Image date update apparatus

• US 20090179912A1
• Filed: 12/30/2008
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Sakaguchi, Natsuko, Hashizume, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,106,920 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/611
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/20 Function-generator circuits, e.g. circle generators line or curve smoothing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/30 Control of display attribute

Abstract

An image data update apparatus that can highlight a component with maintaining an appearance of an image to which anti-aliasing is applied and with suppressing increase in processing load is provided. When periodically changing a color arrangement of a traffic congestion line bordered using a color of black and displayed on a map image, only a central portion of the traffic congestion line is changed. Each time the color arrangement is changed, anti-aliasing is applied only to a boundary between the central portion and bordering portion but not to a boundary with a background map image.

Claims

1. An image data update apparatus, the apparatus updating image data showing an image including two areas, anti-aliasing being applied to pixels around a boundary between the two areas, the anti-aliasing smoothing change of color on the boundary, the apparatus comprising:

an image data storage means for storing first image data showing a first image, part of which includes a first component, which has a first area with a predetermined color, the first area separating from each other the first component and a background area of the first component, wherein the anti-aliasing is applied to a pixel around a boundary between the first component and the first area and to a pixel around a boundary between the first area and the background area; and

an image data update means for executing an image data update operation having a first step of generating second image data by changing part corresponding to an area including the first component and the first area in the first image among the first image data stored in the image data storage means while maintaining the anti-aliasing applied to the pixels around the boundary between the first area and the background area.

2. The image data update apparatus of claim 1, wherein

a second image shown by the second image data generated at the first step of the image data update operation by the image data update means is an image which is generated by changing the first component in the first image into a second component, wherein anti-aliasing is applied to pixels around a boundary between the second component and the first area.

3. The image data update apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the second component in the second image shown by the second image data generated in the image data update operation by the image data update means is different only in color from the first component.

4. The image data update apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the image data update means stores the generated second image data in the image data storage means as the first image data in the image data update operation, and repeats the image data update operation.

5. The image data update apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the image data update means, before the first step, generates third image data showing a third image generated by coloring, with the predetermined color of the first area, the first component and the first area while maintaining the anti-aliasing applied to the pixels around the boundary between the first area and the background area in the first image shown by the first image data stored in the image data storage means, executes a second step of storing the generated third image data in the image data storage means as the first image data, and after the first step, stores the second image data as the first image data into the image data storage means and repeats the image data update operation.

6. The image data update apparatus of claim 5, wherein

the second component in the second image shown by the second image data generated in the image data update operation by the image data update means is identical with the first component.

7. The image data update apparatus of claim 5, wherein

the second component in the second image shown by the second image data generated in the image data update operation by the image data update means is different only in color from the first component.

8. The image data update apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the first area separating the first component and the background area is a strip-shaped area.

9. The image data update apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the first area having a strip shape has a width of at least two pixels or over.

10. A program storage medium containing instructions readable and executable by a computer, the instruction for causing the computer to function as the means included in the image data update apparatus according to claim 1.

11. A method for generating a road map image using anti-aliasing to a pixel around a boundary between two areas in a road map for smoothing change of color on the boundary, the method comprising:

arranging in an image (i) a background area, (ii) an indication area, and (iii) an edge area having a predetermined color, the edge area intervening between the background area and the indication area;

applying anti-aliasing to pixels around, of the edge area, an outer boundary and an inner boundary to thereby complete generation of a first image, the outer boundary intervening between the background area and the edge area, the inner boundary intervening between the indication area and the edge area; and

updating the first image by changing the indication area with the anti-aliasing having applied to the pixels around the outer boundary unchanged while applying anti-aliasing to pixels around an inner boundary between the background area and the edge area to thereby complete generation of a second image, the inner boundary intervening between the changed indication area and the edge area.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein

in the updating the first image, the indication area is changed in a color to accord with the predetermined color of the edge area with the anti-aliasing having applied to the outer boundary unchanged while arranging the predetermined color to the pixels around the inner boundary intervening the indication area and the edge area.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the component includes an arrow indicating a degree of traffic congestion of a road on the road map image as the first image.