Patent US5897604A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5897604A
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US
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Apparatus and method for navigating mobile body using bird's eye view on display screen
Assignee: Nissan Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1996-12-23
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Granted: 1999-04-27
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Expires: 2016-12-23
Abstract
Abstract In apparatus and method for navigating a mobile body such as a vehicle through a road map display image, an angle of a displayed traffic intersection with respect to, for example, a lateral axis crossing the traffic intersection is made coincident with an angle of an actually corresponding traffic intersection. That is to say, display coordinates at a predetermined part (for example, the traffic intersection) of a display image in a form of bird's eye view are modified, the predetermined part meaning a view focusing point or area, so that a scale in a longitudinal direction is made coincident with that in a lateral direction at the predetermined part.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshiaki Takahashi
- 👤 Masayuki Takada
- 👤 Norimasa Kishi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:15
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q50/00; G06Q50/40; G01; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/26; G01C21/34; G01C21/36; G06Q50/10; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/09; G08G1/0962; G08G1/0968; G08G1/0969
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
356 words
An apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image, comprising: an external memory arranged for storing a topographical road map information on a plurality of road map meshes; a display reference point determining unit arranged for determining a display reference point on the basis of which a region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory is determined to be displayed on an image screen; an arithmetic operation processing unit arranged for executing arithmetic operation processing required to display any meshes of the road map information which corresponds to a display region determined to be displayed on the image screen in a form of a bird's eye view; and an image display unit arranged for displaying the region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory unit to be determined to be displayed on the image screen thereof in the form of the bird's eye view, wherein said arithmetic operation processing unit comprises: determining means arranged for determining the region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory to be displayed on the image screen on the basis of the determined display reference point and for determining coordinate transformation parameters to be used for a perspective projection transformation of the region of the meshes of the road map into the bird's eye view on the basis of the determined display reference point; road map data inputting means arranged for reading the road map information of the display region of meshes of the road map to be displayed from the external memory unit into said arithmetic operation processing unit; coordinate transformation calculating means arranged for executing a coordinate transformation of the region of the road map meshes to be displayed into display coordinates on the perspectively projected plane using the coordinate transformation parameters; and display coordinate modifying means arranged for modifying the display coordinates at a predetermined part in the display region of the road map meshes so that a scale in a longitudinal direction with respect to the display image screen is coincident with that in a lateral direction at the predetermined part.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
356 words
An apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image, comprising: an external memory arranged for storing a topographical road map information on a plurality of road map meshes; a display reference point determining unit arranged for determining a display reference point on the basis of which a region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory is determined to be displayed on an image screen; an arithmetic operation processing unit arranged for executing arithmetic operation processing required to display any meshes of the road map information which corresponds to a display region determined to be displayed on the image screen in a form of a bird's eye view; and an image display unit arranged for displaying the region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory unit to be determined to be displayed on the image screen thereof in the form of the bird's eye view, wherein said arithmetic operation processing unit comprises: determining means arranged for determining the region in meshes of the road map stored in the external memory to be displayed on the image screen on the basis of the determined display reference point and for determining coordinate transformation parameters to be used for a perspective projection transformation of the region of the meshes of the road map into the bird's eye view on the basis of the determined display reference point; road map data inputting means arranged for reading the road map information of the display region of meshes of the road map to be displayed from the external memory unit into said arithmetic operation processing unit; coordinate transformation calculating means arranged for executing a coordinate transformation of the region of the road map meshes to be displayed into display coordinates on the perspectively projected plane using the coordinate transformation parameters; and display coordinate modifying means arranged for modifying the display coordinates at a predetermined part in the display region of the road map meshes so that a scale in a longitudinal direction with respect to the display image screen is coincident with that in a lateral direction at the predetermined part.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display coordinate modifying means comprises a first means arranged for executing either an uniform expansion or an uniform compression of said display coordinates in the lateral direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
70 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, which further comprises a sensor, connected to said arithmetic operation processing unit, arranged for detecting a current position of the mobile body and wherein said predetermined part is a part of the display region of the meshes of the road map at which the current position of the mobile body is situated.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
73 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, which further comprises a sensor, connected to said arithmetic operation processing unit, arranged for detecting a current position of the vehicle body and wherein said predetermined part is a part of the display region of the road map meshes at which a traffic intersection located before the current position of the mobile body is displayed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
83 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined part is a predetermined area within the display region of the road map meshes and wherein said display coordinate modifying means modifies the display coordinates in the longitudinal direction within the predetermined area of the display region of the road map meshes so that the scale in the longitudinal direction is coincident with that in the lateral direction within said predetermined area.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined part is a predetermined area within the display region of the road map meshes and wherein said display coordinates in the lateral direction within the predetermined area of the display region of the road map meshes so that the scale in the longitudinal direction is coincident with that in the lateral direction within said predetermined area.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
108 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 6, wherein said display coordinate modifying means modifies the display coordinates in the lateral direction and further comprises grid line painting means arranged for auxiliarily painting grid lines on the display region of the meshes of the road map information said grid lines indicating predetermined longitudes and latitudes and wherein said display coordinate modifying means modifies the display coordinates so that the scale in the longitudinal direction is coincident with that in the lateral direction at said predetermined part and the grid lines running at said predetermined part indicate straight lines.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
75 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the display coordinates on said predetermined part are (x, y) and road map coordinates at said predetermined part are (X, Y), Y=(-b/y)+c, X=-a·(x/y), wherein a, b, and c denote arbitrary constants, and when b=-a·y, the scale in the longitudinal direction is coincident with the scale in the lateral direction at the predetermined part (xs, ys).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
87 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 5, wherein when the display coordinates are (x, y), road map coordinates are (X, Y), and both of the road map coordinates and of the display coordinates satisfy the following equations: Y=f(y) and X=-a·(x/y) within said predetermined area and wherein since dY/dy=df(y)/dy=f'(y) and dX/dx=-a/y, f'(y)=-a/y, f(y)=-a·log |y| (y=e -Y/a ) so that X=-a·(x/y) and x=(-1/a)·X·y, wherein a denotes an arbitrary constant and e denotes a base of a natural logarithm.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
74 words
The apparatus for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image as claimed in claim 9, wherein dY/dy=k·dX/dx, f'(y)=-a·k/y, f(y)=-a·k·log |y|, wherein k denotes a ratio of the scale in the longitudinal direction to that in the lateral direction and wherein the following equations are used to execute the coordinate transformation of the road map coordinates into the display coordinates within the predetermined area: Y=-a·k·log |y|, y=e -Y/ak , X=-a·x/y, and x=(-1/a)·X·y.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
312 words
A method for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image, comprising the steps of: a) storing a road map information on a plurality of road map meshes; b) determining a display reference point on the basis of which a region in meshes of the road map stored at the step a) is determined to be displayed on an image screen of a display unit; c) executing an arithmetic operation processing required to display any meshes of the road map information which corresponds to a display region determined to be displayed on the image screen in a form of a bird's eye view; and d) displaying the region in meshes of the road map stored at the step a) to be determined to be displayed on the image screen thereof in the form of the bird's eye view, wherein said step c) comprises the steps of: e) determining the region in meshes of the road map information stored at the step a) to be displayed on the image screen on the basis of the determined display reference point; f) determining coordinate transformation parameters to be used for a perspective projection transformation of the region of the meshes of the road map information into the bird's eye view on the basis of the determined display reference point; g) reading the road map information of the display region of meshes of the road map to be displayed; h) executing a coordinate transformation of the region of the road map meshes to be displayed into display coordinates on the perspectively projected plane using the coordinate transformation parameters; and i) modifying the display coordinates at a predetermined part in the display region of the road map meshes so that a scale in a longitudinal direction with respect to the display image screen is coincident with that in a lateral direction at the predetermined part.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
312 words
A method for navigating a mobile body through a road map display image, comprising the steps of: a) storing a road map information on a plurality of road map meshes; b) determining a display reference point on the basis of which a region in meshes of the road map stored at the step a) is determined to be displayed on an image screen of a display unit; c) executing an arithmetic operation processing required to display any meshes of the road map information which corresponds to a display region determined to be displayed on the image screen in a form of a bird's eye view; and d) displaying the region in meshes of the road map stored at the step a) to be determined to be displayed on the image screen thereof in the form of the bird's eye view, wherein said step c) comprises the steps of: e) determining the region in meshes of the road map information stored at the step a) to be displayed on the image screen on the basis of the determined display reference point; f) determining coordinate transformation parameters to be used for a perspective projection transformation of the region of the meshes of the road map information into the bird's eye view on the basis of the determined display reference point; g) reading the road map information of the display region of meshes of the road map to be displayed; h) executing a coordinate transformation of the region of the road map meshes to be displayed into display coordinates on the perspectively projected plane using the coordinate transformation parameters; and i) modifying the display coordinates at a predetermined part in the display region of the road map meshes so that a scale in a longitudinal direction with respect to the display image screen is coincident with that in a lateral direction at the predetermined part.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-04-26 | 2002-10-26 | 2003-04-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-04-26 | 2006-10-26 | 2007-04-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-04-26 | 2010-10-26 | 2011-04-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |