Information generating apparatus, recording medium where information generating program is recorded, and information generating method

• US 7,680,598 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Increment P Corporation, Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Mori, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US11/790,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20070250265A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/207, 701/208, 701209-212, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995.1
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3682 output of POI information on a road map G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence

Abstract

When an in-link type of in-link attribute data is a tunnel, a system controller specifies the positions of both ends of a tunnel on the basis of a annotation true position shape of the in-link attribute data, and generates annotation data for displaying a tunnel symbol for each of the specified both ends.

Claims

1. An information generating apparatus for, when a map image including a road is displayed on the basis of map data, generating symbol data for displaying a symbol indicative of a starting/ending point of a predetermined facility provided along a road, in a position where at least one of points of a starting point and an ending point of the facility exists,

wherein the map data include road data specifying position and shape of a road and facility data associated with the road data and having position information and shape information of the predetermined facility provided along at least a part of a road to which the road data correspond, and

the apparatus comprises:

a starting/ending point specifying device which specifies the position of the starting/ending point of the predetermined facility on the basis of the position information and the shape information of the facility data, and at least the shape of the road specified by the road data; and

a generating device which generates the symbol data in correspondence with the specified position of the starting/ending point.

2. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the symbol data include display information indicating whether the symbol is displayed or not on each of a plurality of scales of the map image,

the apparatus further comprises a facility length specifying device which specifies length of the facility on the basis of the shape information of the facility data, and

the generating device sets the display information in the symbol data on the basis of the specified length of the facility.

3. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the facility data include group identification information indicative of a group in which the facility data are included, and

wherein, for a plurality of pieces of facility data associated with the same road data and indicated to be included in the same group by the group identification information, the end point specifying device specifies the position of the end point in a state where the predetermined facility to which the plurality of pieces of facility data correspond is set as a single predetermined facility along a road to which the associated road data correspond, and the generating device generates the symbol data for each of positions of end points of the specified single predetermined facility for the plurality of pieces of facility data.

4. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising a determining device which determines whether the one end point specified on the basis of one piece of the facility data and the another end point specified on the basis of another piece of the facility data are positioned within a predetermined range or not, and

wherein, when it is determined that the one end point and the another end point are positioned within the predetermined range, the generating device generates one piece of the symbol data in correspondence with the both end points.

5. The information generating apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the road data include road type information indicative of type of a road, and the symbol data include symbol type information indicative of type of the symbol,

the generating device sets, as the symbol data, the symbol type information corresponding to the road type information of the road data with which the facility data are associated, and

in the case where it is determined that the one end point and the another end point are positioned in a predetermined range, the generating device sets, as the single symbol data, the symbol type information corresponding to road type information of higher display priority, which is either road type information of the road data with which the one piece of the facility data is associated and road type information of the road data with which the another facility data are associated.

8. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape information of the facility data includes a coordinate string from a predetermined reference position, and coordinates positioned at a head of the coordinate string are set as the starting point of the facility and coordinates positioned at an end of the coordinate string are set as the ending point of the facility.

9. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the starting/ending point are located on the facility and are provided along the road.

10. The information generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facility is provided along at least a part of the road such that at least a part of the facility and at least the part of the road overlap one another.

11. The information generating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the facility is selected from at least one of a tunnel, a bridge, a cave mouth, a railroad crossing, and an underpass.

6. A recording medium where an information generating program is recorded so as to be able to be read by a computer included in an information generating apparatus,

wherein, when a map image including a road is displayed on the basis of map data which include road data specifying position and shape of a road and facility data associated with the road data and having position information and shape information of a predetermined facility provided along at least a part of a road to which the road data correspond,

the information generating apparatus generates symbol data for displaying a symbol indicative of a starting/ending point of the predetermined facility in a position where at least one of points of a starting point and an ending point of the facility exists,

wherein the program makes the computer function as:

a starting/ending point specifying device which specifies the position of the starting/ending point of the predetermined facility on the basis of the position information and the shape information of the facility data, at least the shape of the road specified by the road data; and

a generating device which generates the symbol data in correspondence with the specified position of the starting/ending point.

7. An information generating method of, when a map image including a road is displayed on the basis of map data, generating symbol data for displaying a symbol indicative of a starting/ending point of a predetermined facility provided along a road, in a position where at least one of points of a starting point and an ending point of the facility exists,

wherein the map data include road data specifying position and shape of a road and facility data associated with the road data and having position information and shape information of the predetermined facility provided along at least a part of a road to which the road data correspond, and

the method comprises:

a starting/ending point specifying process of specifying the position of the starting/ending point of the predetermined facility on the basis of the position information and the shape information of the facility data, and at least the shape of the road specified by the road data; and

a generating process of generating the symbol data in correspondence with the specified position of the starting/ending point.