WO2008056884A1

WO2008056884A1 - Method for choosing point on the electronic map

Info

Publication number: WO2008056884A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/004619
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sa Da Park
Original assignee: Thinkware Systems Corporation
Priority date: 2006-11-08
Filing date: 2007-09-20
Publication date: 2008-05-15
Also published as: KR20080041871A

Abstract

A method of selecting a point on an electronic map which converts road shape information data in a polygon shape, and highlights the converted data to display the highlighted data to a user, is provided. The method enables prevention of the user from taking an incorrect road, and to reduce time to establish the point since a fact that a selected point of the user is established in which road link is reported to the user in advance prior to performing a search for the selected point in a complex road.

Description

METHOD FOR CHOOSING POINT ON THE ELECTRONIC MAP

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic map, more particularly, to a method of precisely selecting a point on an electronic map.

Background Art

With rapid advance of a mobile communication industry and accompanied technical needs keeping up with rapid advancements of the mobile communication industry, various researches and studies are continuously conducted, and a technical trend tends to integrate a user centric technology, such as using a hand pocket with a comprehensive wireless technology. Among such technical trend changes in particular, a navigation system is designed in various types and applied to be utilized in broad fields by using a terminal containing an global positioning system (GPS) functionality being capable of interpreting GPS signal. The navigation system receives predetermined data from three GPS satellites above earth, and the navigation system is able to calculate its own location based on the received data.

FIG. 1 is a display illustrating a method of establishing a moving route by using a conventional navigation system. Referring to FIG. 1, to select a specific point on an electronic map, a user makes a search using a name associated with the specific point as shown in FIG. 1 , and selects a user's required point from lists which are outputted as a result of the search. As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a conventional art, when a user searches for a specific point, a navigation system makes a list with respect to the search result, displays the list, and asks the user to select a proper point. By such means, the navigation system is able to identify a coordinate value with respect to a value of searching for the list selected by the user, summons up a graphic map image value, and displays the graphic map image value.

Another method of selecting a specific point on an electronic map is illustrated in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic map is moved vertically and horizontally, and a required point is selected by a user on the electronic map which is displayed as an image. Once the user selects the specific point on the electronic map, the navigation system calculates a real coordinate value with respect to the specific point, and performs a predetermined process. Also, an arrow indicator or a flag is displayed on the selected specific point. However, such a conventional indicating method is merely to identify the selected specific point. That is, the selected specific point is not precisely indicated on the electronic map since the selected specific point is displayed using the arrow indicator or the flag, and informing in only a rough indication is possible due to a reduced scale of the electronic map. Accordingly, many mistakes and confusions occur when the user applies a retrieved location value to the electronic map since it is difficult to distinguish whether the value selected by the user is what the user intended to select, and there is a limit to provide the user with a feedback function being capable of identifying whether a selected route is correctly established.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Goals

The present invention provides a method of selecting a point on an electronic map according to establishment of a moving route, which can prevent a user from taking an incorrect road, and can save time to establish the point.

The present invention also provides a method of easily establishing a route and a system of correctly selecting a point.

Technical solutions

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of selecting a point on an electronic map including: displaying the electronic map; receiving selection of a user with respect to the point on the electronic map; identifying link data of a road associated with the selected point; extracting interpolation point data associated with the link data; generating a road image in a polygon shape using the interpolation point data; and displaying the road image in the polygon shape on the electronic map using a predetermined display method.

Brief Description of Drawings FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams illustrating a method of establishing a moving route using a conventional navigation system;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of selecting a point on an electronic map according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic map in a polygon shape and in a translucent state according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selecting a point on an electronic map according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of selecting a point on an electronic map according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the electronic map is displayed to a user via a predetermined display device. The user selects a point on the electronic map for predetermined purposes. Specifically, the user may select a point on the electronic map to establish an origination point, a way point, or a destination point in a navigation system. Also, the user may select a point on the electronic map for another purpose, for example, the user may select a point to transmit a rough map with respect to a specific point to acquaintances.

When the displayed area of the electronic map does not include a required point, the user may vertically and horizontally move the displayed area of the electronic map to include the required point, thereby changing a displayed area of the electronic map. In FIG. 3, the user selects an intersection of the cross-lines. The user vertically or horizontally moves the intersection of the cross-lines to a point the user needs to select, clicks a selection button, and finally selects a user's required point. As described above, the user may select a destination point by selecting the destination point in the navigation device. In the present invention, via user's vertical and horizontal manipulation of the electronic map, the user may directly establish a searchable point on the electronic map, therefore a real constellation value with respect to an established value for a required point is identified. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic map in a polygon shape and in a translucent state according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

According 1o the present invention, a road associated with a selected point of a user is distinctively displayed on the electronic map. In this instance, a boundary is required to be established to be distinguishable from adjacent image data, and for this, an interpolation point of identified link data is converted to a colored polygon shape, the converted link data in the colored polygon shape is distinctively distinguished from the adjacent image map. In this instance, road information included in a link data level is searched, and when the searched road information is identified as a one-way road, an arrow is additionally established on the converted link data in the colored polygon shape to simultaneously display one-way or two-way information of the road. This arrow indication helps a user to identify the characteristics of the road, that is, whether the road is one-way or something else. If the road that includes the selected point of a user is one-way and the user wants to move in the opposite direction of the road, the road is not suitable for the user, and then the user may try to select other points. Thus, whether a driving direction of a selected road, from all roads, is represented as a oneway straight road or a road having other characteristics is distinguished to be displayed, thereby informing a user of a driving direction. In the operation of displaying in the polygon shape, in order to distinguish entire map information from selected specific map information, a specific driving route may be distinguishable within an entire map by being highlighted, however, in this case, since the selected link data and adjacent link data are overlappingly displayed due to characteristics of a colored display of an electronic map, present driving information image included in the adjacent link data may be displayed with color distortion or may be far from identifiable. To solve such a problem, the specific link data, converted to the polygon shape, is translucently displayed, thereby being distinguishable from the adjacent map information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selecting a point on an electronic map according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the present invention includes operation S510 of displaying an electronic map, operation S520 of selectively receiving a point, operation S530 of identifying link data, operation S 540 of extracting interpolation point data, operation S550 of generating a road image in a polygon shape, operation S560 of displaying a road image, operation S570 of expressing a selected point, and operation S580 of feeding back for discernment by a user.

In operation S510, a navigation system adopting the present invention displays an electronic map to a user. Specifically, the electronic map shown in FIG. 3 is displayed in the navigation system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, to select a specific point on the electronic map, a user performs a search using a name associated with the specific point as shown in FIG. 1, and selects a required point among lists which are outputted as a result of the search. As shown in FIG. 2, when the user searches for a specific destination point, the navigation system makes a list from the search result, displays the list to the user, and requests the user to select a user's required value from the list. When the user selects a single item from the list, the navigation system calculates a coordinate value with respect to the selected item, summons up electronic map image data, and displays the electronic map image data to the user. For this, the navigation system may store the electronic map image data and a coordinate value corresponding to the electronic map image data in a predetermined storage unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the navigation system calculates a present location of the user by using a global positioning system (GPS), and displays electronic map image data corresponding to the present location. Also, electronic map image data corresponding to a predetermined location may be displayed.

In operation S520, the navigation system adopting the present invention receives a selection for a point on the electronic map from the user. The user selects a point on the electronic map for predetermined purposes.

Specifically, the user may select a point on the electronic map to establish an origination point, a way point, or a destination point in a navigation system. In this instance, the navigation system may receive the selection of the user with respect to the point on the electronic map as any one of the origination point, the way point, and the destination point. Also, the user may select a point on the electronic map for another purpose, for example, the user may select a point to transmit a rough map with respect to a specific point to acquaintances. When a displayed area of the electronic map does not include a required point, the user may vertically and horizontally move the displayed area of the electronic map to include the required point, thereby changing a displayed area of the electronic map.

In FIG. 3, the user selects an intersection of the cross-lines. The user vertically or horizontally moves the intersection of the cross-lines to a point to select, clicks a selection button, and finally selects a user's required point. As described above, the user may select a destination point by selecting the destination point in the navigation device. In the present invention, via user's vertical and horizontal manipulation of the electronic map, the user may directly establish a searchable point on the electronic map, therefore a real coordinate value with respect to an established value for a required point is identified.

In a conventional art, once a user selects a point on an electronic map, the selection is considered to be correct, and subsequent operations are performed. As an example, in case of a navigation system adopting the conventional art, when the user establishes the selected point as a destination point, a route is established by considering the selected point as the destination point, and the route is reported to the user according to the establishment of the route. However, when an incorrect point is selected as the destination point due to a user's mistake, the user realizes the incorrect point has been selected as the destination point after having driven on an incorrect route. The present invention is provided to solve such problem.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, depending on a reduced scale of the currently displayed electronic map, when the reduced scale of the electronic map is in a predetermined range, operations S520 through S560 are not performed. When the reduced scale of the electronic map is smaller than the predetermined value, the electronic map can not provide sufficiently detailed information so that the user cannot select a specific point. As an example, when a reduced scale of the electronic map is 1/10000, it is difficult to identify small roads. Conversely, when a reduced scale of the electronic map is 1/100, it is easier to identify small roads. Such reduced scale is represented as a level such as 25 meters (M) level, 50 M level, 100 M level, and the like, the 25 M level denoting a map being capable of distinguishing objects up to 25 M apart, the 50 M level denoting a map being capable of distinguishing objects up to 50 M apart, and the 100 M level denoting a map being capable of distinguishing objects up to 100 M apart. Accordingly, when a reduced scale of an electronic map is great, an error becomes great even when a point is established on the electronic map, in this case, operations S520 through S560 are not performed, instead, a predetermined notification is reported to the user, and the user is able to select a point on an electronic map of a suitably reduced scale.

In operation S530, the navigation system identifies link data of a road associated with a selected point.

Coordinate values of all points on the displayed electronic map, such as latitude and longitude, may be calculated. In this instance, each coordinate value of each point is stored in a predetermined storage unit, or, after coordinate values of some points on the electronic map are stored in the predetermined storage unit in advance, coordinate values of remaining points are calculated using the coordinate values stored in advance. Similarly, a constellation value of the selected point is calculated.

A road displayed on the electronic map includes at least one link data. The link data includes information about coordinate values of an origination point and a destination point. When a single road includes a plurality of link data, the starting point and the ending point are sequentially connected with each other to display information about the road. Also, the link data includes a plurality of interpolation point data. An interpolation point is to display the road in a more natural manner when the road is displayed on the electronic map, and is located between the starting point and the ending point of the link data. The interpolation point data includes coordinate information with respect to the interpolation point. The link data is stored in a predetermined storage unit.

Accordingly, when a coordinate value of the selected point of the user is calculated, link data of a road associated with the selected point can be identified. The link data of the road associated with the selected point may correspond to link data of a road including the coordinate of the selected point. If the link data of the road including the coordinate of the selected point does not exist, link data of a road being closest to the coordinate of the selected point is identified. In operation S540, the navigation system extracts interpolation point data associated with the link data.

When the link data of the road associated with the selected point is identified in operation S530, interpolation point data included in the identified link data is extracted in operation S540. Such interpolation point data is used to generate more natural road image data in operation S550.

In operation S550, when the road image is generated using the starting point and the ending point of the link data associated with the selected point, the navigation system generates a road image in a polygon shape with a smooth curve using the interpolation point data.

In operation S560, the navigation system according to the present invention displays the road image in the polygon shape on the electronic map using a predetermined display method.

The predetermined display method is a second method which is distinguishable from a first display method displaying other roads included in the electronic map. Specifically, the road image in the polygon shape may be displayed in a special color to be distinguishable from other roads. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the road associated with the selected point is displayed to be easily seen for the user. That is, in the present invention, when the user selects a point on an electronic map, a road associated with the selected point is displayed in a manner that the user can easily identify the road associated with the selected point. As described above, since the road associated with the selected point is distinctively displayed when the user selects a point on the electronic map, the user easily can identify the user's incorrect selection even when the user selects an incorrect point.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the road associated with the selected point is a one-way road, the road image in the polygon shape is displayed as an arrow of a one-way direction. The navigation system according to the present invention stores information about each road, that is, whether a corresponding road is a one-way road, and stores which direction the one-way road is when the corresponding road is determined as one-way. By referring to the information, the navigation system according to the present invention determines whether a road associated with the selected point is a one-way road and which direction the one-way road is when the road associated with the selected point is determined as the one-way road. When the road associated with the selected point is determined as the one-way road, the road associated with the selected point is converted to data in a polygon shape, a direction indicator such as an arrow is additionally established on the converted link data, and finally a road image is displayed, and such an example is illustrated in FIG. 4. Therefore, the user can easily identify whether the user's selected point is a one-way road, and identify which direction the user's selected point is after the user's selected point is determined as the one-way road. By such means, the user may correct the user's selected point by referring to the information about the one-way road, and may select a new point. As an example, even when the user selects a specific point as a destination point, when a road associated with the specific point is a one-way road, and when the road associated with the specific point does not correspond to a required driving route, the destination point can be changed to another point around the originally selected point.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the road image in the polygon shape with respect to the link data associated with the selected point is translucently displayed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the road image in the polygon shape with respect to the link data associated with the selected point can be opaquely displayed. However, in this case, since the selected link data and adjacent link data are overlappingly displayed due to characteristics of a colored display of an electronic map, a present driving information image included in the adjacent link data may be displayed with color distortion, may be far from identifiable, or an identification range with respect to adjacent information may be reduced. As an example, when the road image in the polygon shape with respect to the link data associated with the selected point is displayed in red, there is probability that another image or characters overlapped over the road image, and another image or characters may not be identifiable. To solve such a problem, the specific link data node, which is converted to the polygon shape, is translucently displayed in a identifiable color, thereby being distinguishable from the adjacent map information. The color distortion indicates a phenomenon that an original image is interfered and distorted since at least one other color is inserted to a color of the original image In operation S570, the navigation system according to the present invention displays the selected point by expressing a predetermined indicator on the selected point on the electronic map. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the selected point is displayed to the user by expressing an identification image, such as a flag image, on the selected point.

In operation S 580, the navigation system according to the present invention receives confirmation with respect to the selected point from the user. When the user selects a point on the electronic map, a road associated with the selected point is highlighted and displayed. Accordingly, the user may precisely determine whether the selected point is correct. When the selected point is correct, the user clicks a 'confirm' button. Alternatively, when the selected point is correct, the user clicks one button for an origination point, a destination point, and a way point, and subsequent operations, such as route establishment and the like, are performed. When the user realizes the selected point is incorrect via the indicator of the present invention, the user goes back to operation S520, and selects a new point.

The method of selecting the point on the electronic map according to the above- described exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be recorded in computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVD; magneto-optical media such as optical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Although a. few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents. Industrial Applicability

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a user from taking an incorrect road, and to reduce time to establish the point by preventing taking an incorrect road in advance since the information of the road which includes the point that the user selects is converted to data in a polygon shape, and the converted data is highlighted for the user prior to a search for a route.

Also, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively and specifically provide a user with a selected point on an electronic map so that the user is able to verify whether initial establishment with respect to a route is correct, and is able to correct the initial route establishment if the error exists, thereby informing the user of more accurate driving information.

Also, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a user from selecting an incorrect point on an electronic map.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a point on an electronic map, comprising: displaying the electronic map; receiving selection of a user with respect to the point on the electronic map; identifying link data of a road associated with the selected point; extracting interpolation point data associated with the link data; generating a road image in a polygon shape using the interpolation point data; and displaying the road image in the polygon shape on the electronic map using a predetermined display method.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying of the electronic map displays a road included in the electronic map using a first display method, and the predetermined display method is a second display method which is distinguishable from the first display method.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second display method translucently displays the road image in the polygon shape.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the road associated with the selected point is one-way road, the road image in the polygon shape is displayed as an arrow indicator of a one-way direction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, when a reduced scale of the displayed electronic map is greater than a predetermined amount, the receiving of the selection through the displaying of the road image is not performed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the selection of the user receives the selection of the user with respect to the point on the electronic map as any one of an origination point, a way point, and a destination point

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: expressing a predetermined indication(* "indicator"?*) on the selected point on the electronic map.

8. A method of selecting a point on an electronic map, comprising: receiving selection of a user with respect to the point on the electronic map; and displaying a road associated with the selected point on the electronic map using a predetermined method.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, when the road associated with the selected point is a one-way road, the road associated with the selected point is displayed as an arrow indicator of a one-way direction.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the road associated with the selected point is displayed distinguishable from the other roads on the electronic map.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving of the selection of the user with respect to the point on the electronic map receives the selection of the user with respect to the point on the electronic map as any one of an origination point, a way point, and a destination point.

12. At least one computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 through 11.