JPH0533175U - Map display - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] The map memory 5 stores a map of a plurality of scales. The control unit 4 reads the map of the reduced scale stored in the set reduced scale storage unit 11 from the map memory 5 and displays it on the display unit 7. The reduction scale can be switched by an input operation from the touch panel 9 or the console 8. The control unit 4 does not immediately read the map even if the scale changing operation is performed, but starts the reading when the timer 12 started in response to the scale changing operation measures a predetermined time. That is, the scale of the map to be read is not fixed in the period before the predetermined time has elapsed after the scale switching operation, and the scale stored in the set scale storage unit 11 can be changed by performing the switching operation again. [Effect] By repeatedly performing the scale changing operation within a predetermined time after the scale changing operation, it is possible to quickly change the scale in two or more steps at once without reading and displaying the map of the scale at an intermediate stage. it can.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a map display device that is used, for example, in a navigation device for supporting traveling in a vehicle and that can switch and display maps of a plurality of different scales.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, in order to support the driving of a vehicle on an unfamiliar land, a navigation device that displays the current position of the vehicle together with a map around it on a display device such as a CRT has been mounted on the vehicle. It is used. In such a navigation device, a position detection unit that detects the current position of the vehicle based on the outputs from the distance sensor and the azimuth sensor, a map memory including a CD-ROM, and the position detection unit are detected. It has a control unit for reading a road map near the current position of the vehicle from the map memory and displaying it on the display device.

For the map data stored in the road map memory, there are prepared maps of a plurality of different scales, such as 1 / 400,000, 1/10000, 1 / 25,000, and 1 / 12,000. ing. The user selects an appropriate scale from these scales according to the purpose and preference and causes the display device to display a map of that scale. For example, if you want to see the connection status of interchanges on highways, a small scale map such as 1 / 400,000 is selected, and if you need a detailed map of an urban area, 1 / 25,000 will be selected. A large scale map such as is selected.

The selection of the scale is performed by, for example, operating a touch panel provided on the display surface of a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display device or operating a key input from a console provided in association with the display device. That is, on the touch panel or console, a switch for increasing the display scale, which is the scale of the map to be displayed, one step at a time (in the case of a touch panel, the operation position is displayed at the relevant portion) and the display scale. There is a switch for reducing the scale one step at a time. The operator changes the display scale step by step by operating the pair of switches, and thereby selects a desired display scale. Specifically, if it is possible to select from four types of scales, for example, 1 / 400,000, 1 / 100,000, 1 / 255,000, and 1 / 1.25 million, one switch operation The scale can be changed from 1 / 100,000 to 1 / 400,000, or from 1 / 100,000 to 1 / 25,000. In addition, 1/2. When it is desired to change the display scale from 50,000 to 1 / 400,000 in two steps, the switch for reducing the display scale is operated twice.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the navigation device as described above, the display scale can be changed in one step only by one switch operation, and the display scale cannot be changed in two or more steps by one switch operation. Therefore, for example, 1/2. When changing the display scale from 50,000 to 1 / 400,000, operate the switch for reducing the scale once and wait for the map of 1 / 100,000 scale to be displayed in response to this operation. After the map display is completed, it is necessary to perform the second switch operation again to display 1 / 400,000 map. However, it takes at least 2-3 seconds to read the map from the map memory and display the read map in order to display the map once. Therefore, there is a problem that the waiting time for obtaining a map of a desired scale becomes too long when the scale is changed by two steps or more, instead of changing the scale by one step.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that a switch for selecting a scale is provided for each scale so that an arbitrary scale can be selected by one switch operation. However, in this case, it becomes necessary to provide a large number of switches for selecting the scale on the console, and it becomes necessary to display a large number of operation positions in the display area for input from the touch panel. This causes new problems such as complicated console configuration and limited display area for displaying the map.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problems and provide a map display device capable of changing the scale at high speed without causing problems such as an increase in switches. It is to be.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 A map display device according to claim 1 for achieving the above object, a display means for displaying a map, a map memory storing a map of a plurality of scales, and a map scale to be read from the map memory. And a scale changing means for changing the scale designated by the scale specifying means by one step for each operation, and the scale switching means is activated in response to the operation of the scale changing means, and a predetermined time is measured. A means for deriving an output at this time, and a control means for responding to the output of the time measuring means, for reading the map of the scale specified by the scale specifying means from the map memory and displaying it on the display means Is.

The map display device according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the map display device further includes reduced scale display means for displaying a reduced scale designated by the reduced scale designation means.

[0010]

[Action]

 According to the above construction, even if the scale changing means is operated, the scale of the map to be read out from the map memory is not immediately fixed, but is fixed when the time measuring means has finished measuring the predetermined time. That is, the control means responds to the output of the scale switching means after the scale switching means has not been operated for a predetermined period of time after the scale switching means has been operated, in response to this, at that time. The map of the scale specified by the scale specifying means is read from the map memory. Therefore, when the scale is changed in two or more steps, if the scale switching means is repeatedly operated at an interval within the predetermined time, the scale specifying means can be operated without reading and displaying the map of the scale in the middle. The specified scale can be changed one after another. This makes it possible to change the scale in two or more steps at once.

If a scale display means for displaying the scale designated by the scale designating means is provided, a desired scale can be surely selected.

[0012]

【Example】

 Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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 installed in a vehicle and is used to support traveling in the vehicle. A road map around the current position of the vehicle is displayed on the display unit 7 composed of a CRT or liquid crystal display device. It is designed to be displayed. In this embodiment, the display unit 7 functions as a display unit and a scale display unit.

The current position of the vehicle is detected by the position detector 3 based on the gyro 1 for detecting the turning angular velocity of the vehicle and the vehicle speed sensor 2 for detecting the vehicle speed. The position detecting unit 3 obtains the direction change amount of the vehicle by integrating the output of the gyro 1 over a predetermined time, and the output of the vehicle speed sensor 2 is integrated over a predetermined time. The distance traveled is required. Therefore, for example, if the accurate current position of the vehicle is given before the vehicle starts moving, the position of the vehicle thereafter can be detected at the predetermined time intervals.

The position data representing the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit 3 is given to the control unit 4. The control unit 4 includes a memory drive 6 for reading a road map from a map memory 5 composed of a CD-ROM, the above-mentioned display unit 7 for displaying the current position of the vehicle together with the road map, and switching of functions. A console 8 for inputting various inputs such as is connected. The display surface of the display unit 7 is provided with a touch panel 9 that functions as a scale switching means in this embodiment, and various input operations can be performed from this touch panel 9.

In the map memory 5, for example, 1 / 400,000, 1 / 100,000, 1 / 25,000, 1/1. Roadmaps of multiple scales such as 250,000 are stored, and the user can select a map of a small scale of 1 / 400,000, for example, to see the connection status of interchanges on highways. Also, when driving on alleys in urban areas, select a map with a large scale of 1 / 25,000, or select a map with an appropriate scale according to your preference, such as a use and preference. Select the scale accordingly. The selection of the scale can be performed by an input operation from the touch panel 9.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a simplified display example on the display unit 7. That is, the road map is displayed on the display unit 7, and the operation position A1 displayed as "wide area" for reducing the display scale, which is the scale of the map to be displayed, by one stage and the display scale by one stage. The operation position A2, which is displayed as "details" for increasing the size, is displayed. Further, as indicated by reference sign A3, the scale of the road map being displayed is also displayed. The operator can switch the display scale by touching the touch panel 9 (not shown in FIG. 2) at the operation positions A1 and A2. In the following description, operating the touch panel 9 at the operation positions A1 and A2 is referred to as “operating the operation positions A1 and A2”.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 4 is provided with a set scale storage unit 11 which is a scale designating unit for designating a scale of a map to be read out, and further, by operating the operation positions A1 and A2. A timer 12 is provided which is activated in response to a scale switching operation. The timer 12 derives a predetermined output by measuring a predetermined time T (for example, 2 seconds). By changing the display scale in steps by operating the operation positions A1 and A2, the scale stored in the set scale storage unit 11 is changed in steps. Corresponding to this change, the reduced scale display indicated by reference numeral A3 in FIG. 2 also changes.

The control unit 4 retrieves the scale map stored in the set scale storage unit 11 from the data in the map memory 5 based on the position data provided from the position detection unit 3, and reads the map. The current position of the vehicle is displayed on the display unit 7 together with the map. In this case, the control unit 4 operates the above-mentioned timer 12 even if the display scale is switched by operating the operation positions A1 and A2 and a new scale is stored in the set scale storage unit 11. The map is not read in the period before the output of the predetermined time T is completed and the output is derived. When the operation positions A1 and A2 are operated again within a predetermined time T 1 after the operation positions A1 and A2 are operated, the timer 12 is restarted and the time measurement of the predetermined time T is newly started. It Therefore, the scale of the map to be read is determined only when the predetermined time T has elapsed since the operation positions A1 and A2 were last operated, and the map of this scale is read from the map memory 5. Become.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control unit 4 regarding the switching of the display scale. When the display scale switching operation is performed by operating the operation positions A1 and A2 in step n1, the scale stored in the set scale storage unit 11 is changed by one step in step n2. That is, for example, if the operation position A1 is operated from the state where the display scale is 1 / 25,000, the information corresponding to the scale of 1/10000 is stored, and if the operation position A2 is operated, it is 1 / 12,000. The information corresponding to the scale of is stored.

In response to the change in the stored value of the set scale storage unit 11, in step n3, the display of the scale indicated by reference numeral A3 in FIG. 2 is also changed. Further, in step n4, the timer 12 is started, and in step n5, it is determined whether or not the scale changing operation is performed again by the operation of the operation positions A1 and A2. When the switching operation is performed, the process returns to step n2. When the switching operation is not performed, it is determined in step n6 whether or not the time measured by the timer 11 has reached the above-mentioned predetermined time T. Then, when the predetermined time T has been reached, it is determined that the scale of the map to be read is fixed, and the process of reading the map of the scale is performed. If the predetermined time T 1 has not yet elapsed, the process returns to step n5.

By such processing, if the operation positions A1 and A2 are operated again within a predetermined time T after the operation positions A1 and A2 are operated, the stored value of the set scale storage unit 11 can be changed, and The display scale can be fixed by not performing the scale switching operation for a predetermined time T after the operation of the operation positions A1 and A2. Therefore, for example, even when a map with a reduced scale of 1 / 1.25 million is displayed, by operating the operation position A1 three times at intervals within the predetermined time T, it is possible to change the operation to 1/2. A wide-area map of 1 / 400,000 can be read and displayed at a stroke without having to read and display a map of a scale of 50,000 or 1 / 100,000. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time required to read and display the maps of two different scales before displaying the map of the desired scale, as compared with the related art. In this way, as a result of being able to change the scale in multiple stages at once, it is possible to quickly call up a map of a desired scale, and to greatly improve the operability of the navigation device. Become.

Moreover, since the number of switches and the number of operation positions displayed on the display unit 7 does not increase as compared with the conventional technique, the structure is complicated and the display of the ground map in the display area of the display unit 7 is complicated. The area for will not be reduced. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the touch panel 9 is used as the scale switching means, but the scale may be switched by key input from the console 8. Further, in the above embodiment, the scale is displayed in the display area of the display unit 7, but a scale display unit may be provided separately from the display unit 7. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the navigation device has been described as an example, but the present invention reads the map of any scale from the map memory that stores the maps of multiple scales and displays the map. It can be widely implemented for devices. In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0023]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the map display device of the present invention, by performing the switching operation from the scale switching means a plurality of times at intervals within a predetermined time measured by the time measuring means, a map of a scale at an intermediate stage can be displayed. It is possible to change the scale in two or more steps at once without reading and displaying. As a result, it becomes possible to quickly display a map of a desired scale, and the operability of the map display device is significantly improved. Moreover, the number of switches is not increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a simplified display example on a display unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 gyro 2 vehicle speed sensor 3 position detection unit 4 control unit 5 map memory 7 display unit (display unit, scale display unit) 8 console 9 touch panel (scale switching unit) 11 set scale storage unit (scale designation unit) 12 timer (time measuring unit) )

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A display means for displaying a map, a map memory storing a map of a plurality of scales, a scale designating means for designating a scale of a map to be read from the map memory, and the above-mentioned operation for each operation. A scale switching means for changing the scale designated by the scale designating means by one step, a clocking means which is activated in response to the operation of the scale switching means and derives an output when a predetermined time is clocked, and a timing means of this clocking means. A map display device comprising: a control unit that reads a map of a scale specified by the scale specifying unit from the map memory and displays the map on the display unit in response to the output. 2. A scale display unit for displaying a scale designated by the scale designation unit.
The map display device described.