Weather information display device

Abstract

The objective is to provide a weather information display device suitable for understanding trends in weather data. [Solution] According to the embodiment, the weather information display device includes: a reference time setting unit which is set to determine the importance of the time corresponding to the weather data; a display format determination unit which determines the display format of a weather data image showing the weather data based on the reference time set in the reference time setting unit and the time corresponding to the weather data; a display screen generation unit which generates a display screen which displays a plurality of the weather data images to be displayed in the display format determined by the display format determination unit, overlapping them in the order of the times, shifted vertically; and a display unit which displays the display screen generated by the display screen generation unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a weather information display device for displaying weather information.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, display devices for displaying information related to weather such as rainfall are known. For example, a weather display device for displaying current and future weather information indoors is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, a weather information display device suitable for grasping the transition of rainfall such as a linear precipitation band is not known. A linear precipitation band is a phenomenon in which heavy rainfall concentrates in the same place for a long time.

[0005] For example, when rainfall data at a specific time is displayed on one screen, the user needs to check the rainfall data at each time while switching the display target time. In this case, the user needs to grasp the transition of rainfall while switching the screens of the rainfall data at each time.

[0006] Also, when rainfall data at a plurality of times is displayed at a plurality of display positions on one screen, the user needs to grasp the transition of rainfall while comparing the rainfall data displayed at a plurality of positions on one screen. Also, when a plurality of rainfall data is displayed on one screen, the display of each rainfall data becomes small.

[0007] Therefore, with display devices that show weather data in this manner, it is difficult for users to compare weather data at different times, and there is a need for display devices that make it easier to understand the trends in weather data.

[0008] The objective of this embodiment is to provide a weather information display device suitable for understanding the trends in weather data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to the embodiment, the weather information display device includes: a reference time setting unit which is set to determine the importance of the time corresponding to the weather data; a display format determination unit which determines the display format of a weather data image showing the weather data based on the reference time set in the reference time setting unit and the time corresponding to the weather data; a display screen generation unit which generates a display screen which displays a plurality of the weather data images to be displayed in the display format determined by the display format determination unit, overlapping them in the order of the times with a vertical shift; and a display unit which displays the display screen generated by the display screen generation unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A configuration diagram showing the configuration of a weather information display device according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the configuration for generating the display screen in the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] A flowchart illustrating the procedure for displaying the display screen of the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is an illustrative diagram showing the first rainfall data received by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This is an illustrative diagram showing the second rainfall data received by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an illustrative diagram showing the third rainfall data received by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 7]This is an illustrative diagram showing the first display screen displayed by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] This is an illustrative diagram showing the second display screen displayed by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] This is an illustrative diagram showing the third display screen displayed by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] This is an illustrative diagram showing the fourth display screen displayed by the weather information display device according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] (Embodiment) Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the weather information display device 10 according to this embodiment. The same parts in the drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted as appropriate.

[0012] The weather information display device 10 is a device for understanding the trends in weather data. Here, the weather data will be mainly described as rainfall data, but it may also be data showing precipitation or snowfall, or other types of weather data.

[0013] The weather information display device 10 is mainly composed of a computer. The computer uses data stored in the memory unit to perform calculations in an arithmetic processing unit such as a semiconductor chip according to program instructions, thereby realizing various functions. The arithmetic processing unit and memory unit are not limited to the configuration described in this embodiment; there may be any number of them, and they may be located anywhere. Furthermore, the memory unit may be either a primary storage device or a secondary storage device, or it may be a storage medium that can be removed from the device.

[0014] The weather information display device 10 comprises a calculation processing unit 1, a storage unit 2, a data receiving unit 3, a display device 4, and an input device 5. The weather information display device 10 is connected to a weather data provision system 9 via a network NT such as the Internet.

[0015] The arithmetic processing unit 1 performs arithmetic processing to realize various functions of the weather information display device 10. The arithmetic processing unit 1 performs arithmetic processing for generating a display screen for grasping the transition of rainfall data based on the rainfall data provided from the weather data providing system 9.

[0016] The storage unit 2 stores various data used in the weather information display device 10. For example, the storage unit 2 stores the rainfall data received by the data receiving unit 3 or the set value input from the input device 5. Note that the various data stored in the storage unit 2 may be data obtained by arithmetic processing such as processing by the arithmetic processing unit 1, or data obtained by arithmetic processing by an arithmetic processing unit different from the arithmetic processing unit 1 provided in the storage unit 2.

[0017] The data receiving unit 3 receives rainfall data from the weather data providing system 9. For example, the data receiving unit 3 is software for receiving rainfall data, but may include hardware such as an interface.

[0018] The display device 4 outputs the processing result processed by the arithmetic processing unit 1. For example, the display device 4 displays the display screen generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1. The display device 4 is a display for displaying electronic data. The display device 4 may be any device such as a smartphone as long as it has a function of displaying electronic data.

[0019] The input device 5 is a device for the user to operate the weather information display device 10. For example, the user inputs various set values for determining the display form of the rainfall data, and causes the rainfall data to be displayed on the screen in a desired display form. For example, the input device 5 is a keyboard or a mouse, etc., but may be any device as long as it can input data to the arithmetic processing unit 1. For example, the input device 5 may be a user interface included as one of the functions of the display device 4.

[0020] The weather data provision system 9 is a system that provides weather data (rainfall data, etc.) that forms the basis of the rainfall data displayed on the display screen generated by the weather information display device 10. For example, the weather data provision system 9 is a system owned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan Meteorological Agency, a prefecture, or a private company.

[0021] For example, rainfall data is radar rainfall measured using radar. Radar rainfall is obtained by aggregating rainfall measurements taken at multiple measurement points installed in a predetermined target area (such as the whole country or within a prefecture). The measuring instrument installed at each measurement point measures the rainfall as a voltage value by irradiating the rainfall with radar. Note that the weather information display device 10 may use rainfall data measured in any way, not just the rainfall data described here.

[0022] The weather data provision system 9 can be any system that provides weather data. Furthermore, the weather data provision system 9 may be connected via a dedicated line or other means without going through the network NT, and it does not need to be connected to the weather information display device 10. For example, weather data provided by the weather data provision system 9 may be input to the weather information display device 10 via a storage medium, or a system or function equivalent to the weather data provision system 9 may be included as part of the weather information display device 10.

[0023] Furthermore, the weather data provision system 9 may include not only current or past weather data, but also predicted future weather data. The predicted weather data may also be generated by the weather information display device 10. For example, the weather information display device 10 may be equipped with a machine learning-based prediction model and may display a screen showing weather data using the predicted weather data generated by the prediction model.

[0024] Figure 2 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration for generating the display screen in the weather information display device 10 according to this embodiment.

[0025] The calculation processing unit 1 includes a display format determination unit 11, a display screen generation unit 12, and a display setting unit 13.

[0026] The display format determination unit 11 determines the display format of the rainfall data DT provided by the weather data provision system 9 and the rainfall data DT acquired from the storage unit 2, based on the time corresponding to each rainfall data. The display format determination unit 11 determines the display format of the rainfall data closest to the reference time to be the most prominent, and the display format of the rainfall data becomes less prominent as the time is further away from the reference time. The display format determination unit 11 transmits the rainfall data with the determined display format to the display screen generation unit 12.

[0027] For example, the display method may be transparency or opacity, but it may also be color or brightness, a combination of two or more of these, or other elements. For example, in the case of transparency, the lower the transparency, the more noticeable the display method. In the case of opacity, the higher the opacity, the more noticeable the display method. In the case of brightness, the brighter the brightness, the more noticeable the display method. In the case of color, the degree of noticeableness may be determined by using colors that make up a gradient that changes from a noticeable color to a less noticeable color.

[0028] The display screen generation unit 12 generates a display screen showing the progression of rainfall based on multiple rainfall data sets whose display format has been determined, received from the display format determination unit 11, and the setting values ​​22 acquired from the storage unit 2. The display screen generation unit 12 outputs the generated display screen to the display device 4.

[0029] The display setting unit 13 receives information about the display screen from the input device 5 by the user. The display setting unit 13 stores the received information as a setting value 22 in the storage unit 2.

[0030] The memory unit 2 stores rainfall history data 21 and set values ​​22.

[0031] Rainfall history data 21 is data showing the history of rainfall generated based on rainfall data DT provided by the meteorological data provision system 9. Rainfall history data 21 is stored so that the rainfall data DT provided by the meteorological data provision system 9 can be retrieved based on the time corresponding to the rainfall data DT. Time information indicating the time corresponding to the rainfall data DT may be attached to the rainfall data DT received from the meteorological data provision system 9, or it may be attached when the rainfall data DT is received from the meteorological data provision system 9. In addition, the time information may be attached by the storage unit 2, or it may be attached by the arithmetic processing unit 1 and stored in the storage unit 2. If time information is attached to the rainfall data DT received from the meteorological data provision system 9, the storage unit 2 generates the rainfall history data 21 by storing the rainfall data DT in the order in which it was received from the meteorological data provision system 9.

[0032] Setting value 22 is information set by the user to generate a display screen showing the progression of rainfall. For example, setting value 22 may include the reference time, time interval, and time width.

[0033] The reference time is the time that serves as the baseline for rainfall trends and is the time of rainfall that users are most interested in. In other words, the reference time is the most important time for users to understand rainfall trends. Therefore, rainfall data DT closer to the reference time is considered more important. The reference time may also be the time of the most recent rainfall data DT.

[0034] The time interval is the time interval between two adjacent rainfall data points DT that represent the progression of rainfall. For example, the time interval may be 5 minutes or 10 minutes. The time interval can be set to any time, with the time interval of the rainfall data points DT stored in the rainfall history data 21 being the minimum value.

[0035] The time interval is the period from the start time to the end time for the user to understand the progression of rainfall. For example, if the user is identifying a linear rainband, the time interval will be set to 3 hours, and if the user is identifying a sudden downpour, the time interval will be set to 1 hour.

[0036] Note that setting value 22 may contain any information. For example, it may include a setting value that determines whether each rainfall data DT is distinguished on the display screen by the transparency, shade, or color scheme of the display color, or it may include a setting value for determining the transparency, shade, or color scheme of the display color.

[0037] Referring to Figure 3, the procedure for displaying the rainfall trend screen from the weather information display device 10 will be explained.

[0038] The data receiving unit 3 receives rainfall data DT with time information attached from the weather data provision system 9 (step ST1). For example, the time information is the observation time when the rainfall data DT was observed. The time information is not limited to the observation time; it may include any time, such as the reception time of the weather information display device 10, as long as it includes the time corresponding to one rainfall data DT.

[0039] The data receiving unit 3 transmits the received rainfall data DT to the calculation processing unit 1 and stores it in the storage device 2 (step ST2). If the received rainfall data DT does not have time information attached, the calculation processing unit 1 may attach time information to the rainfall data DT, and the storage device 2 may store the rainfall data DT with the time information attached.

[0040] The calculation processing unit 1 determines the display format (transparency, etc.) of the rainfall data DT based on the time information attached to the received rainfall data DT and the reference time of the set value 22 (step ST3). Specifically, the calculation processing unit 1 calculates the time difference between the time of the rainfall data DT and the reference time, and determines the display format of the received rainfall data DT based on the calculated time difference. The smaller the calculated time difference, the more prominent the display format of the rainfall data DT is determined to be.

[0041] For example, the arithmetic processing unit 1 may calculate the quotient obtained by dividing the calculated time difference by the time interval of the set value 22, and determine the display format of the rainfall data DT as a preset transparency corresponding to the calculated quotient. Alternatively, if the reference time is the latest time, the arithmetic processing unit 1 may always determine the rainfall data DT received from the data receiving unit 3 to be displayed in the most conspicuous format (lowest transparency).

[0042] The arithmetic processing unit 1 acquires the rainfall data DT necessary for creating the display screen from the storage device 2 based on the reference time, time interval, and time width of the setting value 22 stored in the storage device 2 (step ST4). The necessary rainfall data DT is all the rainfall data DT for each time interval of the setting value 22 within the time from the start time to the end time to be displayed on the display screen.

[0043] The arithmetic processing unit 1 determines the display format (transparency, etc.) for each rainfall data DT based on the time information attached to the rainfall data DT acquired from the storage device 2 and the reference time of the set value 22 (step ST5). The method for determining the display format is the same as in step ST1.

[0044] The calculation processing unit 1 generates a display screen showing the progression of rainfall based on each rainfall data DT whose display format has been determined (step ST6). Specifically, the calculation processing unit 1 synthesizes all the images of the rainfall data DT displayed in the determined display format, superimposing them in chronological order. At this time, the images of each rainfall data DT are superimposed on the screen of the display device 4 with a slight vertical shift. For example, if the reference time is the most recent time, the image of the rainfall data DT for the most recent time is placed on the top layer, and the further away from the most recent time the images of past rainfall data DT are placed on lower layers. It is desirable to synthesize each image of the rainfall data DT with a horizontal shift in addition to the vertical shift, but horizontal shifting is not required.

[0045] The arithmetic processing unit 1 transmits the data related to the generated display screen to the display device 4. As a result, the display device 4 displays the display screen showing the rainfall progression generated by the arithmetic processing unit 1 (step ST7).

[0046] The arithmetic processing unit 1 may update the display screen over time. The display screen update may be performed by repeating the arithmetic processing procedure described in steps ST1 to ST7 above, or it may be performed by modifying only the data that will be changed by the update based on the newly received rainfall data DT for the data currently displayed on the display screen.

[0047] Referring to Figures 4 to 10, the display screens DS1, DS2, DS3, and DS4, which show the progression of rainfall, will be explained.

[0048] Figures 4 to 6 show the rainfall data DT1, DT2, and DT3 received by the weather information display device 10, which correspond to the rainfall data DT in Figure 2. The rainfall data DT1, DT2, and DT3 each contain rainfall data images R1, R2, and R3, respectively, which show the rainfall in the target area. The first rainfall data image R1, the second rainfall data image R2, and the third rainfall data image R3 show the most recently observed rainfall in that order.

[0049] Here, each rainfall data image R1 to R3 is described as being based on actually observed rainfall data, but images based on rainfall data generated by machine learning prediction models may also be included. In this case, the observation time will be the predicted observation time.

[0050] Furthermore, while rainfall data DT1-DT3 here only shows rainfall data images R1-R3, it may also include images showing other information. For example, rainfall data DT1-DT3 may display rainfall data images R1-R3 on a map representing the topography of the target area.

[0051] Figures 7 to 10 show examples of display screens DS1 to DS4. Display screens DS1 to DS4 are generated based on rainfall data DT1 to DT3. The display screens DS1 to DS4 described here are merely examples and are not limited to these. In particular, parts other than the rainfall data images R1, R2, and R3 may be placed at any position on display screens DS1 to DS4, or they may not be displayed on display screens DS1 to DS4 at all.

[0052] The first display screen DS1, shown in Figure 7, displays rainfall data images R1 and R3 for two observation times. Rainfall data images R1 and R3 show the rainfall in the observation area in a display format. For example, the display format for rainfall may be color, intensity, or a combination thereof, but any other element may be used to indicate rainfall. Here, rainfall is shown using colors such as white, black, and gray, with colors closer to white indicating less rainfall and colors closer to black indicating more rainfall.

[0053] The indicator display unit A1 is the part that displays the relationship between the rainfall amounts D1, D2, and D3 of each rainfall data image R1 and R3 and the color used as the display format. Rainfall amounts D1 to D3 represent the amount of rain that fell in a certain period of time. Rainfall amounts D1 to D3 may be expressed as specific numerical values. The numerical values ​​or units of rainfall amounts D1 to D3 can be arbitrarily determined and may be set to a value 22 in the memory unit 2 so that the user can freely set them.

[0054] The time display unit A2 displays the relationship between rainfall data images R1 and R3 and the observation time. Time Ta represents a time before the reference time T, which is the reference time, and time T+a represents a time after the reference time T. a is a natural number and represents a predetermined number of time intervals away from the reference time T. For example, time T-1 represents a time one predetermined time interval before the reference time T, and time T+1 represents a time one predetermined time interval after the reference time T. This predetermined time interval is predetermined and may be arbitrarily changed as a setting value 22. Here, the predetermined time interval is assumed to be each interval of observation time for the rainfall data DT1 to DT3 acquired by the weather information display device 10. In addition, the time display unit A2 may display a specific time, such as "12:34".

[0055] In the time display unit A2, the "R1" display is positioned at time T, and the "R3" display is positioned at time T-2. This indicates that the rainfall data image R1 shows the rainfall at the reference time T, and the rainfall data image R3 shows the rainfall at two observation times prior to the reference time T.

[0056] Of the two rainfall data images R1 and R3, the first rainfall data image R1, located in the uppermost layer, represents the rainfall at reference time T. Reference time T is the observation time that users are most interested in, and the first rainfall data image R1 is displayed in a darker color than the third rainfall data image R3. Here, the display is made more prominent by the intensity of the color; the darker the color, the more noticeable the display.

[0057] The third rainfall data image R3 is displayed shifted below the first rainfall data image R1 and is displayed in a lighter color than the first rainfall data image R1. By displaying the third rainfall data image R3 below the first rainfall data image R1, it indicates that the observation time for the third rainfall data image R3 is earlier than the observation time for the first rainfall data image R1. Alternatively, the rainfall data images R1 and R3, which are positioned higher, may be displayed to represent rainfall data from earlier observation times.

[0058] The third rainfall data image R3 is displayed in a lighter color than the first rainfall data image R1, indicating that the rainfall data in the third rainfall data image R3 is less important to the user than the rainfall data in the first rainfall data image R1.

[0059] Furthermore, if the user changes the reference time T (setting value 22) to a time closer to the observation time of the third rainfall data image R3, the third rainfall data image R3 will be displayed in a darker color than the first rainfall data image R1.

[0060] Next, we will explain the second display screen DS2 shown in Figure 8. Since the second display screen DS2 is basically displayed in the same way as the first display screen DS1 shown in Figure 7, we will mainly explain the differences from the first display screen DS1.

[0061] The second display screen, DS2, shows rainfall data images R1, R2, and R3 from three different observation times.

[0062] The indicator display unit A1, like the first display screen DS1, shows the relationship between the rainfall amounts D1, D2, and D3 of each rainfall data image R1, R2, and R3 and their corresponding colors.

[0063] The time display unit A2, like the first display screen DS1, shows the relationship between rainfall data images R1, R2, and R3 and the observation time. The first rainfall data image R1 represents the rainfall at reference time T. The second rainfall data image R2 represents the rainfall at time T-1, which is one time before reference time T. The third rainfall data image R3 represents the rainfall at time T-2, which is two time before reference time T.

[0064] The first rainfall data image R1 is located in the uppermost layer and is displayed in the darkest color among the three rainfall data images R1 to R3. Therefore, it can be seen that the observation time of the rainfall data in the first rainfall data image R1 is either the most recent or the most distant (future), and is the most important.

[0065] The second rainfall data image R2 is displayed one position below the first rainfall data image R1 and is displayed in a lighter color than the first rainfall data image R1. Therefore, the observation time of the second rainfall data image R2 is earlier than the observation time of the first rainfall data image R1, and thus it is less important than the observation time of the first rainfall data image R1.

[0066] The third rainfall data image R3 is displayed one position below the second rainfall data image R2 and is displayed in a lighter color than the second rainfall data image R2. Therefore, the observation time of the third rainfall data image R3 is earlier than the observation time of the second rainfall data image R2, and thus it can be seen that it is of lower importance than the observation time of the second rainfall data image R2.

[0067] The rainfall data images are displayed from top to bottom in the order of the first rainfall data image R1, the second rainfall data image R2, and the third rainfall data image R3. This order indicates that the rainfall data is newest in this sequence. In other words, the rainfall data in the first rainfall data image R1 is the most recent, and the rainfall data in the third rainfall data image R3 is the oldest.

[0068] The rainfall data images R1, R2, and R3 are displayed in darker colors in that order, indicating that the rainfall data is of increasing importance to the user in that order. Specifically, the rainfall data in image R1 is the most important, and the rainfall data in image R3 is the least important.

[0069] Next, we will explain the third display screen DS3 shown in Figure 9. Since the third display screen DS3 is basically displayed in the same way as the first display screen DS1 shown in Figure 7, we will mainly explain the differences from the first display screen DS1.

[0070] The third display screen DS3 shows rainfall data images R1 and R2 from two observation times. The third display screen DS3 is the same as the first display screen DS1 shown in Figure 7, but with the third rainfall data image R3 replaced by the second rainfall data image R2.

[0071] The indicator display unit A1, like the first display screen DS1, shows the relationship between the rainfall amounts D1, D2, and D3 of each rainfall data image R1 and R2 and their corresponding colors.

[0072] The time display unit A2, like the first display screen DS1, shows the relationship between rainfall data images R1 and R2 and the observation time. The first rainfall data image R1 represents the rainfall at reference time T. The second rainfall data image R2 represents the rainfall at time T-1, which is the time immediately preceding reference time T.

[0073] The second rainfall data image R2 is displayed one position below the first rainfall data image R1 and is displayed in a lighter color than the first rainfall data image R1. Therefore, the observation time of the second rainfall data image R2 is earlier than the observation time of the first rainfall data image R1, and thus it is less important than the observation time of the first rainfall data image R1.

[0074] Here, the display interval between the first rainfall data image R1 and the second rainfall data image R2 on the third display screen DS3 shown in Figure 9 is narrower than the display interval between the first rainfall data image R1 and the third rainfall data image R3 on the first display screen DS1 shown in Figure 7. Also, the observation time of the rainfall data for the second rainfall data image R2 is time T-1, and the observation time of the rainfall data for the third rainfall data image R3 is time T-2. Therefore, the observation time of the second rainfall data image R2 is closer to the observation time of the first rainfall data image R1 (reference time T) than the observation time of the third rainfall data image R3. In other words, the display interval between the first rainfall data image R1 and the second rainfall data image R2 represents the time difference between the observation times of the first rainfall data image R1 and the second rainfall data image R2.

[0075] Note that the display interval between the first rainfall data image R1 and the second rainfall data image R2 may be the same as the display interval between the first rainfall data image R1 and the third rainfall data image R3 on the first display screen DS1 shown in Figure 7, without representing the time difference in observation times.

[0076] The intensity of the first rainfall data image R1 and the second rainfall data image R2 is the same as that of the first rainfall data image R1 and the third rainfall data image R3 on the first display screen DS1. In other words, the first rainfall data image R1 is displayed in a darker color than the second rainfall data image R2, indicating that the first rainfall data image R1 is more important than the second rainfall data image R2.

[0077] Next, we will explain the fourth display screen DS4 shown in Figure 10. Since the fourth display screen DS4 is basically displayed in the same way as the second display screen DS2 shown in Figure 8, we will mainly explain the differences from the second display screen DS2.

[0078] The fourth display screen DS4 is the same as the second display screen DS2 shown in Figure 8, except that the density of each rainfall data image R1 to R3 is different.

[0079] On the fourth display screen DS4, among the three rainfall data images R1 to R3, the observation time of the rainfall data in the second rainfall data image R2 is closest to the reference time T. Therefore, the second rainfall data image R2 is displayed in the darkest color.

[0080] The first rainfall data image R1 and the third rainfall data image R3 are displayed in a lighter color than the second rainfall data image R2. Here, the observation time T+1 for the rainfall data in the first rainfall data image R1 and the observation time T-1 for the rainfall data in the third rainfall data image R3 both have the same time difference from the reference time T. In the fourth display screen DS4, the later the observation time, the higher the importance of the rainfall data is determined, and the first rainfall data image R1 is displayed in a darker color than the third rainfall data image R3.

[0081] Furthermore, the first rainfall data image R1 and the third rainfall data image R3 may be displayed in colors of the same intensity. Also, the earlier the observation time, the higher the importance of the rainfall data. In addition, the importance may be determined based on whether the rainfall data is actually observed or predicted, and either type of data may be given higher priority.

[0082] According to this embodiment, each rainfall data image R1 to R3 is displayed in a different format, and the display format of the rainfall data images R1 to R3 is made more prominent for observation times of higher importance, allowing for a visual simultaneous understanding of rainfall data images R1 to R3 for multiple observation times. Furthermore, by arranging each rainfall data image R1 to R3 vertically in order of observation time, it becomes easier to grasp the progression of rainfall.

[0083] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0084] 1...Calculation processing unit, 2...Storage unit, 3...Data receiving unit, 4...Display device, 5...Input device, 9...Weather data provision system, 10...Weather information display device, 11...Display format determination unit, 12...Display screen generation unit, 13...Display setting unit, 21...Rainfall history data, 22...Set value.

Claims

1. A reference time setting unit in which a reference time is set for determining the importance of the time corresponding to weather data, A display format determination unit determines the display format of a weather data image showing the weather data based on the reference time set in the reference time setting unit and the time corresponding to the weather data, A display screen generation unit generates a display screen that displays a plurality of weather data images, which are displayed in the display format determined by the display format determination unit, by overlapping them in the order of the time, shifted vertically; A display unit that displays the display screen generated by the display screen generation unit and A weather information display device characterized by comprising the following features.

2. The display format determination unit determines the display format of the weather data image showing the weather data to be a more prominent display format on the display screen the closer the time corresponding to the weather data is to the reference time. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The display format determination unit determines at least one of transparency, density, color, or brightness as the display format. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

4. The display screen generation unit determines the distance between two adjacent weather data images based on the difference in time corresponding to each image. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

5. The system includes a time interval setting unit in which the time interval corresponding to the weather data is set, The display screen generation unit generates the display screen that displays multiple weather data images corresponding to multiple times at the time interval set in the time interval setting unit. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

6. The system includes a time width setting unit in which the time width corresponding to the weather data is set, The display screen generation unit generates a display screen that displays multiple weather data images corresponding to multiple times within the time range set in the time range setting unit. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

7. The aforementioned weather data is rainfall. A weather information display device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

8. A reference time is set in the computer to determine the importance of the time corresponding to the weather data. The computer determines the display format of the weather data image showing the weather data based on the set reference time and the time corresponding to the weather data. The computer generates a display screen in which a plurality of weather data images, displayed in the determined display format, are superimposed by shifting them vertically in the order of the time, The computer displays the generated display screen. A weather information display method characterized by including the following.

Images