JP3501721B2 - Map scrolling device and map scrolling method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a map scroll technique, and more particularly, to a map scroll device for improving the operability of map scroll by making it possible to change the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll during map scrolling. Regarding the map scroll method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, map information systems having various display functions of map information have been used in fields such as navigation devices for vehicle operation, various area / facility guidance devices, educational devices, and alarm systems. There are various map information such as prefecture maps, municipal maps, road maps, and residential maps. And each map has various scales. Here, the scale is the ratio of the actual distance on the ground surface to the distance reduced and shown on the map, and is generally expressed in the form of a fraction with 1 as the numerator. Since it is impossible to see these maps on one screen, it is necessary to update the screen on the display screen, that is, scroll. Conventional scrolling on the screen is up / down scrolling by pressing a key or up / down / left / right scrolling by a mouse cursor. The scroll speed may be fixed or variable, but the variable speed can be set to several scroll speeds, and one of them can be selected and set.
The scroll was performed at this set speed.

In the map index, it is necessary to search not only vertically and horizontally but also diagonally such as upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left. Even when searching for more detailed map information in the map, it is convenient to scroll in the diagonal direction such as upper right, lower left, or upper left. Furthermore, it is troublesome to preset and select the scroll speed. If you can also add scroll speed while scrolling, it will be easier to use. In addition, if the scrolling direction is set to be 360 ° around the circumference, indexing and searching of maps and map information will be much more convenient.

As a conventional technique aiming at solving the above problems, there is, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-81032. That is, the related art is an input control device and a display device that interact with an operator, a storage device that stores map data, and an arithmetic control device that retrieves and processes map data from the storage device and displays a map on the display device. And a scroll control processing unit that controls scrolling by the parameter. Further, the parameter setting processing unit sets the scroll direction and speed by instructing an arbitrary point of the scroll menu displayed on the display device. The scroll control processing unit continuously changes the scroll direction and speed in response to the output of the parameter setting processing unit when the arbitrary point instructing the scroll menu is continuously moved. Also, the scroll menu is divided into N directions and an arrow pointing outward from the center is displayed. The scroll direction is the direction of the arrow, and the scroll speed is at the indicated point position on the arrow (minimum speed at the start point, maximum speed at the end point). Is shown. Also,
The scroll menu has polar coordinates with the center point of the region as the origin, the angle indicates the scroll direction, and the length indicates the scroll speed. According to such a conventional technique, there is disclosed an effect that quick scrolling can be performed at a predetermined scroll speed and direction.

[0005]

However, in the conventional scroll, the moving distance is fixed, and it is necessary to change the moving distance in order to scroll large and then small. In addition, there is also a problem that it is not possible to freely set the moving distance because it is only classified into several types.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to change the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll during the scrolling of the map to operate the scrolling of the map. The present invention is to provide a map scroll device and a map scroll method that improve the property.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is provided with an input device which is a pointing device, a control section which operates by program control, a map information file which stores map information, and a display. And a scroll control unit that calculates the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll, obtains and outputs the coordinates of the map after the scroll movement, and the first input unit of the input device to scroll the scroll control unit. An input control unit that passes the cursor position during start and end and scrolling to the scroll control unit, a display control unit that executes a display process and outputs a map to the display device, and a map instructed by the scroll control unit. A map control unit that acquires map information corresponding to a display position from the map information file and transfers the map information to the display control unit; , By the start instruction of scaling from the second input means of said input device, the cursor position on the screen
Calculate the direction and distance from the center of the screen to the cursor based on
The cursor close to the center of the screen based on the calculation result.
Then reduce the map and move the cursor away from the center of the screen.
Then , the map scroll device is characterized by having a scaling control unit for enlarging the map. Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 2 is that, when a scroll instruction is issued from the input device, the control section continuously scrolls and displays a map until a scroll end instruction is issued from the input device, and during the scrolling. Further, the control unit has means for calculating the direction and distance from the center of the screen to the cursor based on the position of the cursor on the screen, and scrolling the map using the calculation result as the scroll direction and moving distance. The map scroll device according to claim 1.
Further, the gist of the invention described in claim 3 is that when the cursor is on the right side of the center of the screen, scrolling is performed to display the map on the right, and when the cursor is on the center of the screen, the upper map is displayed. 3. The map scroll device according to claim 2, further comprising means for performing an operation of scrolling for display during a scrolling period. Further, the gist of the invention described in claim 4 is that when the cursor is close to the center of the screen, the moving distance is reduced to scroll,
When the cursor is far from the center of the screen, the map scroll device according to claim 2, further comprising means for increasing the moving distance and performing a scroll operation at all times during the scroll period. Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 5 is an input step which is a pointing device,
It has a control unit process operated by program control, a map information file management process for storing map information, and a display process provided with a display. The control unit process calculates a scroll moving direction and a moving distance, and scrolls. A scroll control step of obtaining and outputting the coordinates of the subsequent map,
An input control step of passing the start and end of scrolling and a cursor position during scrolling to the scroll control step from the input step, a display control step of executing display processing and outputting a map to the display step, and the scroll control step. The map information corresponding to the display position of the map instructed by the map information file management step, and has a map control section for passing to the display control step, and the control section step enlarges or contracts from the input step. On the screen
The direction from the center of the screen to the cursor based on the cursor position
And the distance are calculated, and the cursor is
When you approach the center of the screen, the map shrinks and the cursor
A map scrolling method is characterized in that it has a scaling control step of enlarging the map when it gets away from the center .
Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 6 has a step in which, when a scroll instruction is issued from the input step, the control section step continuously scrolls and displays a map until a scroll end instruction is issued from the input step. The map scroll method according to claim 5 is characterized in that. Further, the gist of the invention according to claim 7 is that, during the scrolling, the control unit step calculates a direction and a distance from the center of the screen to the cursor based on the position of the cursor on the screen, and scrolls the calculation result. 7. The map scrolling method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of scrolling the map as a direction and a moving distance. Further, the gist of the invention described in claim 8 is that when the cursor is on the right side of the center of the screen, scrolling is performed to display the map on the right, and when the cursor is above the center of the screen, the upper map is displayed. 8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of constantly performing an operation of scrolling for displaying during a scrolling period.
It exists in the map scroll method described in. In addition, claim 9
The gist of the invention described in is that when the cursor is near the center of the screen, the moving distance is reduced and scrolling is performed, and when the cursor is far from the center of the screen, the moving distance is increased and scrolling operation is always performed during the scrolling period. The map scroll method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a step of performing.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention improves the operability of scrolling a map by making it possible to change the moving direction and the moving distance of the scroll while the map is scrolling. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a map scroll device 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an input device, 2 is a control unit, 3 is an input control unit, 4 is a scroll control unit, 5 is a map control unit, 6 is a display control unit, 7 is a map information file, 8 is a display device, 20 Indicates a map scroll device.

Referring to FIG. 1, in this embodiment, an input device 1 such as a mouse, a control unit 2 operated by program control, a map information file 7 for storing map information,
A display device 8 such as a display device is provided.

The control unit 2 also includes an input control unit 3, a scroll control unit 4, a map control unit 5, and a display control unit 6.

The input control section 3 has a function of starting and ending scrolling from the input device 1 and passing the cursor position during scrolling to the scroll control section 4.

The scroll control unit 4 has a function of calculating the moving direction and the moving distance of the scroll, obtaining the coordinates of the map after the scroll movement, and passing it to the map control unit 5.

The map control unit 5 has a function of acquiring map information corresponding to the display position of the map designated by the scroll control unit 4 from the map information file 7 and passing it to the display control unit 6.

The display control unit 6 has a function of executing display processing and outputting a map to the display device 8.

Next, the operation of the map scroll device 20 will be described. Referring to FIG. 1, when a scroll instruction is issued from the input device 1, the map scroll device 20 of the present embodiment causes the control unit 2 to continuously scroll and display the map until the input device 1 issues a scroll end instruction. During the scrolling, the control unit 2 calculates the direction and distance from the center of the screen to the cursor according to the position of the cursor on the screen, and scrolls the map using this as the scroll direction and moving distance.

For example, when the cursor is on the right side of the center of the screen, scrolling is performed to display the right map, and when the cursor is above the center of the screen, scrolling is performed to display the upper map. Also, when the cursor is near the center of the screen, the moving distance is reduced to scroll, and when the cursor is far from the center of the screen, the moving distance is increased and scrolling is performed.

By performing the above-mentioned operation during the scrolling period, the moving direction and the moving distance of the scroll can be freely changed only by moving the cursor.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation of the map scroll device 20 of the present embodiment (map scroll method)
Will be described in more detail. FIG. 2 shows the first of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the map scrolling method according to the embodiment of FIG.

In the present embodiment, first, the input device 1 instructs the map information displayed on the display device 8 to scroll, and when the scroll is started, the input control section 3 The cursor position on the screen is passed to the scroll control unit 4, the scroll control unit 4 calculates the direction and distance from the center of the screen to the cursor, the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll (step A1), and newly displays. The process of calculating the coordinates of the map to be executed is executed (step A2).

In response to a request from the scroll control unit 4, the map control unit 5 inputs necessary map information from the map information file 7, passes the map information to the display control unit 6, and the display control unit 6 displays the map information. The process of passing to the device 8 is executed (step A3).

Each step (step A1 → step A2)
→ Step A3 → Step A4) is continued until scrolling is instructed from the input device 1 (Yes in Step A4), and scrolling is performed (No in Step A4 → Step A1 → ...).

FIG. 3 is a map display example of map scrolling according to the position of the mouse cursor, and FIG. 4 is another map display example of map scrolling according to the position of the mouse cursor.
For example, in the present embodiment, FIG.
In the display example of (a), since the cursor is located in the upper right corner from the center of the screen, scrolling is performed so as to display the map in the upper right, but if the cursor is near the center of the screen as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the moving distance for scrolling is small, and when the cursor is far from the center of the screen as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the moving distance for scrolling becomes large as shown in FIG. 4 (b).

Thus, when searching for a certain feature on the map while scrolling, the action of increasing the moving distance and scrolling, and reducing the moving distance when approaching the target object can be performed only by moving the cursor. It has an effect that it can be realized.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, there is an effect that the operability of scrolling the map is improved. The reason is that the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll can be simultaneously and arbitrarily changed only by moving the cursor.

(Second Embodiment) In the present embodiment,
The feature is that it can be used for scaling of the map instead of scrolling. For example, the map shrinks when the cursor approaches the center of the screen and expands when it moves away. When the input device 1 has a plurality of buttons, the scroll operation is executed when one of the buttons is pressed, and the enlargement / reduction operation is executed when the other is pressed.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned respective embodiments, and it is apparent that the respective embodiments can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, the number, positions, shapes, etc. of the above-mentioned constituent members are not limited to those in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the number, positions, shapes, etc. suitable for carrying out the present invention can be adopted. Moreover, in each figure, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0028]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the effect of improving the operability of scrolling a map. The reason is that the moving direction and moving distance of the scroll can be simultaneously and arbitrarily changed only by moving the cursor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a map scroll device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a map scrolling method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a map display example of a map scroll according to the position of a mouse cursor.

FIG. 4 is another map display example of map scrolling according to the position of the mouse cursor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Input device 2 ... Control unit 3 ... Input control unit 4 ... Scroll controller 5 ... Map control unit 6 ... Display control unit 7 ... Map information file 8 ... Display device 20 ... Map scroll device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09B 29/00-29/14

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input device, which is a pointing device, a control unit that operates under program control, a map information file that stores map information, and a display device that includes a display, wherein the control unit is a scroll movement unit. A scroll control unit that calculates a direction and a movement distance, obtains and outputs the coordinates of the map after scroll movement, and a scroll start and end from the first input means of the input device and a cursor position during scroll to the scroll control unit. An input control unit for handing over, a display control unit for executing display processing and outputting a map to the display device, and map information corresponding to the display position of the map designated by the scroll control unit is acquired from the map information file. And a map control unit for passing the display control unit to the display control unit, the control unit enlarging the second input unit of the input device. When the reduction start instruction is issued, the image is displayed based on the cursor position on the screen.
Calculate the direction and distance from the center of the surface to the cursor,
Based on the calculation result, when the cursor approaches the center of the screen
If you shrink the map and move the cursor away from the center of the screen,
A map scroll device having an enlargement / reduction control unit for enlarging a figure . 2. When a scroll instruction is issued from the input device, the control unit continuously scrolls and displays the map until a scroll end instruction is issued from the input device, and during the scroll, the control unit is displayed on the screen. The map according to claim 1, further comprising means for calculating a direction and a distance from the center of the screen to the cursor based on the position of the cursor, and scrolling the map using the calculation result as the scroll direction and the moving distance. Scroll device. 3. When the cursor is on the right side of the center of the screen, scroll to display the map on the right, and when the cursor is on the center of the screen, scroll to display the upper map. 3. The map scroll device according to claim 2, further comprising means for always performing the scrolling period. 4. When the cursor is near the center of the screen, scrolling is performed with a small moving distance, and when the cursor is far from the center of the screen, the moving distance is increased and scrolling is always performed during the scrolling period. The map scroll device according to claim 2, which has. 5. An input process which is a pointing device, a control unit process operated by program control, a map information file management process for storing map information, and a display process including a display, wherein the control unit process is A scroll control step of calculating a scroll moving direction and a moving distance, obtaining and outputting the coordinates of the map after the scroll movement, and passing a scroll start / end and a cursor position during scroll from the input step to the scroll control step. An input control step, a display control step of executing a display process and outputting a map to the display step, and a map information corresponding to the display position of the map designated by the scroll control step, obtained from the map information file management step. And a map control unit for passing to the display control process, wherein the control unit process includes the input process. Based on the cursor position on the screen, the center of the screen
Direction and distance to the cursor from
Based on, the map shrinks when the cursor approaches the center of the screen
The map is enlarged when the cursor moves away from the center of the screen.
Map scrolling method characterized by having a scaling control step that. 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: when the scroll instruction is issued from the input step, the control section step continuously scrolls and displays the map until a scroll end instruction is issued from the input step. Map scrolling method described in. 7. The map is scrolled by the control unit step during the scrolling based on the position of the cursor on the screen to calculate the direction and distance from the center of the screen to the cursor and using the calculation result as the scrolling direction and moving distance. The map scroll method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of displaying. 8. When the cursor is on the right side of the center of the screen, scroll to display the map on the right, and when the cursor is on the center of the screen, scroll to display the upper map. The map scrolling method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a step which is always performed during a scrolling period. 9. A step of performing a scrolling operation with a small moving distance when the cursor is near the center of the screen and scrolling with a large moving distance when the cursor is far from the center of the screen during the scrolling period. The map scroll method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising: