JPH0659623A - Electronic map drawing method and its drawing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize the drawing up of a map as much as possible, and to draw up the map so that a required position on a map may be quickly and effectivly detected. CONSTITUTION:A map drawing is read by an image scanner 2, and read image data are displayed on a monitor 6. When a block on a drawing is designated by a mouse 72, its coordinates data are stored in the block layer 84 of a memory section 8 through CPU 5. In addition, when an express high way is designated on the drawing, its coordinates data are stored in the express high way layer 85 of the memory section 8. Each of the data designated by the mouth 72 are severally classedly stored in the memory section 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for creating an electronic map for converting read map data into a format that can be easily used and storing it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an easy-to-read map has been proposed in which a basic number for displaying a house or the like is displayed on the map (Actual fair 3-486).
No. 12). A telephone number-map data processing system has been proposed as a system for retrieving a position on a map from a telephone number (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-10383). In this system, in order to search the location on the map from the telephone number, the basic number of the residential display is input to each corner of the block from the keyboard.

[0003]

However, the map described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-48612 is not easy to make because a basic number for displaying a residence is assigned to each block. Also,
When the detailed and complicated map is used, it becomes difficult to retrieve a desired position on the map from the data of the town name, the block number, and the house display basic number.

On the other hand, even in the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-10383, when the detailed and complicated map is used, it is very troublesome to input the residential display basic number from the keyboard for each block. Was becoming.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an electronic map for automating map creation as much as possible and for creating a map that enables quick and efficient retrieval of a required map position. An object is to provide a creating method and an creating apparatus thereof.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention optically reads a map, converts the read map into an electric signal and displays the electric signal on a display means, and displays the map on the displayed map. A position is designated, the coordinates of the designated position on the display surface at this time are fetched, and the fetched coordinates are hierarchically fetched into the storage medium for each property on the map of the designated position (claim 1). ).

An image scanner, display means for displaying a map read by the image scanner, position specifying means for specifying a position on the displayed map,
A configuration is provided that includes coordinate fetching means for fetching the coordinates of the designated position on the screen of the display means, and hierarchical storage means for hierarchically storing the fetched coordinates in accordance with the contents of the designated position. There is (claim 2).

Further, the hierarchical storage means has a block block layer for storing a block block of the map and a character string layer for storing a town name of the map (claim 3).

[0009]

According to the present invention, the map is optically read,
The read map is converted into an electric signal and displayed on the display means, and when the position on the displayed map is specified, the coordinates on the display surface at the specified position at this time are fetched, and the fetched coordinates are the designated position. Are stored in the storage medium hierarchically for each property on the map.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the map is read by the image scanner and displayed on the display means, and the position on the map is designated, on the screen of the display means at the designated position. Are taken in, and the taken coordinates are hierarchically stored according to the contents of the designated position.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the block of the map is on the block layer, the town name of the map is on the character string layer,
Remembered.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic map creating apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is an external view showing the electronic map creating apparatus. The electronic map making device is composed of a control device 1, an image scanner 2, a monitor 6, an input device 7, and the like. The control device 1 includes ROM3, RAM4,
It is provided with a CPU 5, a storage unit 8 and the like.

The image scanner 2 reads a map of 1/2500 in a predetermined area unit, for example.
The image data that has been converted into an electrical signal is transmitted to the CPU 5.

The ROM 3 stores a control program for the electronic map making apparatus, and the RAM 4 temporarily stores data and the like. The monitor 6 displays a map of the captured image data, a created electronic map, and the like. The input device 7 is composed of a keyboard 71 for inputting characters, numbers and the like, and a mouse 72 for designating coordinates of a map displayed on the monitor 6 or selecting and executing an operation. The plotter 9 outputs the created map on paper, and outputs the map according to the output range from the input device 7 and the instruction of the district. Further, the plotter 9 can change the color for each layer and output by specifying the pen for each layer of the storage unit 8 described later.

The storage unit 8 is composed of, for example, a fixed disk, and stores read data, created map data, and the like, and hierarchically stores each layer.

In the layer, a character string layer 81 for storing the names of XX towns, buildings, etc., a block number layer 82 for storing XX numbers, etc., and a residential display basic number for XX numbers, etc. are stored. Basic number layer 83, block layer 8 that stores blocks
4. There is a highway layer 85 for storing highways.

Further, general road layers, sidewalk layers, boundary layers, railway layers, station layers, bridge and building layers, river layers, road building layers such as road signs, high-voltage line layers, pedestrian bridges and stairs (not shown). It has layers, a BOX layer that stores areas such as parks and sewage treatment facilities, and other layers.

The other layers include those which serve as landmarks related to life such as public buildings and tobacco stores, and are stored in the form of lower layers of the other layers.

The CPU 5 controls the operation of the electronic map creating apparatus, and creates a map according to the input from the input device 7 based on the control program stored in the ROM 3 and displays it on the monitor 6. Also, the CPU 5
It also has the function of searching and displaying the location on the map created in association with a database such as an address book.

Next, a map creating procedure in the electronic map creating apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the basic flow will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The original map of is read by the image scanner (step S1). All of this read information is image data, and the amount of data will increase and the memory usage efficiency will decrease as it is, so this is converted to vector data and stored hierarchically by dividing it according to the data content. Yes (step S2). Then, the address information is added and the process ends (step S3).

Next, the sub-routine for the hierarchization and vectorization of step S2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, on the screen of the monitor 6 on which the read map is displayed, the coordinates are specified with the mouse 72 (step S11), and when the specification is completed, vector data from the reference coordinates is added to the corresponding layer of the storage unit 8. Save (step S12). If the designation is not completed (NO in step S13), step S1
Return to 1 and repeat the above operation.

For example, on the screen of the monitor 6, when the coordinates of the vertices forming one block are designated by the mouse 72, the coordinates of the vertices are stored in the block layer 84 of the storage unit 8 as vector data from the reference coordinates. The above operation is repeated until the designation of all blocks is completed (steps S11 to S13).

Further, the coordinates of the expressway are sequentially specified by the mouse 72 for each range that can be regarded as an appropriate interval or a straight line, and when the specification of the road is completed, the coordinates of the expressway are converted into vector data from the reference coordinates. It is stored in the highway layer 85. The above operation is repeated until the designation of all highways is completed (steps S11 to S13).

By the procedure as described above, all the read image data of the map is stored in each layer of the storage unit 8.

By storing the coordinate data as vector data in this way, the required storage capacity can be reduced. Further, by storing the coordinate data hierarchically, it is possible to easily display only the desired data and to utilize the data such as position search described later.

The reference coordinates are preset coordinates which are used as a reference when the map is read. The latitude and longitude on the earth may be associated with the reference coordinates and stored. In this case, the latitude and longitude of each coordinate data stored as vector data can be easily obtained by the CPU 5 based on the scale factor of the map and the like.

The latitude and longitude may be stored as coordinate data other than the reference coordinates. In this case, the coordinate data in which the latitude and longitude are stored may be stored as vector data from the reference coordinates.

A latitude / longitude layer is provided in the storage unit 8,
The latitude and longitude data may be stored in this latitude and longitude layer.

Next, the basic flow of the address information addition subroutine of step S3 of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. First, the town name and the block number of the block stored in the block layer 84 are created. (Step S21), and subsequently, a house display basic number is created (step S22).

Next, the subroutine for creating the block number in step S21 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the block is designated by the mouse 72 (step S31), the block number of the block is input by the keyboard 71 (step S32), and the input data is stored in the block number layer 82 of the storage unit 8 (step S3).
3) The above operation is repeated until all the block numbers are input (step S34). The entered block number is
The center of gravity of a block is displayed in the proper place within the block.

Next, the mouse 72 is used to select a plurality of blocks having the same town name.
(Step S35), and at the appropriate position on the map with the keyboard 71, the town name of the designated block, that is, ○
Enter the XX town and XX street (step S36). And
The input data is stored in the character string layer 81 of the storage unit 8 (step S37), and the above operation is repeated until the town name creation is completed (step S38).

Next, the subroutine for creating the basic number for displaying the house in step S22 of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The basic number for the house display is
It can be automatically created from the frontage and the scale of the original map. First, the range in which the basic number is created is designated (step S51), and whether or not to change the parameter is selected (step S52). If there is no change, the process proceeds to step S57, while if there is a change in the parameter, the basic number is changed. Designate a vertex to start numbering (step S53),
Next, the frontage of the basic number to be given is designated (step S54). Subsequently, the rotation direction to which the basic number is given is designated (step S55), and further, whether the frontage is calculated for each line segment or cumulative distance is designated (step S56).

If there is no change in each parameter, the vertex at which the basic number is started is "lower right", the frontage of the basic number is 10 m, and the rotation direction of the basic number is "clockwise". The calculation method is set to "every line segment".

A basic number is automatically created according to the parameters set above (step S57), and the monitor 6
(Step S58).

Next, it is selected whether or not there is a block to be corrected for the created basic number (step S59). If not, the process proceeds to step S64, and if there is, the block to be corrected is designated (step S60). , The starting point of the number is designated (step S61), the basic number is created, the basic number layer 83 of the storage unit 8 is updated and stored (step S62), and displayed on the monitor 6 for confirmation (step S).
63).

Then, until the creation of the basic number is completed,
The above operation is repeated (step S64), and the process ends.

Next, the subroutine for automatically creating the basic number in step S57 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and FIG. FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are schematic diagrams of the blocks showing the procedure when the starting point is “lower right” of the block and the basic number is “clockwise”.

First, within the range specified in step S51, a figure surrounded by a continuous line whose basic number has not yet been created, that is, a block, is searched. If there is no (NO in step S71), the process is terminated. If so, the coordinates of the center of gravity P are calculated as shown in FIG. 8A from the coordinates of the vertices forming the searched block (step S72).

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the vertices (3) and (4) existing in the second quadrant with the center of gravity P as the origin.
Angle θ1 and θ2 from the Y axis are calculated (step S7
3), the vertex (4) with the maximum angle from this Y axis is
It becomes the apex of the "lower right" to be obtained, that is, the starting point (step S74).

Next, the coordinate sequence is rearranged in order from the start point according to the rotation direction to which the basic number is given (step S7).
5). For example, assuming that the order of the vertex coordinates of the block input in step S2 of FIG. 2 is as shown in FIG. 8A, the starting point is (4) by the above procedure, and therefore the sequence shown in FIG. ), The order of the stored coordinate sequence is rearranged.

Then, based on the rearranged coordinates,
The distance between the adjacent vertices is calculated, and the basic number is created according to the set frontage, and the basic number is stored in the basic number layer 83 of the storage unit 8 (step S76). When the number creation of the block is completed, the process proceeds to step S71. Return.

When the starting point is set to the "upper right" of the block, in step S73 to step S74, the center of gravity P is the origin, and the vertex existing in the first quadrant has an angle from the Y axis. The smallest vertex is the starting point sought.

When the starting point is set to the "lower left" of the block, in steps S73 to S74, the center of gravity P is the origin, and the vertex existing in the third quadrant has an angle from the Y axis. The smallest vertex is the starting point sought.

Further, when the starting point is set to the "upper left" of the block, in steps S73 to S74, the center of gravity P is the origin and the angle from the Y axis is the vertex existing in the fourth quadrant. The maximum vertex is the desired starting point.

As described above, the basic house display number can be automatically created for each block. Also, the starting point of the number,
An accurate map can be automatically created by appropriately changing the settings such as the frontage and the rotation direction of numbering so as to match the actual settings.

Next, steps S58 and S63 of FIG.
The basic number display subroutine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the area of the block for which the basic number is to be created is calculated from the coordinates of the vertices surrounding the block, and the calculated area S is compared with a preset value S ₀ (step S81). If S ≧ S ₀ , Step S8
Proceed to 3, unless the S ≧ S _0, by reducing the number to be displayed (step S82), to display the basic number (Kadoban) on the inside of each corner of the city blocks (step S83), to the end.

As described above, when the area of the block is small, by reducing the size of the basic number to be displayed,
You can create easy-to-read maps.

In the present embodiment, the size of the displayed number is switched in two steps as compared with the reference area S ₀ , but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the size of the number can be changed according to the calculated area. The size may be changed steplessly.

When the area of the block is less than a predetermined value,
The basic number may be displayed only on some corners.
This makes it possible to create a map that is easier to see.

Further, in this embodiment, the display is made at each corner of the block, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the basic numbers may be displayed at predetermined number intervals.

When latitude and longitude data are stored, it is possible to create a map in which latitude lines and longitude lines are written based on the scale factor of the map.

By the procedure described above, it is possible to create a detailed and accurate map that is easy to see and can be easily utilized for various purposes.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of the map produced according to the above procedure output by the plotter 9. As shown in the figure, "Nankominami 2-chome" is the block number "1"
~ "12", "Nankominamisanchome" is the block number "1"
To "13". "1" of "Nanko Minami 3-chome"
No. ”to“ No. 5 ”, etc., have small block areas, so
The basic number is output with a smaller number than other blocks.

[7] to [1] of "Nankominami 2-chome"
No. 1 ”and the like have smaller block areas, so only the basic numbers of some corners are output instead of all corners.

Next, the data that is hierarchically stored in the storage unit 8 as a result of creating the map will be described. Figure 11
Is a conceptual diagram showing data stored in the storage unit 8.
11 is an example of the map shown in FIG. 10 above.

As shown in FIG. 11, "1" to "12" are stored in the block number layer 82 corresponding to "Nankominami 2-chome" of the character string layer 81. Further, the basic number is stored in the basic number layer 83 in correspondence with each block number of the block number layer 82. For example,
Basic number "1-64" corresponding to block number "1"
But the basic number "1-115" corresponds to the block number "2"
No. ”are stored respectively.

As described above, since the data is hierarchically stored in the storage unit 8, when the data is displayed on the monitor 6,
When output by the plotter 9, it is possible to display a blank map without displaying character data such as a town name, or to display only a desired layer of data.

In this case, it is possible to provide a map in which the route to the destination can be easily understood by displaying only the spots and the names of the buildings to be the landmarks searched by the procedure described later on the blank map.

Further, since the data related to each hierarchy are stored in association with each other, the point on the map can be easily searched. For example, a desired point on the map can be searched from a telephone number via an address code.
If you can't search by phone number, you can search by address directly. This search operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the search operation is started and an address to be searched, for example, "3-654, Minami Konan, Minato-ku, Osaka" is input (step S91), first, "Minato-ku, Osaka"
Is converted into an address code and searched (step S9)
2) Next, "Nankominamisanchome" is searched for in the character string layer 81, and a map in the vicinity is displayed on the monitor 6 (step S93). Then, from among “1” to “13” of the block number layer 82 corresponding to “Nanko Minami 3 chome”,
"No. 6" is searched (step S94), and subsequently, "1 to 7" of the basic number layer 83 corresponding to the block number "No. 6".
"No. 7" is searched for "No. 54" (step S9).
5) As shown in FIG. 10, for example, by blinking and displaying "54", this point is notified (step S96).

By inputting the name of a road or the like, the road can be searched and displayed in the same procedure.

Further, the present location can be confirmed by inputting a road sign or an intersection name.

The retrieved point is not limited to the number display as described above, and may be simply the marker display.

In this way, since the data associated with each hierarchy are stored in association with each other, the name on the map can be entered by simply inputting the name from the input device 7 by linking with the database of the address book. It is possible to easily search for the location, display a map around the location on the monitor 6, and notify the location by blinking.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, the map is optically read, the read map is converted into an electric signal and displayed on the display means, the position on the displayed map is designated, and the designated position at this time is designated. Since the coordinates on the display surface of are imported and the imported coordinates are hierarchically imported into the storage medium for each property on the map at the specified position above, the map can be created easily and on the map created by the created map. It is possible to search the position of and to effectively use the data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic map creating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic flow of the electronic map creating apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of hierarchization and vectorization.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a basic flow of address information addition.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for creating a block number.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for creating a basic house display number.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for automatically creating a basic number.

[Fig. 8] (a), (b), and (c) show that the starting point is "lower right" of the block.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a block showing a procedure when a basic number is given “clockwise”.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for displaying a basic number.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of the created map output by a plotter.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing data stored in a storage unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a search operation.

FIG. 13 is an external view showing an electronic map creation device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Device 2 Image Scanner 3 ROM 4 RAM 5 CPU 6 Monitor 7 Input Device 8 Storage Unit 9 Plotter 71 Keyboard 72 Mouse 81 Character String Layer 82 City Block Number Layer 83 Base Number Layer 84 City Block Layer 85 Expressway Layer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A map is optically read, the read map is converted into an electric signal and displayed on a display means, a position on the displayed map is designated, and a coordinate on the display surface of the designated position at this time. The method for creating an electronic map is characterized in that the captured coordinates are captured hierarchically in the storage medium for each property of the specified position on the map. 2. An image scanner, display means for displaying a map read by the image scanner, position specifying means for specifying a position on the displayed map, and display means for the specified position. An electronic map creating apparatus comprising: a coordinate taking-in means for taking in coordinates on a screen; and a hierarchical storing means for hierarchically storing the taken-in coordinates according to the contents of the designated position. 3. The electronic map according to claim 2, wherein the hierarchical storage means has a block layer that stores a block of the map and a character string layer that stores a town name of the map. Creation device.