Map display system, method, and program

• US 10,386,200 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2015
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Osawa, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Berona, Kimberly S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fei, Jordan S
• Application Number:
  US15/100,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20160305793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,688 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker

Abstract

A technique for displaying a scale-changed view of a narrow-angle branch intersection in an easily visually recognizable manner through simple processing. A map display system that displays a map on a display section includes: narrow-angle branch intersection determination code for determining whether or not a guide target intersection is a narrow-angle branch intersection at which an intersection angle between roads is smaller than a predetermined threshold; and a scale-changed view display for displaying a scale-changed view, which is obtained by changing a scale of the guide target intersection included in the map such that a value obtained by dividing a horizontal scale change rate by a vertical scale change rate is larger than 1, on the display section in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection.

Claims

1. A map display system that displays a map on a display section, the map display system comprising:

narrow-angle branch intersection determination software code for determining whether or not a guide target intersection is a narrow-angle branch intersection at which an intersection angle between roads is smaller than a predetermined threshold; and

a scale-changed view display for displaying a scale-changed view, which is obtained by changing a scale of the guide target intersection included in the map such that a value obtained by dividing a horizontal scale change rate by a vertical scale change rate is larger than 1, on the display section in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection, wherein the scale-changed view display displays the guide target intersection in the scale-changed view at a position that is shifted forward in a travel direction such that more of an entry road is shown in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection as compared to the case where the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection, thereby providing a driver more time to prepare for the narrow-angle branch intersection than for the case that the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection.

2. The map display system according to claim 1, wherein the scale-changed view display displays the scale-changed view as enlarged horizontally and vertically in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection as compared to the case where the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection.

3. A map display method of displaying a map on a display section, the map display method comprising:

a narrow-angle branch intersection determination step of determining whether or not a guide target intersection is a narrow-angle branch intersection at which an intersection angle between roads is smaller than a predetermined threshold; and

a scale-changed view display step of displaying a scale-changed view, which is obtained by changing a scale of the guide target intersection included in the map such that a value obtained by dividing a horizontal scale change rate by a vertical scale change rate is larger than 1, on the display section in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection, wherein the scale-changed view display displays the guide target intersection in the scale-changed view at a position that is shifted forward in a travel direction such that more of an entry road is shown in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection as compared to the case where the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection, thereby providing a driver more time to prepare for the narrow-angle branch intersection than for the case that the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a map display program that causes a computer to implement a function of displaying a map on a display section, the map display program causing the computer to implement:

a narrow-angle branch intersection determination function of determining whether or not a guide target intersection is a narrow-angle branch intersection at which an intersection angle between roads is smaller than a predetermined threshold; and

a scale-changed view display function of displaying a scale-changed view, which is obtained by changing a scale of the guide target intersection included in the map such that a value obtained by dividing a horizontal scale change rate by a vertical scale change rate is larger than 1, on the display section in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection, wherein the scale-changed view display displays the guide target intersection in the scale-changed view at a position that is shifted forward in a travel direction such that more of an entry road is shown in the case where the guide target intersection is the narrow-angle branch intersection as compared to the case where the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection, thereby providing a driver more time to prepare for the narrow-angle branch intersection than for the case that the guide target intersection is not the narrow-angle branch intersection.