Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-29
2001-03-27
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S208000, C701S212000, C701S202000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208935
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a map application system and map display control method that are useful for indicating spatial information sequentially where a great amount of spatial information (information related with each place of a map) collected from various information sources exists. In particular, the present invention relates to a map application system and map display control method that can follow a route according to a user's interests inside a virtual space of existing information by determining a stroll route according to the degree of the interest of the user against spatial information and indicating spatial information sorted by the degree of the interest of a user sequentially along a route.
A conventional electronic map information system and car navigation system are described below.
(1) Electronic map information system
In a conventional electronic map information system, it is necessary to show a portion of an area by using a portion of the data of an extensive area. It is important to indicate which position of the overall figure is represented by the area that is being shown due to the limit in the display area that can be shown. One technique to solve the problem is shown in JP-A-6-252324. This figure display apparatus shows the entire figure combined with a partial figure of a detailed area. That is, the entire figure is displayed on a subscreen, and the partial figure is displayed on a main screen. The area that corresponds to an area segmented and shown as a partial figure is indicated on the illustration of the entire figure.
(2) Car navigation system
A car navigation system is one that shows the current position of a car on a map by using satellite information. For example, according to a car navigation system disclosed in JP-A-5-27680, digital map data is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM (compact disc-read only memory) or a FD (flexible disk), a map is displayed on a display such as a CRT (cathode-ray tube) or an LCD (liquid crystal display) on the basis of the stored data, and a current position of a vehicle is determined using a GPS satellite system and shown on the map.
However, by using the conventional position display apparatus, a great amount of labor and a very high cost, on the order of a million dollars, are needed for creation of the map database of a digital map. The main problem is that the map information displayed on a display screen is remarkably less than the commercially available map book, etc., made of paper due to the limitation such as the size and the resolution of a display screen. Therefore, in order to search a position easily and promptly on the map in a map book made of paper, the current position of a concerned vehicle, the page number of the map book, and the progress locus, etc. of the position are displayed on the display screen of a display device.
Conventional electronic map information systems and car navigation systems suffer from the technical problem of not being able to clearly describe information in connection with spatial information such as a map in the display apparatus whose size was limited. There is, in these prior art, a problem that contents cannot be surveyed efficiently on the display device in case large information resources including positional data are integrated and used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a map application system and a map display control method in which it is possible to stroll along a virtual space composed of information of that which is existing such as leisurely walking in an existing street by sequentially displaying information desired by the user according to the user's interest. Another object of the present invention is to provide a map application system and a map display control method by which a user can discover unexpected information that is indicated by a spacious row on the stroll route into which even if he or she strolls along the same place, the kind of the information that is indicated and a stroll route are changed according to the interest of the user.
These and other objects of the present invention can be achieved as follows.
The map application system of the present invention is realized by a computer system which provides an automatic stroll means using a stroll terminal. The information that is dealt with on the stroll terminal is acquired from a contribution server through a communication means. A large quantity of information is stored in the contribution server as it relates to a spatial position. The contribution server returns information with the relation to the position of the region input to the stroll terminal according to region name as distribution information. At this time, distribution information is controlled or is managed according to the following procedures at the stroll terminal.
First, at least one aspect of user interest information is registered. When the information that specifies a position is input, a present position is specified. At least one aspect of distribution information of the neighborhood at the present postion is spatially located, and weighting according to the distance from the present position of distribution information and user interest information is done. On the basis of such weighting, the destination that corresponded to a present position is calculated from distribution information. A node is calculated for a route between a present position and a destination. Distribution information of the neghborhood at the node is selected according to user interest information. The selected distribution information is displayed sequentially along a path with nodes on the display device. A map including the present position is displayed on the display device at the beginning when the distribution information is displayed on the display device. The-object indicating the present position is displayed on the display device. The distribution information of a present position is displayed adjacent to the map according to an user's interest. Finally, the map is smoothly scrolled as the present position moves in a destination direction.
This display processing is repeated sequentially in route order. Thus, a stroll is started with a region name inputted as an initial value on the stroll terminal, a spatial route is set, information along the set route is inputted from a contribution server, and the inputted information is suitably displayed.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in connection with the drawiings.
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Kitazawa Shuji
Mori Maki
Tsuji Hiroshi
Yamada Takaaki
Yoshikawa Yoshiaki
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Hernandez Olga
Hitachi , Ltd.
Mattingly Stanger & Malur, P.C.
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