JPH11305658A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To put a shadow sensing the three-dimensional effect of a land mark by changing the shape or the direction of the shadow of the land mark displayed on a screen. SOLUTION: A shadowing size setting means 15 sets up the size of a shadow based on the depression angle of a birds-eye view and a shadowing direction setting means 16 sets up the direction of the shadow, based on a display azimuth. A shadow shape setting means 14 sets up the size and the direction of the shadow by codes, based on the information of both the setting means 15, 16 and transmits the shadow information, the depression angle information of the birds-eye view and the display azimuth information to a display means 12. The means 12 reads out the map information of an area to be displayed from a map information storing means 11 or reads out the shadow information corresponding to the set shadow size and shadow direction from a table related to the shadows of the respective land marks included in the area. The birds-eye view is displayed in accordance with the depression angle information of the birds-eye view and the display azimuth information and the shadow acquired from the table is displayed on a land mark to be 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 or the like for displaying a map near a driving position, a route to a destination, and the like. It is made possible.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of vehicles equipped with a navigation device has rapidly increased, and the number of users thereof has been expanding, mainly among young people. Under these circumstances, the main focus of the development of navigation devices is software competition, which is how users can find interesting and useful information in an easy-to-understand manner.

In such a situation, the map is displayed in a bird's-eye view so that the driver has a feeling of looking forward from a high position with the aim of making the map easier to see. In addition, a navigation device for displaying a mark of a building or a store on a map has been developed.

[0004] In addition, in order to give a three-dimensional effect to the landmark, a scheme for giving a shadow has been devised.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the shape of a landmark is shifted in a certain direction to form a shadow, or as shown in FIG. 6B, a landmark is provided with a triangular shadow.

[0005]

However, in the conventional navigation device, since the landmark always has a shadow of the same shape in the same direction, the shadow does not match the display direction of the map, giving a sense of discomfort. However, there is a lack of fun, and the empathy of the user is not always obtained.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device which can give a shadow which gives a three-dimensional impression of a landmark.

[0007]

Therefore, in the navigation apparatus of the present invention, the shape or direction of the shadow of the landmark displayed on the screen can be changed.

[0008] Therefore, a three-dimensional effect is enhanced, and a screen display full of a real feeling can be displayed, and an interesting screen can be provided to the user.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the shape or direction of a shadow of a landmark displayed on a screen of a navigation device can be changed, and the three-dimensional appearance of the landmark can be improved. Be strengthened.

According to the invention described in claim 2, the shape of the shadow is changed according to the depression angle of the bird's-eye view displayed on the screen, and the feeling of looking down from a high place is enhanced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the direction of the shadow is changed according to the time, so that the user can feel as if he / she is watching a real scene.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the direction of the shadow is changed in accordance with the display direction, so that the three-dimensional appearance of the landmark is increased, and the landmark appears as if it actually exists there. I can feel.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) As shown in FIG. 2, a navigation device according to a first embodiment has a map information storage means 11 for storing map data and landmark information, and a map and landmark on a screen. Display means 12 for displaying
Position information obtaining means 13 for obtaining position information from an S-satellite, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed pulse, etc .; selecting means 21 for a user to select display contents and a display method;
Control means 20 for controlling each part of the apparatus in accordance with the user's instruction input from the user, bird's-eye view depression angle setting means 17 for setting the bird's-eye view depression angle in accordance with the user's instruction, and display orientation for detecting a display orientation suitable for the traveling direction Detection means 18, shadow size setting means 15 for setting the size of the shadow according to the angle of depression of the bird's eye view, shadow direction setting means 16 for setting the direction of the shadow according to the display orientation, shadow size A shadow shape setting means for setting a shadow shape based on the settings of the setting means 15 and the shadowing direction setting means 16;

As shown in FIG. 1, the map information storage means 11 stores a table relating to the shadow of each landmark together with the map data.

In this device, when the driver instructs a map display in a bird's eye view through the selection means 21, the control means 20
Acquires the information of the current position and the information of the motion vector from the position information acquisition means 13, instructs the map information storage means 11 to output the map information of the area including the current position to the display means 12, The current position is transmitted to the display means 12, and the display of the bird's eye view is commanded.

The control means 20 includes a bird's-eye view depression angle setting means.
The information on the depression angle input from the selection means 21 is transmitted to 17 and the information on the motion vector of the traveling vehicle is transmitted to the display orientation detection means 18. In response to this, the bird's-eye view depression angle setting means 17 sets the depression angle of the bird's-eye view and transmits it to the shadow size setting means 15, and the display azimuth detection means 18 detects the azimuth of the traveling direction of the vehicle,
The direction is transmitted to the shadowing direction setting means 16 as the display direction.

The shadow size setting means 15 sets the size of the shadow based on the angle of depression of the bird's-eye view. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the size of the shadow is divided by a code representing the size, and the shadowing size setting means 15 describes the correspondence between the depression angle of the bird's-eye view and this code. Based on the table that has been set, set a code representing the size, the shadow shape setting means 14,
The set shadow size information and the bird's eye view depression angle information are transmitted.

The shadowing direction setting means 16 sets the direction of the shadow based on the display orientation. The direction of the shadow is, for example,
As shown in FIG. 3B, the shadow is classified by a code indicating the direction of the shadow, and the shadowing direction setting means 16 determines the shadow direction based on a table in which the correspondence between the display orientation and the code is described. A code representing the direction is set, and information on the set shadow direction and information on the display orientation are transmitted to the shadow shape setting means 14.

The shadow shape setting means 14 sets the size of the shadow and the direction of the shadow by a code based on the information of the shadow size setting means 15 and the shadow direction setting means 16, and the information of the shadow and the bird's eye view are set. To the display means 12.

The display means 12 reads from the map information storage means 11
The map information of the area to be displayed is read, and the information of the shadow corresponding to the set shadow size and shadow direction is read from the table (FIG. 1) relating to the shadow of each landmark included in the area. Then, a bird's-eye view is displayed in accordance with the depression angle information and the display azimuth information of the bird's-eye view, and a shadow acquired from the table (FIG. 1) is displayed on a landmark displayed there.

In this manner, the landmark displayed on the screen of the navigation device is provided with a shadow having a size corresponding to the depression angle of the bird's-eye view toward the back of the screen. If the driver sets the bird's-eye view to a large angle of depression, the shadow of the landmark will be shorter, and the feeling of seeing from a higher place will be further enhanced. Further, when the traveling direction of the vehicle changes, the direction of the shadow changes accordingly, so that the three-dimensional effect is increased, and it is possible to feel as if the vehicle actually exists there.

(Second Embodiment) A navigation device according to a second embodiment changes the direction of a shadow according to time.
This device obtains position information from GPS satellites, gyro sensors, vehicle speed pulses, etc., as shown in FIG.
Position / time information obtaining means 22 for obtaining time information from satellites
And time detecting means 19 for obtaining the time information from the position / time information obtaining means 22 to detect the current time, and the shadowing direction setting means 16 is provided in accordance with the time detected by the time detecting means 19. Set the direction of the shadow. Further, the display orientation detecting means 18 transmits the detected display orientation to the control means 20, and the control means 20 transmits this information to the display means 12. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment (FIG. 2).

In this device, when the driver instructs a map display in a bird's eye view through the selection means 21, the control means 20
Commands the position / time information acquisition means 22 to acquire the current position information and the motion vector information, and instructs the map information storage means 11 to output the map information of the area where the current position is located to the display means 12, Further, the current position is transmitted to the display means 12, and the display of the bird's eye view is commanded.

The control means 20 also includes a bird's eye view depression angle setting means.
17, the depression angle information input from the selection means 21, the motion vector information of the traveling vehicle to the display orientation detection means 18, and the time information from the position / time information acquisition means 22 to the time detection means 19. Command.

In response to this, the bird's eye view depression angle setting means 17 sets the depression angle of the bird's eye view and transmits it to the shadow size setting means 15.
The time detecting means 19 transmits the time information acquired from the position / time information acquiring means 22 to the shadowing direction setting means 16. Also,
The display azimuth detecting means 18 detects the azimuth in the traveling direction of the vehicle and transmits the detected azimuth to the control means 20, and the control means 20 transmits this to the display means 12.

The shadow size setting means 15 sets a code representing the size of the shadow based on the angle of depression of the bird's-eye view, and the shadow shape setting means 14 sets the information on the set shadow size and the angle of depression of the bird's-eye view. Tell

The shadowing direction setting means 16 sets the direction of the shadow based on the current time information. The shadowing direction setting means 16 sets a code indicating the direction of the shadow based on the table describing the correspondence between the time information and the code indicating the direction of the shadow, and sets the set shadow in the shadow shape setting means 14. Give direction information.

The shadow shape setting means 14 sets the size and direction of the shadow with a code based on the information of the shadow size setting means 15 and the shadow direction setting means 16, and sets the information of the set shadow and The bird's-eye view depression angle information is transmitted to the display unit 12.

The display operation of the display means 12 is the same as in the first embodiment. The landmarks displayed on the screen of the navigation device are shaded as if they were illuminated by the actual sun, and the driver can feel as if they were looking at the actual scenery.

In the first and second embodiments, the depression angle of the bird's-eye view and the display direction or the current time are combined.
Although the case of changing the size and direction of the shadow has been described,
Only one of them is changed individually, that is, only the size of the shadow is changed according to the depression angle of the bird's eye view, only the direction of the shadow is changed according to the display direction, or only the direction of the shadow is changed according to the current time. You may do so. In this case, a table as shown in FIG. 3A or 3B is held in the map information storage unit 11 as a table relating to the shadow of each landmark. FIG. 5A shows a case where the size of the shadow is switched according to the depression angle of the bird's-eye view, and FIG. 5A shows a case where the direction of the shadow is switched according to the display direction or the current time.
It is displayed as shown in (b).

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, the navigation device of the present invention can switch the size and direction of the shadow added to the landmark, so that the display has a three-dimensional effect and a realistic screen display can be realized. Will be possible. In addition, an interesting screen can be displayed for the user, and information can be provided in a form that does not make the user tired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a table showing a relationship between a size and a direction of a shadow held by a navigation device according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a table showing a relationship between shadow sizes, and FIG. 3B is a table showing a relationship between shadow directions.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a display example (a) for changing the size of a shadow, a display example (b) for changing the direction of a shadow,

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a shadow added to a landmark in a conventional navigation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Map information storage means 12 Display means 13 Position information acquisition means 14 Shadow shape setting means 15 Shadow size setting means 16 Shadow direction setting means 17 Bird's-eye view depression angle setting means 18 Display azimuth detection means 19 Time detection means 20 Control means 21 Selection Means 22 Position / time information acquisition means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A navigation device wherein a shape or direction of a shadow of a landmark displayed on a screen can be changed. 2. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the shadow is changed according to a depression angle of a bird's-eye view displayed on a screen. 3. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the shadow is changed according to time. 4. The navigation device according to claim 1, wherein a direction of the shadow is changed according to a display direction.