Drawing system and drawing method for radar indicator

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of more easily drawing drawing information for a radar indicator.SOLUTION: This drawing system for the radar indicator includes the radar indicator mounted on a ship and displaying a peripheral state observed by using a radio wave, and a drawing support device for preparing information to be displayed on the radar indicator. The radar indicator includes an indicator recording part, a drawing information operation part, and an indicator display part. A plotting support device includes a user input / output part, a conversion part, and a plotting support recording part. The user input / output unit inputs and outputs information related to the drawing information to and from a user. The conversion unit performs conversion between information input and output by the user input and output unit and drawing information for the indicator recording unit. The plotting support recording part records plotting information for the indicator recording part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a radar indicator drawing system including a radar indicator and a drawing support device, and a drawing method using the radar indicator drawing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 and other documents are known as radar devices for monitoring surrounding ships, land, navigational markers, etc. for the safe navigation of ships. Non-Patent Document 1 is a document that describes an onboard communication system. A radar display device that displays monitoring results superimposes various information, such as maps and the tracks of other ships, in addition to the monitoring results via radio waves. The superimposed information also includes information drawn by the user (hereinafter referred to as "drawing information"). Drawing information includes coastlines, areas, routes, etc. Coastlines are drawn as a safety alert, for example, when there are coastal structures that differ from the map. Areas are drawn to record areas important for navigation, such as fish reefs in fishing. Routes are drawn when the user wants to navigate the ship along a predetermined route, for example. This drawing information is drawn on the radar display device by entering the positions of multiple points and selecting whether or not to connect the points with lines. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 02-50693 [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] Noboru Takashima, "The Latest LAN-Compatible Inboard Communication System", Journal of the Japan Society of Marine Engineering, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 711-716, 2011, [Retrieved June 28, 2024], Internet<https: / / www.jstage.jst.go.jp / article / jime / 46 / 5 / 46_711 / _pdf / -char / ja> . Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A radar indicator consists of a video signal input unit that inputs video signals from the radar antenna, an information input unit that inputs information from navigation equipment, a processing unit that generates monitoring results based on the video signals and input information, a display unit that displays the monitoring results, and an operation unit that consists of hardware keys and joysticks that are used by the user. The operation unit is generally designed to be smaller than the display unit. In addition, since the bridge is equipped with various instruments other than the radar indicator, the operation unit is configured with the minimum number of interfaces necessary to keep the overall size of the radar indicator down.

[0006] Minimizing the number of interfaces on the operation unit of a radar display unit poses a challenge, as it limits operability when drawing. For example, while one method of inputting points in drawing involves directly entering latitude and longitude, placing a numeric keypad on the operation unit is difficult due to its size. Furthermore, since the bridge of a fishing boat is often operated with wet hands, high waterproofing is required, including for the radar display unit, making it difficult to place external input / output devices such as tablet terminals on the bridge. Therefore, methods such as using a joystick and enter key are used, but their operability is far from satisfactory. This challenge becomes even more pronounced when drawing extensive or complex shapes or multiple types of drawings. The present invention aims to provide technology that makes it easier to create drawing information for a radar display unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The radar indicator drawing system of the present invention includes a radar indicator mounted on a ship and displaying the surrounding conditions observed using radio waves, and a drawing support device for creating information to be displayed on the radar indicator. The radar indicator includes an indicator recording unit, a drawing information operation unit, and an indicator display unit. The drawing support device includes a user input / output unit, a conversion unit, and a drawing support recording unit. The indicator recording unit records nautical chart information and drawing information. The drawing information operation unit changes the drawing information recorded in the indicator recording unit in accordance with user operations. The indicator display unit displays a diagram on the nautical chart in accordance with the drawing information recorded in the indicator recording unit. The user input / output unit inputs and outputs information related to the drawing information to and from the user. The conversion unit converts information input and output by the user input / output unit into drawing information for the indicator recording unit. The drawing support recording unit records drawing information for the indicator recording unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the radar indicator drawing system of the present invention, the drawing information operation unit of the radar indicator can be utilized to enable operation during navigation, and can be combined with a drawing support device equipped with a user input / output unit that is easier for users to operate. Therefore, a user interface according to the situation can be provided, and a technology that makes it easier to draw drawing information for the radar indicator can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a radar indicator drawing system according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing specific examples of tables displayed by the user input / output unit 210. [Figure 3] 10 is a diagram showing a flow when the drawing information of the radar indicator 100 is changed by the drawing support device 200. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Components having the same functions are given the same numbers, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. [Example]

[0011] FIG. 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of a radar indicator drawing system of the present invention. The radar indicator drawing system 10 includes a radar indicator 100 that is mounted on a vessel and displays the surrounding conditions observed using radio waves, and a drawing support device 200 that creates information to be displayed on the radar indicator 100. The radar indicator 100 has high waterproof performance because it is mounted on a vessel. A general-purpose personal computer or tablet terminal can be used as the drawing support device 200. It is desirable that the radar indicator 100 and the drawing support device 200 be configured to be able to send and receive information via a network, but information may also be exchanged using a recording medium such as a USB memory.

[0012] The radar indicator 100 comprises an indicator recording unit 190, a drawing information operation unit 110, and an indicator display unit 120. The indicator recording unit 190 records nautical chart information and drawing information. The drawing information operation unit 110 performs processes such as changing the drawing information recorded in the indicator recording unit 190 according to user operations. The drawing information operation unit 110 is essentially the same as that of a conventional radar indicator, and may be comprised of a joystick and an enter key. The indicator display unit 120 displays a diagram on the nautical chart according to the drawing information recorded in the indicator recording unit 190. The indicator display unit 120 is also essentially the same as that of a conventional radar indicator. Different functions will be described later.

[0013] The drawing support device 200 includes a user input / output unit 210, a conversion unit 220, and a drawing support recording unit 290. The user input / output unit 210 inputs and outputs information related to drawing information to and from the user. The user input / output unit 210 identifies the positions of points using latitude and longitude values ​​as information related to drawing information, and selects whether to display or hide the points and the lines connecting the points. The display or hide of the lines connecting the points can be changed depending on the season. For example, since fish species and fishing grounds change depending on the season, changing the display to display only the target fishing grounds makes it easier to understand the target area. The user input / output unit 210 can also select whether to display or hide the lines connecting points whose positions are identified using latitude and longitude values. The ability to select whether to display or hide the lines connecting points is convenient because it allows unnecessary lines to be hidden.

[0014] 2 shows a specific example of a table displayed by the user input / output unit 210. Table 212 records the point number of the point to be displayed on the indicator display unit 120, a flag indicating whether to display or hide the point, latitude and longitude values, the color in which the point is displayed, and a flag indicating whether to display or hide a line between the point and the point immediately above. When an area is specified using multiple latitude and longitude values, such as when a fishing cooperative or other organization designates an area to be avoided, the latitude and longitude values ​​can be entered into table 212 to create drawing information for the area.

[0015] The conversion unit 220 converts information input / output by the user input / output unit 210 into drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190. "Conversion" mainly refers to format conversion. In some cases, the format of the table 212 is converted into the format of drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190, and in other cases, the format of the drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190 is converted into the format of the table 212.

[0016] The drawing support recording unit 290 records drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190. By copying the drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190 recorded in the drawing support recording unit 290 to a recording medium such as a USB memory and saving it in the indicator recording unit 190, drawing information created or changed by the drawing support device 200 can be used as drawing information for the radar indicator 100. The drawing support recording unit 290 may also record nautical chart information. In this case, the user input / output unit 210 may have a function to display a nautical chart based on the nautical chart information and obtain the latitude and longitude values ​​of a point when the user specifies the position of the point on the displayed nautical chart. The user input / output unit 210 may then display a nautical chart based on the nautical chart information and create drawing information when the user specifies the position of the point on the displayed nautical chart. Alternatively, the user input / output unit 210 may display a nautical chart based on the nautical chart information and drawing information for the indicator recording unit 190 and change the drawing information on the displayed nautical chart according to user input. If such an operation is possible, the drawing information can be easily changed.

[0017] There are times when it is desirable to create drawing information, such as information about fishing reefs, while operating a vessel. In this case, while operating a vessel, the drawing information is drawn using the drawing information operation unit 110 and the indicator display unit 120, and the drawing information is recorded in the indicator recording unit 190. This drawing information is not stored in the drawing support device 200. FIG. 3 shows a flow for changing the drawing information of the radar indicator 100 using the drawing support device 200. The flow for changing the drawing information of the radar indicator 100 using the drawing support device 200 involves executing a drawing information acquisition step (S290), a first conversion step (S221), an information change step (S210), a second conversion step (S222), and a drawing information update step (S190). The drawing information acquisition step (S290) acquires the drawing information recorded by the indicator recording unit 190 and records the acquired drawing information in the drawing support recording unit 290. The drawing information may be acquired and recorded via a network, or a recording medium may be used. In the first conversion step (S221), the conversion unit 220 converts the drawing information into information (e.g., table 212) that is input / output by the user input / output unit 210. In the information change step (S210), the user input / output unit 210 changes the input / output information in accordance with the user's input and obtains the changed input / output information. If the drawing support recording unit 290 also records nautical chart information, the drawing information may be changed on the nautical chart in accordance with the user's input. In the second conversion step (S222), the conversion unit 220 converts the changed input / output information into drawing information and updates the drawing information in the drawing support recording unit 290. In the drawing information update step (S190), the updated drawing information is obtained from the drawing support recording unit 290 and updates the drawing information in the indicator recording unit 190. If such operations can be performed, drawing information can be easily shared between the radar indicator 100 and the drawing support device 200 and can also be easily changed.

[0018] Note that, when a ship is anchored in a port, the radar indicator 100 and the drawing support device 200 can be connected via a network and placed in close proximity. In such a case, the indicator display unit 120 can also be used to operate the user input / output unit 210. Specifically, the indicator display unit 120 displays a cursor on a nautical chart. The user operates the position of the cursor displayed on the indicator display unit 120 using the user input / output unit 210 or the drawing information operation unit 110. The user input / output unit 210 can request the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position. When the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position are requested, the radar indicator 100 transmits the latitude and longitude values ​​to the drawing support device 200. The user input / output unit 210 identifies the position of the point according to the received latitude and longitude values. For example, the button 214 in FIG. 2 is a button that requests the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position displayed on the indicator display unit 120. If the user input / output unit 210 is a touch panel display, the user can obtain the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position displayed on the indicator display unit 120 by touching the button 214, and can input the latitude and longitude of the row in the table 212 that corresponds to the button 214. If such operations can be performed, drawing information can be easily created.

[0019] According to the radar indicator drawing system 10, the drawing information operation unit 110 of the radar indicator 100 can be utilized to enable operation during navigation, and can be combined with a drawing support device 200 equipped with a user input / output unit 210 that is easier for the user to operate. Therefore, a user interface according to the situation can be provided, and a technology can be provided that makes it easier to draw drawing information for a radar indicator.

[0020] [Processor, program, recording medium] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory.

[0021] In this specification, a circuitry, unit, or means is hardware that is programmed to realize or performs the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or perform the described functions.

[0022] If the hardware is a processor considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of the hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0023] The various processes described above can be implemented by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 2020 of the computer 2000 shown in Figure 4, and operating the control unit 2010, input unit 2030, output unit 2040, display unit 2050, etc.

[0024] The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, which may be, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or any other suitable recording medium.

[0025] The program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, lending, etc. a portable recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a storage device of a server computer, and then transferred from the server computer to another computer via a network, thereby distributing the program.

[0026] A computer that executes such a program may first temporarily store the program recorded on a portable recording medium or transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. Then, when executing a process, the computer reads the program stored on its own recording medium and executes the process in accordance with the read program. Alternatively, the computer may read the program directly from a portable recording medium and execute the process in accordance with the program. Furthermore, the computer may execute the process in accordance with the program each time a program is transferred from a server computer to the computer. The server computer may not transfer the program to the computer, but may instead execute the process through a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) service, which realizes the processing function by issuing an execution command and obtaining the results. Furthermore, the server computer may execute the process on a terminal using a so-called SaaS (Software as a Service) service, which allows users to use part of the server computer along with the program. In this embodiment, the program includes information used for computer processing that is equivalent to a program (such as data that is not a direct instruction to the computer but has properties that define computer processing).

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the device is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer, but at least a part of the processing contents may be realized by hardware. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 100 Radar indicator 110 Drawing information operation unit 120 Indicator display section 190 Indicator recording section 200 Drawing support device 210 User input / output unit 212 Table 214 Button 220 Conversion section 290 Drawing support recording section

Claims

1. A radar indicator mounted on a ship that displays the surrounding situation observed using radio waves; a drawing support device for creating information to be displayed on the radar indicator; A radar indicator drawing system including: The radar indicator is an indicator recording unit for recording nautical chart information and drawing information; a drawing information operation unit for changing the drawing information recorded in the indicator recording unit in accordance with a user's operation; an indicator display unit that displays a drawing on a nautical chart according to the drawing information recorded in the indicator record unit; Equipped with The drawing support device includes: a user input / output unit for inputting and outputting information relating to drawing information between the user and the user; a conversion unit that converts information input and output by the user input / output unit into drawing information for the indicator recording unit; a drawing support recording unit for recording drawing information for the indicator recording unit; Equipped with A drawing system for a radar indicator.

2. 2. The radar indicator drawing system according to claim 1, The user input / output unit specifies the position of a point by latitude and longitude values ​​as information related to drawing information, and selects whether to display the point and the line connected to the point. A drawing system for a radar indicator.

3. 3. The radar indicator drawing system according to claim 2, The drawing support recording unit also records information on nautical charts, The user input / output unit A function to display a nautical chart based on the information of the nautical chart, and to obtain the latitude and longitude values ​​of a point by a user specifying the position of the point on the displayed nautical chart, A nautical chart based on the information of the nautical chart is displayed, and drawing information is created by the user specifying the position of a point on the displayed nautical chart. or, A nautical chart based on the information on the nautical chart and drawing information for the display unit recording unit are displayed, and the drawing information is changed on the displayed nautical chart according to input by the user. A drawing system for a radar indicator.

4. 3. The radar indicator drawing system according to claim 2, The indicator display unit displays a cursor on a nautical chart, the user input / output unit can request the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position when the radar indicator and the drawing support device are connected via a network, the radar indicator transmits the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position to the drawing support device when the radar indicator is connected to the drawing support device via a network and the latitude and longitude values ​​of the cursor position are requested; The user input / output unit identifies the location of the point according to the received latitude and longitude values. A drawing system for a radar indicator.

5. 3. The radar indicator drawing system according to claim 2, The user input / output unit can select whether to display or not display lines connecting points whose positions are specified by latitude and longitude values. A drawing system for a radar indicator.

6. A drawing method using the radar indicator drawing system according to claim 1, a drawing information acquisition step of acquiring drawing information recorded by the indicator recording unit and recording the acquired drawing information in the drawing support recording unit; a first conversion step in which the conversion unit converts the drawing information into information to be input / output by the user input / output unit; an information changing step in which the user input / output unit changes the information to be input / output in accordance with a user's input and obtains changed information to be input / output; a second conversion step in which the conversion unit converts the changed input / output information into drawing information and updates the drawing information in the drawing support recording unit; a drawing information updating step of acquiring updated drawing information from the drawing support recording unit and updating the drawing information in the indicator recording unit; A drawing method that performs the following.

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