JPH09153127A - Map plotting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speedily scroll and zoom a map by reading map data from map storage device with respect to only a layer obtained from a reading layer information storage part and necessary for displaying at the time of scroll. SOLUTION: At first a scroll signal receiving means 102 receives a scroll signal. Then in order to display a map necessary for scroll, a map reading means 105 fetches the pertinent map from the map storage device 104. At this time, only the layer previously stored in a reading layer storage part 106 is read out. In addition, an operation area plotting means 108 plotting read out map data in an operation area 107 plots only the layer necessary for plotting operation area at the time of scroll among the layers of read out map data through the use of information in a previously specified plotting layer storage part 109. A map display means 111 transfer-displays only a layer necessary for display among data plotted to the operation area 107 to an external output device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map drawing device that scrolls and zooms a digital map displayed on a screen at high speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a digital map is displayed on a screen, there is always a demand for speeding up drawing in order to make the process of scrolling and zooming the map smoother. Conventionally, when performing scrolling and zooming processing, draw a map in the work drawing area in advance,
A method of displaying on the output device when a request is made (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-
(Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-4285), and a plurality of maps having different scales are used for zooming (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-4285).

[0003]

However, in the conventional techniques, drawing is performed in units of divided units, and it is necessary to wait for scrolling and zooming processing until drawing map data of all layers. Because of the time it took to draw, I couldn't scroll or zoom smoothly.
Further, when the unit is drawn in the work drawing area by scrolling, the data of the layer that does not need to be displayed at the time of scrolling is also read and drawn, which slows down the scrolling process. Furthermore, the map used for scrolling and zooming is of a scale for display, and the number of data at interpolation points of the map is generally large, which slows down the drawing of the map.

As described above, according to the conventional techniques, a map is drawn in the work area in advance and is displayed on the output device when a request is made, and a zooming method using a plurality of maps of different scales is used. No consideration for speeding up scrolling and zooming.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems.
The purpose is to speed up scrolling and zooming.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is, firstly, hierarchically divided by an external input device for manipulating a map and divided into small rectangular units for each layer. A map storage device for storing a map having a plurality of layers in each unit, an external output device for displaying the map, a scroll signal receiving means for receiving a scroll signal input from the external input device, and the map A map reading means for reading a map from the storage device, a work area drawing means for storing a map around a display area in a work area in advance in order to make scrolling smooth and fast, and a work area drawing means for drawing in the work area. A map display means for displaying a map on the external output device, the map reading means receives the scroll signal by the scroll signal receiving means. At this time, the map data is read from the map storage device only for the layers that need to be displayed when scrolling and that is obtained from the read layer information storage unit, and the work area drawing means displays the map data when scrolling that is obtained from the drawing layer information storage unit. A map is drawn in the work area for only the necessary layers, and the map display means maps the work area to the external output device only for the layers that need to be displayed during scrolling obtained from the display layer information storage unit. By displaying, high-speed scrolling is realized.

Second, an external input device for operating the map,
A map storage device that stores a map that is hierarchically divided into small rectangular units for each layer and that has a plurality of layers in each unit, an external output device that displays the map, and the external input device. A zoom signal receiving means for receiving a zoom signal input from the map reading means for reading the map from the map storage device, and a map around the area to be displayed in advance for smooth and fast scrolling A work area drawing means stored in the area and a map display means for displaying the map drawn in the work area on the external output device are provided, and the map reading means receives the zoom signal by the zoom signal receiving means. At this time, only the layers that need to be displayed during zooming, which are obtained from the read-out layer information storage section, are stored in the map data from the map storage device. Reading, the work area drawing means,
Only the layers that are obtained from the drawing layer information storage unit and that need to be displayed at the time of zooming are drawn by the map display means, and only the layers that need to be displayed at the time of zooming from the display layer information storage unit. With respect to, the high speed zoom process is realized by displaying a map from the work area on the external output device.

Thirdly, in addition to the first means, a drawing time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area is provided, and one unit of the map of the work area is provided for one layer of the map. Each time drawing is completed, the elapsed time from the start of drawing of the layer of the unit is checked, and if the elapsed time exceeds a certain time, the drawing process is interrupted, scroll processing is performed, and then the next layer is restarted. The smoothing process is performed by starting the drawing process from.

Fourthly, in addition to the first means, a drawing time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area is provided, and one unit of the map of the work area is provided for one layer of the map. During drawing, the elapsed time from the start of drawing is checked at least once, and if the elapsed time from the start of drawing in the layer of the unit exceeds a certain time, the drawing process is interrupted and the scroll process is stopped. After performing the drawing and resetting the drawing start to the current time, the drawing is restarted from the layer of the unit to realize the smooth scroll processing.

Fifthly, when the scroll signal receiving means receives the scroll signal in the first means, the scale one layer higher than the display scale is set as the scroll scale, and the scroll map is used to scroll. By performing the processing, smooth scroll processing is realized.

Sixthly, in the second means, when the zoom signal receiving means receives the zoom signal, the scale one layer higher than the display scale is used as the zoom scale and the map of the zoom scale is used. High-speed zoom processing is realized by performing zoom processing.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises an external input device for manipulating a map and a hierarchy according to a scale, and each hierarchy is divided into small rectangular units. A map storage device for storing a map having a plurality of layers, an external output device for displaying the map, a scroll signal receiving means for receiving a scroll signal input from the external input device, and a map from the map storage device. A map reading means for reading, a work area drawing means for storing a map around a display area in a work area in advance in order to make scrolling smooth and fast, and a map drawn in the work area A map display means for displaying on an external output device is provided, and the map reading means is
When the scroll signal receiving unit receives a scroll signal, only the layer that needs to be displayed during scrolling obtained from the read layer information storage unit reads the map data from the map storage device, and the work area drawing unit, Only the layers that are obtained from the drawing layer information storage unit and that need to be displayed at the time of scrolling are drawn by the map in the work area, and the map display means obtains from the display layer information storage unit, and only the layers that need to be displayed during scroll With regard to the above, a map is displayed from the work area to the external output device, and high-speed scrolling is realized by reducing the amount of drawing the map in the work area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an external input device for manipulating a map and a scale are hierarchized, each layer is divided into small rectangular units, and a map having a plurality of layers in each unit is provided. A map storage device for storing the map, an external output device for displaying the map, and a zoom signal receiving means for receiving a zoom signal input from the external input device,
A map reading means for reading a map from the map storage device, a work area drawing means for preliminarily storing a map around a display area in a work area for smooth and high-speed zooming, and a work area A map display means for displaying the drawn map on the external output device is provided, and when the map reading means receives the zoom signal from the zoom signal receiving means, the map is displayed at the time of zoom obtained from the read layer information storage section. The map data is read from the map storage device for only the necessary layers, and the work area drawing means draws a map in the work area only for the layers that need to be displayed at the time of zoom obtained from the drawing layer information storage unit. , Only the layers that the map display means needs to display at the time of zoom obtained from the display layer information storage unit By displaying a map on the external output device from the work area, by reducing the amount of drawing the map of the working area, it can achieve high-speed zooming.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, a drawing time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area is provided, and one unit of a map of the work area is provided. Each time the drawing of one layer of the minute map is completed,
Check the elapsed time from the drawing start of the layer of the unit, if the elapsed time exceeds a certain time, interrupt the drawing process, perform the scrolling process, and then start the drawing process again from the next layer By reducing the amount of drawing in the work area of the map and the waiting time for drawing, high-speed scrolling can be realized.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, there is provided drawing time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area.
During the drawing of one layer of a map for a unit, the elapsed time from the start of drawing is checked at least once, and if the elapsed time from the start of drawing in the layer of the unit exceeds a certain time, The drawing process is interrupted, the scrolling process is performed, the drawing start is reset to the current time, and then the drawing is started again from the layer of the unit concerned, thereby increasing the frequency of scrolling and decreasing the scroll pitch per unit time. can do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the scroll signal receiving means receives a scroll signal, a scale one layer higher than the display scale is set as the scroll scale.
Since the scroll processing is performed using the map of the scroll scale, high-speed scroll can be realized by reducing the amount of drawing in the work area of the map.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when the zoom signal receiving means receives the zoom signal, the scale one layer higher than the display scale is set as the zoom scale, and the map of the zoom scale is displayed. Since zoom processing is performed using this, high-speed zoom can be realized by reducing the amount of drawing in the work area of the map.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. (Embodiment 1) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a map drawing device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 is an external input device such as a keyboard for performing map operation. Reference numeral 102 is a scroll signal receiving means for receiving signals such as scroll control and scroll direction from the external input device 101, and 103 is zoom signal receiving means for receiving signals such as zoom control.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a map storage device such as a database. In general, a map of a plurality of scales is stored, each map is divided into units, and the units are further divided into layers. The map reading unit 105 reads the map data of the corresponding layer from the map storage device 104 by referring to the reading layer storage unit 106 in which which layer is to be read at the time of scrolling and zooming is specified in advance.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a work area drawing means for drawing map data around the displayed map in the work area 107 in advance in order to realize high-speed zooming and scrolling. Generally, the work area 104 has a larger area than the external output device 110 such as a display for displaying a map. In the drawing layer storage unit 109, of the layers read by the map reading unit 105, the layers to be drawn in the work area 107 during scrolling and zooming are specified.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a map display means for displaying the map drawn in the work area 107 on the external output device 110. Among the layers drawn in the work area 107, the layers necessary for display during scrolling and zooming are previously set. Only the necessary layers are displayed based on the information in the designated 113 display layer storage section. When the scrolling and zooming processing is completed, the map reading means 105 reads all layers, the work area drawing means 108 draws all layers in the work area 107, and the map display means 111 draws all layers. It is displayed on the external output device 110. Reference numeral 112 is a drawing time measuring means for measuring the drawing time.

The operation of the high-speed map scrolling method in the map drawing apparatus having the above-described structure will be described. First, a scroll signal is generated by the external input device 101 and received by the scroll signal receiving means 102. In order to display the map required for scrolling, the map reading means 105 retrieves the corresponding map from the map storage device 104. At this time, the reading time of the data being scrolled is reduced by reading only the layer stored in advance in the reading layer storage unit 106.

Further, in the work area drawing means 108 for drawing the read map data in the work area 107,
Using the information of the drawing layer storage unit 109 designated in advance, of the layers of the read corresponding map data, only the layer necessary for drawing the work area during scrolling is drawn.

The map display means 111 uses the information designated in advance in the display layer storage unit 113 to determine the work area 10
Of the data drawn in 7, only the layers required for display are transferred and displayed on the external output device. Drawing time measuring means 11
No. 2 holds the maximum value of the map drawing processing time which varies depending on the data amount in order to keep the scrolling speed constant, and a waiting time is generated as a timer until the time is reached, and the work area drawing means 108 and the map display are displayed. Means 111
Control. When the scroll processing is completed, the map reading means 105 reads all the layers that have not been read, and the work area drawing means 108 causes the work area drawing means 108 to read.
7 displays all the layers that have not been displayed, and the map display unit 111 displays all the layers that have not been displayed on the external output device 110.

As described above, the time required to read a layer unnecessary for scrolling from the map storage device 104, the process for drawing a layer unnecessary for scrolling in the work area 107, and the time for displaying the layer unnecessary for scrolling on the external output device 110 are reduced. The map can be scrolled at high speed.

(Second Embodiment) Next, the operation of a high-speed map zooming method in the map drawing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described. First, a zoom signal is generated by the external input device 101 and received by the zoom signal receiving means 103. In order to display the map required for zooming, the map reading means 105 retrieves the corresponding map from the map storage device 104. At this time, the reading time of the data during zooming is shortened by reading only the layer stored in advance in the reading layer storage unit 106.

Further, in the work area drawing means 108 for drawing the read map data in the work area 107,
Using the information of the drawing layer storage unit 109 designated in advance, of the layers of the read corresponding map data, only the layer necessary for drawing the work area at the time of zooming is drawn. Of the data drawn in the work area 107, only the layer necessary for display is output to the external output device by the map display means 111 based on the map layer information necessary for display, which is designated in advance in the display layer storage unit 113. Transfer display.

The drawing time measuring means 112 holds the maximum value of the map drawing processing time, which varies depending on the data amount, in order to keep the zoom speed constant, and a waiting time is generated as a timer until the time reaches the maximum value. The area drawing means 108 and the map display means 111 are controlled. When the zoom processing is completed, the map reading means 105 reads all the layers that have not been read, and the work area drawing means 108 draws all the layers that have not been drawn in the work area 107, and displays the map. The means 111 is the external output device 1
All layers not displayed in 10 are displayed.

As described above, the time required to read a layer unnecessary for zooming from the map storage device 104, the process for drawing a layer unnecessary for zooming in the work area 107, and the time for displaying the layer unnecessary for zooming on the external output device 110 are reduced. Is
You can zoom the map at high speed.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes an external input device such as a keyboard for performing map operation. Reference numeral 202 is a scroll signal receiving means for receiving signals such as scroll control and scroll direction from the external input device 201, and 203 is zoom signal receiving means for receiving signals such as zoom control. The map reading means 205 reads digital map data from the map storage device 204 such as a database. A work area drawing unit 207 draws map data around the map to be displayed in the work area 206 in advance in order to realize high-speed zooming and scrolling. Reference numeral 210 is a map display means for displaying a map drawn in the work area 206 on an external output device 208 such as a display. Reference numeral 209 is a drawing time measuring means for measuring the drawing time.

In the map drawing apparatus configured as described above, the drawing procedure of the work area drawing means for the map high speed scroll method will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The corresponding unit data of the map is the map reading means 205.
When it is read from the map storage device 204, the processing is started (step 301).

First, the drawing time is reset (step 3
02), it is determined whether there is a corresponding layer of the corresponding unit to be drawn (step 303). If there is no layer to be drawn, the process is terminated (step 307), and if there is a layer, it is drawn (step 304). Here, it is determined whether the drawing time has exceeded a certain time (step 305). If the fixed time has not passed, the process returns to step 303, and if the fixed time has passed, an instruction to execute scrolling is issued (step 306) and the process returns to step 302.

The further improved control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The corresponding unit data of the map is stored in the map storage device 2 by the map reading means 205.
When it is read from 04, the process is started (step 401).

First, the drawing time is reset (step 4
02), it is determined whether there is a corresponding layer of the corresponding unit to be drawn (step 403). If there is no layer to be drawn, the process is ended (step 412), and if there is a layer, a certain step of the layer is drawn (step 404) and it is judged whether the end of the layer being drawn has been reached (step 40).
5). If the end of the layer has not been reached, it is determined whether the drawing time has passed a certain time (step 40).
6). If the fixed time has not passed, the process returns to step 404. If the predetermined time has passed, an instruction is issued to execute scrolling (step 407), the drawing time is reset (step 408), and the process returns to step 404.

When the end of the layer is reached in step 405, it is judged whether the drawing time has passed a certain time (step 409). If the fixed time has not passed, the process returns to step 403. If the predetermined time has passed, an instruction is issued to execute scrolling (step 410), and the drawing time is reset (step 411).
Return to step 403.

With the above method, it is possible to perform scrolling and zooming even during layer drawing by closely checking the time when the layer drawing is completed.
The drawing waiting time can be reduced, and smooth high-speed scrolling becomes possible.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes an external input device such as a keyboard for performing map operation. Reference numeral 202 is a scroll signal receiving device that receives signals such as scroll control and scroll direction from the external input device 201, and 203 is a zoom signal receiving device that receives signals such as zoom control. The map reading means 205 reads digital map data from the map storage device 204 such as a database. A work area drawing unit 207 draws map data around the map to be displayed in the work area 206 in advance in order to realize high-speed zooming and scrolling. Reference numeral 210 is a map display means for displaying a map drawn in the work area 206 on an external output device 208 such as a display. Reference numeral 209 is a drawing time measuring means for measuring the drawing time.

In the map drawing apparatus configured as described above, when a map with a small scale as shown in FIG. 5 is drawn in the same area as a map with a large scale as shown in FIG. 6, interpolation points of road data of the map are used. In addition, the drawing amount is generally reduced such that the number of roads drawn is small in the small scale map of FIG. 7 and the large scale map of FIG. Therefore, a scale smaller than the display scale by one layer is used as the scroll scale, and the map of the scroll scale is enlarged and drawn to the size of the screen such as the display as shown in FIG. 9 to perform the high-speed processing. It is also possible to do so.

It is also possible to increase the speed by using a scale one layer higher than the display scale as the zoom scale and similarly enlarging and displaying the zoom process.

With the above method, the number of data drawn during scrolling and zooming is reduced, so that high-speed scrolling and high-speed zooming can be realized.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the number of data to be drawn is reduced and the waiting time for drawing is reduced, so that high speed scrolling of the map and high speed zooming of the map can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a map drawing device according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a map drawing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a drawing procedure of a first work area drawing means according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a drawing procedure of a second work area drawing means according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example diagram showing road interpolation points of a small-scale map according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram showing road interpolation points of a large-scale map according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram showing the number of roads in a small-scale map according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an example diagram showing the number of roads in a large-scale map according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an example diagram showing the number of roads in an enlarged view of a small-scale map according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of sign]

 Reference Signs List 101 external input device 102 scroll signal receiving means 103 zoom signal receiving means 104 map storage device 105 map reading means 106 reading layer storage unit 107 work area 108 work area drawing means 109 drawing layer storage unit 110 external output device 111 map display means 112 Drawing Time Measuring Means 113 Display Layer Storage Unit 201 External Input Device 202 Scroll Signal Receiving Means 203 Zoom Signal Receiving Means 204 Map Storage Device 205 Map Reading Means 206 Work Area 207 Work Area Drawing Means 208 External Output Device 209 Drawing Time Measuring Means 210 Map display means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An external input device for operating a map, and a map storage device for hierarchizing according to a scale, dividing each layer into small rectangular units, and further storing a map having a plurality of layers in each unit. An external output device for displaying a map, scroll signal receiving means for receiving a scroll signal input from the external input device, map reading means for reading a map from the map storage device, and scrolling smoothly and at high speed. In order to do so, a work area drawing means for preliminarily storing a map around the area to be displayed in the work area and a map display means for displaying the map drawn in the work area on the external output device are provided. When the scrolling means receives the scrolling signal from the scrolling signal receiving means, and when the scrolling signal is obtained from the reading layer information storage section. For only the layers that need to be displayed, the map data is read from the map storage device, and the work area drawing means displays the map in the work area only for the layers that need to be displayed when scrolling, which is obtained from the drawing layer information storage unit. Only the layers that need to be drawn and displayed by the map display means when scrolling are obtained from the display layer information storage unit.
A map drawing device displaying a map from the work area to the external output device. 2. An external input device for manipulating a map, and a map storage device for hierarchizing according to a scale, dividing each layer into small rectangular units, and further storing a map having a plurality of layers in each unit. An external output device for displaying a map, zoom signal receiving means for receiving a zoom signal input from the external input device, map reading means for reading a map from the map storage device, and scrolling smoothly and at high speed. In order to do so, a work area drawing means for preliminarily storing a map around the area to be displayed in the work area and a map display means for displaying the map drawn in the work area on the external output device are provided. When the zoom signal receiving means receives the zoom signal, the output means receives the zoom signal from the read layer information storage section, and it is necessary to display the ray which is to be displayed during the zoom. For only the read map data from the map storage unit, the work area rendering means, it is only for the layer needs to be displayed when zoom derived from the drawing layer information storage unit,
A map is drawn in the work area, and the map display means displays the map from the work area on the external output device only for a layer which is obtained from the display layer information storage unit and needs to be displayed during zooming. Map drawing device. 3. A drawing time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area is provided, and each time the drawing of one layer of the map for one unit of the work area is completed, the unit is drawn. The elapsed time from the start of drawing of the layer is checked. If the elapsed time exceeds a certain time, the drawing process is interrupted, the scrolling process is performed, and then the drawing process is restarted from the next layer. 2. The map drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the map drawing apparatus performs various scrolling processes. 4. A drawing time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from the start of drawing in the work area, wherein a frequency of one or more times during drawing one layer of a map for one unit of the work area. Check the elapsed time from the start of drawing with, and if the elapsed time from the start of drawing in the layer of the unit exceeds a certain time, interrupt the drawing process and perform the scroll process, and set the drawing start to the current time. 2. The map drawing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the resetting, the drawing is started again from the layer of the unit to perform a smooth scrolling process. 5. When the scroll signal receiving means receives a scroll signal, a scale one layer higher than the display scale is used as the scroll scale, and the scroll process is performed using the map of the scroll scale. Claim 1
The described map drawing device. 6. When the zoom signal receiving means receives a zoom signal, a scale one layer higher than the display scale is used as the zoom scale, and zoom processing is performed using a map of the zoom scale. The map drawing device according to claim 2.