JP2008281353A - In-vehicle map display system, map data storage apparatus, and data structure of map data - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-vehicle map display system capable of a displaying map, suitable for circumstances of each of a large number of countries of destination. <P>SOLUTION: A navigation system 10 as the in-vehicle map display system is provided with a general data storage means 40 for storing map data which will not depend on country; a country-dependent data storage means 40 for storing map data which differs by country and which is especially generated for these countries; a destination country determination means 12 for determining countries of destination of vehicles; and a data acquisition means 12 for acquiring general data from the general data storage means and acquiring country-dependent data on the countries of destination, determined by the destination country determination means from the country-dependent data storage means. A map is displayed on a display 14 through the use of each piece of data acquired by the data acquisition means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle map display device, a map data storage device, and a data structure of map data.

Conventionally, a first storage medium for storing map information mainly for the first area and a second area adjacent to the first area, and the first area mainly for the second area. A storage medium playback device for playing back the map information stored in any one of the storage media by switching a second storage medium storing map information according to the above, a position detection means for detecting the current position, and a display means And a control circuit for causing the display means to display the map information reproduced from the storage medium reproducing apparatus and the current position detected by the position detecting means, wherein the control circuit has the current position as the first position. 2. Description of the Related Art A navigation device is known that switches playback of the storage medium playback device from the first storage medium to the second storage medium when moving from one region to the second region. Are (e.g., see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-213444

  By the way, maps are essentially a fact, so there should be no difference in opinion between countries. However, in the current international situation, there are border disputes, etc., and the position of the border line may be a problem. On the other hand, creating map data from scratch for each destination country can solve this problem, but creating map data for many destination countries is generally complicated and inefficient.

  Therefore, in view of such a problem, the present invention improves the versatility of map data, and can display a map suitable for each situation in a number of destination countries, an in-vehicle map display device, a map data storage device, and map data The purpose is to provide a data structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention relates to a vehicle-mounted map display device, general-purpose data storage means for storing map data that does not depend on each country,
Country-dependent data storage means for storing map data having different views depending on the country, and storing map data specially created for each country;
A destination country judging means for judging a destination country of the vehicle;
Data acquisition means for acquiring general data from the general data storage means, and acquiring country dependent data related to the destination country determined by the destination country determination means from the country dependent data storage means,
A map is displayed on a display using each data acquired by the data acquisition means.

2nd invention is the vehicle-mounted map display apparatus which concerns on 1st invention,
It further comprises an input means for inputting information related to the destination country,
The destination country determining means determines the destination country based on information related to the destination country input via the input means.

The third invention relates to a vehicle-mounted map display device, general-purpose data storage means for storing map data that does not depend on each country,
Country-dependent data storage means for storing map data having different views depending on the country, and storing map data specially created for each country;
Traveling country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
Data acquisition means for acquiring general data from the general data storage means, and acquiring country dependent data relating to the travel country detected by the travel country detection means from the country dependent data storage means,
A map is displayed on a display using each data acquired by the data acquisition means.

4th invention is the vehicle-mounted map display apparatus which concerns on 1st or 3rd invention,
The country-dependent data is data representing a borderline with different views in each country, data representing the name of a territory with different views in each country, or data relating to features whose views differ from country to country when displayed as a map It is characterized by being.

5th invention is the vehicle-mounted map display apparatus which concerns on 1st invention,
A travel country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
The destination country determining means determines the traveling country detected by the traveling country detecting means as the destination country.

6th invention is the vehicle-mounted map display apparatus which concerns on 1st invention,
Traveling country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
Second data acquisition means for acquiring country-dependent data relating to the travel country detected by the travel country detection means from the country-dependent data storage means;
Determination means for determining whether or not the traveling country detected by the traveling country detection means matches the destination country determined by the destination country determination means;
When the traveling country and the destination country do not match, for the map data having different views between the destination country and the traveling country, the country-dependent data relating to the destination country is used, and the traveling country and the destination country For map data having different views with countries other than the destination country, the map is displayed on the display using the country-dependent data relating to the traveling country.

  The seventh invention relates to a map data storage device, map data relating to a plurality of countries without depending on each country, and map data having different views depending on the countries, and a plurality of countries specially created for each country The map data according to is stored in a separated form.

The eighth invention relates to a data structure of map data, and includes map data stored in a storage medium,
The map data includes general-purpose data that does not depend on each country, country-dependent data with different views depending on the country, and country-specific data created specifically for each country,
When a country is designated via an external input means, the country-dependent data relating to the designated country can be read out.

  According to the present invention, an on-vehicle map display device, a map data storage device, and a data structure of map data that can display a map adapted to the circumstances of a number of destination countries while improving the versatility of map data are obtained. It is done.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the main configuration of the in-vehicle map display device according to this embodiment. The in-vehicle map display device of the present embodiment is embodied as a navigation device 10, which includes a navigation ECU (electronic control unit) 12, a display 14, a user interface 16, and a map database 18 (hereinafter referred to as a map database 18). , “GPS DB 18”), a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 30, and a map data source database 40 (hereinafter abbreviated as “map data source DB 40”).

  As a hardware configuration, the navigation ECU 12 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like connected to each other via a bus (not shown).

  The navigation ECU 12 executes various processes such as route search, route guidance, facility search, map drawing, and the like based on map data in the map DB 18 described later, position information from the GPS receiver 30, and the like.

  The display 14 may be a liquid crystal display, for example, and is disposed at an appropriate position in the vehicle interior. For example, the display 14 is disposed on the instrument panel. On the display 14, a map drawn based on map data in a map DB 18 described later is displayed. On the display 14, an operation menu image, a captured image of a vehicle-mounted camera, a TV video, and the like may be displayed.

  The user interface 16 includes input means such as a remote control and a touch switch on the display 14. In this example, a user or a manufacturer (including a dealer) inputs information about a destination country of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “destination country information”) via the user interface 16. The input destination country information is stored in a predetermined memory (preferably a non-volatile memory) accessible by the navigation ECU 12. The destination country information may be input by the manufacturer before shipment of the vehicle (during the manufacturing process), may be input by the dealer before delivery to the final user, or may be input by the user after delivery. If the destination country information is not yet stored, the navigation ECU 12 may output a message or the like on the display 14 so as to input the destination country information. The destination country information may be information that directly represents the destination country or information that is indirectly represented. The destination country information may be information integrated with other information such as a vehicle body number, for example.

  The map DB 18 is composed of a writable (preferably rewritable) nonvolatile memory (auxiliary storage device), and may be composed of, for example, a hard disk drive. The map DB 18 stores map data in a manner that will be described in detail later.

  The GPS receiver 30 receives radio waves from a satellite via a GPS antenna (not shown), measures the position of the vehicle, and supplies the positioning result to the navigation ECU 12 as vehicle position information. The positioning method may be any method such as single positioning or relative positioning (including interference positioning). At this time, the positioning result is corrected based on outputs from various sensors (not shown) such as a vehicle speed sensor and a gyro sensor, and various information received via a beacon receiver and an FM multiplex receiver (not shown). May be. In addition, the positioning result may be appropriately corrected using the map data in the map DB 18 irregularly by a known map matching technique.

  The map data source DB 40 may be configured by a non-rewritable memory such as a ROM. In this case, the memory may be a ROM in the navigation ECU 12, or may be a removable memory (for example, an SD card). However, the memory constituting the map data source DB 40 may have any configuration as long as the navigation ECU 12 is a memory that can be directly or indirectly accessed via wireless communication or wired communication, for example, outside the vehicle. It may be a memory (server) in the center. In this case, the memory in the center is preferably a rewritable memory, and the map data in the map data source DB 40 may be able to be edited or modified afterwards under the management of a predetermined administrator.

  The map data source DB 40 stores map data of a plurality of countries that are the basis of the map data in the map DB 18. That is, the map data in the map DB 18 is composed of a part of the map data in the map data source DB 40. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the map data in the map data source DB 40 includes the map data of the three countries of country A, country B, and country C adjacent to each other.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of map data stored in the map data source DB 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the map data includes route search data, route guidance data, facility search data, map drawing data, and other data. The map drawing data includes a line segment data group, a character string data group, and a display symbol data group.

The line segment data group is a data group for drawing various lines constituting features such as roads and buildings and terrain two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally and includes a plurality of line segment data. One line segment data includes a coordinate string representing a drawing position, a drawing attribute representing a drawing mode, and a data attribute representing an attribute of a line segment to be drawn. The data attribute may be assigned in such a manner that, for example, line segment data representing a border line can be identified. The character string data group is a data group for drawing characters (place names and names) attached to the map. Consists of a plurality of character string data. One character string data includes a drawing attribute representing a drawing mode such as a coordinate representing a drawing position, a character string, a typeface, and a size.

  The display symbol data group is a data group for drawing a symbol (for example, a symbol representing various facilities such as a gas station) attached to a map, and includes a plurality of display symbol data. One display symbol data includes coordinates representing a drawing position and a symbol ID representing a symbol type.

  In the present embodiment, as a characteristic configuration, the map data stored in the map data source DB 40 is data that does not depend on each country (hereinafter referred to as “general-purpose data”) and data with different views depending on the country. (Hereinafter referred to as “country-dependent data”). In the map data source DB 40, general-purpose data and country-dependent data in the map data are stored in a separated form. The general-purpose data and the country-dependent data may be stored in a hierarchical structure (for example, a hierarchical structure in which the general-purpose data is an upper layer and the country-dependent data is a lower layer), or in different specific storage areas or storage devices. It may be stored. The country-dependent data related to each country is stored in a form linked to that country. For example, country-dependent data related to each country is stored in a storage area allocated for each country in association with an address assigned for each country, and by designating an address, all the data related to the country corresponding to that address are stored. Enable country-specific data to be read.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, general-purpose data and country-dependent data are created and stored for map drawing data. That is, the map drawing data includes general-purpose drawing data and country-dependent drawing data. The general-purpose drawing data and the country-dependent drawing data may have the same data structure, and may include a line segment data group, a character string data group, and a display symbol data group, respectively. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the country-dependent data includes drawing data for country A, drawing data for country B, and drawing data for country C.

  Here, the country-dependent data relating to each country is created and stored so as to conform to the assertion / case of the country. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, there is a difference in views between country A and country B regarding the border between country A and country B, and views between country B and country C regarding the border between country B and country C. Assume that there are differences. In this case, data for drawing the border line A2 claimed by Country A against Country B is stored as drawing data for Country A. Similarly, data for drawing the border lines B2 and B3 claimed by Country B against Country A and Country C is stored as drawing data for Country B. Similarly, data for drawing the border line C2 claimed by C country to B country is stored as drawing data for C country.

  For example, when the official language is different between Country A and Country B, the drawing data for Country A is the character string data related to the border region R1 where the views differ between Country A and Country B. It may be created and stored in the official language. Similarly, the drawing data for country B may be created and stored in the official language of country B for the character string data related to the boundary region R1. For example, when the names of the features (city, road, facility, etc.) in the boundary region R1 are different between Country A and Country B, the drawing data for Country A is created and stored with the name used in Country A. Then, the drawing data for country B may be created and stored under the name used in country B. In addition, if there is a feature that the authority of Country A does not want to be displayed in the border area R1 due to state secrets, religion, etc., and the authority of Country B wants to display that feature, The drawing data for use may not include drawing data related to the feature, and the drawing data for Country B may include drawing data related to the feature. Note that the same may be applied to the boundary region R2 where the views differ between the countries B and C.

  The drawing data for country A is either the drawing data for country B or the drawing data for country C with respect to the boundary region R2 (including the borderline) where views differ between countries B and C. May include. Which is included is determined based on the intention of the authority in Country A, the friendly relationship between Country A, Country B, and Country C, and may be determined in advance, and will be described later with reference to FIG. It may be determined in a manner. Similarly, the drawing data for country C is either the drawing data for country A or the drawing data for country B with respect to the boundary region R1 (including the border line) where views differ between countries A and B. May be included. Similarly, which is included is determined based on the intention of the authority in Country C and the friendly relationship between Country C and Country A and Country B, and may be determined in advance, see FIG. And may be determined in the manner described later.

  On the other hand, since the general-purpose data is data that does not depend on each country (that is, data that does not differ in opinion between countries), it is appropriately created and stored based on the facts. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if there is no difference in the view that the region A defined by the line segments A1 and B2 between the countries A and B is the territory of the country A, Map data (including line segment data relating to the border line A1) is created and stored as general-purpose data. At this time, the character string data related to the area A may be created and stored so as to be drawn in the official language of the country A. Similarly, map data in the region B (region defined by the line segments A2, B1, and C2) of the country B (the region defined by the line segments A2, B1, and C2) with no difference in views between the country B, the country A, and the country C (Including line segment data) is created and stored as general-purpose data. At this time, the character string data related to the region B may be created and stored so as to be drawn in the official language of the country B. Similarly, map data (including line segment data related to the border line C1) in the area C (area defined by the line segments B3 and C1) of the country C that does not depend on the countries C and B Is created and stored as general-purpose data. At this time, the character string data related to the region C may be created and stored so as to be drawn in the official language of the country C.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an example of processing for constructing the map data in the map DB 18 based on the map data in the map data source DB 40. The process shown in FIG. 4 is realized by the navigation ECU 12 when an instruction is input via the user interface 16. For example, it is assumed that this instruction is input by the manufacturer when the navigation apparatus 10 is mounted in the vehicle manufacturing process, or is input afterwards when the destination country is changed. Or this instruction | indication may be performed by the input of the destination country information by a manufacturer etc. as a trigger.

  In step 100, the navigation ECU 12 reads the destination country information from a predetermined memory.

  In step 102, the navigation ECU 12 determines the destination country from the destination country information read in step 100.

  In step 104, the navigation ECU 12 reads all the general-purpose data from the map data source DB 40 and stores it in the map DB 18.

  In step 106, the navigation ECU 12 reads out from the map data source DB 40 only the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country determined in step 102 from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries, and stores it in the map DB 18. Store. As a result, the general-purpose data and the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country are stored and stored in the map DB 18. Note that the processing of steps 104 and 106 may be executed in the reverse order.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of map data in the map DB 18 constructed by the processing of FIG. Here, as an example, the structure of map data when the destination country is country A is shown. Among the map data in the map data source DB 40 shown in FIG. 2, general-purpose data and corresponding country-dependent data related to country A are stored in the map DB 18. When the map data is stored in the map DB 18 in this way, the navigation ECU 12 thereafter stores the map data (map data combining the general-purpose data and the country-dependent data corresponding to the country A) in the map DB 18 as described above. For example, various functions such as drawing a map on the display 14 are realized.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a map screen drawn on the display 14. FIG. 6A shows a map DB 18 in which general-purpose data and country-dependent data related to country A are stored and stored. 6B shows a map screen when general-purpose data and country-dependent data related to country B are stored and stored in the map DB 18. FIG.

  When the destination country is country A, as shown in FIG. 6A, the border line A2 claimed by country A (see FIG. 3) is drawn and is not shown, but the region R1 (see FIG. 3) ) Will be drawn in a format in line with the intention of Country A. When the destination country is country B, as shown in FIG. 6B, the border line B2 claimed by country B (see FIG. 3) is drawn and is not shown, but the regions R1, R2 (Refer to FIG. 3) is also drawn in a format in line with the intention of Country B.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the map data in the map data source DB 40 includes map data (general-purpose data) that does not depend on each country, and map data (country-dependent data) that has different views depending on the country. By separating and constructing, map data suitable for the circumstances of the destination country can be stored in the map DB 18 and map data in the map data source DB 40 can be stored for a plurality of destination countries. Can be used in common. Thereby, while improving the versatility of the map data in map data source DB40, the appropriate map data according to the intention of the destination country can be efficiently constructed in map DB18.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of another example of processing for constructing map data in the map DB 18. The process shown in FIG. 7 is particularly suitable when the above-mentioned destination country information cannot be acquired. The process shown in FIG. 7 may be executed at the same timing as in FIG. 4 described above, or may be executed periodically.

  In step 200, the navigation ECU 12 acquires vehicle position information from the GPS receiver 30.

  In step 202, the navigation ECU 12 detects the country in which the vehicle is traveling (hereinafter referred to as “traveling country”) based on the acquired vehicle position information.

  In step 204, the navigation ECU 12 determines that the traveling country detected in step 202 is the destination country.

  In step 206, the navigation ECU 12 reads all the general-purpose data from the map data source DB 40 and stores it in the map DB 18.

  In step 208, the navigation ECU 12 reads out from the map data source DB 40 only the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country determined in step 204 from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries, and stores it in the map DB 18. Store. Thereby, general-purpose data and country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country (traveling country) are stored and stored in the map DB 18. Note that the processing of steps 206 and 208 may be executed in the reverse order.

  In step 202, the navigation ECU 12 may detect the current traveling country of the vehicle, or may detect the main traveling country of the vehicle based on the history of past vehicle position information. When the main traveling country is detected, the destination country can be accurately estimated even for vehicles that frequently travel in two or more countries.

  According to the processing shown in FIG. 7, when the destination country information cannot be obtained or the destination country information becomes inaccurate (for example, when the destination country information is exported to a different country as a used car after vehicle sales, Even when the information is not updated, map data suitable for the current traveling country can be constructed in the map DB 18.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of another example of processing for constructing map data in the map DB 18. The process shown in FIG. 8 is characterized in that the map data is constructed depending on the traveling country regardless of the destination country. The process shown in FIG. 8 may be executed at the same timing as in FIG. 4 described above, but is preferably executed periodically assuming that the traveling country changes.

  In step 300, the navigation ECU 12 acquires vehicle position information from the GPS receiver 30.

  In step 302, the navigation ECU 12 detects the country in which the vehicle is traveling (that is, the traveling country) based on the acquired vehicle position information.

  In step 304, the navigation ECU 12 reads all the general-purpose data from the map data source DB 40 and stores it in the map DB 18.

  In step 306, the navigation ECU 12 reads only the country-dependent data corresponding to the traveling country detected in step 302 from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries from the map data source DB 40, and stores it in the map DB 18. Store. As a result, the general-purpose data and the country-dependent data corresponding to the traveling country are stored and stored in the map DB 18. Note that the processing of steps 304 and 306 may be executed in the reverse order.

  According to the process shown in FIG. 8, when the traveling country changes, map data suitable for the current traveling country can be constructed in the map DB 18. For example, when the traveling country changes from country A to country B, the data in the map DB 18 is a country composed of general-purpose data and country-dependent data corresponding to country A. It changes to a state consisting of dependency data. In this case, the change of the traveling country from Country A to Country B may be determined based on the country-dependent data corresponding to Country A (that is, border line A2 claimed by Country A). Determination may be made based on country-dependent data (that is, border line B2 claimed by Country B).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of another example of processing for constructing map data in the map DB 18.

  In step 400, the navigation ECU 12 reads the destination country information from a predetermined memory.

  In step 401, the navigation ECU 12 determines the destination country from the destination country information read in step 400.

  In step 402, the navigation ECU 12 acquires vehicle position information from the GPS receiver 30.

  In step 404, the navigation ECU 12 detects the country (traveling country) in which the vehicle is traveling based on the acquired vehicle position information.

  In step 406, the navigation ECU 12 reads all the general-purpose data from the map data source DB 40 and stores it in the map DB 18.

  In step 408, the navigation ECU 12 determines whether or not the traveling country detected in step 404 matches the destination country determined in step 401. If the traveling country matches the destination country, the process proceeds to step 410. If the traveling country does not match the destination country, the process proceeds to step 412.

  In step 410, the navigation ECU 12 reads only the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries from the map data source DB 40, and stores it in the map DB 18. In this case, general-purpose data and country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country are stored in the map DB 18.

  In step 412, the navigation ECU 12 reads out the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country determined in step 401 from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries from within the map data source DB 40.

  In step 414, the navigation ECU 12 reads out the country-dependent data corresponding to the traveling country detected in step 404 from the country-dependent data related to a plurality of countries from the map data source DB 40.

  In step 416, the navigation ECU 12 appropriately synthesizes both country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country and the traveling country, and stores the synthesized data in the map DB 18. Specifically, country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country is adopted for the boundary area between the destination country and the traveling country, and country-dependent data corresponding to the traveling country is adopted for the boundary area between the destination country and other countries. Is used to generate composite data. For example, when the destination country is country A and the traveling country is country B, the drawing data for country A is stored in the map DB 18 for the border region R1 between country A and country B (see FIG. 3). For the border region R2 between country B and country C (see FIG. 3), the drawing data for country B is stored in the map DB 18. In this case, general-purpose data and composite data are stored in the map DB 18.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a map screen related to the processing of FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 (A) is a map screen when the destination country is country A and the traveling country is country A (steps). FIG. 10B shows a map screen in the case where the destination country is country A but the traveling country is country B (related to the process in step 416). Obtained map screen).

  Here, it is assumed that the drawing data for country A includes drawing data for country C for the border region R2 between country B and country C, as shown in FIG. Therefore, for example, the border line between Country B and Country C is drawn at the position claimed by Country C as shown in FIG. According to the process of FIG. 10, when the traveling country shifts from the country A to the country B, the border region R2 (see FIG. 3) between the country B and the country C is drawn for the country C by the process in the above step 416. The data is changed to the drawing data for country B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, for example, the border line between Country B and Country C is drawn at the position claimed by Country B, as shown in FIG. As described above, according to the processing shown in FIG. 10, map data in a form that considers the circumstances of the traveling country can be constructed in the map DB 18 while placing the highest priority on the destination country.

  In the embodiment described above, the “general-purpose data storage means” and the “country-dependent data storage means” in the appended claims are realized by the map data source DB 40, and “ “Destination country determination means” is realized by the navigation ECU 12 executing the processing of step 102 in FIG. 4, step 204 in FIG. 7, or step 401 in FIG. 9, and “data acquisition means” in the claims. The navigation ECU 12 executes the processes of steps 104 and 106 in FIG. 4, steps 206 and 208 in FIG. 7, steps 304 and 306 in FIG. 8, or steps 406 and 412 or step 410 in FIG. The “input means” in the claims is defined as a user interface. The “running country detection means” according to claims 3 and 5 of the present invention is realized by the navigation ECU 12 executing the process of step 202 of FIG. 7 or step 302 of FIG. The “running country detection means” in claim 6 of the claims is realized by the navigation ECU 12 executing the process of step 404 in FIG. 9. The “data acquisition means” is realized by the navigation ECU 12 executing the process of step 414 in FIG. 9, and the “determination means” in the claim is that the navigation ECU 12 executes the process of step 408 in FIG. It is realized by.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, as a preferred embodiment, the map data in the map data source DB 40 is once stored (indirectly) in the map DB 18 as described above. This eliminates the need to change the drawing software of the navigation ECU 12 for each destination country while reducing the access frequency (processing load) to the map data source DB 40. However, the destination country (or traveling country) may be determined by the drawing software in the same manner as described above, and the country-dependent data corresponding to the destination country (or traveling country) may be selected and used at the time of drawing. In this case, the map DB 18 may be eliminated, and the map data source DB 40 may directly access the map data source DB 40 (ie, the map data source DB 40 may be used instead of the map DB 18). Further, a memory (main storage device) such as a RAM may be used in place of the map DB 18.

  In the embodiment described above, the destination country information may be input via a microphone that picks up the user's utterance. In this case, the speech data picked up via the microphone is recognized as a voice, and the destination country is determined.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of the main structures of the vehicle-mounted map display apparatus by a present Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of the original data memorize | stored in map data source DB40. It is explanatory drawing of general purpose data and country dependence data. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process for constructing the map data in map DB18 based on the map data in map data source DB40. It is a figure which shows the structure of the map data in map DB18 constructed | assembled by the process of FIG. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a map screen drawn based on general-purpose data and country-dependent data related to country A, and FIG. 6B shows the country-dependent data related to the general-purpose data and country B. It is a figure which shows the map screen drawn based on these. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of another example of the process for constructing the map data in map DB18. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of another example of the process for constructing the map data in map DB18. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of another example of the process for constructing the map data in map DB18. FIG. 10 (A) shows a map screen when the destination country is country A and the traveling country is country A, and FIG. 10 (B) shows that the destination country is country A but the traveling country is country B. It is a figure which shows the map screen in a case.

Explanation of symbols

10 navigation device 12 navigation ECU
14 Display 16 User interface 18 Map DB
30 GPS receiver 40 Map data source DB

Claims (8)

General-purpose data storage means for storing map data that does not depend on each country;
Country-dependent data storage means for storing map data having different views depending on the country, and storing map data specially created for each country;
A destination country judging means for judging a destination country of the vehicle;
Data acquisition means for acquiring general data from the general data storage means, and acquiring country dependent data related to the destination country determined by the destination country determination means from the country dependent data storage means,
An on-vehicle map display device that displays a map on a display using each data acquired by the data acquisition means. It further comprises an input means for inputting information related to the destination country,
The in-vehicle map display device according to claim 1, wherein the destination country determination unit determines the destination country based on information related to the destination country input via the input unit. General-purpose data storage means for storing map data that does not depend on each country;
Country-dependent data storage means for storing map data having different views depending on the country, and storing map data specially created for each country;
Traveling country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
Data acquisition means for acquiring general data from the general data storage means, and acquiring country dependent data relating to the travel country detected by the travel country detection means from the country dependent data storage means,
An on-vehicle map display device that displays a map on a display using each data acquired by the data acquisition means.   The country-dependent data includes data representing borderlines that differ in view from country to country, data representing territory names that differ in view from country to country, and data relating to features that differ in view from country to country. The in-vehicle map display device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the on-vehicle map display device is at least one of them. A travel country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
The in-vehicle map display device according to claim 1, wherein the destination country determination unit determines the travel country detected by the travel country detection unit as the destination country. Traveling country detection means for detecting the country in which the vehicle is traveling;
Second data acquisition means for acquiring country-dependent data relating to the travel country detected by the travel country detection means from the country-dependent data storage means;
Determination means for determining whether or not the traveling country detected by the traveling country detection means matches the destination country determined by the destination country determination means;
When the traveling country and the destination country do not match, for the map data having different views between the destination country and the traveling country, country-dependent data relating to the destination country is used, and the traveling country and the destination country The on-vehicle map display device according to claim 1, wherein map data having a different view with a country other than the destination country is displayed on a display using country-dependent data relating to the travel country.   Map data related to multiple countries that do not depend on each country, and map data with different views depending on the country, and map data related to multiple countries created specifically for each country are stored in a separate form. A map data storage device characterized by comprising: Including map data stored in a storage medium,
The map data includes general-purpose data that does not depend on each country, country-dependent data with different views depending on the country, and country-specific data created specifically for each country,
A data structure of map data, characterized in that, when a country is designated through an external input means, country-dependent data relating to the designated country can be read out.

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