MAP INFORMATION PROCESSOR AND DATA STRUCTURE OF MAP INFORMATION

• US 20110175931A1
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Umezu, Masaharu, Kodaka, Yasushi, Mikuriya, Makoto, Ikeuchi, Tomoya, Nakae, Tomohiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,803,907 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/637
• 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 21/3815 Road data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/00 Specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

A map information processor includes a map information storage unit 13 for storing map display information including a set of pieces of mesh-by-mesh map information managed on a mesh-by-mesh basis and including road information, background information, and in-mesh image information, an image processing unit 15 for generating a map image on a basis of image data included in the road information, the background information, and the in-mesh image information included in the mesh-by-mesh map information read from the map information storage unit, and a display device 5 for displaying the map image generated by the image processing unit.

Claims

1. A map information processor comprising:

a map information storage unit for storing map display information including a set of pieces of mesh-by-mesh map information managed on a mesh-by-mesh basis and including road information, background information, and in-mesh image information;

an image processing unit for generating a map image on a basis of image data included in the road information, the background information, and the in-mesh image information included in the mesh-by-mesh map information read from said map information storage unit; and

a display unit for displaying the map image generated by said image processing unit.

2. The map information processor according to claim 1, characterized in that the map information storage unit stores image information which is managed in an outside of meshes, and the image processing unit generates a map image on a basis of image data included in the road information, the background information, and the in-mesh image information included in the mesh-by-mesh map information read from said map information storage unit, and image data included in the image information managed in the outside of the meshes read from said map information storage unit.

3. The map information processor according to claim 2, characterized in that the background information included in the in-mesh map information stored in the map information storage unit includes point information for placing an image shown by image data included in either the in-mesh image information included in the mesh-by-mesh map information or the image information managed in the outside of the meshes, said point information includes coordinate information for determining a position at which the image shown by the image data is placed, a image code for specifying the image data, and a category code for specifying the image data, and the image processing unit acquires the image data corresponding to the image code from the in-mesh image information and acquires the image data corresponding to the category code from the image information managed in the outside of the meshes.

4. The map information processor according to claim 3, characterized in that the point information included in the in-mesh map information stored in the map information storage unit further includes priority information for determining a priority for displaying the image shown by the image data, and the image processing unit determines an image to be included in the map image generated thereby according to said priority information.

5. The map information processor according to claim 4, characterized in that the image processing unit acquires the image data corresponding to the image code according to the priority information, and generates the map image including the image shown by this acquired image data.

6. The map information processor according to claim 1, characterized in that the map information stored in the map information storage unit is divided into a plurality of pieces of map information hierarchically organized, and the image processing unit acquires image data for use in the map image which the image processing unit generates on a basis of mesh-by-mesh map information in a lower layer from in-mesh image information included in mesh-by-mesh map information in an upper layer corresponding to said mesh-by-mesh map information in the lower layer.

7. The map information processor according to claim 6, characterized in that image data managed with the in-mesh image information stored in the map information storage unit are arranged in order based on layers in which the image data are used, and the image processing unit continuously acquires the image data for use in the map image which the image processing unit generates on a basis of the mesh-by-mesh map information in a lower layer in order in which the image data are arranged when acquiring the in-view image information included in mesh-by-mesh map information in an upper layer corresponding to the mesh-by-mesh image information in a lower layer.

8. A data structure of map information characterized in that map information including map display information comprised of a set of pieces of mesh-by-mesh map information managed on a mesh-by-mesh basis and including road information, background information, and in-mesh image information includes image data for displaying some images in a map image in said in-mesh image information.

9. The data structure of the map information according to claim 8 characterized in that the map information further includes image information managed in an outside of meshes, said mesh-by-mesh map information includes image data for displaying some images in the map image, and said image information managed in the outside of meshes includes image data for displaying some other images in the map image.

10. The data structure of the map information according to claim 9 characterized in that the background information included in the in-mesh map information includes point information for placing an image shown by image data included in either the in-mesh image information included in the mesh-by-mesh map information or the image information managed in the outside of the meshes, said point information includes coordinate information for determining a position at which the image shown by the image data is placed, an image code used for acquiring the image data from the in-mesh image information, and a category code used for acquiring the image data from the image information managed in the outside of the meshes.

11. The data structure of the map information according to claim 10 characterized in that the point information included in the in-mesh map information further includes priority information for determining a priority for displaying the image shown by the image data.

12. The data structure of the map information according to claim 8 characterized in that the map information is divided into a plurality of pieces of map information hierarchically organized in such a way that image data corresponding to a map image based on mesh-by-mesh map information in a lower layer is included in in-mesh image information included in mesh-by-mesh map information in an upper layer corresponding to said mesh-by-mesh map information in a lower layer.

13. The data structure of the map information according to claim 12 characterized in that image data managed with the in-mesh image information are arranged in order based on layers in which the image data are used.