JP2001066985A - Map display method and map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To display map information intended by a user with a simple configuration and simple processing. When an arbitrary range is designated and selected on a displayed map (120, 122), the longest distance in the vertical and horizontal directions of the designated selection area is obtained, and the ratio between the longest distance and the display screen is obtained (124, 126). ), A scale for displaying the selected area instructed and selected by the user in the display area is obtained from the obtained ratio, a scale value closest to the obtained scale is obtained as a set scale (128), and coordinates of the center of the selected area are obtained. Find the value (13
0), a map is displayed according to the set scale and the center coordinate value of the selected area (132). As described above, the position of interest and the scale to be displayed can be obtained from an arbitrary range surrounded by the user's fingertip on the map, that is, the selected region, and the range including the selected region can be enlarged and displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map display method and a map display device, and more particularly to a map display method and a map display device for changing the size of a map for display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vehicles equipped with a navigation system for providing a driver with a route to a destination and a map image around a current position have been increasing. This navigation system includes a display device for displaying video information, and can display a map around the vehicle and the position of the vehicle on the display device as an image. This display device can display the current position of the vehicle and the route to the destination, and can provide information such as the route to the driver. In such a map image, for example, when a traveling route is displayed, it is displayed on a certain scale.

In some cases, a driver or another occupant wants to refer to a map in the vicinity of a destination or on an intermediate route in more detail. In this case, a certain operation device such as a keyboard or a remote controller provided in a navigation system is used. Operation. However, performing a certain operation using the operation device imposes a burden on the user. For example, when the user wants to refer to details around a nearby event hall displayed on the screen, the user must specify the event hall and then indicate the degree of detail (for example, scale) to be referred to.

[0004] For this reason, an in-vehicle information device has been proposed that allows a user to quickly give an operation instruction without giving an accurate position (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-50235).
In this technique, when a user touches a point on a touch panel provided on the entire surface of a display device on which a map is displayed, an enlarged display is performed at a predetermined magnification according to the contact time.

[0005]

However, in the conventional navigation system, since the display is enlarged at a predetermined magnification according to the touch time of the touch panel, the enlarged display is performed until a map of a size intended by the user is displayed. Must be repeated. Therefore, the operation is complicated and it is difficult to display a map of an intended size.

An object of the present invention is to provide a map display method and a map display device capable of displaying map information intended by a user with a simple configuration and simple processing in consideration of the above fact.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a map display method according to the present invention displays map information on a display area of a predetermined size on a predetermined scale, and at least displays the map information on the display area. A partial area including a part is input, a position and a scale to be displayed are obtained based on the partial area, and the map information is displayed in the display area based on the position and the scale to be displayed.

[0008] In the map display method of the present invention, map information is displayed on a display area on a predetermined scale. This display area
This is a range in which map information can be displayed, and is determined in a predetermined size on a display device such as a display. A partial area including at least a part of the display area is input. That is, the partial area is an area that indicates at least a part of the map information displayed on the display area. The position and scale to be displayed are determined based on the input partial area. The partial area is input by the user, and includes a position desired by the user to be displayed therein. The range of the partial region is a range that the user desires to display. Therefore, in order to display at least the partial area in the display area, a scale sufficient to display the partial area in the display area may be obtained from a predetermined scale of the displayed map information. In this case, since a position desired by the user to be displayed is included in the partial area, an arbitrary position in the partial area is determined, and the map information is displayed on a scale based on the determined position. Can display map information of a desired area.

The position to be displayed can be obtained from the center or the center of gravity of the partial area. When a partial area is input, the area around the position to be displayed is often surrounded. Therefore, by setting the center position and the center of gravity of the partial region to the positions to be displayed, the probability that the user can display the map information of the region including the position desired to be displayed increases.

The scale to be displayed can be obtained based on the length of a straight line passing through the partial area. That is, the shape of the input partial region is determined by a region surrounded by a polygon or a curve, but is not necessarily a symmetric shape. Therefore, based on the length of the straight line passing through the partial region, for example, a plurality of straight lines passing through the partial region are obtained, and the one having the longest length represents the characteristic shape of the partial region. As a measure for displaying an object in the display area, a range including at least a partial area desired by the user to be displayed can be displayed.

Further, the scale can be obtained based on a ratio relating to the size of the display area. The ratio regarding the size of the display area, such as the vertical and horizontal screen ratio of the display area, is known. Therefore, if the scale for displaying the range determined by the partial area is determined using the ratio corresponding to the ratio related to the size of the display area, the scale when the map information is displayed in the display area and the scale based on the partial area are determined. By enlarging the partial area from the ratio, the partial area can be easily filled in the display area.

The partial area can be input so as to have an elliptical shape. The input may be a range, and may be a polygon, an ellipse, an irregular shape, or the like. The input is not limited to a shape, but is preferably an ellipse in consideration of an input by a user. Note that the closest elliptical shape may be obtained from the input trajectory. In this case, an inscribed ellipse can be used.

The map display method can be realized by the following map display device. Specifically, the map display device of the present invention inputs display means for displaying map information on a display area of a predetermined size on a predetermined scale and a partial area including at least a part of the display area. Input means, area calculation means for obtaining a position and scale to be displayed based on the input partial area, and display means for displaying the map information in the display area based on the obtained position and scale. And control means for controlling.

[0014] The display means of the map display device of the present invention displays map information on a display area of a predetermined size on a predetermined scale. A partial area including at least a part of the display area is input by the input means, and a position and a scale to be displayed are obtained by the area calculating means based on the input partial area. The control means controls the display means to display the map information in the display area based on the position and the scale obtained by the area calculation means.

The area calculating means may include a position calculating means for obtaining the position by obtaining the center or the center of gravity of the partial area. As described above, if the center position and the center of gravity of the partial region are determined and set as the positions to be displayed, the probability that the user can display the map information of the region including the position desired to be displayed increases.

Further, the area calculation means may include scale calculation means for obtaining the scale based on a length of a straight line passing through the partial area. As described above, if the length of a straight line passing through the partial area, for example, the length of a plurality of straight lines passing through the partial area is used as a scale when displaying the same in the display area, the user can select a desired display. A range including at least a partial region can be displayed.

Further, the area calculation means can determine a scale to be displayed based on a ratio relating to the size of the display area. As described above, if the scale at which the range determined by the partial region is displayed is determined using the ratio that matches the ratio related to the size of the display region, the scale and the partial region when the map information is displayed in the display region are obtained. By enlarging the partial area from the ratio of the scales, the partial area can be easily filled in the display area.

The input means may input an elliptical range as the partial area. Further, the input means may use a coordinate input means such as a mouse or a digitizer for designating two-dimensional coordinates on the display area. In particular, a touch panel can be used as the coordinate input means to enable input on a display screen.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a navigation device. In addition,
The navigation device of the present embodiment is capable of setting a route from a starting point to a destination.

As shown in FIG. 2, the on-vehicle navigation device according to the present embodiment includes an azimuth sensor 1, a distance sensor 2 for generating a pulse corresponding to the number of rotations of a wheel, a brake switch, a parking switch, and the like. The output device 3 includes sensor signals output from various electric devices (not shown) such as an OFF signal and a power supply voltage monitoring signal. As the direction sensor 1, a geomagnetic sensor for detecting an absolute running direction of the vehicle, a vibration gyro for detecting a relative running direction of the vehicle, and the like are used.

The azimuth sensor 1, the distance sensor 2, and the output device 3 are connected to a sensor signal processing unit 4 included in an apparatus main body 9 (details will be described later). The sensor signal processing unit 4 is for processing sensor signals of the direction sensor 1, the distance sensor 2, and the like.

Also, the navigation device is a GPS (Gl
obal Positioning System) Receiver 5, CD-ROM
7 is provided with a CD-ROM drive 6 which can be loaded therein, and a display / operation unit 8 as display means. The GPS receiver 5 is for obtaining the position (latitude and longitude) of the receiving point by receiving and calculating radio waves transmitted from a plurality of satellites. The CD-ROM drive 6 is for reading map data from a CD-ROM 7 on which map data is recorded.

The display / operation unit 8 is installed in the vehicle interior, and is composed of a liquid crystal display 8A for displaying a map and the current running position and direction of the automobile, and a touch panel 8B. The touch panel 8B is provided on the front surface of the liquid crystal display 8A and in an area including at least the display area, and corresponds to a switch including at least a switch for map operation for instructing enlargement or reduction of a display map, as described later. An area to be set is defined. Note that, instead of the touch panel, an input unit such as a mouse, a joystick, a trackball, a doublet, or the like, which can input coordinates by operating a cursor displayed on the screen, can be employed.

These GPS receiver 5, CD-ROM
The drive 6 and the display / operation unit 8 are connected to a communication interface 18 of the device main body 9 via a communication bus 18F. The display / operation unit 8 is also connected to the RGB conversion unit 17 of the apparatus main body 9 by a display signal line 17A.

The apparatus body 9 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 1
0, ROM (read only memory) 11, memory (D
RAM) 12, backup memory (SRAM) 1
3, memory (Kanji, font ROM) 14, image processor 15, memory (VRAM) 16, RGB converter 1
7 and a communication interface 18. CPU
Reference numeral 10 is connected to a ROM 11, a DRAM 12, an SRAM 13, and an image processor 15 via a bus 18A so that data and commands can be transmitted and received. Image processor 15
Is connected to the kanji / font ROM 14 and the VRAM 16 via a bus 18A so that data and commands can be exchanged. This VRAM 16 is also connected to an RGB conversion unit 17 via a communication bus 18E. CPU1
Numeral 0 is connected to the sensor signal processing unit 4 via a communication bus 18C and connected to the communication interface 18 via a communication bus 18D.

The CPU 10 is for performing various calculations, and programs for various calculations performed by the CPU 10 are stored in the ROM 11. The DRAM 12 includes an azimuth sensor 1, a distance sensor 2, a GPS receiver 5, and a CD.
-A memory for storing data from the ROM drive 6 and the like, calculation results in the CPU 10, and the like. SRAM 13
Is a backup memory for holding necessary data even when power supply to the apparatus main body 9 is stopped. The kanji / font ROM 14 stores the liquid crystal display 8
A memory for storing patterns such as characters and symbols displayed in A. The image processor 15 is a processing device for forming a display image based on map data, current position data of the own vehicle, and the like. The VRAM 16 is a CPU 10
The map data, current position data, and kanji characters such as street names and road names output from the kanji / font ROM 14 and fonts are output from the LCD 14A.
Is a memory for storing an image to be displayed in the memory. RGB
The conversion unit 17 is a conversion device for converting output data of the VRAM 16 into a color signal. The color signal converted by the RGB conversion unit 17 is output to the liquid crystal display 8A via the display signal line 17A.

In the above, the apparatus main body 9 is in charge of the processing of the area calculation means and the control means of the present invention, and is classified by the processing of the processing routine described later. Display / operation unit 8
Touch panel 8B functions as input means of the present invention and also functions as coordinate input means.

It is to be noted that a floppy disk unit (FDU) into which a floppy disk as a recording medium (not shown) can be inserted and removed can be connected to the apparatus main body 9 so that the above data and programs can be stored and read out. Good. In this case, the processing routine and the like described later
It is also possible to read and write to a floppy disk using U. Also, a large-capacity storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk device is connected to the device main body 9, and the processing program recorded on the floppy disk is stored (installed) in the large-capacity storage device (not shown) and executed. You may. The recording medium is a CD-RO
There are disks such as M, MD, MO, and DVD, and magnetic tapes such as DAT.
A device, a DVD device, a DAT device, or the like may be used.

Next, the screen configuration of the display / operation unit 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3A, a display area for displaying the map 20 is entirely defined on the screen of the display / operation unit 8, that is, the liquid crystal display 8A. An area for displaying the traveling position as the mark 24 is defined. In the upper left part of the screen, an area for displaying fixed information 22 such as the direction, altitude, type of GPS, type of information obtained from the ground side, and time is defined. A switch area is provided at the bottom of the screen, and a map operation area 26 for a map operation switch is provided at the right end.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the map operation area 2
6 is linked with a touch panel 8B (details will be described later), and an area 28 displayed when the map operation area 26 is pressed.
A pull-up menu including A to 28E is set on the right side of the screen. Area 28 that composes a pull-up menu
A is a magnifying glass area for an instruction to enlarge or reduce the map at a predetermined constant magnification. The area 28B is an area zoom area for an enlargement instruction by designating a partial area according to the embodiment of the present invention. The area 28C is a jump area for an instruction to move to a stored point or an instructed position. The area 28D is a display switching area for instructing switching between the map display and another display of the navigation device. The area 28E is a peripheral facility area for giving an instruction to read out facilities around the current position. In these areas 28A to 28E, the touch panel 8B is interlocked when being displayed, and when each area is pressed, the processing shifts to each processing.

Next, an outline of the operation of the navigation device having the above configuration will be described. 2, the output of the direction sensor 1 and the output of the distance sensor 2 are sent to the CPU 10 via the sensor signal processing unit 4. The CPU 10 calculates the current position of the vehicle, and obtains the latitude and longitude of the current position. Further, the current position is corrected based on the data from the GPS receiver 5. The map data of the unit corresponding to the current position is read out from the CD-ROM 7 by the CD-ROM drive 6 based on the current position obtained in this manner, and the map data is read by the communication interface 18.
Through the memory (DRAM) 12.

A part of the map data stored in the DRAM 12 is read out by the CPU 10 and
At 5, the data is converted into image data and written into the image memory 16. The image data stored in the image memory 16 is converted into color signals by the RGB conversion unit 17 and sent to the liquid crystal display 8A, where a map of a predetermined range centering on the current position is displayed. If the map data read from the DRAM 12 includes a character code or a symbol code, a pattern corresponding to the character code or the symbol code is read from the kanji / font ROM 14, and is displayed on the liquid crystal display 8A together with the map. Is displayed, and symbols such as school are displayed. Further, the current position displayed on the liquid crystal display 8A is sequentially changed based on the traveling speed and the traveling azimuth sequentially obtained as the vehicle travels.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

First, the shift processing by operation of the display / operation unit 8 will be described. When the power of the navigation device is turned on and the map information and the marks and the like are displayed on the liquid crystal display 8A, the processing routine of FIG. 4 is executed. In step 100 of FIG. 4, the touch panel 8B is scanned, and in the next step 102, it is determined whether or not the user has pressed the inside of the map operation area 26 (see FIGS. 3A and 5A). . In step 102, the determination is repeated until the user presses the inside of the map operation area 26 (No in step 102). The touch panel 8B is linked to the map operation area 26, and when the inside of the map operation area 26 is pressed, a pull-up menu (see FIG. 3B) including the areas 28A to 28E is displayed in step 104, and step 104 is performed. Proceed to 106.

In step 106, the touch panel 8B is scanned and it is determined whether or not the area 28B, which is the area zoom area in the pull-up menu, is pressed (see FIG. 5B). If affirmative in step 106,
Proceeding to step 110, this routine is terminated after executing the area zoom process described later. Step 10
If the answer is no in step 6, the process proceeds to step 108, and the other area 2
It is determined whether 8A and 28C to 28E have been pressed.
If the result in step 108 is negative, no area in the pull-up menu has been pressed and step 10
Returning to step 6, when affirmed, the other processing corresponding to the pressed area is executed in step 112, and then this routine ends.

Next, the details of step 110 in FIG. 4 will be described. The process of step 110 is an area zoom process for displaying an enlargement instruction by specifying a partial area according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the process routine of FIG. 1 is executed. In this area zooming process, since the area is enlarged and displayed according to a user's instruction to select a desired area to be referred to in detail, before the execution of the processing or at the start of the execution, "Please circle the place you want to see. It is preferable to provide information that prompts a selection instruction by display or voice such as "" (see FIG. 6A).

In step 120, the touch panel 8B is scanned, and in the next step 122, it is determined whether or not an arbitrary range has been designated and selected for the displayed map. Step 122 repeats the judgment until an arbitrary range is designated and selected by the user (step 122).
If not, the process proceeds to step 124. The instruction selection for this arbitrary range is to detect that the displayed map is instructed to surround the range on the touch panel 8B by the user's fingertip, touch pen, or the like. In step 122, as shown in FIG. 6B, the user is instructed to surround an arbitrary range with a fingertip on the displayed map, and the surrounded area is defined as a partial area of the present invention. The selection area 30 is defined.

In step 124, the maximum length is obtained by comparing the vertical and horizontal lengths of the selection area 30. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7A, the longest line segments Lv and Lh of the passing portions are obtained for the vertical straight line and the horizontal straight line among the straight lines passing through the selection area 30. Then, the line segments Lv, Lh
The length of the long normal line segment is the longest distance. This corresponds to obtaining the length of the long side of the rectangle circumscribing the selection area 30.

As another method in step 124, as shown in FIG. 7B, the rectangle in which the aspect ratio of the display area of the liquid crystal display 8A is designated is enlarged or reduced, and the edge of the selection area 30 is enlarged. The maximum rectangle 32 circumscribing at least two opposing points of the portion may be obtained, and the length of the long side thereof may be obtained. In this way, the length can be obtained based on the aspect ratio of the liquid crystal display 8A.

In the above description, the vertical and horizontal lengths are compared in the selection area 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the length of the oblique line segment Ls may be used as shown in FIG. . This corresponds to obtaining the length of the long side of the rectangle circumscribing the selection region 30 described above, and corresponds to obtaining the projection length of the oblique line.

In the next step 126, the above step 1
The ratio between the long side obtained in step 24 and the display screen is obtained. In this step 126, the long side obtained in step 124 is
The ratio is determined using any of the length and width of the display screen. In the next step 128, a scale for displaying the selected area instructed and selected by the user in the display area is obtained from the obtained ratio, and then a scale value closest to the scale is obtained. That is,
The scale of the map displayed on the liquid crystal display 8A is known. Therefore, if the ratio between the long side and the vertical or horizontal length of the display screen is obtained, the scale for displaying the map including the selected area in the display area can be obtained. The scale value when displaying the map is often a fixed interval or a predetermined scale value. For this reason, in step 128, a scale value determined at a fixed interval immediately adjacent to the scale value obtained from the ratio or a predetermined scale value is set.

In the next step 130, the coordinate value of the center of the selected area is determined. This step 130 is performed in the selection area 3
The reference position for enlarging and displaying the partial map including 0 in the display area is obtained. In the present embodiment, the user can select an area 30 around an arbitrary area around the point of interest.
Note that the accuracy of instruction selection is high, and the coordinate value of the center of the selected area is obtained.

In this step 130, a rectangle 34 circumscribing the selection area 30 can be used as shown in FIG. If a rectangle 34 circumscribing the selection area 30 is used, the coordinates of the center of the selection area can be easily obtained by obtaining the intersection 36 of the diagonal lines of the rectangle 34.

In step 130, the coordinate value of the center of the selected area is obtained. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be specified.

In the next step 132, step 1
A map is displayed according to the set scale determined in step 28 and the coordinate value of the center of the selection area 30 determined in step 130 (FIG. 8).
(B)). That is, the position of the coordinate value of the center of the selection area 30 is positioned at the center of the liquid crystal display 8A,
Display the map at the set scale. By doing this,
An arbitrary range surrounded by the user's fingertip on the map, that is, a range including the selection area 30 can be enlarged and displayed.

The processing of steps 122 to 130 corresponds to the processing of the area calculation means of the present invention.
The processing of 32 corresponds to the processing of the control means of the present invention. Further, the processing of step 130 corresponds to the processing of the position calculating means of the present invention, and the processing of step 128 corresponds to the processing of the scale calculating means of the present invention.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the position of interest and the scale to be displayed are determined from an arbitrary range surrounded by the user's fingertip on the map, that is, the selection area 30, and the selection area 3 is determined.
The range including 0 can be enlarged and displayed. This makes it easy for the user to easily enlarge and display a map of an intended size with a simple operation in which the user intends to refer to a detailed map with a fingertip or the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the map of the selected area designated and selected by the user with a fingertip or the like is enlarged and displayed.
Only the scale may be set by the instruction selection of the selection area. In this case, it is sufficient to enlarge the image with reference to the center of the display screen. Further, only the map may be set by the instruction selection of the selection area. In this case, it is sufficient to enlarge the image with reference to the center of the display screen.

[0049]

As described above, according to the map display method of the present invention, map information is displayed in the display area, and the position and scale to be displayed are obtained and displayed from the partial area on the display area. There is an effect that a position included in the partial area and desired by the user to be displayed can be displayed on a desired scale.

Further, if the center position and the center of gravity of the partial region are determined as the positions to be displayed, the probability that the user can display the map information of the region including the position desired to be displayed increases.

Further, if the scale to be displayed is obtained based on the length of a straight line passing through the partial area, a range including at least the partial area desired by the user to be displayed can be displayed. If the scale is obtained based on the ratio regarding the size of the display area, the partial area can be easily displayed in the display area by enlarging the partial area from the ratio of the scale when the map information is displayed in the display area and the scale based on the partial area. Can be filled within.

Furthermore, by inputting the partial area so as to have an elliptical shape, the input can be performed in a shape that can be easily input by the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an area zoom process for displaying an enlargement instruction by specifying an area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a display screen of the navigation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a transition process by touching a touch panel.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining progress of a user instruction by touching a touch panel.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a progress of a user instruction of a selection area due to a touch on a touch panel.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a process of obtaining a long side of a selection area.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the progress of enlarged display of a selection area.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 display / operation unit 8A liquid crystal display 8B touch panel 9 device main body 20 map 28B area 30 selection area 36 intersection

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. Displaying map information on a display area of a predetermined size on a predetermined scale, inputting a partial area including at least a part of the display area, and displaying based on the partial area. A map display method for determining a position and a scale to be displayed, and displaying the map information in the display area based on the position and the scale to be displayed. 2. The map display method according to claim 1, wherein the position is obtained by obtaining a center or a center of gravity of the partial area. 3. The map display method according to claim 1, wherein the scale is obtained based on a length of a straight line passing through the partial area. 4. The map display method according to claim 1, wherein the scale is obtained based on a ratio relating to the size of the display area. 5. The map display method according to claim 1, wherein the partial area is input so as to have an elliptical shape. 6. A display means for displaying map information on a display area of a predetermined size on a predetermined scale, an input means for inputting a partial area including at least a part of the display area, Area calculation means for obtaining a position and a scale to be displayed based on the partial area; andcontrol means for controlling the display means so as to display the map information in the display area based on the obtained position and scale. Map display device provided. 7. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the area calculation means includes a position calculation means for obtaining the position by obtaining a center or a center of gravity of the partial area. 8. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein said area calculating means includes a scale calculating means for obtaining said scale based on a length of a straight line passing through said partial area. 9. The map display according to claim 6, wherein the area calculation means obtains a scale to be displayed based on a ratio regarding the size of the display area. apparatus. 10. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein the input unit inputs an elliptical range as the partial region. 11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the input unit is configured to display two characters on the display area.
The map display device according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein the map display device is a coordinate input unit that designates dimensional coordinates. 12. The map display device according to claim 11, wherein said coordinate input means is a touch panel.