SELECTION AND INSERTION OF STATIC ELEMENTS IN DIGITAL MAPS

• US 20080215235A1
• Filed: 10/08/2007
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Strassenburg-Kleciak, Marek, Meyer, Hendrik
• Granted Patent: US 8,918,274 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/10 Map spot or coordinate position indicators; Map reading aids optical projection apparatus per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/958 Collision avoidance

Abstract

A navigation system may display route information that includes a display of the fixtures that are located on or near the route. The fixtures may be selected and inserted into the digital map as graphical objects. The graphical objects may be classified into a class and at least one sub-class. The classification data may be used to select and generate the graphical objects.

Claims

1. A method for inserting at least one graphical object corresponding to a fixture in a digital map comprising:

storing data relating to at least one fixture class in a lookup table database;

determining at least one position in the digital map;

retrieving the data related to the at least one fixture class stored in the lookup table database;

generating at least one graphical object representing the at least one fixture based on the data related to the at least one fixture class stored in the lookup table database;

inserting the graphical object at the determined at least one position on the digital map; and

displaying the graphical object at the determined at least one position.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing data related to at least one sub-class of the at least one class.

3. The method according to claim 2, where the at least one graphical object representing the at least one fixture is generated based on the data related to the at least one fixture sub-class.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing the graphical object in an object database; and

updating the lookup table database to include a reference to the graphical object.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

storing, when the graphical object is a bitmap, the bitmap in a bitmap database; and

storing, when the graphical object is a vector graphic, the vector graphic in a vector database.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a digital map; and

displaying the at least one graphical object on one display layer and at least a part of the digital map on another display layer, where the digital map is on a different display layer than the graphical object.

7. The method according to claim 6, where the at least one graphical object represents at least one fixture, where the at least one fixture comprises plants, traffic signs, traffic lights, street lighting, buildings, or landmarks and further where the digital map is a digital city map.

8. The method according to claim 1, where the at least one graphical object is displayed in a two-dimensional view or in a three-dimensional perspective view.

9. The method according to claim 1, where the data related to the at least one fixture class stored in the lookup table database comprises statistical information about a graphical object to be generated.

10. The method according to claim 9, where the statistical information includes shape, ratio, height, width, depth, or other size information.

11. A navigation system comprising:

a lookup table database that stores classification data related to graphic objects;

an object database that stores graphic objects that represent fixtures that can be added to a digital map displayed by the navigation system;

a data analyzer in communication with the lookup table database that analyzes the classification data;

a graphic object selector in communication with object database and the data analyzer that selects a graphic object that corresponds with the analyzed classification data; and

a display in communication with the graphic object selector that displays the selected graphic object as a part of the digital map.

12. The navigation system of claim 11, where the classification data comprises a class and at least one sub-class that is associated with each of the graphic objects.

13. The navigation system of claim 11, where the fixtures comprise static elements that are added to the digital map.

14. The navigation system of claim 11, where the object database comprises:

a bitmap database that stores bitmap graphic objects;

a vector graphic database that stores vector graphic objects; and

a digital map database that stores digital maps for display in the navigation system.

15. A vehicle navigation system comprising:

a map database that stores at least one digital map;

a lookup table database that stores data related to at least one fixture class, where the data related to at least one fixture class comprises classification data, further where the classification data comprises at least one class and sub-class to which each fixture is assigned;

a display means configured to display one of the at one digital maps;

an object generating means configured to generate at least one graphical object representing at least one fixture based on the data related to the at least one fixture class that is stored in the lookup table; and

a control means configured to control the display means to display the at least one graphical object at a predetermined position in the digital map.

16. The vehicle navigation system of claim 16, where the data related to at least one fixture class is related to at least one fixture sub-class.

17. The vehicle navigation system of claim 16, further comprising an object database configured to store the at least one graphical object that is generated by the object generating means.

18. The vehicle navigation system of claim 16, where the control means is configured to concurrently display the at least one assigned graphical object on one display layer and at least a part of the digital map on at least one other display layer.

19. A method for inserting a selected fixture into a digital map comprising:

determining a position on the digital map for insertion of the selected fixture;

collecting data from an object database, where the data from the object database includes a classification and a sub-classification of fixtures;

selecting the classification and the sub-classification;

providing a plurality of fixtures that match the selected classification and the selected sub-classification for selection of the selected fixture from the plurality of fixtures; and

displaying the selected fixture in the digital map.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

receiving data related to the classification or sub-classification of the fixtures, where the data includes statistical information about the classification or the sub-classification.

21. The method of claim 19, where the statistical information includes shape, ratio, height, width, depth, or other size information regarding the fixtures.