Image analysis – Applications – Reading maps – graphs – drawings – or schematics
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-18
2002-11-26
Au, Amelia M. (Department: 2623)
Image analysis
Applications
Reading maps, graphs, drawings, or schematics
C382S241000, C382S242000, C340S995190
Reexamination Certificate
active
06487305
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a road area extracting apparatus in which a road area is extracted from areas written in a block map, and more particularly to a road area extracting apparatus in which a road area placed in a designated block is automatically extracted and a shape of the road area is deformed according to a user's intention. Also, the present invention relates to a deformed map automatic generation system in which a simplified deformed map is automatically generated from road area data obtained in the road area extracting apparatus. Also, the present invention relates to a map information providing system in which map information generated by the deformed map automatic generation system and related information related to the map information are efficiently provided for a small sized portable information terminal apparatus having a radio communication function in response to a retrieval request transmitted from the portable information terminal apparatus so as to easily realize the map information and the related information. Also, the present invention relates to a geographical information providing system in which geographical spatial data is provided for an information terminal apparatus through a communication network. Also, the present invention relates to a geographical information describing method for describing geographical spatial data transmitted through a communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art for Road Area Extracting Apparatus
As a vector topographical map, a road map having vector data of roads and a block map having vector data indicating block shapes are well-known. In case of the block map, areas other than block areas are recognized as roads.
2.1. Previously Proposed Art
For the vector map, a technique that an area between two line segments almost parallel to each other is regarded as a road and a road network is extracted from the vector map (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H
3
-3083 of 1991), a technique that road areas or areas other than road areas are painted out, the road areas painted out or the areas painted out are thinned to form line segments, the line segments are expressed by vectors and a road network is made of the vectors (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H4-141782 of 1992), and a technique that a closed area of a vector map having block information is traced clockwise, feature points such as an end point, a corner point and the like are detected from the closed area, a vector row connecting the feature points with each other is formed and a road network is made of the vector row (Information Processing Society, 36-th Nation Meeting Document, pp. 2287-2288, 1988) are disclosed.
2.2. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, because the road network is only extracted from the vector map in each of the above techniques, a shape of a road is not detected, or the road shape is not deformed. That is, because a portable information system has been recently advanced, a service that map data of positions close to a current position is provided at a real time or a service that a route to a destination is displayed is required. In this information provision, it is required that a map is displayed so as to be easily seen. Also, it is required that a volume of transmitted map data is reduced as small as possible.
3. Description of the Related Art for Automatic Generation System of Deformed Map and Map Information Providing System
3.1. Previously Proposed Art
As a technique for preparing a deformed map, an abbreviated method of a road line segment in vehicle navigation map (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H5-53498 of 1993), a thinning-out method for deleting a building, of which an area is lower than a prescribed area, according to a contraction scale rate (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H5-250420 of 1993), and a method for automatically generating an outline map of positions at the periphery of an address handwritten by a user (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H5-142993 of 1993) are well-known.
Also, as a technique of a radio-transmission of map data, a method for transmitting map information corresponding to a location of a mobile body at any time or on occasion (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Applications No. H1-317036 of 1989, No. 4-152724 of 1992, No. H4-266228 of 1992 and No. H6-120875 of 1994) is well-known.
Also, as a system in which traffic information is provided for a running vehicle by an audio communication and the traffic information is displayed with map information, Vehicle Information & communication system (VICS), Advanced Traffic Information Service (ATIS) (“All of Intelligent Transport systems”, edited by Image Technical Research, published by Nippon Keizai newspaper publishing company) and Traffic Information Communication System (Published Unexamined Japanese patent Application No. H5-89399 of 1993) are well-known.
Also, as a system for providing town information and traffic information with map information, a system using a CD-ROM is put on the market (“Map Soft”, Nikkei Pasocon, Feb. 26, 1996).
Also, as a system for providing traffic information of an urban area, a train route searching system (“Information Systems for the Optimal Routes in Urban Transportation”, written by Masami KATO, Information Processing, Vol. 28, No. 3, 1987) and Station Spart (Val research) are well-known.
3.2. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, there are problems in the conventional map information generating systems and the conventional map information providing systems as follows.
In case of a deformed map such as a route information map, a sight-viewing information map, a town map or other outline maps in which a relative positional relationship and an easily seeing function are important more than a positional precision, because a map deformation method depends on a using purpose, a general automatic generating method useful for various purposes is not provided.
Also, in cases where a deformed map is generated by hand, because the generation of the deformed map and the renewal of the deformed map are troublesome, it is difficult to generate a deformed map for a wide ranged area.
Also, because a deformed map is generated by hand, it is difficult to generate a deformed map for an arbitrary area.
Also, because map information and other related information attached to the map information are usually stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and the recording medium with the map information and the other information is delivered to a user, a personal computer in which a CD-ROM actuating apparatus can be used is usually used to reproduce the map information and the other information. In this case, because the personal computer cannot be used outdoors, it is not adequate to display a deformed map according to the map information and the other information stored in the CD-ROM outdoors.
Also, in cases where a user desires to display a map on a portable terminal side, a hardware of a portable terminal such as a display size of an image plane and a memory capacity is restricted, so that it is difficult to display the entire map on condition that the user can easily see the map.
Also, map information is transmitted to a portable terminal of a user by using an audio communication function, the performance of a communication environment and the performance of a network environment are inferior to that in the transmission of the map information performed by a wire communication, so that it is difficult to transmit a large volume of map information to the user's portable terminal by an audio communication.
Also, in cases where the CD-ROM with the map information and the other information is delivered to a user, because the renewal of the information is performed once a year, it is difficult that the user uses updated information.
Also, in cases where the CD-ROM with the map information and the other information is delivered to a use
Abe Akihiro
Kambe Nobuhiro
Nakano Go
Shimada Takanori
Au Amelia M.
Clark & Brody
Dastouri Mehrdad
Gopstein Israel
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
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