JPH0511696A - Map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To display a map stored in a map memory while adding necessary information. CONSTITUTION:The map read out of the map memory 7 is supplied from a display control part 8 to a display part 4 through a map buffer 10 and displayed. An external information memory 14 is stored with items indicating structures, etc., while they are made to correspond to coordinate positions on the map stored in the map memory 7. Those items, etc., are read out to an information buffer 13. The display control part 8 controls the switching of a switch 11 and then the map stored in the map buffer 10 and the items, etc., stored in the information buffer 13 are displayed one over the other at the display part 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map display device suitable for use in a car navigation system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to support the driving of a vehicle on an unguided land, the current position of the vehicle is displayed on a display device composed of a CRT or a liquid crystal display element together with a road map around the vehicle. The navigation device described above is used by being mounted on a vehicle. Such a navigation device includes a map memory including a CD-ROM and the like,
A position detection unit that detects the current position of the vehicle based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor and the direction sensor, and a control unit that reads the road map corresponding to the current position detected by this position detection unit from the map memory and displays it on the display device. And have. With this configuration, the position of the vehicle is displayed on the map while sequentially updating the displayed map as the vehicle moves.

[0003]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The road map stored in the map memory including M and the like is fixed, and new information cannot be added and displayed later. In other words, it is not possible to display the position information of the newly created building and the information personally needed by the user together with the road map, and thus it is not always convenient.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to add arbitrary information to a map stored in a map memory and display it, thereby improving usability. Is to provide.

[0005]

A map display device according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a map display device for displaying a map read from a map memory on the display means. When a storage unit storing specific information associated with the stored coordinate position on the map and a map including the coordinate position corresponding to the information stored in the storage unit are displayed, the storage unit stores the information. And a display control means for displaying the information associated with the coordinate position of (3) on the map in the display means.

According to such a configuration, the storage means stores the specific information associated with the coordinate position on the map, and when the map including the coordinate position is displayed, the specific information is stored in the coordinate position. The information stored in the storage means is displayed in an overlapping manner. As a result, information that is not stored in the map memory can be combined and displayed on the display means.

According to another aspect of the map display device of the present invention, the storage means is readable / writable, and is associated with the coordinate position on the map stored in the map memory in the storage means. It is characterized in that it further comprises a registration means for registering information. In this configuration, since the registration means can register arbitrary information associated with the coordinate position on the map in the storage means, the arbitrarily registered information can be displayed by being superimposed on the map stored in the map memory. it can.

[0008]

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a navigation device to which a map display device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. This navigation device is used by being mounted on a vehicle, and displays the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 3 based on the outputs of the azimuth sensor 1 and the vehicle speed sensor 2,
Along with the road map around it, it is displayed on the display unit 4 composed of a CRT or a liquid crystal display element.

The position data representing the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 3 is given to the CPU 5. This CP
Based on the given position data, the U5 accesses the map memory 7 composed of a CD-ROM or the like via the memory drive 6 and reads the road map around the current position of the vehicle. The map data corresponding to this road map is given from the display control unit 8 to the map buffer 10 via the switch 9, and is supplied from the map buffer 10 to the display unit 4 via the switch 11. The map buffer 10 is composed of a so-called video RAM and stores data corresponding to each pixel forming the display screen of the display unit 4. The display control unit 8 is connected to an input unit 12 including a key input device and a touch panel provided on the display surface of the display unit 4.

An external information memory 14 as a storage means is connected to the switch 9 via an information buffer 13. The external information memory 14 is composed of, for example, a magnetic tape, a RAM card, an IC card, etc., and is removable from the navigation device. The information buffer 13 has the same function as the map buffer 10.

The display controller 8 can cause the data stored in the external information memory 14 to be written in the information buffer 13. Further, the display control unit 8 can write data in the information buffer 14 via the switch 9, and the written data can be stored in the external information memory 14. However, in order to be able to write data to such external information memory 14, the external information memory 14 must be composed of a writable storage medium such as a magnetic tape or a RAM card.

The changeover of the changeover device 9 is performed in response to a changeover control signal given from the display control section 8 through the line 15, and the display control section 8 is caused to change by the CPU 5 by this changeover.
The map data from can be written in the map buffer 10, and arbitrary data can be written in the information buffer. On the other hand, the switch 1 connected to the display unit 4
The switching of 1 is also switched under the control of the display controller 8 by the switching control signal from the line 16. By this switching, the map buffer 10 is displayed on the display unit 4.
The map stored in or the content stored in the information buffer 13 is displayed. However, switch 1
By performing the switching of 1 at high speed, the information stored in the information buffer can be displayed in an overlapping manner on the map stored in the map buffer 10. The display control unit 8 and the switches 9 and 11 constitute a display control means.

In the navigation device of this embodiment, for example, when a readable / writable storage medium is applied to the external information memory 14, an item arbitrarily selected from a plurality of items prepared in advance is stored in the map memory. It can be registered in the external information memory 14 in association with any coordinate position on the map stored in 7. Further, the items registered in this way can be displayed on the map on the display screen of the display unit 4 in an overlapping manner. The above item means a mark or the like indicating the type of building, and the item “〒” is associated with the post office, for example.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation at the time of registering an item, and a display example of the display unit 4 is shown in a simplified manner. When the item is registered, the cross cursor 21 is displayed in addition to the display of the road map. The operator operates the input unit 1
By the operation of 2, the intersection 22 of the cross cursor 21 is moved to a position to be set, and in that state, a predetermined input operation is performed from the input unit 12. As a result, the cross cursor 21
The coordinates of the map corresponding to the position of the intersection 22 are determined as the coordinates to be stored in association with the item.

In response to the completion of the input operation of the coordinates, a plurality of selectable items are displayed on the display unit 4 (not shown). The operator selects a desired item from the displayed items by operating the input unit 12. As a result, the display control unit 8 switches the switch 9 to the information buffer 13 side and registers the data in which the coordinate position and the item are associated with each other in the external information memory 14 via the information buffer 13. In this way, any item can be registered in the external information memory 14 in association with any coordinate position on the map. In this embodiment,
The input unit 12 and the display control unit 8 constitute a registration means.

Next, the operation of displaying a road map on the display unit 4 will be described. Display control unit 8 from CPU 5
When the map data is given to the map buffer 10 and the data is written in the map buffer 10, the items to be displayed on the map are controlled by the external information memory 14 under the control of the display controller 8.
Is read from the information buffer 13 to the information buffer 13. In addition, the display control unit 8 reads the coordinates on the map stored in association with the above items therein.

During most of the time when one frame image is formed on the display unit 4, the display control unit 8 causes the switching unit 1 to operate.
1 is connected to the map buffer 10 side. Then, the switch 11 is switched to the information buffer 13 side while the display unit 4 displays the coordinate position corresponding to the item read to the information buffer 13. In this way, the items registered in the external information memory 14 are
The map is displayed at a predetermined coordinate position on the map in an overlapping manner with the road map.

As described above, in the navigation device of this embodiment, the user can arbitrarily register any item associated with the coordinate position on the map in the external information memory 14, and when the map is displayed. The item registered in association with the coordinate position can be combined with the road map and displayed. As a result, although the road map stored in the map memory 7 is fixed, the position of the newly constructed building and the information personally required by the user are added to the road map. Then, it becomes possible to display. As a result, the usability of the navigation device is improved.

As the external information memory 14, if a building or the like newly created after the map memory 7 is created is stored in advance on the supplier side of the map memory,
Even after a long time has passed since the map memory 7 was created, an accurate map suitable for the current situation can be displayed on the display unit 4. Further, since the external information memory 14 can be used by being exchanged, if the building data is stored for each region such as the Kanto area or the Kansai area, the user can use the external information memory as needed. 14 can be replaced and used. Further, since the external information memory 14 is replaceable, the apparent storage capacity of the external information memory 14 is infinite, and it is possible to easily cope with diversification of information to be displayed on the display unit 4. There is an advantage that you can.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the item that can be registered in the external information memory 14 is arbitrarily selected from a plurality of items prepared in advance, but by providing a function of creating an arbitrary item in the navigation device, Any item created by the user can be displayed on the display unit 4 together with the map. Further, in the above embodiment, the navigation device is described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to any device that needs to display a map other than the navigation device, and can of course be applied to a device that only displays a map. . In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0021]

As described above, according to the map display device of the present invention, the information stored in the storage means can be combined with the map in the map memory and displayed in the display means. As a result, for example, a mark of a building newly created after the creation of the map memory and other information necessary for the user can be added to the map in the existing map memory and displayed. As a result, a map with good usability can be displayed.

A readable / writable storage means is applied to the storage means, and registration means for registering arbitrary information in the storage means in association with the coordinate position on the map stored in the map memory. By providing, it is possible to display the arbitrarily registered information by superimposing it on the map stored in the map memory. As a result, for example, information necessary for each user can be added to the map in the map memory and displayed, and a map that is more convenient for each user can be displayed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a navigation device which is an embodiment of a map display device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a simplified display example of a display unit when an item is registered.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 Display 5 CPU 7 map memory 8 Display control unit 9 Switch 10 map buffer 11 Switch 12 Input section 13 Information buffer 14 External information memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A map display device for displaying a map read from a map memory on a display means, and storage means for storing specific information associated with coordinate positions on the map stored in the map memory, When the map including the coordinate position corresponding to the information stored in the storage means is displayed, the information corresponding to the coordinate position in the storage means is displayed on the display means in an overlapping manner. A map display device comprising: a control means. 2. The storage means is readable / writable, and registration means for registering arbitrary information in the storage means in association with the coordinate position on the map stored in the map memory. The map display device according to claim 1, further comprising: