MAP DISPLAY DEVICE AND MAP DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20170003848A1
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Published: 01/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: WAKAYANAGI, Haruhiko, SHIMOTANI, Mitsuo
• Application Number:
  US14/901,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20170003848A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• 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 21/367 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 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04801 Cursor retrieval aid, i.e. visual aspect modification, blinking, colour changes, enlargement or other visual cues, for helping user do find the cursor in graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/34 for rolling or scrolling
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/36 characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory

Abstract

A map display device includes a map display unit that causes a touch panel to display a map, and a scrolling-screen display unit that causes the touch panel to display a scrolling screen that includes a direction designation region for a user to designate a direction to scroll the map. The center of the direction designation region corresponds to a reference point defined on the map being displayed on the touch panel. The scrolling-screen display unit causes a significant-object icon that indicates the existence or absence of a predetermined significant object in each direction viewed from the reference point to be displayed on the outer periphery of the direction designation region at a position corresponding to the direction.

Claims

1. A map display device comprising:

a computer to execute a program; and

a memory to store the program which, when executed by the computer, results in performance of steps comprising,

causing a display device to display a map;

causing said display device to display a scrolling screen that includes a direction designation region for a user to designate a direction of scrolling the map; and

causing the map being displayed to scroll in the direction designated by the user using said scrolling screen, wherein

a center of said direction designation region corresponds to a reference point defined on the map being displayed on said display device, and

said map display device causes an icon that indicates existence or absence of a predetermined significant object in each direction viewed from said reference point to be displayed on an outer periphery of said direction designation region at a position corresponding to the direction.

2. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said icon includes a significant-object icon that indicates the existence of a significant object.

3. The map display device according to claim 2, wherein

said significant-object icon is displayed in a form that differs according to a type of significant object.

4. The map display device according to claim 2, wherein

said scrolling screen further includes display of a distance to the significant object indicated by said significant-object icon.

5. The map display device according to claim 2, wherein

when said significant-object icon is selected by a user, said map display device causes the map to automatically scroll or jump to a point of the significant object corresponding to the selected significant-object icon.

6. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said icon includes an insignificant-area icon that indicates an insignificant area in which no significant objects exist.

7. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein

said insignificant-area icon is displayed in a form that differs according to a type of insignificant area.

8. The map display device according to claim 6, wherein

said scrolling screen further includes display of a distance to the insignificant area indicated by said insignificant-area icon.

9. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device does not display said icon of a significant object that is located a fixed distance or more away from said reference point.

10. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device does not display said icon of a significant object that exists within a range of the map being displayed on said display device.

11. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device does not display said icon of a significant object of the same type as a significant object that exists within a range of the map being displayed on said display device.

12. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said scrolling screen includes a plurality of direction designation regions having the same central position and different sizes, and

said map display device causes said icon to be displayed on an outer periphery of one of said plurality of direction designation regions in accordance with a distance from said reference point to a point indicated by said icon.

13. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device changes a speed of scrolling the map in accordance with whether or not the direction of scrolling the map is a direction in which a significant object exists.

14. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device changes a speed of scrolling the map in accordance with a distance to a significant object from an area on the map being displayed on said display device.

15. The map display device according to claim 1, wherein

said map display device automatically displays said scrolling screen upon detecting an approach of an indicator toward said display device, said indicator being for the user to scroll the map.

16. A map display method comprising:

causing a display device to display a map;

causing said display device to display a scrolling screen that includes a direction designation region for a user to designate a direction of scrolling the map; and

causing the map being displayed to scroll in the direction designated by the user using said scrolling screen, wherein

a center of said direction designation region corresponds to a reference point defined on the map being displayed on said display device, and

when said scrolling screen is caused to be displayed, an icon that indicates existence or absence of a predetermined significant object in each direction viewed from said reference point is caused to be displayed on an outer periphery of said direction designation region at a position corresponding to the direction.