Image processing apparatus, road image plotting method, and computer-readable recording medium for plotting a road image

• US 20070172147A1
• Filed: 07/17/2006
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Hayashida, Yasuhiro, Fujiwara, Akihito, Akazawa, Tsutomu
• Application Number:
  US11/487,872
• Publication Number:
  US 20070172147A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/276
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/405 using Z-buffer
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models

Abstract

An image processing apparatus for displaying a three-dimensional map on a display is disclosed that includes an extracting part for extracting data corresponding to a part of a road covered behind a three-dimensional building by referring to depth information of a target plotting road and a target plotting building, and an overwriting part for overwriting the data corresponding to the covered road part with color data or pattern data that are distinguishable from color data or pattern data of the target plotting road and the target plotting building.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus for displaying a three-dimensional map on a display, the image processing apparatus comprising:

an extracting part for extracting data corresponding to a part of a road covered behind a three-dimensional building by referring to depth information of a target plotting road and a target plotting building; and

an overwriting part for overwriting the data corresponding to the covered road part with color data or pattern data that are distinguishable from color data or pattern data of the target plotting road and the target plotting building.

2. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the depth information is obtained from a Z buffer that stores information including the distance between a reference viewpoint and the target plotting road and the distance between the reference viewpoint and the target plotting building.

3. The image processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein data corresponding to the covered road part are loaded in a stencil buffer, wherein the data of the covered road part are overwritten in a frame buffer based on the data loaded in the stencil buffer.

4. A road image plotting method for an image processing apparatus displaying a three-dimensional map on a display, the method comprising the steps of:

extracting data corresponding to a part of a road covered behind a three-dimensional building by referring to depth information of a target plotting road and a target plotting building; and

overwriting the data corresponding to the covered road part with color data or pattern data that are distinguishable from color data or pattern data of the target plotting road and the target plotting building.

5. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a road image plotting method is recorded, the road image plotting method comprising the steps of:

extracting data corresponding to a part of a road covered behind a three-dimensional building by referring to depth information of a target plotting road and a target plotting building; and

overwriting the data corresponding to the covered road part with color data or pattern data that are distinguishable from color data or pattern data of the target plotting road and the target plotting building.