METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING MAP USING NON-LINEAR COMPRESSION

• US 20090309900A1
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Joong-Hwan, Ko, Byeong-Seob
• Granted Patent: US 8,149,248 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/666
• 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: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A map displaying method and apparatus to display a map on a screen, the map displaying method including: establishing a first area on the map that is not compressed based on a current location of an object on the map; non-linearly compressing a second area adjacent to the first area at different compression ratios according to a distance from the first area to generate a third area; and displaying the first area and the third area on the screen.

Claims

1. A map displaying method to display a map on a screen, the method comprising:

establishing a first area on the map that is not compressed based on a current location of an object on the map;

non-linearly compressing a second area adjacent to the first area at different compression ratios according to a distance from the first area to generate a third area; and

displaying the first area and the third area on the screen.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-linear compressing of the second area comprises:

compressing a first portion of the second area at a first compression ratio and compressing a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, at a second compression ratio, greater than the first compression ratio, to generate the third area.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-linear compressing of the second area comprises:

compressing a first portion of the second area to display the first portion in a first reduced scale and compressing a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, to display the second portion in a second reduced scale, smaller than the first reduced scale, to generate the third area.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-linear compressing of the second area comprises:

non-linearly compressing the second area according to a ratio changing according to a log-scale relative to the distance to generate the third area.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first area is established to have a rectangle or a circle shape.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the establishing of the first area comprises:

establishing the first area having a first size on the map when the object has a first moving speed; and

establishing the first area having a second size on the map, different from the first size, when the object has a second moving speed, greater than the first moving speed.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first size is less than the second size.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance between an edge of the screen and a boundary of the second area and the first area in a moving direction of the object is greater than a distance between another boundary of the first and second areas and another edge of the screen away from the moving direction.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first area includes the current location of the object.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first area does not include the current location of the object.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first area is a predetermined distance away from the current location of the object in a moving direction of the object.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second area includes the current location of the object.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the establishing of the first area comprises establishing the first area to include the current location or establishing the first area to exclude the current location according to a user selection.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the non-linear compressing of the second area comprises:

compressing a first portion of the second area at a first compression ratio and compressing a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, at a second compression ratio, less than the first compression ratio, to generate the third area.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second area surrounds the first area.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second area borders the first area on only one side of the first area.

33. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a method of claim 1 and implemented by at least one computer.

17. A map displaying apparatus to display a map on a screen, the apparatus comprising:

a non-compression area establishing unit to establish a first area on the map that is not compressed based on a current location of an object on the map and;

a compression area generating unit to non-linearly compress a second area adjacent to the first area at different compression ratios according to a distance from the first area to generate a third area; and

a display unit to display the first area and the third area on the screen.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the compression area generating unit compresses a first portion of the second area at a first compression ratio and compresses a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, at a second compression ratio, greater than the first compression ratio, to generate the third area.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the compression area generating unit compresses a first portion of the second area to display the first portion in a first reduced scale and compresses a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, to display the second portion in a second reduced scale, smaller than the first reduced scale, to generate the third area.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the compression area generating unit non-linearly compresses the second area according to a ratio changing according to a log-scale relative to the distance to generate the third area.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first area is established to have a rectangle or a circle shape.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the non-compression area establishing unit establishes the first area having a first size on the map when the object has a first moving speed, and establishes the first area having a second size on the map, different from the first size, when the object has a second moving speed, greater than the first moving speed.

23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first size is less than the second size.

24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein:

a distance between an edge of the screen and a boundary of the second area and the first area in a moving direction of the object is greater than a distance between another boundary of the first and second areas and another edge of the screen away from the moving direction; and

the boundary of the first area and the second area is perpendicular to the moving direction of the object.

25. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first area is includes the current location of the object.

26. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first area does not include the current location of the object.

27. The apparatus as claimed in claim 26, wherein the first area is a predetermined distance away from the current location of the object in a moving direction of the object.

28. The apparatus as claimed in claim 26, wherein the second area includes the current location of the object.

29. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the non-compression area establishing unit establishes the first area to include the current location or establishes the first area to exclude the current location according to a user selection.

30. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the compression area generating unit compresses a first portion of the second area at a first compression ratio and compresses a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, at a second compression ratio, less than the first compression ratio, to generate the third area.

31. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second area surrounds the first area.

32. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second area borders the first area on only one side of the first area.

34. A map displaying method to display a map including a current location within a first or second area of the map on a screen of a navigation terminal, the method comprising:

non-linearly compressing the second area at different compression ratios according to a distance from the first area to generate a third area without compressing the first area; and

displaying the first area and the third area on the screen.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the non-linear compressing of the second area comprises:

compressing a first portion of the second area at a first compression ratio and compressing a second portion of the second area, farther from the first area than the first portion, at a second compression ratio, other than the first compression ratio, to generate the third area.

36. The method as claimed in claim 34, wherein the first area includes the current location or the second area includes the current location according to a user selection.

37. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a method of claim 34 and implemented by at least one computer.