JPH08146870A - Display method and device for navigation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the display device for navigation which enlarges and displays a map image, including character data on place names, symbols, etc., a position mark indicating a current place, and road data, with good visibility. CONSTITUTION: This device has a map data storage part 22 which stores map data consisting of the character data 22 on the place names, symbols, etc., road data 21, and character constitution data sets 23 and 24 differing in character size and display means 6 and 8 which have a function for display of previously set magnifications. For the enlargement display, the character constitution data which are small in character size are selected, characters based upon the selected character constitution data set, the current position mark, and a road map are put together to generate a video signal of a map image, and the part including the current position of the video signal is enlarged and displayed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle for knowing the current position, and more particularly to a navigation display device suitable for enlarging and displaying the vicinity of the vehicle position for easy viewing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional map image enlarging method using a navigation device, for example, as described in "Electronic Life", June 1994, p. A method of switching and displaying by using is generally known.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned prior art, only the map of the scale registered in advance can be displayed, and the map cannot be viewed at the scale not registered. When the complicated part was displayed, it was sometimes difficult to see.

An object of the present invention is to enlarge a display image so that the map screen including the current position and display characters can be easily seen.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention stores a current position measuring section for measuring the current position of a vehicle and outputting position data indicating the current position, and map data. A map data storage unit and map data of a predetermined scale corresponding to the input position data are read from the map data storage unit, and a position mark representing the current position and map data are combined to produce a video image. A navigation display including a navigation control unit that outputs a signal and a display unit that digitally processes the video signal and enlarges and displays a preset area including the position mark in the displayed map at a preset magnification. In the device, the map data storage unit stores the character data together with the map data consisting of road data and character data such as place names and symbols forming a map. Storing at least two character configuration data sets having different character sizes when displaying on the navigation display device, the navigation display device further comprising a switch means for selecting an enlarged display or a normal display, When enlarged display is selected by the switch means, a control means is provided for controlling so as to select one of the at least two character structure data sets in the map data storage unit having a smaller character size.

Further, the navigation display control method according to the present invention is a display control method for enlarging and displaying a road map in a navigation display device for combining and displaying characters on a road map including the current position of the vehicle. Therefore, a character structure data set corresponding to at least two character sizes when displaying the character data on a display device is prepared, and at the time of normal display, the character structure data set having a large character size is used to display the character data on the road. A video signal is created by synthesizing on the map, the video signal is displayed as it is on the display device, and at the time of enlarged display, the character data is synthesized on the road map using a character configuration data set of a small character size. After the video signal is created, the portion of the video signal including the current position is enlarged and displayed on the display device.

[0007]

When the road information of the area including the measured current position of the own vehicle is enlarged and displayed on the display device as an image, the character composition set smaller than the character size used during normal display is used to synthesize characters on the map. Is the video signal. After that, a portion including the current position is enlarged and displayed for this video signal. As a result, the size of the character information such as the place name and the symbol does not seem to be enlarged, and the place name and the symbol are prevented from becoming unnecessarily large, so that the enlarged and displayed map information can be made easier to see.

[0008]

1 shows a system configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the current position measuring unit 1 measures the current position of the vehicle and outputs position data. As the current position measurement unit 1, there are a self-supporting aviation method that obtains the current position from the measurement values of a direction sensor such as a geomagnetic sensor and a gyro and a vehicle speed sensor, and a radio navigation method that obtains the current position by using radio waves from artificial satellites. It is known and any of these may be used. In the map data storage unit 2, road data 21 forming a map and character data 22 such as place names and symbols are separately stored. Further, for example, the character configuration data (font data) A is vertically 6 Dot x width 6
The dot and character configuration data B stores a plurality of different character size character configuration data A and B (23, 24) such as 12 dots × 12 dots. The data storage unit 2 is, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk).
-Read Only Memory) can be used. The display switching means 3 is composed of a keyboard, a touch panel, etc., and is used to select the enlarged display or the normal display. The position data output from the current position measuring unit 1 is I
The data is transmitted to the navigation control unit 4 including the / F circuit 41 and the CPU 42. The navigation control unit 4
The road data and the character data of a designated scale corresponding to the position data are read from the map data storage unit 2 and the display switching signal from the display switching unit 3 selects the character configuration data A having a small character size during the enlarged display. Control to do. Then, the position data, the road data, and the character data of the character configuration data A are combined to create an image showing the current position as a mark on the map in which the place name, the symbol, etc. are written, and the video signal and the synchronization signal are generated. Output.

The video signal is applied to the video signal processing section 5. The video signal processing unit 5 performs well-known processing such as gamma correction on the input video signal and applies the output to the enlargement processing unit 6.

On the other hand, the synchronization signal is applied to the display controller 7. The display control unit 7 generates various clock signals based on the synchronization signal, applies the clock signals to the enlargement processing control unit 8, and
It is applied to the display unit 9 such as liquid crystal. The enlargement processing control unit 8 generates various control signals necessary for controlling the enlargement processing unit 6 based on the enlargement magnification selected by the display switching unit 3 and the applied clock signal, and controls the enlargement processing unit 6. .

The enlargement processing section 6 comprises an A / D conversion circuit 61 for converting an analog signal into a digital signal, a field memory 62, a line memory 63, and a D / A conversion circuit 64 for converting a digital signal into an analog signal. To be done. The output of the video signal processing unit 5 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 61 and written in the field memory 62 by the write clock applied from the enlargement processing control unit 8. In the case of the enlarged display, only the portion of the enlarged area preset so that the mark indicating the current position is included in the data for one screen is written in the field memory 62.

The operation of the navigation controller 4 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b) and 2 (c). Figure 2
(A) is a processing flowchart of the navigation control unit 4, (b) is a map image at the output stage of the navigation control unit 4 during normal display, (c) is a map image at the output stage of the navigation control unit 4 during enlargement Is.

In FIG. 2A, when the enlarged display is selected by the display switching means 3 of FIG. 1 (S1), the character composition data A having a small character size is selected (S5), and the position map according to the current position is selected. The relevant road data and character data are read from the data storage unit 2 (S6), and the read character data is drawn with the character configuration data A, and the mark indicating the position of the vehicle, the road data and the character data are drawn. Are superimposed (S7) to obtain the map image of FIG. 2 (c). When the normal display is selected (S1), the character configuration data B having a large character size is selected (S2), and the corresponding road data and character data are read from the position map data storage unit 2 according to the current position ( S3), in accordance therewith, the character data is drawn with the character composition data B, and the position mark, road data and character data are superimposed (S4), and the map image of FIG. 2 (b) is obtained. The map image of (c) at the time of enlarged display has the same scale as the triangular mark indicating the position of the vehicle and the road, but the scale of the character data of place names and symbols is different from that at the time of normal display (b). , The font size when enlarged is small. Figure 2
The map images of (b) and (c) are output as a video signal from the navigation control unit 4 in FIG. 1, and by the subsequent display and enlargement means, the scale is normally kept as it is, and the enlargement display is performed at a preset magnification. The image is enlarged and displayed on the display unit 9 in FIG. When you want to enlarge a detailed map to make it easier to see, first reduce the character size of the character data such as place names and symbols, and then make a map image showing the roads, position marks, place names, and symbols. Since it expands likewise, the complicated road is expanded and the character size is suppressed, so it is possible to prevent the problem that the enlarged road data becomes difficult to see with the enlarged characters, and the visibility is improved. You can get a high and enlarged map screen.

Next, the enlarging means after the navigation control unit 4 in FIG. 1 will be concretely described. First, FIG.
An example of a specific write operation to the inside field memory 62 will be described using the operation waveform example of FIG. The field memory 62 has a write enable terminal for controlling permission and prohibition of writing, and a write enable signal WE to be applied.
When "" is at "H" level, writing is performed, and when at "L" level, writing is prohibited. Vertical sync signal V
The signal WEV whose period is set to the “H” level as shown in FIG. 3A and the horizontal synchronizing signal H is “H”.
A signal W whose level period is set as shown in FIG.
By applying a signal obtained by ANDing EH to the write enable terminal, only the broken line portion shown in the image display example of FIG. 4 is written in the field memory 62. When the image is not enlarged, a "H" level signal is always applied to the write enable terminal to write all the data for one pixel.

Next, a specific operation for reading the data written in the field memory 62 through the line memory 63 will be described with reference to the operation waveform example of FIG. The field memory 62 has a read enable terminal for controlling permission and prohibition of reading. When the applied read enable signal RE is "H" level, reading is performed, and when it is "L" level, reading is prohibited. Is.

The operation when the vertical direction of an image is doubled will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the read enable signal RE to which the “H” level and the “L” level are alternately applied every horizontal scanning period is applied to the read enable terminal. As a result, the data D is read from the field memory 62 every other horizontal scanning cycle and applied to the line memory 63. The line memory 63 has a write enable terminal and a read enable terminal like the field memory 62. The same signal as the read enable signal applied to the field memory 62 is applied to the line memory 63 as a write enable signal. A "H" level signal is always applied to the read enable terminal of the line memory 63. As a result, as shown by the waveform D in FIG. 5, data is written in the line memory 63 at every other horizontal scanning cycle, and the same data is read twice over two horizontal scanning cycles as shown by the waveform DL. As a result, the vertical direction of the image can be doubled. When the image is not enlarged, the read enable signal of the field memory 62 and the write enable signal of the line memory 63 are always at "H" level.

Next, the operation of enlarging the horizontal direction of an image to double, for example, will be described. The read clock frequency of the field memory 62 is set to half the write clock frequency, and the write clock and read clock applied to the line memory 63 are set to the same frequency as the read clock applied to the field memory 62.
As a result, the horizontal direction of the image can be doubled. When the image is not enlarged, the read clock of the field memory 62 and the write / read clock of the line memory 63 have the same frequency as the write clock of the field memory 62.

In FIG. 1, whether the image is enlarged or normally displayed is determined by the selection information input from the display switching means 3 to the enlargement processing control unit 8.

The data read from the line memory 63 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion circuit 64. Output of the D / A conversion circuit 64, that is, the enlargement processing unit 6
Is applied to the display unit 9, and, for example, as shown in the example of FIG. 6, the mark indicating the current position and the road are enlarged, and the characters are enlarged map images of the same size as in normal times with high visibility. Obtainable. Furthermore, the higher the enlargement ratio, the greater the effect of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the enlargement ratio can be changed by setting the enlargement area, that is, by changing the image writing area to the field memory 62 and the read clock frequency from the field memory 62. In the above description, the line memory is used to read the same data twice, but only a part of the data written as the field memory 62 is read twice without using the line memory. The same effect can be obtained by using a field memory having a function of outputting. In the above description, the example in which the CD-ROM is used as the storage means is shown, but the same effect can be obtained by using other storage means such as an IC memory or a magneto-optical disk.

FIG. 7 shows a system configuration diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the character composition data is C
It is stored not in the map data storage unit such as a D-ROM but in other storage means, for example, two or more ROM ICs. In FIG. 7, a map data storage unit 200 in which road data 21 and character data 22 are stored, two ROM ICs, and the character configuration data A and B of a plurality of different character sizes are stored respectively. The character structure data storage unit 201 is shown. Also in the second embodiment of FIG. 7, the same effect as in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 can be obtained. Even if the character configuration data is stored in a storage unit such as a CD-ROM other than the map data storage unit, the effect of the present invention is not hindered.

FIG. 8 shows a system configuration diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the size of a position mark such as a triangle or an arrow indicating the current position is set to a predetermined size in the same manner as the character data in the enlarged display to improve the visibility of the map image during the enlargement. It is a thing. In FIG. 8, the map data storage unit 20 has a road data 21 and a character data 22 such as place names and symbols that form a map, as in FIG.
And, for example, the character configuration data A is 6 dots vertically × 6 dots horizontally, and the character configuration data B is 12 dots × 12 dots.
B is stored, and a plurality of different position mark data C and D (character size is C <D) that specifies the size of a position mark such as a triangle or an arrow indicating the current position (25, 26) ) Is stored. Display switching means 3
Use the keyboard or touch panel to select the enlarged display or normal display. The position data output from the current position measuring unit 1 is transmitted to the navigation control unit 40 including the I / F circuit 402 and the CPU 403. The navigation control unit 40 reads out the road data 21 and the character data 22 of the designated scale corresponding to the position data from the map data storage unit 2, and the display switching signal from the display switching unit 3 changes the character size at the time of enlarged display. Control is performed so that the small character configuration data A and the position mark data C having a small position mark size are selected. Then, the character data based on the character configuration data A, the position data based on the position mark data C, and the road data are combined to create an image showing the current position as a mark on the map in which the place name, the symbol, etc. are written. And the sync signal is output. The image processing means and the enlarging means after that are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

As described above, when the detailed map is enlarged and displayed for easy viewing, character data such as place names and symbols,
The size of the position mark indicating the current position is reduced in advance, and then the road, position mark, place name, and symbol are combined, and the map image is enlarged uniformly, so the complicated road is enlarged and the character size is also increased. Since the position mark size is suppressed from being enlarged, it is possible to prevent the problem that the enlarged road data is difficult to see with the enlarged characters and the position mark, and it is possible to obtain the enlarged map screen with high visibility. Even if the position mark data is stored in a storage means other than the map data storage unit such as a CD-ROM as in the second embodiment, the effect of the present invention is not hindered.

FIG. 9 shows a system configuration diagram of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the first to third embodiments, the enlarged display or the normal display is input from the outside, and accordingly, the CPU in the navigation control unit, the characters preset in the enlargement processing control unit, the size of the position mark, and the map magnification are input. Each was expanded. In the fourth embodiment, the characters, the size of the position mark, and the map magnification are all input from the outside so that the user can freely control the map image. In FIG. 9, input means 30
Is a character size input means 31 such as a keyboard or a touch panel for selecting one of the character size data A and B in the map data storage unit 20, the map data storage unit 2
Position mark size input means 32 for selecting one of the position mark data C and D within 0, magnification data within the enlargement control unit 80, for example, 2 × magnification data E, 1 × magnification data during normal display It is composed of an enlargement ratio input means 33 for selecting either F. Information on the character size and the position mark size selected by the input means 30 is stored in the I / F circuit 41.
0, a navigation control unit 4 including a CPU 420
00, and accordingly, the navigation control unit 4
00 is the character composition data A and B in the map data storage unit 20.
And either the position mark data C or D is selected.
Then, the navigation control unit 400 synthesizes the character data and the position data read according to the selection and the road data 21 of the designated scale corresponding to the position data, and the current position on the map in which the place name, the symbol, etc. are written. A map image with a mark is created, and a video signal and a sync signal are output. Further, the enlargement magnification information selected by the input means 30 is transmitted to the enlargement processing control unit 80, and magnification data E,
Select either F to determine the magnification of the map image. The map image output from the navigation control unit 400 is enlarged or normally displayed by the enlargement magnification input means 33.

As described above, in this embodiment, character data,
Since the scales of the position data and the road data can be controlled separately from the outside, a map image more suited to the user's preference can be created and the visibility can be improved. Furthermore, in this embodiment, by increasing the character configuration data of the character, the size of the current position, and the enlargement ratio,
It is possible to create a map image more suited to the user's preference.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a map image with improved visibility when the map image is enlarged and displayed on the navigation display device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a processing flowchart of the navigation control unit of FIG. 1 and an explanatory diagram of a map image at an output stage of the navigation control unit.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an example of operation waveforms of the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen.

5 is a timing chart showing an example of operation waveforms of the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a system configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a system configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 10 ... Current position measuring unit, 2, 20, 200 ... Map data storage unit, 3 ... Display switching unit, 4, 40, 400 ... Navigation control unit, 5 ... Video signal processing unit, 6 ... Enlargement processing unit, 7 ... Display control unit, 8, 80 ... Enlargement control unit, 9 ... Display unit, 30 ... Input means.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A current position measuring unit for measuring a current position of a vehicle and outputting position data indicating the current position, a map data storage unit for storing map data, and corresponding to the input position data. Then, the map data of a predetermined scale is read from the map data storage unit, the position mark representing the current position and the map data are combined, and a navigation control unit for outputting as a video signal, and the video signal are digitally processed. A display device for navigation having a function of enlarging and displaying a preset region including the position mark in the displayed map at a preset magnification, wherein the map data storage unit configures a map. Along with map data consisting of character data such as place names and symbols and road data,
At least two character configuration data sets having different character sizes for displaying the character data on the navigation display device are stored, and the navigation display device further includes a switch for selecting an enlarged display or a normal display. Means and control means for controlling to select one of the at least two character structure data sets in the map data storage unit having a smaller character size when enlarged display is selected by the switch means. A display device for navigation. 2. The navigation display device according to claim 1, wherein the map data storage unit stores the at least two character configuration data sets and the character data and road data in different storage means. . 3. The map data storage unit stores data of at least two position marks having different sizes indicating a current position in a displayed map, and the control means stores at least two current positions in enlarged display. 3. The navigation display device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the display device for navigation is controlled so that one having a smaller size is selected from the data of the marks indicating ". 4. A current position measuring unit that measures the current position of the own vehicle and outputs position data indicating the current position, a map data storage unit that stores map data, and a map data storage unit that corresponds to the input position data. Then, the map data of a predetermined scale is read from the map data storage unit, the position mark representing the current position and the map data are combined, and a navigation control unit for outputting as a video signal, and the video signal are digitally processed. A display device for navigation having a function of enlarging and displaying a preset region including the position mark in the displayed map at a preset magnification, wherein the map data storage unit configures a map. Along with map data consisting of character data such as place names and symbols and road data,
Storing a plurality of character configuration data sets of different character sizes when displaying the character data on the navigation display device, and a plurality of position mark data of different sizes indicating the current position in the displayed map, The navigation display device further includes a first instructing means for instructing a character size to be used, a second instructing means for instructing a desired enlargement ratio, and a third instructing means for instructing a desired position mark size. A video signal creating means for creating a video signal by synthesizing the character and position marks with the map data by using the character configuration data set of the specified character size and the position mark data; And a enlargement control unit that enlarges the video signal, and a display device for navigation. 5. A navigation display device for synthesizing and displaying a character on a road map including the current position of the vehicle, wherein the display control method enlarges and displays the road map, wherein the character data is displayed on the display device. At least 2 when displaying
A character structure data set corresponding to one character size is prepared, and at the time of normal display, the character data structure having a large character size is used to synthesize the character data on a road map to create a video signal. The image is displayed on the display device as it is, and at the time of enlarged display, the character data of a small character size is used to synthesize the character data on the road map to create a video signal, and then a portion including the current position of the video signal is generated. And a display control method for navigation, wherein the display is enlarged and displayed on a display device. 6. At least two position marks having different sizes are prepared as the position mark, and a position mark representing the current position is also synthesized on the road map to create a video signal before expansion, the expansion being performed. 6. The navigation display control method according to claim 5, wherein when the previous video signal is created, the video signal is created using a small size position mark during the enlarged display and a large size position mark during the normal display. .