list of area names, and the control unit 102 instructs the HDD 20 to read out a list of area names in the map data recorded on the hard disk 22. In response to this instruction, the HDD 20 reads a list of area names and stores it in the buffer memory 104. Further, the control unit 102 reads out a list of area names stored in the buffer memory 104, outputs the list to the operation screen / mark generation unit 108, and issues an image generation instruction. The operation screen / mark generation unit 108 generates an image of a list of area names in response to this instruction. The generated image of the list of area names is displayed on the display 70. When the operation unit 30 is operated by the user and any region name is selected, the control unit 102 determines that the selected region name is set.

  When the area name is designated, the control unit 102 acquires road information including the designated area name (S102). Specifically, the control unit 102 instructs the HDD 20 to read road information in the map data recorded on the hard disk 22. In response to this instruction, the HDD 20 reads road information from the hard disk 22 and stores it in the buffer memory 104. Then, the control unit 102 extracts the road information stored in the buffer memory 104 that includes the designated area name.

  Next, the control unit 102 counts the number of road information acquired in S102 (S103). Further, the control unit 102 rearranges the road information acquired in S102 in the order of road IDs included in the road information (S104). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of road IDs of rearranged road information. For example, the road ID is given in the order of east to west based on the arrangement of the corresponding road. Then, the control unit 102 divides the number of road information counted in S102 by 2, and among the road information rearranged in S104, the road information at the position of the division value, that is, the road information in the middle of the order of arrangement. Is selected (S105). At this time, when the division value is not an integer, the control unit 102 selects the road information at the integer position immediately before or immediately after the division value. For example, in FIG. 4, the road ID of the road information in the middle order is 322, and the road information of this road ID 322 is selected.

  Next, the control part 102 extracts the coordinate arrangement | sequence in the road information selected in S105 (S106). Further, the control unit 102 counts the number of road coordinates in the coordinate array extracted in S106 (S107). Then, the control unit 102 divides the number of road coordinates counted in S107 by 2, and among the road coordinates in the coordinate array extracted in S106, the road coordinates at the position of the division value, that is, the arrangement order is intermediate. Is specified as a representative point of the area corresponding to the designated area name (S108). At this time, if the division value is not an integer, the control unit 102 specifies the road coordinates at the integer position immediately before or after the division value as a representative point of the area.

  Next, the control unit 102 generates area information including the area representative point specified in S108 and the specified area name (S109). FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of regional information. This area information is stored in the representative point storage unit 114. This area information is used, for example, to specify the position of the area corresponding to the area name when the area name is specified in the destination setting in the guidance route search. At this time, the control unit 102 may calculate the distance from the vehicle position to the regional representative point and display it on the display 70.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a map in the first operation for acquiring the regional representative points. When there is an area 200 corresponding to the area name designated by the user, and there are roads with a road ID 100, road ID 322, and road ID 584 that pass through the area 200, the arrangement order when the road IDs are rearranged is intermediate. The road information of the road ID 322 is selected. Further, when five road coordinates are included in the coordinate array in the road information of the road ID 322, as shown in FIG. 6, the third road coordinate having an intermediate arrangement order is specified as the regional representative point.

  7 and 8 are flowcharts showing a second operation for acquiring regional representative points. The operations in S201 and S202 are the same as the operations in S101 and S102 in FIG. That is, the control unit 102 determines whether or not an area name is specified by operating the operation unit 30 by the user (S201). When the area name is specified, the road including the specified area name is determined. Information is acquired (S202).

  Next, the control part 102 extracts the coordinate arrangement | sequence in the road information acquired in S202 (S203). Further, the control unit 102 extracts road coordinates in the coordinate array extracted in S203 (S204). Then, the control unit 102 arranges the road coordinates extracted in S204 on the rectangular map (S205). Specifically, the control unit 102 instructs the HDD 20 to read out map data corresponding to the area including the road coordinates extracted in S204. In response to this instruction, the HDD 20 reads map data corresponding to the area including the road coordinates extracted from the hard disk 22 in S204 and stores it in the buffer memory 104. Then, the control unit 102 reads the map data stored in the buffer memory 104 and performs a process of generating a map corresponding to the map data. And the control part 102 performs the process which arrange | positions the road coordinate extracted in S204, after dividing the produced | generated map into a rectangular area.

  Thereafter, the operation proceeds to the operation shown in FIG. 8, and the control unit 102 selects a rectangular area having the largest number of road coordinates (S206). At this time, when there are a plurality of rectangular regions where the most road coordinates are arranged, the control unit 102 selects one of them.

  Next, the control unit 102 determines whether or not there are three or more road coordinates arranged in the rectangular area selected in S206 (S207). When there are three or more road coordinates arranged in the rectangular area, the control unit 102 divides the rectangular area in which the three or more road coordinates are arranged into smaller rectangular areas (S208). After that, the control unit 102 selects a new rectangular area obtained in S208 that has the largest number of road coordinates (S206), and the number of road coordinates arranged in the selected rectangular area is three or more. It is determined whether or not there is (S207). By repeating such an operation, the road coordinates in the rectangular area where the most road coordinates are arranged become 2 or less, and a negative determination is made in S207.

  When the road coordinates arranged in the rectangular area selected in S206 are 2 or less (in the case of negative determination in S207), the control unit 102 then has two road coordinates arranged in the rectangular area selected in S206. It is determined whether or not (S209). When the number of road coordinates arranged in the selected rectangular area is not two, that is, when the number of road coordinates arranged in the selected rectangular area is one, the control unit 102 sets the road coordinates to the designated area name. It identifies as a representative point of a corresponding area (S210).

  On the other hand, when there are not two road coordinates arranged in the selected rectangular area, the control unit 102 calculates an intermediate coordinate between the two road coordinates, and the calculated coordinate is an area corresponding to the designated area name. Are identified as representative points (S211). Next, the control unit 102 generates area information including the area representative point specified in S201 and S211 and the specified area name (S212).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a map in the second operation of acquiring regional representative points. In the map divided into rectangular areas, if there is an area 200 corresponding to the area name specified by the user, and there are a plurality of roads 202 passing through the area 200, the road information in the road information corresponding to each road 202 is included. Road coordinates included in the coordinate array are arranged on the map. In FIG. 9, the rectangular area where the most road coordinates are arranged is a rectangular area 206, and the rectangular area 206 includes two road coordinates. Therefore, an intermediate coordinate between these two road coordinates is specified as the regional representative point.

  As described above, in the car navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment, when road information corresponding to a road passing through an area designated by the user is acquired, the road navigation is based on the road coordinates in the coordinate array included in the road information. Regional representative points are identified. Specifically, in the first method, the acquired road information is rearranged in the order of road IDs in the road information, and road information having an intermediate arrangement order is selected. Then, intermediate road coordinates in the coordinate array in the selected road information are specified as the representative points of the area. In the second method, road coordinates in the coordinate array in the road information are arranged on a rectangular map, and any one of the road coordinates or road coordinates in the rectangular area where the road coordinates are arranged most frequently. Predetermined coordinates calculated based on are specified as the representative points of the area. That is, the representative point of the designated area can be appropriately acquired using the coordinate array representing the shape of the road included in the road information of the road passing through the designated area.

  In the above-described embodiment, the process of acquiring the representative points of the area is performed independently. However, in the route guidance search, the operation unit 30 is operated for designating the area name in the destination setting by the user. In such a case, the representative point of the area corresponding to the area name may be acquired.

  The designation of the area name can also be performed as follows. That is, the control unit 102 instructs the HDD 20 to read road information in the map data recorded on the hard disk 22. In response to this instruction, the HDD 20 reads road information and stores it in the buffer memory 104. Further, the control unit 102 reads the road information stored in the buffer memory 104, outputs the road name in the road information to the operation screen / mark generation unit 108, and issues an image generation instruction. In response to this instruction, the operation screen / mark generation unit 108 generates an image of a list of road names. The generated road name list image is displayed on the display 70. Thereafter, when any of the road names is selected by operating the operation unit 30 by the user, the control unit 102 extracts the house number in the road information including the road name, and the operation screen / mark generation unit And outputs an instruction to generate an image. In response to this instruction, the operation screen / mark generation unit 108 generates an image of a list of house numbers. The generated image of the list of house numbers is displayed on the display 70. Thereafter, when the operation unit 30 is operated by the user and one of the house numbers is selected, the control unit 102 determines that the area name in the road information including the house number is designated.

  As described above, the regional representative point acquisition device according to the present invention can appropriately acquire regional representative points, and is useful as a regional representative point acquisition device.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a car navigation apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of road information. It is a flowchart which shows the 1st operation | movement of area representative point acquisition. It is a figure which shows an example of rearrangement of road information. It is a figure which shows an example of representative point information. It is a figure which shows an example of the map in 1st operation | movement of area representative point acquisition. It is a 1st low chart which shows the 2nd operation of area representative point acquisition. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the 2nd operation | movement of area representative point acquisition. It is a figure which shows an example of the map in 2nd operation | movement of area representative point acquisition.

Explanation of symbols

10 Main body 20 Hard disk drive (HDD)
22 Hard disk 30 Operation unit 40 Communication unit 40
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 GPS receiving part 60 Autonomous navigation sensor 70 Display 80 Speaker 100 Car navigation apparatus 102 Control part 104 Buffer memory 106 Map drawing part 108 Operation screen and mark generation part 110 Guidance path memory | storage part 112 Guidance path drawing part 114 Representative point memory | storage part 118 Image Compositing part

Claims (9)

A regional representative point acquisition device for identifying a representative point of a region on a map,
Coordinate array acquisition means for acquiring, for a predetermined area, a coordinate array corresponding to the identification information of the predetermined area based on road information in which the coordinate array representing the shape of the road is associated with the identification information of the area through which the road passes When,
An area representative point acquiring device comprising: representative point specifying means for specifying a representative point of the predetermined area based on the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring means.   The representative point specifying means, when there are a plurality of road information including identification information of the predetermined area, selects a coordinate arrangement included in any road information, and based on the selected coordinate arrangement, the predetermined area The regional representative point acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative point is specified.   The region according to claim 2, wherein the coordinate array acquisition unit selects a coordinate array having an intermediate arrangement order when the road information is rearranged in a predetermined order of identification information of the road information. Representative point acquisition device.   The representative point specifying unit specifies a coordinate having an intermediate arrangement order as a representative point of the predetermined area in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit. The regional representative point acquisition device described.   2. The representative point specifying unit specifies a representative point of the predetermined area based on a density of arrangement of each coordinate in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit on a map. The regional representative point acquisition device described in 1.   The representative point specifying unit divides a map into predetermined regions, and among the predetermined regions, coordinates corresponding to a predetermined region where the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquiring unit are arranged most frequently are 6. The regional representative point acquisition device according to claim 5, wherein the regional representative point acquisition device is specified as a representative point of a predetermined region.   The representative point specifying means, when there are a plurality of three or more coordinates in the predetermined area in the predetermined area where the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition means is the most, among the predetermined areas, Among the new predetermined areas obtained by further dividing the predetermined area, the coordinates corresponding to the predetermined area where the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition unit are arranged most frequently are specified as representative points of the predetermined area. The regional representative point acquisition device according to claim 6, wherein:   The representative point specifying means, when the two coordinates exist in the predetermined area where the coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition means are the most, out of the predetermined areas, The regional representative point acquisition apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a coordinate in the middle of two coordinates is specified as a representative point of the predetermined region.   The representative point specifying means, when there is one of the coordinates in a predetermined area where the most coordinates in the coordinate array acquired by the coordinate array acquisition means are located among the areas, The regional representative point acquisition device according to claim 6, wherein the regional representative point acquisition device is specified as a representative point of the predetermined region.

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