JP2006106181A - Map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map display device which allows a desired road to be designated by an easy operation. <P>SOLUTION: After a present location of a vehicle and a road map are acquired, the road map is displayed on a display means 8, and a display position on the road map is designated in the unit of road by a key input means 3. When the present location of the vehicle is combined with the road map and is displayed on the display means, roads around the present location are retrieved by a control means 5, and not only the display position is switched to a road running in an arbitrary direction, which is retrieved by the control means 5, but also roads around the display position are retrieved again, in response to designating the arbitrary direction to the present location by a cursor key 12 of the key input means 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a map display device, for example, a map display device that provides road map information of a current position of a moving body and related points so that a driver of the moving body such as a vehicle can safely and comfortably arrive at a destination. Is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an on-vehicle map display device mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle stores a national or regional road map as map information in a storage medium, and reads the map information from the storage medium in response to an operator request. By displaying on a liquid crystal display panel or the like, a road map for driving guidance is provided to the driver.

  The road map display method of such an in-vehicle map display device searches for the presence or absence of another road map on which predetermined information related to a specific road map is displayed, displays the result, and It switches to other road maps searched and displayed on demand.

  In this switching, an operation switch having a cursor key is used. When the display map is switched, when an operator inputs an arbitrary position by operating the cursor key, a map adjacent to the display map of the current location is displayed. There is a configuration in which a map that is searched and a cursor key is operated is loaded and displayed on a screen (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, as another road map display method, it is configured to switch and display related map information by directly pressing with a finger or the like on the enlarged map instead of the cursor (for example, patents). Reference 2).
JP-A-60-165511 JP-A-62-289720

  However, in a conventional road map display device, when searching for a destination on the display map, or when trying to obtain related information such as a road name and address associated with the searched road, the map is displayed in units of roads. It is necessary to specify the position. Further, in an environment where it is difficult to constantly watch the display screen during driving of the vehicle, it is difficult to specify the position of the map display in units of roads.

  Specifically, when switching the road map by moving the cursor to any road or pressing any road displayed on the touch panel, watch the display screen while driving the vehicle. It is difficult to move the cursor to the designated road or to reliably press the designated road, and it is difficult to designate the position of the map display for each road.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a map display device that can specify a desired road with a simple operation.

  A map display device according to the present invention includes a current position acquisition unit that acquires a current position of a moving object, a road map acquisition unit that acquires a road map, a display unit that displays the road map, and the displayed road map. Designating means for designating the display position in units of roads.

  With this configuration, since the display position of the road map displayed on the display means can be specified in units of roads, a desired road can be specified with a simple operation.

  Further, the map display device of the present invention has display control means for combining the current position of the mobile body with the road map and displaying it on the display means, and search means for searching for roads around the current position. Then, when an arbitrary direction is specified for the current position by the specifying means, the display position is switched to a road that matches the road in the direction searched by the search means, and the search means surrounds the display position. Is configured to search for roads. In addition, a cursor key, a touch panel, etc. can be used as a designation | designated means.

  With this configuration, it is possible to easily switch the display position by using the designation unit for the road around the current position where the moving object exists, and to designate the desired road with a simple operation.

  Further, the map display device of the present invention includes a display control means for displaying a specific road map designated by the designation means on the display means, and a search means for retrieving surrounding roads with respect to the center position of the road map. When an arbitrary direction is specified with respect to the center position by the specifying means, the display position is switched to a road that matches the road in the direction searched by the searching means, and the display is displayed by the searching means. A road around the position is searched.

  With this configuration, the display position can be easily switched to the surrounding road with respect to the specified center position of the specific road map, and a desired road can be designated by a simple operation.

  The designation means of the map display device of the present invention comprises switching means for switching a display mode in which the current position and map data are combined or a mode for displaying a specific road map.

  With this configuration, a desired road can be designated by a simple operation from the current position of the moving body or a road centered on a specific road.

  The map display device according to the present invention further includes a related information search / display unit for searching for information related to the road and displaying the information on the display unit when the display position of the road displayed on the display unit is switched. It is prepared for.

  With this configuration, information associated with the designated road can be acquired easily and immediately.

  As described above, the present invention can provide a map display device that can designate a desired road with a simple operation.

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

  FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a map display device according to the present invention, which will be described as an example of a navigation device provided on a vehicle (moving body) as a map display device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device (map display device) includes a GPS receiver 1, an autonomous navigation sensor 2, key input means 3, auxiliary storage means 4, control means 5, road selection means 6, display control means 7 and display. Means 8 are provided.

  Here, the GPS receiver (current position acquisition means) 1 detects radio waves transmitted from a plurality of satellites and measures the current position and current direction of the vehicle, and sends the positioning result to the control means 5. It is configured to output.

  The autonomous navigation sensor (current position acquisition means) 2 includes sensors such as a distance sensor such as a vehicle speed sensor and a direction sensor such as a gyroscope, and calculates the traveling state of the vehicle and controls the calculation result 5. It is configured to output to.

  The control means 5 controls the entire navigation apparatus, and is configured to calculate the current position of the vehicle based on output information from the GPS receiver 1 and the autonomous navigation sensor 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the key input means (designating means) 3 includes a current position key 11 and a cursor key 12 that can designate eight operation directions. The key input means 3 can be a remote control that can be operated remotely or an operation key on a touch panel provided near the driver's seat. In the embodiment of the present invention, there are two map display modes, a current position display mode and a related map display mode. When the current position key 11 is pressed, the current position display mode is entered and the cursor key 12 is pressed. Then, it shall transfer to related map display mode. The current position display mode and the related map display mode will be described later.

  Auxiliary storage means (road map acquisition means) 4 stores roads throughout the country and local roads, and may be composed of a storage medium in which a CD-ROM, DVD, memory card or the like is stored in advance. Map information may be acquired from a server on the Internet as a medium.

  The control means 5 is configured to calculate a search route from the calculated current position of the vehicle to the destination input by the key input means 3, and to perform navigation to the destination based on the search route.

  The display control means 7 is configured to synthesize and display the current position of the vehicle on the road map read from the auxiliary storage means 4 by the control means 5. The display means 8 is composed of a liquid crystal display panel or the like, and displays a road map generated by the display control means 7, a current position image of the vehicle combined with the road map, information related to the road, and various information related to navigation. It is supposed to be displayed.

  The road selection means 6 designates the display position on the road map displayed on the display means 8 in units of roads, and can designate differently in two modes, the current position display mode and the related map display mode. It is configured as follows.

  Specifically, when the current position display mode is designated by the current position key 11 of the key input means 3, the road selection means 6 outputs a current position mode signal to the control means 5. When this current position mode signal is input, the control means 5 controls the display control means 7 to synthesize the current position of the vehicle on the road map and display it on the display means 8 and to display the road around the current position. Search for.

  When an arbitrary direction is designated with respect to the current position of the vehicle by the cursor key 12 of the key input means 3, the control means 5 causes the display control means 7 to switch the display position to a road that matches the road in the searched direction. To control.

  On the other hand, when the cursor key 12 of the key input means 3 is pressed for a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds) or longer and the related map display mode is designated, the road selection means 6 outputs a related map display mode signal to the control means 5. .

  When the related map display mode is input, the control unit 5 reads the specific road map designated from the key input unit 3 from the auxiliary storage unit 4 and then controls the display control unit 7 to control the specific road map. Is displayed, and a road around the center position of the specific road map is searched.

  When an arbitrary direction is designated with respect to the center position by the cursor key 12 of the key input means 3, the control means 5 controls the display control means 7 so that the display position is switched to a road that matches the road in the searched direction. To do.

  The auxiliary storage means 4 stores related information such as road names and addresses associated with the roads. When a road is designated, the control means 5 reads the related information from the auxiliary storage means 4. Displayed on the display means 8.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the key input means 3 and the control means 5 constitute a designation means, and the control means 5 constitutes a search means. Further, the key input means 3 and the road selection means 6 constitute a switching means, and the control means 5 and the display means 8 constitute a related information search / display means.

  Next, a road map display method of the navigation device will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of map movement candidate calculation processing. First, after acquiring information from the GPS receiver 1 and the autonomous navigation sensor 2 (step S1), the current position of the vehicle is calculated by the control means 5 (step S2).

  Next, the map display mode is determined (step S3), and if it is determined as the related map display mode, the center position of the displayed road map is acquired (step S4). If the current position display mode is determined in step S3, the current position of the displayed road map is acquired (step S5).

  Next, after acquiring and displaying specific map information or map information around the current position of the vehicle from the auxiliary storage means 4 (step S6), a map movement candidate position is calculated (step S7). As shown in FIG. 4, the map movement candidate position is calculated in advance by acquiring movable points on the road in the direction corresponding to the cursor keys 12 in the eight directions at the center position of the road map or around the current position. The movement candidate point 23 is obtained from the point where the line 22 extended in eight directions from the screen center cursor position 21 and the road displayed on the screen of the display means 8 intersect.

  The map movement candidate position is set as the screen display range of the display means 8, and as shown in FIG. The map movement candidate position when the cursor key 12 in the eight directions is pressed is obtained. Further, a road 32 with a shallow angle less than a certain distance from the road at the center cursor position 21 on the screen is not a map movement candidate.

  Thus, all roads displayed on the screen of the display means 8, including narrow roads, are candidates for map movement. If only the main road is desired, it can be handled by switching the map scale to a wide area map and not displaying narrow roads.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the process of switching the display position of the road when the current position key 11 or the cursor key 12 in the eight directions is pressed. In FIG. 6, first, it is determined whether or not any of the current position key 11 and the cursor key 12 of the key input means 3 is pressed (step S11).

  If it is determined in step S11 that the current position key 11 has been pressed, the display mode is changed (step S12), the current position is acquired, and map information around the current position is obtained from the auxiliary storage means 4. Is acquired and displayed on the display means 8 (step S16).

  Next, a movement candidate point 23 on the road in the direction corresponding to the cursor key 12 in the eight directions around the current position is calculated (step S17), and it is determined whether the road has related information (step S18). If there is relevant information on the road based on the result, the relevant information is acquired from the auxiliary storage means 4 (step S19), displayed on the display means 8 (step S20), and then the main process is executed (step S20). Step S21).

  On the other hand, if the cursor key 12 is pressed for a predetermined time or longer in step S11, after obtaining a movement candidate position in the direction corresponding to the cursor key 12 (step S13), specific map information centered on that position is obtained. It is read from the auxiliary storage means 4 and displayed (step S16). Next, the above-described processing after step S16 is executed.

  If the cursor key 12 is pressed for a predetermined time or less in step S11, a movement candidate position in the direction corresponding to the cursor key 12 is acquired (step S14), and the center position of the road map is changed (step S15). ). For example, when the upper cursor key of the cursor key 12 is pressed from the screen center cursor position 21 in FIG. 4, the display position is switched from the screen center cursor position 21 to the upper cursor position 23a. When the lower cursor key 12 is pressed, the display position is switched from the center cursor position 21 to the lower cursor position 23b, and the road related information at the cursor positions 21a and 21b is displayed.

  Specifically, a display example when the road map is switched is shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows an example when the right cursor key is pressed. Each time the right cursor key of the cursor key 12 is pressed, the road map is sequentially displayed such that the display screen of the display means 8 is the road map 31, 32, 33, 34, and the road located on the right side from the screen center is located at the screen center. Is scrolled.

  On the way, since the road 35 close to parallel to the map moving direction is a road having a certain angle or less as described above, scrolling is not stopped. At this time, since the cursor 36 at the center of the screen is always located on the road, if there is related information such as a road name or address attached to the road, the display means 8 displays the related information 37 of the road. To do.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the display position on the road map displayed on the display unit 8 by the key input unit 3 is specified in units of roads, so that a desired road can be specified by a simple operation. it can.

  If the current position of the vehicle is synthesized and displayed on the road map, the map movement candidate position around the current position is calculated, and an arbitrary direction is designated with respect to the current position by the cursor key 12, the map movement candidate The display position can be switched to a road that matches the road in the direction calculated by the position, and the road around the display position is searched at this time, so the display position can be easily displayed on the road around the current position of the vehicle. The desired road can be designated by a simple operation.

  In addition, a specific road map designated by the key input means 3 is displayed on the display means 8, map movement candidate positions around the center position of the road map are calculated, and the cursor key 12 is used to calculate the center position of the road map. If you specify any direction, the display position is switched to the road that matches the road calculated in the map movement candidate position. At this time, the road around the display position is searched. A display position can be easily switched to a road around the center position of a specific road map, and a desired road can be designated by a simple operation.

  Further, since the current position display mode and the related map display mode are switched by the key input means 3, a desired road can be designated by a simple operation from the current position of the vehicle or a road centered on a specific road. .

  In addition, when the display position of the road displayed on the display means 8 is switched, information related to the road is retrieved and displayed on the display means 8, so that information associated with the designated road can be easily and Can be obtained immediately.

  As described above, the map display device according to the present invention has an effect that a desired road can be designated by a simple operation, and a driver of a moving body such as a vehicle arrives at a destination safely and comfortably. Therefore, the present invention is useful as a map display device or the like that provides road map information of a current position of a moving body and related points.

The block diagram of the navigation apparatus as a map display apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention Configuration diagram of key input means of one embodiment Flowchart of map movement candidate calculation processing of one embodiment The figure explaining how to obtain the map movable point of one embodiment The figure which shows one specific example of the road selection method in one embodiment Flowchart of road display position switching processing in one embodiment The figure which shows the example of a screen display when a road map is switched to one embodiment

Explanation of symbols

3 Key input means (designating means, switching means)
5 Control means (designation means, search means, related information search / display means)
6 Road selection means (switching means)
8 Display means (Related information search / display means)

Claims (5)

Current position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the moving body, road map acquisition means for acquiring a road map, display means for displaying the road map, and display position on the displayed road map are designated by road unit A map display device comprising: a designation means for performing the above operation. Display control means for synthesizing the current position of the mobile body on the road map and displaying it on the display means; and search means for searching for roads around the current position;
When an arbitrary direction is specified with respect to the current position by the specifying means, the display position is switched to a road that matches the road in the direction searched by the search means, and roads around the display position are searched by the search means. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein a map is searched. Display control means for displaying the specific road map designated by the designation means on the display means, and search means for searching for surrounding roads with respect to the center position of the road map,
When an arbitrary direction is specified with respect to the center position by the specifying means, the display position is switched to a road that matches the road in the direction searched by the search means, and the road around the display position is searched by the search means. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein a map is searched. The said designation | designated means was provided with the switching means switched to the display mode which synthesize | combined the said present position and map data, or the mode which displays a specific road map, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The map display device described. 2. A related information search / display unit for searching for information related to the road and displaying the information on the display unit when the display position of the road displayed on the display unit is switched. The map display apparatus of any one of thru | or 4 thru | or 4.

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