JPH09230784A - Map display system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable high-speed display by assigning the mesh number of a desired display region, thereby reading the graphic element of the map corresponding to the mesh number out of a map data file. SOLUTION: A mesh table coinciding with the map information stored dividedly into the respective meshes in a large-capacity disk device 1 is previously formed in the table 20 within a CPU 2 by using a mesh table forming means 101. The map element of the first time is stored with the mesh number as an index into the map data file. If the desired display region is assigned by the mesh number in the map display from the second time, whether the assigned mesh number exists in the map data file or not is retrieved. If all the mesh numbers exist, the high-speed map display is executed without requiring the reading out of the large-capacity disk device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map display system for retrieving desired information from a map displayed on a personal computer or the like, or inputting information to display a corresponding map area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when conducting a survey of information about each city in Japan (for example, population, number of employees by occupation, ...), map information stored in a database such as a large-capacity disk device and various surveys. A map display method has been developed in which information and the like are read by a personal computer, a map is displayed on the display screen of the personal computer, and the information of the city is displayed by placing the cursor on the desired city and clicking. .

The map information used in such a map display system has not been developed for exclusive use, and is general-purpose information in which detailed graphics and other information that can be used in road maps and the like are mixed. However, in the case of the above-mentioned investigation, since the map display of a wide area is required due to its nature, the map figure is repeatedly read from the database and repeatedly displayed. That is, in the conventional map display method, as shown in FIG. 4, only the graphic element is selected from the graphic element of the map stored in a database such as a large-capacity disk device divided into a large number of meshes and other information. Then, the operation of reading several bytes for each mesh and displaying each time is repeated. Alternatively, a map data memory (not shown) is provided, and as shown in FIG. 5, the map information of a certain number of meshes is set as one block, and the graphic element for each block is read into the map data memory,
The method of repeating the operation of displaying one block at a time is adopted.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional map display system cannot display a map in a wide area, so that only graphic elements can be read from a large-capacity database for each mesh or for each block. This is done, and it takes time to finish displaying the map figure in a desired wide area. In addition, when a desired portion on the map is clicked on, it is necessary to sequentially follow the map display that is displayed in a plurality of times, which is troublesome and time-consuming.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a map of a desired wide area is displayed at a time while utilizing a general-purpose large-capacity database to search for desired information. It is an object of the present invention to provide a map display method that can be performed at a relatively high speed in the case of inputting information or displaying the corresponding map.

[0006]

The map display method according to the present invention is such that all the maps stored in the large-capacity database are divided into a plurality of meshes by numbers, and the mesh numbers are displayed on a data table. When creating a mesh table creating means and displaying a map, by designating the mesh number of a desired display area, only the graphic elements of the map corresponding to the mesh number are read out, and the mesh number is used as an index number in the data file. Map data file creating means for storing and creating a map data file, storing the graphic elements of the map read from the map data file in the map data memory, and displaying for a desired size and form for each mesh Equipped with a window and viewport conversion means,
In the second and subsequent map displays, by designating the mesh number of the desired display area, the graphic element of the map corresponding to the mesh number is read from the map data file, and the mesh that is not in the map data file is read. When a number is specified, the map data file creating means is executed for the mesh number.

Therefore, in the second map display, the map figure of the desired area can be read at once from the file, and the map can be displayed immediately. Also, by performing window / viewport conversion, it is possible to display the image in a desired size.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a device configuration example for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a large-capacity disk device (database), and 2 is C.
PU (central processing unit), 3 is a CRT (display unit), 4 is a keyboard (operation unit), and in the CPU 2, a data table 20, a data file 21, and a data memory 22 are provided.

Reference numeral 100 denotes a processing program composed of software stored in the CPU 2 and 10
Reference numeral 1 is a mesh table creating means for creating a mesh table by calculating the mesh number of a designated area, 102
Is a map data file creating means for saving the graphic elements of only the map data necessary for display as a file, 103 is a map data storing means for saving the graphic elements of the map read from the file in the map data memory, and 104 is a window for each mesh.・ Window for converting viewport ・
Viewport conversion means, 105 is these 101 to 104
Is a map data display means for creating display map data, and 106 is an information retrieval means for retrieving desired information.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the mesh table creating means 101 is used to create the table 20 in the CPU 2.
First, a mesh table that matches the map information stored in the large-capacity disk device 1 divided into meshes is created in advance (step S1). In the first map display (step S2), when a desired display area is designated on the mesh table (step S3), only the map graphic element with the designated mesh number is read and the mesh number is used as an index in the map data file. The graphic element of the read map is stored (step S4).

Then, after storing the graphic element once in the map data file, the map graphic is read from the map data file and stored in the map data memory (step S5), and a window view for each mesh is displayed. Port conversion processing is performed (step S6) to enlarge / reduce to a desired size, or data processing such as partial enlargement / reduction is performed and then displayed (step S).
7). FIG. 3 is a diagram showing this window / viewport conversion processing.

Therefore, the graphic element of the map having the mesh number designated in the first map display is stored in the map data file using the mesh number as an index, and the desired display area is displayed in the map display from the second time (step S8). Is specified by the mesh number (step S9), it is searched whether or not the mesh number specified in step S10 exists in the map data file. The processing of steps S5 to S7 is performed without requiring reading, and high-speed map display is possible.

If some of the mesh numbers specified in step S10 do not exist in the map data file, only the graphic elements of the map with the mesh numbers that do not exist are read out from the large-capacity disk device, and steps S4 ... S7
Is performed. In the map display in this type of search, the same map is often displayed multiple times repeatedly, and as a result, high-speed map display can be performed in the second and subsequent map displays. Step S6
Since the window / viewport conversion process is performed for each mesh, it is possible to easily display a map in a desired size and shape.

[0014]

As described above, in the map display method of the present invention, the second and subsequent map displays can be read at once from the map data file, and high-speed display can be performed. Further, by performing the window / viewport conversion process for each mesh, there is an effect that a desired region can be displayed at an optimum size at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a device configuration example for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a window / viewport conversion process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the conventional map display method.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of another conventional map display system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 large-capacity disk device 2 CPU (central processing unit) 3 CRT (display unit) 4 keyboard (operating unit) 20 data table 21 data file 22 data memory 100 processing program 101 mesh table creating unit 102 map data file creating unit 103 map data Storage means 104 Window / viewport conversion means 105 Map data display means 106 Information retrieval means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A map which uses a personal computer or the like to read only the graphic elements of the map from a large-capacity database in which other information is stored together with the graphic elements of the map and displays the map of the desired area on the display screen. In the display method, all the maps stored in the above-mentioned large-capacity database are numbered and divided by a plurality of meshes, and the mesh table creating means for creating this mesh number on the data table is desired for map display. By specifying the mesh number of the display area, only the graphic element of the map corresponding to the mesh number is read out, and the mesh number is stored in the data file as an index number,
A map data file creating means for creating a map data file, a window for storing the graphic elements of the map read from the map data file in the map data memory, and displaying the map data in a desired size and form for each mesh. When the map is displayed for the second time and thereafter, the mesh number of the desired display area is designated so that the graphic element of the map corresponding to the mesh number is read from the map data file. A map display method characterized in that, when a mesh number that does not exist in the map data file is specified, the map data file creating means is executed for that mesh number.