Map data, map data production method, storage medium and navigation apparatus

• US 9,214,099 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2011
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Usui, Yoshimasa, Matsunaga, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Jen, Ian
• Application Number:
  US13/015,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20110187719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,783 Days
• Field of Search: 701/532
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3815 Road data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/387 Organisation of map data, e.g. version management or database structures
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A map data production method is disclosed. The method includes: dividing a record target map area into meshes; creating mesh-unit data elements as groups of mesh-unit data elements so that the groups respectively correspond to the meshes, and each group of mesh-unit data elements describes information on map components of a corresponding one of the meshes in such manner that mesh-unit data elements in the each group respectively describes the information on the map components; creating data files, through (i) organizing, according to map component type, the mesh-unit data elements into sets of mesh-unit data elements and (ii) respectively storing the sets of mesh-unit data elements, each set having a same map component type, in the data files; and creating map data from the plurality of data files.

Claims

1. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium, supporting transfer of map data, comprising:

a plurality of first mesh-unit data structures and a plurality of second mesh-unit data structures, the plurality of first mesh-unit data structures and the plurality of second mesh-unit data structures respectively corresponding to a plurality of meshes into which a record target area is divided,

each first mesh-unit data structure stores map information of a first map component type of a corresponding mesh,

each second mesh-unit data structure stores map information of a second map component type of the corresponding mesh,

the second map component type being different from the first map component type; and

a map data structure, including;

a road map data structure into which

the plurality of first mesh-unit data structures is collected and retained, and

a road management data structure including first offset elements, which show storage locations of respective first mesh-unit data structures in the road map data structure, is inserted at a beginning of the first mesh-unit data structures; and

a background map data structure into which

the plurality of second mesh-unit data structures is collected and retained, and

a background management data structure including second offset elements, which show storage locations of respective second mesh-unit data structures in the background map data structure, is inserted at a beginning of the plurality of second mesh-unit data structures.

3. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map data input device storing therein map data recited in claim 1; and

a controller configured to read the map data from the map data input device to perform a navigation operation.

5. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

each first offset information element presents a byte location relative to a first reference location to show the storage location of its respective first mesh-unit data structure in the road map data structure, and

each second offset information element presents a byte location relative to a second reference location to show the storage location of its respective second mesh-unit data structure in the background map data structure.

7. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 5, wherein:

the first reference location is a beginning of the road map data structure, and

the second reference location is a beginning of the background map data structure.

9. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 5, wherein:

the first reference location is a beginning of the first offset elements, and

the second reference location is a beginning of the second offset elements.

11. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the first offset elements are arranged in the road map data structure in a first predetermined arrangement order,

the second offset elements are arranged in the background map data structure in a second predetermined arrangement order,

the first mesh-unit data structures are arranged in the road map data structure in an order corresponding to the first predetermined arrangement order, and

the second mesh-unit data structures are arranged in the background map data structure in an order corresponding to the second predetermined arrangement order.

2. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium, supporting transfer of map data, comprising:

a plurality of mesh-unit road component data structures and a plurality of mesh-unit background component data structures, wherein;

the plurality of mesh-unit road component data structures respectively corresponds to a plurality of meshes into which a record target map area is divided,

each mesh-unit road component data structure stores map information of a road component of a corresponding one of the plurality of meshes,

the plurality of mesh-unit background component data structures respectively corresponds to the plurality of meshes, and

each mesh-unit background component data structure stores map information of a background component of a corresponding one of the plurality of meshes; and

a map data structure, including;

a road map data structure into which

the plurality of mesh-unit road component data structures is collected and retained and

a road component management data structure including first offset elements, which show storage locations of respective mesh-unit road component data structures in the road map data structure, is inserted at a beginning of the plurality of mesh-unit road component data structures; and

a background map data structure into which

the plurality of mesh-unit background component data structures is collected and retained, and

a background component management data structure including second offset elements, which show storage locations of respective mesh-unit background component data structures in the background map data structure, is inserted at a beginning of the plurality of mesh-unit background component data structures.

4. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a map data input device storing therein map data recited in claim 2; and

a controller configured to read the map data from the map data input device to perform a navigation operation.

6. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 2, wherein:

each first offset information element presents a byte location relative to a first reference location to show the storage location of its respective mesh-unit road component data structures in the road map data structure, and

each second offset information element presents a byte location relative to a second reference location to show the storage location of the respective mesh-unit background component data structures in the background map data structure.

8. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 6, wherein:

the first reference location is a beginning of the road map data structure, and

the second reference location is a beginning of the background map data structure.

10. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 6, wherein:

the first reference location is a beginning of the first offset elements, and

the second reference location is a beginning of the second offset elements.

12. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium according to claim 2, wherein:

the first offset elements are arranged in the road map data structure in a first predetermined arrangement order,

the second offset elements are arranged in the background map data structure in a second predetermined arrangement order,

the mesh-unit road component data structures are arranged in the road map data structure in an order corresponding to the first predetermined arrangement order, and

the mesh-unit background component data structures are arranged in the background map data structure in an order corresponding to the second predetermined arrangement order.