Map data access method for navigation and navigation system

• US 6,233,520 B1
• Filed: 02/12/1999
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation, Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Fujimoto, Hidetoshi, Matsumura, Fumihiko, Takeuchi, Hiroshi, Ito, Toru, Nakano, Nobuyuki, Nanba, Akimasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E.
• Application Number:
  US09/249,163
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/207-216, 707/1, 707/2
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

There is provided a map data access method and device capable of reading out from a recording medium the map data requested by a navigation system and providing them to the system whether C language, etc. or JAVA (trademark), etc. is employed to constitute a processing program on the navigation system side. In the recording medium, the map data and a reading method of the data are recorded in pairs in a map data section and a method section, respectively. When a navigation function section requests the map data, a data access section reads out desired data in a method (program) read out from the method section according to a requested application programming interface (API). The data read out are supplied as a byte array object to the navigation function section.

Claims

1. A map data access method for navigation which reads out map data for navigation from a recording medium and outputs them to a navigation system, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) requesting map data by outputting a predetermined application programming interface from said navigation system; and

(b) reading out from said recording medium map data designated by said application programming interface and returning the map data as a byte array object to said navigation system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein map data for display are requested at said step (a), and map data in a range covering a requested range are read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein map data for position computation are requested at said step (a), and map data in a range covering a requested range are read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein guide map data are requested at said step (a), and map data in a range covering a requested range are read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein coordinates of map data for route computation are requested at said step (a), and at least any one of level structure, a classification of roads composed, coordinates in latitude and longitude, and a data set ID of the map data for route computation in said coordinates requested is read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a route computation start coordinate and a route computation finish coordinate of the map data for route computation are requested at said step (a), and at least one of level structure and a data set ID of map data for route computation between said start coordinate and said finish coordinate requested is read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein level structure and a data set ID of the map data for route computation are requested at said step (a), and map data corresponding to said level structure and said data set ID requested are read out from said recording medium and returned to said navigation system at said step (b).

8. A navigation system comprising:

execution means for executing navigation functions including display of maps or computation of routes; and

data access means for reading out data recorded in a recording medium, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for map data by outputting an application programming interface, and said data access means reads out map data from said recording medium in a manner corresponding to said application programming interface and outputs the map data as a byte array object to said execution means.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for map data for display, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium map data in a range covering a requested range and outputs the map data to said execution means.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for map data for position computation, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium map data in a range covering a requested range and outputs the map data to said execution means.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for guide map data, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium map data in a range covering a requested range and outputs the map data to said execution means.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for coordinates of map data for route computation, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium at least any one of level structure, a classification of roads composed, coordinates in latitude and longitude, and a data set ID of the map data for route computation in said coordinates requested and outputs it to said execution means.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means makes a request to said data access means for a route computation start coordinate and a route computation finish coordinate of the map data for route computation, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium at least any one of level structure and a data set ID of map data for route computation between said start coordinate and said finish coordinate requested and outputs it to said execution means.

14. The system according to claim 8, wherein said execution means make a request to said data access means for level structure and a data set ID of the map data for route computation, and said data access means reads out from said recording medium map data corresponding to said level structure and said data set ID requested and outputs the map data to said execution means.