WO2007026835A1

WO2007026835A1 - Map display device, map display method, and recording medium where map display program is recorded

Info

Publication number: WO2007026835A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/317252
Authority: WO
Inventors: Akihiro Yamamoto; Kenji Nishimura; Toshiaki Mori; Atsushi Iisaka
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2005-09-02
Filing date: 2006-08-31
Publication date: 2007-03-08
Also published as: JP2008292511A

Abstract

A map display device which groups a plurality of points and displays the group of points to enable the user to grasp the distribution of the points, a map display method, and a recording medium where a map display program is recorded are provided. By using map information for displaying a map on display means and point information for displaying points on the map, map image information about the map where the points are indicated is created and outputted to display means. The point information includes position information representing the positions of the points and genre information representing the attributes of the points. The points having the same genre information are grouped according to the distance between them on the map, an area on the map including all the points belonging to the group is defined, and map image information about the map where the area is indicated is created.

Description

Specification

Map display device, map display method, and recording medium recording map display program

Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a map display device, a map display method, and a recording medium on which a map display program is recorded. The present invention relates to a map display device, a map display method, and a recording medium on which a map display program is recorded.

Background art

Conventionally, in a navigation apparatus, data having a facility or a famous place as a point point is recorded on a recording medium such as a memory. Furthermore, the conventional navigation device has a function of registering points at an arbitrary place such as a home position. In the following description, points arbitrarily registered by the user are referred to as registration points. The above point points are displayed in a list for the user to set the destination, and the user can easily set the destination by selecting a plurality of point point forces described in the list.

[0003] In addition, a conventional navigation device may display the point point as an icon on a map on the screen. For example, by displaying icons such as convenience stores and restaurants with the store logo mark, it is easier to visually understand the facilities at the point. However, in urban areas where point points are dense, icons may be displayed in a complicated manner on the map displayed according to the scale of the map displayed on the screen, and the icons may overlap each other. . In this case, if the user looks at the screen at a glance, the facilities that exist at each point point will become more powerful.

[0004] In order to avoid such complicated display, when icons are crowded on a map displayed on the screen, multiple icons having the same attribute are integrated (grouped) and displayed on the screen with one icon. Yon apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has multiple icons with the same attribute in a certain section. When present, by integrating these icons into one icon, the facility existing at the point point is displayed so that it can be easily understood visually. A map display system has also been proposed that controls the process of integrating multiple icons into one according to the relationship between the scale of the map displayed on the screen and the distance between the icons (point points) (for example, patents). (Ref. 2).

Patent Document 1: JP 2004-69561 A

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-337041

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0005] However, the navigation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the map display system disclosed in Patent Document 2 display a force that can be displayed visually and easily by grouping icons. It is not possible to visually indicate the range (area) where the individual point points that are grouped are actually distributed.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a map display device, a map display method, and a map display program that enable a user to grasp the distribution of point points when a plurality of point points are displayed in a grouped manner. Is provided.

Means for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features.

The first aspect is a map display device that displays a map on a display means. The map display device includes recording means and display control means. The recording means records map information for displaying the map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of point points on the map. The display control means uses the map information and the point information recorded in the recording means to generate map image information in which the point point is displayed on the map and outputs it to the display means. The point information recorded by the recording means includes position information indicating the position of each point point and genre information indicating the attribute of each point point. The display control means includes group forming means and display area forming means. The group forming means groups points with the same genre information based on the distance on the map. The display area forming means is grouped by the group forming means. An area on the map that encloses all the point points to which it belongs is formed, and map image information in which the area is displayed on the map is generated.

[0008] In a second aspect according to the first aspect, the group forming means forms a set of point points whose distance on the map is shorter than a threshold with respect to the point points having the same genre information. A plurality of sets to which the same point point belongs are grouped as the same group.

[0009] In a third aspect according to the second aspect, the threshold value is set according to a scale when the display control means displays a map on the display means. The group forming means re-forms the group according to the change in scale.

[0010] In a fourth aspect based on the first aspect, the display control means further includes a group information generating means. The group information generating means generates at least one of icons and characters indicating the group information grouped by the group forming means, and generates map image information in which at least one of the icons and characters is displayed on the map.

[0011] In a fifth aspect according to the fourth aspect, the group information generating means generates at least one of an icon and a character indicating the number of point points belonging to the group grouped by the group forming means, Generate map image information with at least one of the icon and text displayed on the map.

[0012] In a sixth aspect according to the first aspect, when the display area forming means overlaps with another area on the map, the display area forming means on the map surrounds all point points belonging to the groups indicated by the areas. A composite area is formed, and map image information is generated in which the overlapping areas are deleted and the composite area is displayed on the map.

[0013] In a seventh aspect according to the sixth aspect, the display area forming means forms a composite region when the region overlaps with other regions over a predetermined area ratio on the map.

[0014] In an eighth aspect based on the sixth aspect, the display control means further includes a group information generating means. The group information generating means generates at least one of icons and characters respectively indicating information of a plurality of groups indicated by the composite area formed by the display area forming means, and a map on which at least one of the icons and characters is displayed on the map Generate image information.

[0015] In a ninth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the group information generating means includes For each group shown, generate at least one of icons and characters indicating the number of point points belonging to each group, and generate map image information that displays at least one of the icons and characters on the map. To do.

[0016] A tenth aspect further includes communication means for communicating with an external device in the first aspect. The communication means receives the point information transmitted from the external device and records it in the recording means.

[0017] An eleventh aspect is a map display method for displaying a map on a display means. The map display method includes a recording step and a display control step. In the recording step, map information for displaying a map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of point points on the map are recorded in the recording means. In the display control step, the map information and the point information recorded in the recording step are used to generate map image information in which the point point is displayed on the map and output it to the display means. The point information recorded in the recording step includes position information indicating the position of each point point and genre information indicating the attribute of each point point. The display control step includes a group formation step and a display area formation step. In the group formation step, grouping is performed for points with the same genre information based on the distance on the map. In the display area forming step, an area on the map that surrounds all of the plurality of point points belonging to the group formed by the group forming step is formed, and map image information in which the area is displayed on the map is generated.

[0018] A twelfth aspect is a recording medium that records a map display program to be executed by a computer of a map display device that displays a map on display means. The map display program causes the computer to execute a recording control step and a display control step. In the recording control step, map information for displaying a map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of point points on the map are recorded in a memory. The display control step uses the map information and point information recorded in the memory to generate map image information in which the point point is displayed on the map and outputs it to the display means. The point information recorded in the recording control step includes position information indicating the position of each point point and genre information indicating the attribute of each point point. The display control step includes the group formation step and the group formation step. And a display area forming step. In the group formation step, grouping is performed on the point points having the same genre information based on the distance on the map. In the display area forming step, an area on the map surrounding all the plurality of point points belonging to the group grouped by the group forming step is formed, and map image information in which the area is displayed is generated on the map.

The invention's effect

[0019] According to the first aspect described above, a plurality of point points are grouped, and an area where the individual point points are distributed is displayed on the map, so that the presence of the point points can be visually easily understood.

[0020] According to the second aspect, adjacent point points having the same genre information can be grouped as the same group.

[0021] According to the third aspect described above, when the scale of the map to be displayed changes, it is better to display for each point point, or to display multiple point points in groups. The power can be automatically switched and displayed more visually and easily.

[0022] According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to display the contents of the grouped group on the map.

[0023] According to the fifth aspect, the number of point points included in the group can be displayed so as to be visually recognized.

[0024] According to the sixth aspect described above, when the areas indicating the groups overlap, the combined area obtained by combining the areas is displayed. Can be displayed easily.

[0025] According to the seventh aspect, since the regions are synthesized according to the overlapping area between the regions, the regions can be displayed in such a manner that they are most visually appealing.

[0026] According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to display the contents such as the characteristics of a plurality of groups indicated by the composite area on the map.

[0027] According to the ninth aspect, it is possible to display the number of point points included in each of the plurality of groups indicated by the composite region so as to visually increase.

[0028] According to the tenth aspect, point information can be recorded even at a remote point force. The

[0029] Further, according to the map display method and the recording medium in which the map display program of the present invention is recorded, the same effect as that of the map display device described above can be obtained.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of registration point information stored in the recording unit 103 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of map display processing performed by the navigation device 101 of FIG.

[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a subroutine for explaining the operation of the grouping process in step S306 of FIG.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a map 501 for explaining an example of group determination.

[FIG. 5B] FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the relationship between the distances between two registered points for explaining an example of group determination.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a map 601 for explaining another example of group determination

[FIG. 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a relationship of distances between two registered points for explaining another example of group determination.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a map 701 showing the display area of the map 501 in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a map 702 showing the display area of the map 601 in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example in which display areas overlap.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a map 901 obtained by combining display areas.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a map image 1001 displayed on the display unit 107.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a map image 1101 displayed on the display unit 107.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a store information registration system including the navigation device 101 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols [0031] 101 navigation device

102 Communications department

103 Recording section

104 Display controller

105 Location information acquisition unit

106 GPS antenna

107 Display

108, 1203 Operation unit

201 Squirrel

501, 601, 701, 702, 801, 901 Maps

502, 602 tables

802, 803, 902, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1102 Display area

804 Overlap area

1001, 1101 Map image

1002 Current position

1007, 1103, 1104, 1105 Registration points

1201

1202 TV monitor

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a map display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to make the following description concrete, a navigation device is used as an example of a map display device. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the navigation device.

In FIG. 1, the navigation device 101 is installed in a vehicle, for example. The navigation device 101 includes a communication unit 102, a recording unit 103, a display control unit 104, and a position information acquisition unit 105. The navigation device 101 is connected to a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 106, a display unit 107, and an operation unit 108.

[0034] The communication unit 102 is a registration in which an external device capability capable of communicating with the communication unit 102 is also input. Receive point information. Here, the registration point information is information for the user of the navigation device 101 to register a point point at an arbitrary location. For example, the navigation device 101 has a function that allows a user to register points at any location such as a home location or a favorite location, and points that the user arbitrarily registers as registration points. It is called. Note that the communication unit 102 may obtain registration point information when the user operates the operation unit 108 (connection between the operation unit 108 and the communication unit 102 is not shown). In this case, the communication unit 102 functions as an input unit.

The recording unit 103 is configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The recording unit 103 records the registration point information received by the communication unit 102. The recording unit 103 stores map data and related data for executing the navigation function and displaying the screen.

The display control unit 104 reads out data recorded in the recording unit 103 and generates image information to be output to the display unit 107 configured with a monitor such as a liquid crystal panel, for example. The operation unit 108 is, for example, a remote controller. Various command commands are input to the operation unit 108 according to the user's operation. In this embodiment, the scale of the map screen displayed on the display unit 107 is switched according to the operation of the operation unit 108. . The operation unit 108 may be a touch panel installed so as to cover the display screen of the display unit 107.

[0037] Position information acquisition section 105 calculates the current position of the vehicle on which navigation device 101 is mounted, using as input the GPS antenna 106 force connected to navigation device 101 and the signal that also received the SGPS satellite force. Note that when the GPS antenna 106 cannot receive a GPS satellite force signal, the current position of the vehicle is calculated using a gyroscope (not shown) mounted on the navigation device 101.

FIG. 2 is an example of registration point information recorded in the recording unit 103. In FIG. 2, the registration point information is displayed in a list 201, for example. Each registered point information holds information on items indicating “name”, “position information”, and “genre” in a list form. “Name” is the name of the registered point, for example, the name of a facility or the name of a store. The “name” may be arbitrarily editable by the user. “Position information” indicates the position of the registered point, and is represented by, for example, latitude and longitude. "Genre" is a registered point As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the information is classified into “hot spring”, “meal”, “shopping”, and the like. Note that the registration point information shown in the list 201 in FIG. 2 is an example for concrete explanation, and the registration point information may include information on other items.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the map display process performed by the navigation device 101. Hereinafter, the operation of the map display process performed by the navigation device 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0040] First, the position information acquisition unit 105 determines the current position and the course direction of the vehicle on which the navigation device 101 is mounted (step S301). Specifically, based on the signal received from the GPS antenna 106, the position information acquisition unit 105 calculates the current position and the course direction. Then, the position information acquisition unit 105 outputs the calculated current position and route direction information to the display control unit 104.

Next, display control unit 104 determines the scale and display format of the map displayed on display unit 107 (step S302). The scale is, for example, the length (distance on the map) per scale displayed on the screen. Here, in the map display processing in the navigation device 101, the map data to be read is determined according to the scale. The display format includes, for example, “North Up” and “Heading Up”, and indicates the display type when the map is displayed on the display unit 107. “North Up” is a format for displaying on the display 107 with the north direction facing up. “Heading-up” is a format displayed on the display unit 107 with the course direction facing up. The display control unit 104, for example, determines the scale and display format set by the user using the operation unit 108. If there is no setting input from the user in step S302, the display control unit 104 displays the previous scale and display format. Can be stored in an internal memory (not shown), etc. and read and determined.

[0042] Next, map data to be read is determined by completing steps S301 and S302. Therefore, the display control unit 104 reads the corresponding map data from the recording unit 103 (step S303). Preferably, in order to speed up the display when the current position is changed at any time, the display control unit 104 reads map data in a range larger than the range displayed on the display unit 107, and stores the internal memory (not shown). ) Etc. temporarily. At this time, the display control unit 104 Information relating to the map such as a mark is also read from the recording unit 103.

[0043] Next, the display control unit 104 refers to the registration point information stored in the recording unit 103 (see Fig. 2), and confirms whether a plurality of registration points are included in the read map range. (Step S304). The display control unit 104 proceeds to step S305 when a plurality of registration points are included, and proceeds to step S307 when a registration point is not included or a single registration point is included. To proceed.

[0044] In step S305, the display control unit 104 determines whether or not the grouping process is necessary for a plurality of registration points. This grouping process will be described later. Specifically, the display control unit 104 refers to the “genre” described in the registration point information for each of the plurality of registered points, and determines whether there are two or more registered points of the same “genre”. To check. At this time, if there are two or more registered points belonging to the same “genre”, the display control unit 104 stores the genre name in the recording unit 103. If the display control unit 104 determines that one or more “genres” are stored, that is, a grouping process is necessary, the display control unit 104 advances the process to the next step S306. On the other hand, if the display control unit 104 determines that the grouping process is unnecessary, the display control unit 104 advances the process to the next step S307.

[0045] In step S306, the display control unit 104 performs grouping processing (step S306). Then, the display control unit 104 displays a map after the grouping process in step S306 is completed (step S307). As described above, since the map and registration point data have been read in the processing so far (steps S301 to S306), the display control unit 104 displays the data in the range to be displayed based on these decisions. Output to section 107.

Then, display control unit 104 determines whether or not to end the display of the image displayed in step S307 (step S308). If it is determined that the display is to be ended, the display control unit 104 ends the map display process. On the other hand, when the display is continued, the display control unit 104 advances the processing to the next step S309. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, when the display control unit 104 receives a force display stop instruction including the display end confirmation process in step S308, the current display may be stopped immediately.

[0047] In step S309, the display control unit 104 makes a request to read out new map data. Judge whether there is no. Specifically, a new map data read request is generated by changing the current position, the direction of the course (when the display format is heading up), or the scale. When there is no map data read request, the display control unit 104 returns the process to step S308 and repeats the process. When there is a map data read request, the display control unit 104 returns to step S301 and repeats the process.

[0048] Next, the grouping process performed in step S306 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a subroutine showing the detailed operation of the grouping process in step S306 of FIG.

In FIG. 4, the display control unit 104 sets the genre to be grouped (step S401). When this step S401 is executed, since it is determined as “YE S” in step S305 (see FIG. 3), the registration points belonging to the genre subject to grouping (that is, the same “genre”) must be confirmed. There are one or more “genres”). For example, when the genre “hot spring” is stored in the recording unit 103 as the target in step S305, the display control unit 104 sets the genre “hot spring” as the genre targeted for grouping. When there are a plurality of target genres, the display control unit 104 selects any one genre (for example, the genre that appears first in the list of registered points).

[0050] Next, the display control unit 104 confirms the distance between the registered points for the registered points that belong to the genre set in step S401 and are included in the display screen range (step S402). For example, the display control unit 104 confirms the distance between the registration points using the position information included in the registration point information. This confirmation process confirms whether or not the force for confirming the distance between two target registration points is within the threshold for all combinations of the relevant registration points. This threshold value is uniquely determined by the scale of the map displayed on the display unit 107. Then, grouping is permitted for pairs whose distance between the two registration points is within the threshold. On the other hand, groups exceeding the threshold are not allowed to be grouped. For example, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the threshold matches the scale of the map display. In other words, if the scale is 100m, the threshold value is 100m, and if the scale is 50m, the threshold value is 50m.

[0051] The display control unit 104 then determines the distance confirmation result between the registration points in step S402. Therefore, a group is determined (step S403).

An example of group determination in step S 403 will be described using FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. FIG. 5A shows a two-dimensional map 501 with a display scale of 100 m. Registration points A to D are displayed in the map 501. FIG. 5B shows the relationship between the distances between the two registration points in Table 502. Table 502 shows the relationship between the distances between two points for each of registered points A to D. A pair of distances within 100m, which is the threshold, is indicated by ◯, and a pair of distances exceeding 100m is indicated by X. . Here, in Table 502, only the upper right range is described, but since the same result is obtained in the lower left portion, the illustration is omitted. In the example in Table 502, it is determined that the registration points A—B and B—C are within the threshold, and grouping between these registration points is permitted. At this time, the point between registration points A and C is X, but by registering registration point B between them, the same group is permitted. On the other hand, since registration point D is X with respect to any of registration points A to C, grouping is not permitted with any registration point. Therefore, in the example of map 501, registration points A, B, and C are grouped together.

[0053] Next, another example of group determination in step S403 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6A shows a two-dimensional map 601, and the display scale is 100 m as in the case of the map 501. Figure 6B shows the relationship between the distances between the two registration points in Table 602. Table 602 shows the relationship between the distances between the two registration points E to H, and the way of reading the table is the same as in Table 502. In Table 602, it is determined that the registration points E-F and G-H are within threshold values. On the other hand, in Table 602, one of the registration points E and F and one of the registration points G and H have no relationship within the threshold. Therefore, in the case of Table 602, two groups are created: a group to which registration points E and F belong and a group to which registration points G and H belong.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the group determination process in step S403 ends, the display control unit 104 checks whether there is another genre to be grouped (step S404). If there are other genres to be grouped, the display control unit 104 returns to step S401 and repeats the process. On the other hand, if there is no other genre to be grouped, the display control unit 10 In step 4, the process proceeds to the next step S405.

[0055] In step S405, the display control unit 104 forms a display area for displaying the group determined in step S403. For example, the display area is a circle in which all registered points belonging to the same group on the map displayed on the display unit 107 are surrounded. Next, the display control unit 104 checks whether or not there is a problem in each display area formed in step S405 (step S406). Hereinafter, a specific display area formation example and a display area determination example will be described.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are examples of display areas on map 501 and map 601, respectively. Specifically, FIG. 7A shows a map 701 showing the display area of the map 501. FIG. 7B shows a map 702 showing the display area of the map 601. As is clear from FIGS. 7A and 7B, the same applies when there is one group determined as shown in map 701 or when the display areas of multiple groups determined as shown in map 702 do not overlap each other. A circle area that encloses all registered points belonging to the group is determined as the group display area. As described above, when there is no problem in the display area in S406 (that is, there is no overlap with other display areas), the display control unit 104 ends the processing by the subroutine. On the other hand, if there is a problem in the display area, the display control unit 104 advances the process to the next step S407.

Here, the determination of whether or not there is a problem in the display area will be described. For example, when a group of the genre “hot spring” and a group of the genre “meal” are displayed on the same map, there is a possibility that the display areas indicating the respective groups overlap each other.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which display areas overlap. FIG. 8 shows a two-dimensional map 801. Registration point I and registration point J in map 801 belong to the same group, and a display area 802 for the group is formed. In addition, the registration point K and the point L in the map 801 belong to a group different from the group to which the registration point I and the registration point J belong, and a display area 803 for the group is formed. An area where the display area 802 and the display area 803 overlap is displayed as an overlapping area 804. These two groups are displayed such that a display area 802 and a display area 803 are overlapped like a force map 801 which is a different genre. In this way, different groups If the areas overlap between the loops, the display control unit 104 determines that there is a problem in the display area in step S406. For example, when the area of the overlapping area 804 is 50% or more of the total area of one of the display areas 802 and 803, the display control unit 104 determines that there is a problem with the display area.

[0059] When there is a problem in the display area, the display control unit 104 synthesizes the display area because it is difficult to visually understand (step S407). Figure 9 shows an example of a map 901 that combines display areas. The map 901 includes registration points I to L similar to the map 801, and the display area 902 only differs. A display area 902 is a combined display area in which the display area 802 and the display area 803 in the map 801 are combined. For example, the display area composition is formed in, for example, a circle that encloses all the registration points in each display area determined to have a problem.

FIG. 10 is an example of a map image 1001 displayed on the display unit 107. The map image 1001 is an image displayed on the display unit 107, and a road passes in a cross shape in the image. Further, it is assumed that the map image 1001 displays the current position 1002 and is moving upward on the map image 1001. The map image 1001 is displayed in a heading-up display format.

A display area 1003 displayed in the map image 1001 is a display area grouped by the genre “meal”. Note that the power indicated by the numerical value “3” in the building icon placed in the display area 1003. This numerical value indicates the number of registration points grouped together. A display area 1004 displayed in the map image 1001 is a display area that has been duplicated by the genre “hot spring”. Like the display area 1003, the display area 1004 is a group of three registered points. Note that the display area 1003 and the display area 1004 are overlapped with each other. The overlapping area is less than 50% of the total area of one of the display areas 1003 and 1004. It ’s done! /.

A display area 1005 displayed in the map image 1001 is a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”. Display area 1005 is different from display areas 1003 and 1004 in the number of registration points that have been doubled. Since the display area 1005 is the same genre “hot spring” as the display area 1004, it is preferable to display the display area 1005 in the same color. Grouped The displayed icons are displayed so as to be included in the display area, for example. In the example shown in FIG. 10, an icon is displayed in the center of each display area for the display areas 1003, 1004, and 1005.

[0063] The display area 1006 displayed in the map image 1001 includes a display area grouped by the genre “meal”, a display area grouped by the genre “hot spring”, and a group area by the genre “shobbing”. The display area that has been deceived is a combined display area. In the case of the combined display area 1006, all the building icons displayed in each display area are displayed as they are. The display area 1006 is a group in which three registration points for the genre “hot spring” are grouped, a group in which three registration points for the genre “meal” are grouped, and a registration for the genre “shopping”. The building icon indicates that the point contains two groups. Even in the case of a combined display area, each icon is displayed so as to be included in the display area of the display area.

The registration point 1007 displayed in the map image 1001 is a registration point of the genre “meal”, but is not grouped. Registration points 1007 that are not grouped may display “name” (see Figure 2) as shown in Figure 10.

[0065] The display range 1008 shown in FIG. 10 is an example of the range displayed on the display unit 107 when the scale reaches 50 m. The display in this case will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is an example of a map image 1101 displayed on the display unit 107 when the scale reaches 50 m. As with the map image 1001, the display format of the map image 1101 is heading-up, and the current position 1002 is the same as the map image 1001.

[0067] The display area 1102 displayed in the map image 1101 is a display area grouped by the genre "hot spring". Here, in the map image 1101, since the distance threshold for grouping has been changed to 50 m, the registration points belonging to the group are changed. For example, comparing display area 1006 and display area 1102 shown in FIG. 10, display area 1006 indicates a group to which three registration points of the genre “hot spring” belong. The group to which one registration point belongs Show.

The registration point 1103 displayed in the map image 1101 is a “discount store”. The registration point 1103 is a genre “shopping”, and is displayed alone without being grouped in the force map image 1101 grouped in the display area 1006 in the map image 1001.

The registration point 1104 displayed in the map image 1101 is “ABC ramen”. The registration point 1104 is a genre “meal”, and is shown alone in the map image 1101 without being grouped in the power map image 1101 grouped in the display area 1006.

The registration point 1105 displayed in the map image 1101 is “hot spring inn ABC”. This registered point 1105 is the genre “hot spring”, and is shown alone without being grouped in the force map image 1101 grouped in the display area 1005 in the map image 1001.

[0071] In addition, since the display range 1008 in FIG. 10 includes a part of the display area 1003, all three registration points belonging to the group indicated by the force display area 1003 did not fall within the range of the display range 1008. It is displayed in map image 1101!

[0072] In this way, for registered points belonging to the same genre, those whose distance between the registered points is within a threshold (100m in Fig. 10, 50m in Fig. 11) are grouped into the same group, Displayed in the display area. By displaying the registration points in close proximity to each other in this way, a plurality of registration points can also be visually and easily displayed on the map display in the navigation device. In addition, by displaying a display area showing the arrangement range of registered points belonging to each group, it is possible to visualize the area where individual registered points are distributed more than when only grouped icons are displayed. It can be displayed with ease. By displaying the display area in this way, for example, parking a car in the display area, searching for registration points in the display area on foot, and deciding by looking at your favorite store, you can use it like that It becomes.

[0073] It should be noted that the navigation device is not limited to the force that is installed in the car. The same applies to mobile terminals such as mobile phones that have a navigation function or map display function. Function can be realized.

[0074] Further, the force that the display unit and the operation unit are connected to the navigation device is not limited to this. A similar function can be realized by including at least one of them in the navigation device.

[0075] Also, the power of group registration as a registration point for the user to register arbitrarily is not limited to this. Including information on the facilities that are recorded from the beginning in the navigation device will not help. Further, the genre targeted by the groupie is not limited to, for example, “hot spring”, “food”, “shopping” and the like. The “genre” may be arbitrarily set by the user.

[0076] The "genre" does not have to indicate the characteristics of the registered points themselves. For example, the name of the information source from which the registered point information is obtained does not matter. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 12, when introducing a store with media such as a TV program, when the user likes the store, the store information is registered in the navigation device 101 as a registration point by remote control operation. Explain the recording system. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the store information registration system.

In FIG. 12, the store information registration system includes the above-described navigation device 101, home transmission device 1201, TV monitor 1202, and operation unit 1203. A user views a program on the TV monitor 1202, introduces a favorite store in the program, and performs a predetermined operation when registering to the home transmitter 1201 from the operation unit 1203 (for example, a remote controller). Send registration instructions. At this time, it is assumed that the store information that the user likes is being broadcast as a data broadcast in a TV program broadcast. Alternatively, when information on a favorite store is displayed on the TV monitor 1202, the user transmits a registration point registration instruction from the operation unit 1203, and the home transmission device 1201 uses the TV screen to recognize the favorite store. You may read the information and generate registration point information! /. Receiving the registration point registration instruction, home transmitter 1201 wirelessly transmits the store information as registration point information to navigation device 101. The navigation device 101 receives the registration point information by the communication unit 102 and records it in the recording unit 103.

In the case of the store information registration system shown in FIG. 12, “genre” for the groupie May be TV yarn and name. By setting such a “genre”, it is possible to determine which program was introduced and where the featured program was introduced when a local facility, shop, etc. was introduced. Can be displayed on a map.

[0079] Further, there may be a plurality of "genres" recorded as registration point information for one registration point. This makes it possible to create various groups for registration points. At this time, the user may arbitrarily set which genre is used for grouping.

In addition, the shape of the display area is exemplified by a circle, but is not limited thereto. The display area may be displayed in any shape as long as the display area is formed so as to surround the registration points that have been duplicated. The icons displayed in the display area are not limited to the building icons shown in the present embodiment. For example, the icon size may be changed according to the number of registration points included in the group. Also, display a list with icons.

In the above description, the power for displaying the grouped icons so as to be included in the display area of the display area is not limited to this. For example, it is only necessary to display that the icon indicates that it exists in the display area. For example, it is not necessary to display the icon so that it protrudes from the display area of the display area. It is also acceptable to display an icon in the display area that extends beyond the display area, such as a balloon outside the display area.

[0082] Further, the map displayed on the display unit by the display control unit may not be the two-dimensional map as described above. For example, it goes without saying that the present invention can be realized in the same manner even when a map of another aspect such as a three-dimensional map or a bird's eye view map is displayed on the display unit.

[0083] Further, the map image displayed on the display unit is not limited to the force including the current position. For example, the same function can be realized even when the map image is scrolled to see an area away from the current position.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been given using the navigation device, but the present invention can also be applied to other devices. For example, it can be applied to a display device that does not have a navigation function, such as a map display device that displays a selected map on the display device. Noh.

Further, the present invention can be realized as a recording medium that records a map display program to be executed by a computer of a map display device. In this case, the map display device includes, in addition to the computer that executes the map display program, a memory that forms a storage area used by the computer for processing, and the communication unit 102 shown in FIG. The display unit 107 and the operation unit 108 are connected. It goes without saying that the present invention can be realized even if the above-described processing is performed by the map display device having such a configuration executing the map display program. In this case, the map display program of the present invention can be applied by being executed by any computer system that can be displayed on the display unit, but is supplied to the computer system through an external storage medium such as an optical disk or a memory card. The computer system may be supplied through a wired or wireless communication line. Various data used for the program and processing may be recorded in advance in a nonvolatile storage device or the like inside the computer system. As an information storage medium for storing programs and data, a CD-ROM, DVD, or similar optical disk storage medium or nonvolatile semiconductor memory may be used.

Industrial applicability

The map display device, the map display method, and the recording medium recording the map display program according to the present invention visually map the map by grouping a plurality of points on the map. This is useful for devices that can display various points in an adaptive manner, such as a navigation device, a navigation method, and a navigation program. is there.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A map display device for displaying a map on a display means,

Recording means for recording map information for displaying a map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of point points on the map;

Display control means for generating, using the map information and the point information recorded in the recording means, map image information in which the point points are displayed on a map and outputting the map image information to the display means;

The point information recorded by the recording unit includes position information indicating a position of each point point and genre information indicating an attribute of each point point, and the display control unit includes:

Group forming means for grouping the point points having the same genre information based on the distance on the map of each other;

Display area forming means for forming an area on the map surrounding all of the plurality of point points belonging to the group grouped by the group forming means, and generating the map image information in which the area is displayed on the map. , Map display device.

[2] The group forming means forms a set of point points whose distance on the map is shorter than a threshold for the point points having the same genre information, and sets a plurality of sets to which the same point points belong to the same group. The map display device according to claim 1, which is grouped.

[3] The threshold value is set according to a scale when the display control means displays a map on the display means,

The group forming unit re-forms the group according to the change in the scale.

The map display device according to claim 2.

[4] The display control unit generates at least one of icons and characters indicating information of the group grouped by the group forming unit, and the map on which at least one of the icons and characters is displayed on the map. The map display device according to claim 1, further comprising group information generating means for generating image information.

[5] The group information generating means generates at least one of an icon and a character indicating the number of point points belonging to the group grouped by the group forming means, 5. The map display device according to claim 4, wherein the map image information in which at least one of the icon and the character is displayed on the map is generated.

[6] When the area overlaps the other area on the map, the display area forming means forms a composite area on the map that surrounds all point points belonging to the group indicated by the area, and The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the map image information in which the overlapping regions are deleted from above and the composite region is displayed on the map is generated.

7. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the display area forming means forms the composite area when the area overlaps with the other area exceeding a predetermined area ratio on the map.

[8] The display control unit generates at least one of icons and characters respectively indicating information of a plurality of groups indicated by the composite area formed by the display area forming unit, and at least one of the icons and characters is displayed on the map. 7. The map display device according to claim 6, further comprising group information generating means for generating the displayed map image information.

[9] The group information generation means generates at least one of an icon and a character indicating the number of point points belonging to each group for the plurality of groups indicated by the composite area, and displays the icon on the map. The map display device according to claim 8, wherein the map image information on which at least one of the icon and the character is displayed is generated.

[10] A communication means for communicating with an external device is further provided,

The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit receives the point information transmitted from the external device and records the received point information in the recording unit.

[11] A map display method for displaying a map on a display means,

A recording step of recording in the recording means map information for displaying a map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of point points on the map;

Using the map information and the point information recorded in the recording step, generating map image information in which the point points are displayed on a map and outputting them to the display means,

The point information recorded in the recording step is the position of each point point. Including position information indicating a position and genre information indicating an attribute of each of the point points.

A group formation step of grouping points with the same genre information based on the distance on the map of each other;

Forming a display area for forming the map image information in which the area is displayed on the map by forming an area on the map that surrounds all of the plurality of point points belonging to the group grouped in the group forming step. A map display method including steps. A recording medium recording a map display program executed by a computer of a map display device that displays a map on a display means,

In the computer,

A recording control step of recording in a memory map information for displaying a map on the display means and point information for displaying a plurality of points on the map;

Using the map information and the point information recorded in the memory, generating map image information in which the point point is displayed on a map and outputting the map image information to the display means;

The point information recorded in the recording control step includes position information indicating a position of each point point and genre information indicating an attribute of each point point,

The display control step includes:

Forming a display area for forming the map image information in which the area is displayed on the map by forming an area on the map that surrounds all of the plurality of point points belonging to the group grouped in the group forming step. A recording medium on which a map display program is recorded.