JP2001175662A - Position information description method, position information processing apparatus and method, and data recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable a process of displaying an icon corresponding to position information on a map in a short time. SOLUTION: A search index is described for each POI information in a portion of a 10th line and an 11th line indicated by 13. The tags of the search index include position information (latitude and longitude), information categories, distinction between mobile and non-mobile objects, and geodetic systems. The latitude and longitude have a fixed number of digits, and are also fixed in degrees. The POI information is described in the portion of the next 11 lines indicated by 14. The representative position of the object is represented by the position. The position is described by latitude and longitude. The same position as that described in the index is described. An index in the position information file read from the memory card is searched, and a position table is created. An icon is displayed on the map corresponding to the position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position information description method, a position information processing apparatus and method, and data recording applicable to a case where position information is handled in a data format in which a language and a description method are defined in advance. Regarding the medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Regarding position information, POIX (Point Of Interest) is one of the hierarchically structured formats.
eXchange language) has been proposed. POIX is
Mobile Standardization Study Committee (MOSTEC: Mobile Info
This is a data format created for the purpose of exchanging location information on the Internet, as defined in the rmation Standard Technical Committee). POI
X is a markup language based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and describes data in a hierarchical structure using tags. For the hierarchical structure, see POIX
Stipulated in The position information means the position of the target and information related to the position.

[0003]

In the case of POIX, since it is standardized, it is relatively easy to describe position information. On the other hand, in order to analyze the contents of POIX data, it is necessary to analyze a tree structure in the data, which increases the processing amount of a microcomputer.
For example, considering an application that indicates the existence of a target position by displaying an icon on a map, the processing time required to obtain the latitude and longitude information of the position is longer, and the time required to display the icon is longer. Become longer,
There was a problem that operability was reduced. In particular, microcomputers used in in-vehicle devices such as car navigation systems and mobile devices such as digital still cameras include CPUs, ROM / R
Since there is a limitation on the AM capacity and the processing capacity is not so high, there is a possibility that the time until the icon is displayed on the map becomes long or the icon cannot be displayed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a position information description method and a position information processing method capable of promptly knowing the latitude and longitude of a position information point even when a microcomputer having a low processing capability is used. An object is to provide an apparatus and a method, and a data recording medium.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention is to create a language and a description format based on a predetermined data format, and to provide a latitude and longitude of a target position. A position information description method characterized in that at least latitude and longitude information are redundantly described in position information data including information so as to be identified as an index.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the acquired latitude and longitude information is described based on a means for acquiring the latitude and longitude information, and the acquired latitude and longitude information based on a data format in which a language and a description format are defined in advance. A position information processing apparatus comprising: means for creating a position information file in which at least latitude and longitude information are identified so as to be identified as an index; and output means for outputting the position information file to the outside. It is.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the acquired latitude and longitude information are described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are specified in advance, and at least the latitude and longitude information are described.
This is a position information processing method characterized by creating a position information file redundantly described so that longitude information is identified as an index, and outputting the position information file to the outside.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, the latitude and longitude information of the target position are described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are specified in advance.
Means for receiving a position information file redundantly described so that the longitude information is identified as an index, searching the index, creating a table of latitude and longitude information of the target position, referring to the table, and A position information processing apparatus comprising: control means for displaying an icon indicating presence on a map.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the latitude and longitude information are described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are specified in advance, and at least the latitude and longitude information are identified as an index. This is a data recording medium on which a position information file described redundantly is recorded.

According to the present invention, the same latitude and longitude as the latitude and longitude of the target position described in a data format defined in advance,
Since the longitude is used as an index, the processing time can be reduced when an icon indicating the existence of the target position is displayed.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below. One embodiment is a GPS (Global Position).
The present invention is applied to a digital still camera having a function of a digital camera. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of the present embodiment, where 101 is a CCD (Charge Cou
pled Device). The CCD 101 outputs a subject image passed through a lens unit (not shown) as an imaging signal. The imaging signal is supplied to the image processing circuit 102.

The image processing circuit 102 includes a camera signal processing unit, a memory controller, an image compression / decompression unit, a display buffer, a D / A converter, and the like. The camera signal processing unit includes a clamp circuit, a luminance signal processing circuit, a contour correction circuit, a defect compensation circuit, an automatic aperture control circuit, an automatic focus control circuit, an automatic white balance correction circuit, and the like. The display buffer memory and the data transmission path 109 are connected to the memory controller. The output of the display buffer memory is supplied to the image display device 10 via the D / A converter.
3 is supplied.

The image compression / decompression unit is, for example, a JPEG (Jo
Int Photographic Experts Group) compresses image data and decompresses compressed image data. The image display device 103 includes an LCD (Liquor) provided integrally with the camera.
id Crystal Display). An externally connected television monitor may be used as the image display device 103. By supplying the image signal from the image processing circuit 102 to the image display device 103, the image being captured is displayed, and the image (map data, captured image) read from the memory card 108, An icon or the like indicating presence is displayed.

For the data transmission path 109, a DRAM
(Dynamic Random Access Memory) 104, a control microcomputer 106, and a memory card controller 107 are connected. The memory card controller 107 writes / reads data to / from the memory card 108. The memory card 108 has a built-in flash memory, buffer memory, and memory controller, and is detachable from the still camera body. The recording medium is not limited to a memory card, but may be a floppy disk, a rewritable optical disk, or the like. Further, the information may be transmitted to an external device such as another personal computer terminal via a communication network such as the Internet without being limited to the recording medium.

An operation unit 11 for the control microcomputer 106
0 is connected. The operation unit 110 includes a shutter button,
It includes various switches operated by the photographer, such as a switch for designating an operation mode. Further, the control microcomputer 106 includes:
Position information (latitude and longitude of the current position) from the GPS unit 105 is supplied. The GPS unit 105 calculates the latitude and longitude of the current position by receiving radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites. GPS unit 105
Generates valid latitude and longitude information at one second intervals as an example.

When the photographer presses the shutter button of the operation unit 110, an image signal picked up by the CCD 101 is supplied to the image processing circuit 102, and the image data after the camera signal processing is stored in a memory in the image processing circuit 102. The data is stored in the DRAM 104 under the control of the controller. Also,
When you press the shutter button, the current position (that is,
The GPS unit 105 measures the latitude and longitude of the imaging point), and the latitude and longitude information is stored in the DRAM 104 from the GPS unit 105 through the control microcomputer 106.

When the original image data is stored in the DRAM 104, the original image data is compressed by an image compression / decompression unit in the image processing circuit 102 under the control of the microcomputer 106. Compressed image data (JPEG data) is DRAM1
04. In this case, the compressed image data is stored in an area different from the area where the original image data is stored. Then, the compressed image data read from the DRAM 104 by the microcomputer 106 is written to the memory card 108 via the memory card controller 107.

When reproducing an image such as a still image stored in the memory card 108, the compressed image data is transferred to the memory card 10 via the memory card controller 107.
8 and decompressed by an image compression / decompression unit in the image processing circuit 102. Decompressed image data to DRAM
Write to 104. Then, the image data stored in the DRAM 104 is displayed on the image display device 103 via the image processing circuit 102.

The memory card 108 has a file configuration shown in FIG. 2 as an example. The directories include a still image directory (DCIM), a moving image directory (MOxxxn), and a voice directory (VOIC).
E), control directory (AVCTL), music directory (HIFI), location information directory (PO
SITION). A subdirectory is defined for each directory. For example, a sub-directory such as msdcf is defined in the still image directory (DCIM). For example, if a single image is captured by a digital still camera and compressed by JPEG, dsc00001. j
The file name and extension of the pg are added.

Poix (location information data) and Route are subdirectories of the location information directory.
(Route data), track (track data), MAP
(Map data) and the like. Under Poix,
For example, if it is position information of a photographing point when photographing with a digital still camera, dsc0001. There is a position information file having a file name such as poi. Extension po
Indicates that i is a position information file conforming to POIX. In the position information file, one position information corresponds to one file. One MAP file belonging to the subdirectory MAP includes one or more map data. The map data is downloaded to the memory card 108 from a car navigation system, a map database, or the like.

The file structure of the memory card 108 is known by the control microcomputer 106 in which a required program is installed in advance, and when writing photographed still image data to the memory card 108,
A file name is given to the still image data to be written. When reading desired still image data from the memory card 108, the file name of the still image data is specified.

Further, as described above, the latitude and longitude information of the photographing point taken into the DRAM 104 when the shutter button is pressed is obtained by the control microcomputer 106.
It is converted into a position information file in a data format conforming to POIX, and stored in the memory card 108 in a subdirectory Poi.
x file. As will be described later, for example, a still image file to be linked can be described in the position information file. Therefore, the file of the photographed image and the position information of the photographing point can be linked.

FIG. 3 shows POIX-compliant data (positional information file) created by the control microcomputer 106.
An example is shown below. In the example of FIG. 3, the version number of the POIX to be used is described in the first three lines indicated by 11. It is also shown to include an extension (sonypoix) proposed by the applicant, and its version number is also described. The next five lines indicated by 12 are the parts in which the elements of the type information (format) are described. In the type information, the described P
It is shown that the datum used in OIX is (tokyo: Japanese Geodetic System), and that the coordinate system (unit) used is (degree: degree), Furthermore, the information creation date and time (time) is 10 October 20, 1999.
It is indicated that the time is 35: 47 + 9: 00 (time zone). In POIX, the elements are not limited to type information, but include altitude, moving body moving state, moving direction, track coordinate point sequence, target name, target description, target access method, introduction point, arrival point, and introduction point. The route to the arrival point, contact information, etc. are specified.

In the portions of the tenth and eleventh lines indicated by 13, a search index (index pos) is described for each subsequent POI (Point Of Interest) element. As described above, the feature of the present invention is that the index having the position information is described so as to overlap with the information (latitude and longitude) of the target position.

The tags of the search index include position information (latitude and longitude), information category, distinction between moving and non-moving objects, and geodetic system. In the example of FIG. 3, the position is 35.62222 degrees north latitude and 139.7 degrees east longitude.
4528 degrees and category code of 1400000
, Is a non-moving object (fix), and the geodetic system is the Japanese geodetic system (t
okyo). The latitude and longitude have a fixed number of digits. In the POIX format, a degree display and a degree minute second display can be selected, but in the index, the degree display is fixed. By fixing the number of digits and the display format in this way, it is possible to read an index and convert the index into an internal format at high speed.

The POI information is described in the following eleven lines indicated by reference numeral 14. That is, the representative position (point
t) is represented by position (pos). Position is latitude (lat)
And longitude (lon). The same position as that described in the above-mentioned index is described. (image re
f) describes the link location and file name of the image file linked to the POI. The file name conforms to the directory structure of the memory card described above. (comment) indicates a character string of a comment for the image linked to the POI. In the example of FIG. 3, the model name of the digital still camera from which the image was obtained is shown.

Further, the (category) of the next line indicated by 15
Represents the category of the POI. The next line indicated by 16
(gpstime) indicates the date and time when the time information sent from the GPS satellite was received. The categories are as shown in FIG.
A hexadecimal number is represented as a character string in a 4-byte code. By the first byte of the category code,
A large classification of the category is expressed. The category code (14000000) in FIG. 3 is position information of a shooting (recording) place. By using category codes,
The shape of the icon can be different for each category.

In one embodiment of the present invention described above,
A process for displaying a map image and displaying an icon such as a shooting point on the map will be described below. FIG.
The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is performed by the control microcomputer 106.

The start step S11 in FIG. 5 corresponds to when the power is turned on, when the memory card 108 is mounted on the camera body, or when the map display mode is designated. In step S11, map image data is read from the memory card 108 via the memory card controller 107 and stored in the DRAM 104. The map image data is read from the DRAM 104, supplied to the image display device 103 via the image processing circuit 102, and displayed on the image display device 103.

In the next step S12, a position information file (see FIG. 3) stored in the memory card 108 and having a Poix subdirectory is read via the memory card controller 107 and stored in the DRAM 104. The control microcomputer 106 searches a search index from the position information file stored in the DRAM 104 (step S13). Specifically, the tag of index described in the portion 13 in FIG. 3 is searched. In step S14, the latitude,
Obtain information including longitude and write it to the table. The table is created on a memory in the control microcomputer 106.

In step S15, it is determined whether or not a position information file remains. If the position information file remains, the process returns to step S12. When the processing for all the position information files is completed, the table creation processing ends (step S16).
In this way, tables for all the position information files stored in the memory card 108 are created. In step S12, the memory card 10
8, it is also possible to read all the position information files. In this case, if it is determined in step S15 that the position information files remain, the process proceeds to step S15.
14 is returned.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a table created by the above-described processing. The latitude, longitude, and category code obtained from the index in the position information file and the file name of the position information file are written on each line corresponding to one point. The category code (01000000) in FIG. 6 means a leisure spot,
The category code (0200000) means a restaurant. Also, (ds) in the file name of the location information file
c) indicates the position information captured each time the shutter is pressed on the digital still camera.
v) represents the location information downloaded from the car navigation. The extension poi indicates that the file is a POIX-compliant file.

When the creation of the table is completed, the latitude and longitude listed in the table are displayed on the image display device 10.
It is checked whether it can be displayed on the map displayed in 3. This is, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper side 21, the lower side 22,
This is a process for checking whether or not the listed latitude and longitude can be displayed in the map display area surrounded by the left side 23 and the right side 24 according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Following the start step S21 in FIG.
In step S22, it is determined whether the latitude (the latitude listed in the table) is smaller than the latitude of the upper side 21. In step S23 following step S22, it is determined whether the latitude is greater than the latitude of the lower side 22. In step S24 following step S23, it is determined whether the longitude is smaller than the longitude of the right side 24. In step S25 following step S24, the longitude is
It is determined whether it is greater than three longitudes.

If the results of the determinations in steps S22, S23, S24 and S25 are all affirmative, it is determined that the latitude and longitude listed in the table can be displayed on the map, and in step S26 , And display an icon at the corresponding location on the map. If not, the process of step S26 is skipped. That is, no icon is displayed, and it is determined in step S27 whether data remains in the table. If not, the process ends. If table data remains, the same processing as described above is repeated for the next data from step S22.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a map image displayed on the image display device 103 in this embodiment. In FIG. 9, black squares indicate icons corresponding to latitude and longitude data listed in the table. The shape of the icon may be another shape, or may be different depending on the category code.

Once the above-described position information table is created, even if the map information is switched, the table creation processing (steps S12 to S1) in FIG.
5) can be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the GPS is used as a means for acquiring the position. However, other means such as a position information service of a mobile phone may be used in addition to the GPS. The user may specify the current position from the map displayed on the display device. Further, a means for acquiring a position may not be provided, and a table for displaying icons can be created from position information read from a data recording medium. Furthermore, the location information and the map information may be acquired by accessing the map database via a communication network, and a search index may be added to the acquired location information.

Although the above-described embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a digital still camera, the present invention is also applicable to a device having a function of exchanging position information with a data recording medium such as a memory card. It is possible to provide the same processing function as described above. For example, icons indicating positions of leisure spots, restaurants, and the like can be displayed on a map image displayed in a car navigation system, a portable navigation system, or the like. Further, the present invention can be applied to data formats other than POIX as long as the position information is described in a predetermined data format.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the position of the target position described based on the hierarchical structure is redundantly described in the search index. The position can be known without analyzing the structure. As a result, the latitude and longitude of a certain position (point) can be quickly known, and the execution speed of an application that displays an icon of the position on a map can be increased. In particular, the effect is large in in-vehicle equipment, portable equipment, and the like in which the capacity of the CPU and the memory capacity are limited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a file configuration of a memory card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of position information data conforming to POIX according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the definition of a category code according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing for creating a table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a created table.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of displaying an icon according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying an icon according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a displayed map image.

[Explanation of symbols]

13... Where the search index is described, 14
... A portion where a position is described, 103... An image display device, 104... A DRAM, 105... A GPS unit, 106.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 15/419 320 F term (Reference) 2C032 HB03 HB11 HB22 HB25 HC11 HC23 HC32 HD04 2F029 AB07 AC02 AC14 5B075 ND07 ND35 PQ02 PQ69 UU13 5H180 CC04 FF05 FF22 FF33 9A001 BB03 DD13 HH27 JJ03 JJ11 JJ31 JZ25 JZ78 KZ42

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A language and description format are created based on a data format defined in advance, and at least the latitude and longitude information is identified as an index with respect to position information data including the latitude and longitude information of a target position. A position information description method characterized in that the position information is described in duplicate so as to be described. 2. The position information description method according to claim 1, wherein the data format has a hierarchical structure, and the index is described at a shallow position in the hierarchy. 3. The position information description method according to claim 1, wherein a code indicating a type of the target position is further described as the index. 4. The position information description according to claim 1, wherein the data format defines an element to be distinguished by a tag, and the target position is defined as one of the elements. Method. 5. A means for acquiring latitude and longitude information, and the acquired latitude and longitude information are described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are defined in advance. A position information processing apparatus comprising: means for creating a position information file redundantly described so that longitude information is identified as an index; and output means for outputting the position information file to the outside. 6. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said latitude and longitude information of a current position is obtained. 7. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an image recording unit, wherein the position information file includes an image file and the position information file of the latitude and longitude information of the image recording point. 8. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the output means writes the position information file to a data recording medium. 9. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output means writes the image file and the position information file to a data recording medium. 10. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the output means transmits the position information file via a network. 11. The position information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the output means transmits the image file and the position information file via a network. 12. An acquired latitude and longitude information is described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are prescribed in advance, and at least the latitude and longitude information are duplicated so as to be identified as an index. Creating a position information file described as described above, and outputting the position information file to the outside. 13. Based on a data format in which a language and a description format are defined in advance, the latitude and longitude information of the target position is described, and at least the latitude and longitude information are overlapped so as to be identified as an index. Means for receiving the location information file described as above, searching the index, creating a table of the latitude and longitude information of the target location, and referring to the table to display an icon indicating the existence of the target location on a map. And a control means for displaying the position information on the position information processing apparatus. 14. Latitude and longitude information are described based on a data format in which a language and a description format are prescribed in advance, and at least the latitude and longitude information are redundantly described so as to be identified as an index. A data recording medium on which the recorded position information file is recorded.