Method for organizing map data
First Claim
1. A method of organizing map data on a physical storage medium, wherein the map data represent geographic features located in a geographic region, the method comprising:
- identifying at least one dense area in the geographic region, the map data representing the geographic features within said dense area having a data size exceeding a predetermined maximum size for a predetermined sized geographic area of the region;
subdividing the map data representing the geographic features within the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in each parcel is close to a predetermined parcel size;
subdividing the map data less the map data representing the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in each parcel is close to the predetermined parcel size; and
locating the map data in each parcel together on the physical storage medium.
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Abstract
A method of organizing map data on a physical storage medium is disclosed. The map data represents geographic features located in a geographic region. The method identifies at least one dense area in the geographic region. The map data representing the geographic features within the dense area have a data size exceeding a predetermined maximum size for a predetermined sized geographic area of the region. The method subdivides the map data representing the geographic features within the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in the parcel is close to a predetermined parcel size. The method subdivides the map data less the map data representing the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in the parcel is close to the predetermined parcel size. Additionally, the method locates the map data in each parcel together on the physical storage medium.
104 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of organizing map data on a physical storage medium, wherein the map data represent geographic features located in a geographic region, the method comprising:
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identifying at least one dense area in the geographic region, the map data representing the geographic features within said dense area having a data size exceeding a predetermined maximum size for a predetermined sized geographic area of the region;
subdividing the map data representing the geographic features within the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in each parcel is close to a predetermined parcel size;
subdividing the map data less the map data representing the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in each parcel is close to the predetermined parcel size; and
locating the map data in each parcel together on the physical storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
organizing the map data into a grid of tiles;
for each tile, calculating a metric value estimating an amount of map data within the tile; and
identifying each tile having the metric value greater than a maximum metric value as said dense area.
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11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of subdividing the dense areas into parcels comprises organizing the map data representing the geographic features within the dense areas into a grid of subtiles, each of the subtiles encompassing a geographic area defined by grid boundary lines, wherein the subdividing the dense areas into parcels is performed along the grid boundary lines.
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12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of subdividing the dense areas into parcels comprises the steps of:
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organizing the map data representing the geographic features within the dense area into a plurality of separate rows, wherein each row has a size that corresponds to a multiple of a first dimension in a first coordinate direction and that extends across the region of the dense area in an perpendicular coordinate direction; and
separating the map data contained in each row into separate parcels.
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13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first dimension corresponds to a maximum change of coordinate direction that can be displayed on a display screen of a navigation system.
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14. The method of claim 1 wherein the physical storage medium is a CD-ROM disk.
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15. The method of claim 1 wherein the physical storage medium is a DVD-ROM disk.
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16. The method of claim 1 wherein the physical storage medium is a hard disk.
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17. A map database product formed according to the method of claim 1.
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18. A navigation system having map data organized according to the method of claim 1.
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19. A method of storing map data on a physical storage medium, the map data represent geographic features located in a region, the method comprising:
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organizing the map data into a grid of tiles;
for each tile, calculating a metric value estimating an amount of data contained within the tile;
identifying at least one dense tile having a metric value exceeding a predetermining maximum metric value;
forming a plurality of small area parcels from the map data contained within the dense tile, the portion of map data contained in the small area parcel is approximately equal to a predetermined parcel size; and
forming a plurality of large area parcels from the map data less the map data contained within the dense tiles, the portion of map data contained in the large area parcel is approximately equal to the predetermined parcel size. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
organizing the map data within the dense tile into a plurality of separate rows, wherein each row has a size that corresponds to a multiple of a first dimension in a first coordinate direction and that extends across the region of the dense tile in an perpendicular coordinate direction; and
separating the map data contained in each row into separate small area parcels.
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Specification