JP2000283773A - Map display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display apparatus capable of obtaining an effective navigation function by combining a map with natural images. SOLUTION: A display plane G1 of a map background shows a full-screen background on a display 8, and two sub-screens G2, G3 having sizes not blocking the readout of map information but enough to recognize natural images are indicated at both sides apart from the screen center. An operator inputs a map scroll instruction from an operating part, the map display apparatus determines the scroll link, retrieves picture data stored as information along this link and updates the retrieved image data in time with scrolling as scenes existing at the right and left areas of the cursor position on the sub-screens G2, G3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map display device provided in, for example, an on-vehicle navigation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle-mounted navigation device, the current position of a vehicle is detected by GPS or autonomous navigation, and the traveling position of the vehicle is displayed together with a map display.
2. Description of the Related Art There has been provided an apparatus for gradually scrolling a map display and a traveling position of a vehicle as the vehicle travels. And
In a conventional map display device used for such a navigation device, there is a device which displays icons and marks on a map in a superimposed manner, but does not display a natural image in a superimposed manner.

[0003] For this reason, even if the user can recognize the route on the map, it is difficult for the user to compare the scenery or the like actually seen from the driver's seat with the map displayed on the screen, and the In some cases, inconveniences such as mistakes were made. Therefore, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-89978,
An image of an actual scenery when the vehicle is running is taken, the video data is stored in a storage medium in advance, and a map and a video are combined according to the running position of the vehicle and displayed on one screen. Navigation devices have been proposed.

[0004]

By the way, the conventional navigation device described above (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-89978).
In the above, when a map indicating a route and a video indicating a landscape are combined and displayed, a map indicating a route is displayed at one corner of the display screen, and a video indicating the landscape is displayed on the entire other display screen. However, in this conventional technique, since the video data obtained by photographing the landscape is displayed as it is, the data amount becomes large. Also, in the video data of the landscape, in order to cope with the case where the landscape changes due to the development of the city area, etc.,
Large amounts of data need to be replaced, making it impractical.

[0005] Further, in order to display a photographed scene as it is, if a complicated scene such as an urban area is displayed as it is, it may be inconvenient to recognize the place. Further, in such a navigation device, since there is no trouble in driving, it is necessary to easily and quickly select or delete the display when switching between displaying only the map and displaying the combined image of the map and the video.

An object of the present invention is to provide a map display device that can obtain an effective navigation function by combining a map and a natural image.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a map display device which detects a current position of a vehicle, searches map information corresponding to the current position from a map database and displays the map information. A natural image database that stores a plurality of natural images corresponding to the current position of the vehicle, and at least one child screen that displays the natural image in a state of being superimposed on a display screen that displays the map information. A display unit to be displayed, an operation unit for an operator to instruct the display unit to display, switch, and delete the sub-screen, and based on an instruction from the operation unit,
A control unit for controlling display on the display unit.

In the map display device of the present invention, the current position of the vehicle is detected, and map information corresponding to the current position is retrieved from the map database and displayed on the display unit. Further, the natural image database stores a plurality of natural images corresponding to the current position of the vehicle. The display unit has at least one child screen for displaying a natural image in a state of being superimposed on a display screen for displaying map information, and selectively displays the child screen to display the natural image. I do. When the operator instructs the display unit to display, switch, and delete the sub-screen from the operation unit, the control unit controls the display on the display unit based on the instruction from the operation unit, and displays the sub-screen, Control switching and erasing. As described above, in the map display device of the present invention, a natural image is displayed on the sub-screen of the display unit. The current position can be checked effectively by comparing it with the natural image displayed in.

Further, since a natural image mainly composed of still images is displayed, the capacity of the natural image database is not so large, and a photographing operation for collecting the natural image, replacement of the natural image, and the like are performed. This can be performed more easily than in the case of a moving image. As a natural image, an image obtained by extracting a target by image editing or the like by a computer can be displayed in addition to a natural image of the landscape itself. Therefore, there is no possibility of rebuilding for a long period of time, and by selecting the appearance of the most prominent building etc. as a natural image, it can be used as an effective location confirmation method regardless of the season or changes in surrounding buildings. Can be.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a map display device according to the present invention will be described below. The map display device according to the present embodiment displays map data stored in a disk medium such as a DVD-ROM, and when a map is scrolled, it is internally interpreted as scrolling along a specific road. Then, natural image data stored as data along the specific road is displayed. In this case, a disk medium such as a DVD-ROM constitutes a map database and a natural image database.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a map display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This map display device includes a CPU 1, a mechanical controller 2, a servo circuit 3,
Disk device (database) 4, data processing unit 5, D
It has a RAM 6, a display control circuit (control unit) 7, and a display device (display unit) 8. The CPU 1 sends a command to the mechanical controller 2 and controls the disk device 4 by the servo circuit 3. When data is read from the disk device 4, it is stored in the DRAM 6 via the data processing unit 5. The CPU 1 reads the data on the DRAM 6, performs necessary processing, and draws the data on a drawing plane unit (a drawing area and a screen area set on the memory) of the DRAM 6. This processing flow is applied to both the map surface and the natural screen. The display control circuit 7 controls the display of the drawing data of the plurality of drawing plane units, and as a result, the overlaid image is displayed on the display device 8.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example in a case where a child screen of a natural image is displayed on a map background in the map display device. As shown in the figure, in this example, the display surface G1 of the map background is a full-screen background surface of the display device 8, and the two small screens G2 and G3 have a size that does not hinder reading of map information. It is displayed on both sides away from the center of the screen, and displays a natural image in a recognizable size.

In this example, the road data of the map information is
The data is hierarchized by road levels and stored in the disk device 4 as a set of link data between intersections. Further, the map display device holds the own vehicle position and the cursor position by latitude and longitude, and expresses the center position of the area currently displayed on the screen by the cursor position. On this screen, when an operator (driver) inputs a map scroll instruction from an operation unit (not shown), the map display device displays a map within a range defined by a constant from a cursor position at a specific level from the hierarchical link group. Search for links at a distance and internally interpret them as scroll links. In this link search, the map display device searches from a higher-level link.

When the scroll link is determined, the map display device searches for image data stored as information along the link. These image data also hold information on which position and which side (direction) with respect to the link. The child screen G of a size that displays the link in the vicinity of the center of the screen and can be sufficiently recognized on both the left and right sides.
2. The obtained image data is drawn on a natural screen (plane) different from the map plane (plane) so as to be G3. In the child screens G2 and G3, the image data stored along the link and existing right and left around the cursor position is updated and displayed at any time as the scroll is performed. Here, when the background map screen G1 scrolls and the relative position with respect to the display device 8 changes, the relative positions of the child images G2 and G3 of the natural image with respect to the display device 8 do not change. Only the image changes in the child screens G2 and G3. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a large amount of image information on the display surface G1 having a limited area without disturbing the map display.

FIG. 3 shows a CPU 1 according to this embodiment.
6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the above. First, a scroll instruction is given by the operator (driver) (S10).
0), the CPU 1 searches for the nearest link from the cursor position coordinates (S101). Next, the direction of the link is calculated (S102) and compared with the rotation direction at the time of the previous drawing (S102).
103), when the link is shifted by more than the minimum direction of the azimuth (16 azimuths or the like) determined by quantization (S10)
3; Y), the map surface is redrawn so that the front of the link is at the top of the screen (S106). If it is determined that the link direction has not changed (S103; N), a point on the nearest link is calculated from the cursor position (S104), and the map surface is scrolled so that the point is at the center of the screen. Then, the cursor position is updated (S105).

Next, from among the image data stored in the disk device 4 as information along the link, a search is made for the nearest one located along the link ahead of the scroll direction (S107). At this time, the link is searched one by one on the left and right sides in front of the scroll. The obtained two image data are drawn in the natural picture screen area on the natural picture plane secured on the left and right of the link (S108). After that, the timer is started (S
109) Until the timer stops (S110), only the map surface is scrolled (S111). After a lapse of a predetermined time, the timer stops, and the process returns to step S102 to start calculating the direction of the same link or the next link on the same road.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a road data management table in the disk device 4. In this management table, roads are recorded as “links between intersections” by hierarchical levels, road IDs, and link IDs. Each link has a fulcrum and an end point coordinate. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a management table for natural image data in the disk device 4. Each natural image data is associated with a link, and
It has a position coordinate and a direction for the link. By doing so, in step S107, the nearest front image along the link is shifted left and right by one with respect to the link.
It becomes possible to select one by one.

As described above, in the map display device of the present embodiment,
Since the natural image is displayed on the sub-screen of the display unit, by visually recognizing this natural image, it is possible to compare the scenery and the target of the road where the vehicle is actually traveling with the natural image displayed on the sub-screen. , You can check the current position effectively. Also,
In the map display device of the present invention, since a natural image mainly composed of still images is displayed, the capacity of the natural image database is not so large, and a photographing operation for collecting the natural image and a natural image are not performed. Can be easily replaced as compared with the case of a moving image.

Also, by instructing scrolling of the map screen, a natural image can be automatically searched for and displayed, and operability can be improved. In addition, the current position of the vehicle is displayed at the center position of the display screen, and on both sides,
Since the right and left natural images of the road are displayed on the child screen, an effective natural image can be displayed without obstructing the reading of the map screen.

In the above example, an image obtained by directly capturing the landscape itself is used as a natural image.
It is possible to display an image in which a target object such as a prominent building is extracted by an image editing process or the like by a computer.
Therefore, there is no possibility of rebuilding for a long period of time, and by selecting the appearance of the most prominent building etc. as a natural image, it can be used as an effective location confirmation method regardless of the season or changes in surrounding buildings. Can be.

Further, in the above-described example, a plurality of natural images to be displayed on the child screen may be provided corresponding to the current position of the vehicle, and the plurality of images may be sequentially displayed based on a preset priority. Good. In this case, the display based on the priority order of the child screens may be executed by a switching operation from the operation unit. As described above, by switching and displaying a plurality of natural images, even when the location cannot be confirmed with one natural image, the location can be surely confirmed by switching to another natural image.

The switching operation of the natural image as described above is performed by a wipe setting function (a divided screen is set for a full screen and the display is controlled in partial screen units) provided in this type of display device. Function).

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a map display device for detecting a current position of a vehicle, searching map information corresponding to the current position from a map database and displaying the map information, A natural image database for storing a plurality of corresponding natural images is provided, and at least one child screen for displaying a natural image is selectively displayed in a state of being superimposed on a display screen for displaying map information. The display control of the natural image is performed by instructing the display screen to display, switch, and delete the sub-screen.

Therefore, in the map display device of the present invention,
Since the natural image is displayed on the sub-screen of the display unit, by visually recognizing this natural image, it is possible to compare the scenery and the target of the road where the vehicle is actually traveling with the natural image displayed on the sub-screen. , You can check the current position effectively. Also,
In the map display device of the present invention, since a natural image mainly composed of still images is displayed, the capacity of the natural image database is not so large, and a photographing operation for collecting the natural image and a natural image are not performed. Can be easily replaced as compared with the case of a moving image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a map display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example when a child screen of a natural image is displayed on a map background in the map display device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a CPU 1 in the map display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a road data management table in the disk device of the map display device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a management table of natural image data in the disk device of the map display device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CPU, 2 ... mechanical controller, 3 ... servo circuit, 4 ... disk device, 5 ... data processing part, 6 ...
... DRAM, 7 display control circuit, 8 display device.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A map display device for detecting a current position of a vehicle and searching for and displaying map information corresponding to the current position from a map database, wherein a plurality of natural images corresponding to the current position of the vehicle are stored. A display unit for selectively displaying at least one sub-screen for displaying the natural image in a state of being superimposed on a display screen for displaying the map information. A map display, comprising: an operation unit for instructing display, switching, and erasure of a child screen, and a control unit for controlling display of the display unit based on an instruction from the operation unit. apparatus. 2. The display surface of the map information is a full-screen background surface of the display unit, the sub-screen is displayed in a size that does not hinder reading of the map information, and the natural image is displayed. 2. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the map is displayed in a recognizable size. 3. The map information is arranged on both sides with respect to a center portion thereof.
The two child screens are provided, the current position of the vehicle is displayed in the center of the map information, and the two child screens have natural images of landscapes or targets existing on both sides of the current position of the vehicle. Is displayed.
A map display device as described. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of natural images to be displayed on the child screen are provided corresponding to a current position of the vehicle, and are sequentially displayed based on a preset priority order. Map display device. 5. The display based on the priority order of the child screens,
The map display device according to claim 4, wherein the map display device is executed by a switching operation from the operation unit. 6. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the natural image displayed on the child screen is scroll-displayed based on a scroll link set corresponding to a current position of the vehicle. 7. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the scroll display is for sequentially switching and displaying a plurality of natural images provided corresponding to a current position of the vehicle. 8. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the scroll display is executed by a scroll display designation operation from the operation unit. 9. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the scroll display is executed by a scroll display designation operation of the map information from the operation unit. 10. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein the display of the child screen is performed by a child screen display designation operation from the operation unit.