JP4882178B2 - Map data supplement device and program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a map data replenishing apparatus and program capable of replenishing damaged map data, and in particular, a map data replenishing apparatus or navigation capable of replenishing damaged data against damage to map data used in a navigation apparatus. The present invention relates to a program that can replenish damaged map data as a part of the program of the apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Recently, as represented by a vehicle navigation device, a device capable of displaying a map by specifying an arbitrary point with digitized map data has been put into practical use. Further, such a program for displaying map data at an arbitrary point has been put to practical use for a personal computer or a PDA (personal digital assistant).
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, since the amount of map data is enormous, it cannot be accommodated in a semiconductor memory, and is generally recorded on a recording medium such as a CD or a DVD or a hard disk device. In these recording media and hard disk devices, part of the data may be destroyed due to, for example, deterioration of the recording medium or contact between the recording medium and a magnetic head or optical pickup for reading data from the recording medium.
[0004]
In particular, in a hard disk device, the structure is such that the magnetic head floats on a rotating magnetic disk with a narrow gap by an air flow, so when the device vibrates, the magnetic head contacts the recording medium and scratches the surface of the recording medium. A situation occurs in which the result data is corrupted. In particular, a navigation device mounted on a vehicle has a high possibility because of vibrations caused by running. The same applies when a notebook computer or PDA is used in a train or car. Since the destroyed data can no longer be used, there is a problem that a map of an area corresponding to the contents of the destroyed data cannot be displayed.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to request the data of the destroyed portion of the map data from an external device, and to recover the map data by acquiring supplementary data. An object of the present invention is to provide a map data replenishing device and a program capable of replenishing destroyed map data.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a map data supplementing device according to claim 1 of the present invention divides map data stored in the map data storage means and the map data storage means into a plurality of areas, and Management data storage means for storing map data management data in which an address indicating the location of the map data in each area on the data storage means is associated with an area on the map indicated by the map data stored at the address Data monitoring means for detecting damage of the map data stored in the map data storage means, and specifying an area including the damaged data from the divided areas, and the specified damaged data Replenishment data requesting means for requesting replenishment data corresponding to the area to be included to an external device; and replenishment data transmitted from the outside in response to the request; Data supplement means for storing in the free area of the data storage means, and the address corresponding to the area on the map of the stored supplement data in the map data management data is changed to the address of the free area in which the supplement data is stored And a changing means.
[0007]
According to the present invention, the map data stored in the map data storage means can be monitored to detect a damaged portion, and data corresponding to the detected data can be requested from an external device to be acquired and stored. Therefore, even if a part of the map data is damaged, it is possible to recover from the state where the data cannot be used. In addition, it is not necessary for the user to perform processing for supplementing data by himself.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the map data supplementing apparatus according to the first aspect, the data monitoring means periodically monitors the map data stored in the map data storage means for damage. And As a result, it is possible to bring about an effect that the replenishment of damaged data is completed whenever the user tries to use the map data.
[0009]
Here, “regularly” refers to a vehicle map navigation system for a map data supplement program for a personal computer, every time a personal computer is started, or every time a map utilization program is started. May be either every time the navigation device is started when the engine is started, just before the navigation device stops when the engine is stopped, or a combination thereof.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 3 is the map data replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the replenishing data requesting unit requests updated replenishment data corresponding to the damaged data from an external device. It is characterized by doing. As a result, it is possible not only to supplement the damaged data with the same content data but also to replace the data with the latest map information of the map area represented by the content of the damaged data.
[0011]
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the map data supplementing device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the map data supplementing device is used in a navigation device for guiding a vehicle from a current location to a destination. And For this reason, it is possible to provide a navigation device having a device for replenishing damaged map data for vehicles that are highly likely to generate vibration, that is, map data is likely to be damaged by vibration.
[0012]
Further, the invention according to claim 5 is a data monitoring function for detecting, in a computer, damage to map data stored in map data storage means connected to the computer, and specifying an area including the damaged data; Replenishment data requesting function for requesting supplemental data corresponding to the area including the specified damaged data to an external device; receiving supplemental data transmitted from the outside in response to the request, and storing it in the free area of the map data storage means Data supplement function to store ; map data stored in the map data storage means is divided into a plurality of areas, and an address indicating the location of the map data in each area on the map data storage means and stored in the address In the map data management data that associates the map area indicated by the map data with the map data, the stored supplementary data area on the map Corresponding address to a changing function of changing the address of the free area for storing the additional data; providing map data supplemental program for realizing.
[0013]
The above invention is intended to update the map data. Unlike other data, the map data is managed by dividing a wide range of map data into a plurality of areas. The identification of the destroyed data can be specified as an area on the map including the data. In addition, since the map data is not changed by the user, even if the data for each specified area is replenished from an external device, the contents of the data will not conflict between before and after replenishment. It can be used with data consistency. That is, even if a part of the map data is updated, the map data as a whole can be used again while maintaining consistency.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment is an embodiment as a computer program that realizes a function of detecting and supplementing damaged map data.
[0016]
The computer 10 includes a CPU 100 that executes various programs, a program memory 110 that stores programs to be executed, and a hard disk device 120 (denoted as HDD in FIG. 1) that stores a map database 1202. The entity of the program stored in the program memory 110 is stored in the hard disk device 120 in advance, and is called from the hard disk device 120 and executed by the CPU 100 when executed. In this embodiment, the program memory 110 stores the program memory 110 for convenience of explanation. It shall be remembered.
[0017]
As a program according to the present invention, a map data monitoring program for confirming whether or not the content of the map database 1202 stored in the hard disk device 120 is destroyed, and if the destroyed data exists, specifies the content of the data 1101 (corresponding to a data monitoring means or a data monitoring function), when there is destroyed data, a supplementary data request program 1102 (supplementary data requesting means or data requesting the external device for data corresponding to the destroyed data) Map data supplement program 1103 (corresponding to a data supplement means or data supplement function) for receiving supplement data transmitted in response to a request and storing it in a predetermined storage area. As another program, there is a map drawing program 1104 that reads map data from the map database 1202 in the hard disk device 120 and displays it on the display 130.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the program according to the present invention will be described. The map data monitoring program 1101 periodically accesses the map database 1202 stored in the hard disk device 120, for example, at regular intervals, when the computer 10 is started, or when the map drawing program 1104 is started. To check if the map data can be accessed normally. The structure of the map data will be described later.
[0019]
Next, when there is a data portion that cannot be normally accessed, that is, when corrupted data is found, it is determined to which map area the data of this portion corresponds. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the map database associates the address indicating the location of the data on the hard disk device and the map area indicated by the content of the data stored at the address with the east longitude and the north latitude. Data for managing map data is provided, and judgment is made by referring to this management data. In FIG. 2, for example, addresses 201 to 300 are associated with the map data of the area from east longitude X3 north latitude Y3 to east longitude X4 north latitude Y4. Here, the points designated by the coordinates X3 and Y3 represent the upper left coordinates in the map area divided into rectangles, and the coordinates X4 and Y4 represent the lower right coordinates in the map area. That is, the map area divided into rectangles is specified by indicating the coordinates of two points on the diagonal line.
[0020]
The map data management method is not limited to the above-described example. For example, each map area may be an identification number for each area that is assigned by the map database supply source to be managed centrally.
[0021]
When the map data monitoring program 1101 is executed, for example, data at the address around 350 cannot be accessed, the map area indicated by addresses 301 to 400, that is, the map area of east longitude X5, north latitude Y5 to east longitude X6, north latitude Y6 Is found to have corrupted data.
[0022]
The relationship on the map between map data divided into a plurality of areas and damaged data will be described with reference to FIG. The map data is divided into a plurality of areas in a mesh shape as indicated by M and stored in the map database. In the figure, (a) to (i) are symbols for identifying each mesh (region) for convenience. Naturally, the road A extends over a plurality of meshes, but is separated by mesh boundaries on the data. For example, the upper left east longitude latitude coordinates of the mesh (a) are X1, Y1, the lower right coordinates are X2, Y2, and the upper left east longitude north latitude coordinates of the mesh (b) are X3, Y3, and the lower right coordinates are X4, Y4. The upper left latitude coordinate of the mesh (c) is X5, Y5, and the lower right coordinate is X6, Y6. That is, it is found that the data in the mesh (a) represented by the coordinates X1, Y1, X2, and Y2 is stored in the data area from the management data in FIG. 2 to the addresses 101 to 200 in the hard disk device.
[0023]
If the data near the address 350 on the hard disk device is damaged as exemplified above, the address near the address 350 is shown in FIG. 2 as a map area of coordinates X5, Y5-X6, Y6. Correspondingly, when this is shown in FIG. 3, the map area to be represented by the damaged data is, for example, an area indicated by B. The area including the destroyed data is an area indicated by (c) in FIG. That is, if the data in the area indicated by (c) is supplemented, the damaged data can be repaired.
[0024]
Returning to FIG. 1, when the area containing the damaged data can be identified, the supplementary data request program 1102 next requests the data of the area containing the damaged data from an external device. The destination where the supplement data request program 1102 requests supplement data is the map data server 30 that provides a map data distribution service. The request for supplementary data is sent to the map data server 30 via the communication device 140a such as a modem connected to the telephone line and the network 20 of the public line.
[0025]
The map data server transmits the requested area data to the computer 10. At this time, although the map data server is the requested map area, the content may be configured to transmit the latest data. That is, data including road data newly installed after the map database 1202 in the computer 10 is created, or data including newly added road regulation information may be transmitted. As a result, the map database 1202 in the computer 10 can simultaneously update data when replenishing damaged data.
[0026]
The map data supplement program 1103 performs a process of receiving supplement data transmitted from the map data server 30 and storing it in the hard disk device 120. At this time, for example, in the above example, the supplement data is assumed to be data in the area shown in FIG. 3C, that is, data originally stored in addresses 301 to 400 in the hard disk device 120, and the supplement data is It is stored in a free area of the hard disk device 120. Now, the addresses in the hard disk device 120 storing the supplementary data are numbered 1001 to 1100. At this time, the map data supplement program 1103 changes the addresses corresponding to the map areas X5, Y5-X6, and Y6 from “301-400” to “1001-1100” in the map data management data shown in FIG.
[0027]
Since the map drawing program 1104 reads the data of the area to be displayed from the hard disk device 120 with reference to the map data management data of FIG. 3, the information of the map data management data is changed to the address storing the supplementary data. This makes it possible to maintain consistency with the map data in other areas. That is, the map drawing program 1104 can draw a map by using new supplementary data, which is the same as the map data of other areas.
[0028]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the application of the present invention to a vehicle navigation apparatus.
[0029]
A difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a GPS (global positioning system; global positioning system) 150 that receives a radio wave from a satellite and measures a position as a sensor for specifying the position of the vehicle. The map database 1202 includes a vehicle speed sensor 160 for detecting the speed of the vehicle, a gyro 170 for detecting the rotation of the vehicle, and a route from the current vehicle location to a destination input by the user obtained by these sensors. A route search program 1105 for searching based on stored map data is provided. In addition, since the navigation device 40 is mounted on a vehicle and used, the navigation device 40 includes a wireless communication device 140b such as a mobile phone as a means for requesting damaged map data to the outside. And since it communicates with the exterior by radio | wireless, the other party who communicates becomes the circuit switching center 50 provided with the radio | wireless receiving facility.
[0030]
The navigation device 40 is configured to present the route to the user by displaying the route obtained by the route search program 1105 on the display 130 by the map drawing program 1104. In addition to road map data, the map database 1202 includes data necessary for route guidance, such as images showing the shape of intersections, information on facilities on the map, and guidance for guiding users along the route. Audio data and the like are included and displayed on the display 130. In the case of audio data, the audio data is output via audio output means such as a speaker (not shown) connected to the navigation device 40.
[0031]
The map data monitoring program 1101, the supplement data request program 1102, and the map data supplement program 1103 perform the same operations as in the first embodiment, but also perform processing in accordance with the operations unique to the navigation device as described below. Is preferred.
[0032]
For example, when the route search program 1105 accesses the map database 1202 for route search, the map data monitoring program 1101 operates in parallel, and the data in the map database 1202 can be reliably accessed for route search. Whether the data in the map database 1202 is damaged when the vehicle ignition is turned on and the navigation device 40 is activated, or when the ignition is turned off. It is preferable to perform processing such as checking whether data in the database 1202 is damaged. This makes it possible to detect data corruption more precisely.
[0033]
Further, when it is detected that the data in the map database 1202 is damaged, the vehicle is stopped as a timing when the supplement data request program 1102 requests supplement data from an external device, that is, the map data server 30. When the vehicle speed sensor 160 detects this, supplementary data is requested at the same time when the navigation device 40 communicates with the outside in order to obtain information from outside the vehicle, such as traffic information or information acquisition via the Internet. You may comprise. By making a request for supplementary data when the vehicle is stopped and receiving the corresponding supplementary data, more reliable data transmission / reception is possible. That is, communication may be interrupted while traveling, such as in a tunnel or behind a building, but such danger can be avoided if the vehicle is stopped. Further, when the navigation device 40 communicates with the outside of the vehicle as a function, such as when acquiring traffic information, the communication cost can be reduced by transmitting and receiving supplemental data.
[0034]
Further, as described above, the map database 1202 of the navigation device 40 also stores data necessary for route guidance, so these data are also monitored for damage by the map data monitoring program 1101. If there is, it is also suitable to be configured to request and acquire to the outside. As described above, the data necessary for guidance is not changed by the user, and the guidance data is stored in association with the segmented map area. Even if it is supplemented, it can be reused while maintaining consistency with existing data.
[0035]
【Effect of the invention】
As described above, according to the present invention, the map data stored in the map data storage means is monitored to detect a damaged portion, and data corresponding to the detected data is obtained by requesting an external device and stored. Therefore, even if a part of the map data is damaged, it is possible to recover from the state where the data cannot be used. In addition, it is not necessary for the user to perform processing for supplementing data by himself / herself.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of map data management;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of map data.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Computer 20 Network 30 Map Database Server 40 Navigation Device 100 CPU
110 Program memory 1101 Map data monitoring program 1102 Supplement data request program 1103 Map data supplement program 1104 Map drawing program 1105 Route search program 120 Hard disk device 1202 Map database 130 Display 140a, 140b Communication device 150 GPS
160 Vehicle speed sensor 170 Gyro

Claims (5)

Map data storage means;
The map data stored in the map data storage means is divided into a plurality of areas, and an address indicating the location of the map data in each area on the map data storage means and the map data stored at the address indicate Management data storage means for storing map data management data associated with areas on the map;
Data monitoring means for detecting the damage of the map data stored in the map data storage means and identifying the area containing the damaged data from the divided areas ;
Replenishment data requesting means for requesting replenishment data corresponding to the area including the specified damaged data to an external device;
Data supplement means for receiving supplement data transmitted from the outside in response to the request and storing it in an empty area of the map data storage means;
Change means for changing an address corresponding to an area on the map of the stored supplementary data in the map data management data to an address of an empty area in which the supplementary data is stored;
A map data supplementing device comprising:   The map data replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the data monitoring means periodically monitors the map data stored in the map data storage means for damage.   3. The map data replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the replenishing data requesting unit requests an external device for updated replenishing data corresponding to the damaged data.   4. The map data supplement device according to claim 1, wherein the map data supplement device is used in a navigation device that guides a vehicle from a current location to a destination. On the computer,
A data monitoring function for detecting the damage of the map data stored in the map data storage means connected to the computer and identifying the area containing the damaged data;
A replenishment data request function for requesting replenishment data corresponding to an area including the specified damaged data to an external device;
A data supplement function for receiving supplement data transmitted from the outside in response to the request and storing it in an empty area of the map data storage means;
The map data stored in the map data storage means is divided into a plurality of areas, and an address indicating the location of the map data in each area on the map data storage means and the map data stored at the address indicate A function of changing the address corresponding to the area on the map of the stored supplemental data in the map data management data associated with the area on the map to the address of the free area storing the supplementary data;
Map data supplement program for realizing.

Images