Abstract:
A map marking method comprises capturing a map image from a physical map, capturing a plurality of reference coordinates corresponding to the physical map, obtaining a positioning coordinate from the global positioning system, calculating a positioning site on the physical map corresponding to the positioning coordinate according to the plurality of reference coordinates, the map image, and the positioning coordinate, and marking the positioning site on the physical map. As such, a user may arbitrarily mark his/her own position on a physical map with his/her positioning device utilizing the above mentioned method, and may explore the world more conveniently.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No. 201410697220.4 filed in China on Nov. 27, 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a method for marking a map, particularly to a method for marking a current position of a user on a physical map. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    A navigation device is an electronic device for the path navigation and/or the direct navigation by combining global positioning system (GPS) signals and an electronic map, wherein direct navigation only labels the direction and the distance of the destination. The navigation device also displays the current position of the user on the map. However, due to the size of the monitor and the scale of the navigation device, the user often encounters the problem of not knowing his exact position on the map. 
         [0006]    For example, when the map is displayed with an enlarged scale, although the surrounding environment is shown on the monitor, but the labels with farther distance are unable to be displayed within the scope of the monitor. It often happens when climbing a mountain. Mountaineers need to determine the climbing path according to the conditions of the mountain and a tiny lapse can lead to a huge difference. In addition, the built-in electronic map of the navigation device may not include the detailed information for mountain climbing, such as the hiking path the contour line, so the mountaineer usually needs to carry a professional map for mountain climbing. 
         [0007]    The profession map for mountain climbing includes the labeled latitude and longitude coordinates. However, there are different systems for the latitude and longitude coordinate and the corresponding display formats are also different, such as degree/minute or degree/minute/second. Moreover, a more detailed graduation is not labeled on the map, such as millisecond or microsecond. Therefore, the user still has difficulties to know his position on the map even when the user obtains the geographic coordinate through the navigation device, the device capable of receiving GPS signals, or other device capable of calculating the geographic coordinate with wireless signals. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A method for marking on a map by using an electronic device is provided. The method includes capturing a map image of a physical map, obtaining reference coordinates of a plurality of reference points on the physical map, obtaining a positioning coordinate of a current position of the electronic device, calculating a positioning site on the physical map corresponding to the positioning coordinate according to the reference coordinates, and marking the positioning site on the physical map. 
         [0009]    In an embodiment, the plurality of reference coordinates include a first geographic coordinate on a first corner on the physical map and a second geographic coordinate on a second corner on the physical map, while the first corner and the second corner are located diagonally opposite to each other. 
         [0010]    In an embodiment, the step of calculating the positioning site on the physical map according to the reference coordinates includes generating a map coordinate system according to the first geographic coordinate and the second geographic coordinate, calculating a coordinate site on the map coordinate system corresponding to the positioning coordinate, and using the coordinate site as the positioning site. 
         [0011]    In an embodiment, the plurality of reference coordinates include a first geographic coordinate on a first corner of the physical map, a second geographic coordinate on a second corner of the physical map and a third geographic coordinate on a third corner of the physical map, while the first corner and the second corner are located diagonally opposite to each other. 
         [0012]    In an embodiment, the step of calculating the positioning site on the physical map corresponding to the positioning coordinate according to the plurality of reference coordinates, the map image, and the positioning coordinate includes generating a coordinate transformation matrix according to the first geographic coordinate, the second geographic coordinate, the third geographic coordinate and the map image, and calculating the positioning site according to the coordinate transformation matrix and the positioning coordinate. 
         [0013]    In an embodiment, the step of marking the positioning site includes (a) projecting a light beam onto the physical map such that a spot is generated on the physical map, (b) capturing a mark image from the physical map with the spot, (c) calculating a mark coordinate of the spot according to the mark image and the plurality of reference coordinates, (d) adjusting the projecting position of the light beam based on the calculated mark coordinate from step (c), and (e) repeating the steps from the step (b) to the step (d) until the mark coordinate equals to the positioning coordinate. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment, the step of marking the positioning site includes (a) placing a mark corresponding to the positioning coordinate on the map image, and (b) projecting the map image having the mark onto the physical map, wherein the dimensions of the projected map image fits the dimensions of the physical map. 
         [0015]    In an embodiment, the step of marking the positioning site includes displaying the part including the positioning site of the physical map on a display. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment, the step of capturing the plurality of reference coordinates from the physical map includes executing an image recognition procedure on the map image to recognize a barcode block in the map image, and decoding the barcode block to obtain the plurality of reference coordinates. 
         [0017]    In an embodiment, the step of capturing the plurality of reference coordinates from the physical map includes executing an image recognition procedure on the map image to recognize a plurality of latitude and longitude coordinate blocks in the map image, and executing a character recognition procedure to the plurality of latitude and longitude coordinate blocks to obtain the plurality of reference coordinates. 
         [0018]    The contents of the present invention set forth and the embodiments hereinafter are for demonstrating and illustrating the spirit and principles of the present invention, and for providing further explanation of the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart of the method for marking on a map according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2A  is a diagram of the step S 1100  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2B  is a diagram of the captured map image in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2C  is a partial diagram of the tagged physical map after the step S 1500  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the step S 1400  in  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of the built map coordinate system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a diagram of the working scenario of positioning device using the mark according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of the step S 1400  in  FIG. 1  according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7A  is a diagram of the deformed map image according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 7B  is a partial diagram of the normal map according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the step S 1200  according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart of the step S 1200  according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings. 
         [0033]    An embodiment of the present invention is adapted for a device with global positioning system (GPS). For example, the device is but not limited to a navigation device, a positioning device, or a portable device with the GPS function, which includes an image capturing device, a processor and a marking device, such as a smart phone, a tablet, a notebook, or any portable device with arithmetic functions. The embodiment is for illustrating but not for limiting the present disclosure. 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a flowchart of the method for marking on a map according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the method for marking on a map includes the following steps. As shown in the step S 1100 , a map image is captured from a physical map by the image capturing device. As shown in the step S 1200 , a plurality of reference coordinates are captured corresponding to the physical map. As shown in the step S 1300 , a positioning coordinate is obtained from the GPS. As shown in the step S 1400 , a positioning site in the physical map corresponding to the positioning coordinate is calculated by the processor according to the plurality of reference coordinates, the map image, and the positioning coordinate. As shown in the step S 1500 , the positioning site is tagged on the physical map. 
         [0035]    For example, please refer to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2C .  FIG. 2A  is a diagram of the step S 1100  according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2B  is a diagram of the captured map image in  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 2C  is a partial diagram of the tagged physical map after the step S 1500  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the user  100  uses the built-in image capturing module of the positioning device  200  to capture a map image from the physical map  300 . The captured map image  400  is shown in  FIG. 2B . The built-in processing module of the positioning device  200  obtains the reference coordinate  410  and the reference coordinate  430  from the map image  400 , wherein a line defined by the two reference coordinates is a diagonal of the physical map  300 /map image  400 . In spite of the example of the two reference coordinates, however, the reference coordinates of the present embodiment include but not limited to the three reference coordinates of the three corners of the map image  400 , the four reference coordinates of the four corners, or the reference coordinates of a plurality of famous landmarks. As shown in  FIG. 2C , the positioning site on the physical map  300  and/or the positioning site in the map image  400  of the positioning coordinates obtained from the GPS are calculated and tagged according to the reference coordinate  410  and the reference coordinate  430 . 
         [0036]    Referring to the implementation of the step S 1400  in certain embodiments, please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the step S 1400  in  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the step S 1400  includes the following steps: as shown in the step S 1410 , a map coordinate system is created according to the first geographic coordinate and the second geographic coordinate. As shown in the step S 1420 , a coordinate site of the positioning coordinate in the map coordinate system is calculated. As shown in the step S 1430 , the coordinate site is used as the positioning site. 
         [0037]    In association with the step S 1410  to the step S 1430 , please refer to  FIG. 2B ,  FIG. 2C , and  FIG. 4  together.  FIG. 4  is a diagram of the built map coordinate system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 2B , the latitude and longitude coordinate corresponding to the reference coordinate  410  is (N 25°12′29″, E 121°38′54″) and the latitude and longitude coordinate corresponding to the reference coordinate  430  is (N 25°08′14″, E 121°30′10″) in the map image  400 . Assuming that the map image  400  is a rectangle of 800×600 in resolution, namely, a standard map format, every pixel in the map image  400  corresponds to a geographic coordinate/latitude and longitude coordinate. According to the aforementioned coordinates, the built-in processing module of the positioning device  200  builds a map coordinate system  500  as shown in  FIG. 4 . In an embodiment, when building the map coordinate system  500 , the map coordinate  510  corresponds to the reference coordinate  410  and the map coordinate  530  corresponds to the reference coordinate  430 . The map coordinate  530  is defined as (0, 0) and the map coordinate  530  is defined as (800, 600). The latitude and longitude coordinate corresponds to every pixel (X, Y) in the map coordinate system  500  is calculated by the following equations and a database is built to store the latitude and longitude coordinate corresponds to every pixel (X, Y). The database is further stored in the memory unit of the positioning device  200  for query. 
         [0038]    longitude=E 121°30′10″30 X*(E 121°38′54″-E 121°30′10″)/800 
         [0039]    latitude=N 25°08′14″30 Y*(N 25°12′29″-N 25°08′14″)/600 
         [0040]    Then the position of the positioning coordinate is found in the map coordinate system  500 , that is, the position of the positioning coordinate is the coordinate site. Next, the coordinate site is taken as the positioning site and is tagged on the physical map  300 , so that the correction of the tagged positioning site is determined with the map image  400 . 
         [0041]    For example, please refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram of the working scenario of positioning device using the mark according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , when positioning, the positioning device  200  projects a light beam  800  onto the physical map  300 . When the positioning device  200  captures the map image  400 , the position of the tagged spot in the map image  400 , namely, the mark position  450  is found. The processing module of the positioning device  200  calculates the latitude and longitude coordinate of the mark coordinate of the mark position  450  according to the map image  400 , the latitude and longitude coordinate of the reference coordinate  410  and the latitude and longitude coordinate of the reference coordinate  430 . In another embodiment, the latitude and longitude coordinate of the mark coordinate of the mark position  450  is directly obtained by querying the aforementioned database built in the memory unit. In addition, the processing module repeatedly adjusts the beaming direction of the light beam  800 , so that the latitude and longitude coordinate of the mark position  450  eventually equals to the latitude and longitude coordinate of the positioning coordinate and the mark position  450  is the positioning site at this time. 
         [0042]    In addition, in another embodiment, when the positioning device  200  has a display, the processing module of the positioning device  200  displays part of the map image corresponding to the positioning site in the display. Therefore, the user  100  determines his position corresponding to the physical map  300  by watching the monitor. 
         [0043]    Moreover, in a further embodiment, the positioning device  200  tags the corresponding positioning coordinate on the captured map image and projects the tagged map image onto the physical map  300 , so that the size and the shape of the projected map image fits the physical map  300 . Therefore, marking and projecting the map image onto the physical map helps the user  100  to know his exact position and area on the physical map  300 . 
         [0044]    In association with the implementation of the step S 1400  in another embodiment of the present invention, please refer to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a flowchart of the step S 1400  in  FIG. 1  according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the step S 1400  includes the following steps: as shown in the step S 1440 , a coordinate transformation matrix is generated according to the first geographic coordinate, the second geographic coordinate, the third geographic coordinate and the map image. As shown in the step S 1450 , the positioning site is calculated according to the coordinate transformation matrix and the positioning coordinate. 
         [0045]    Specifically, please refer to  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B .  FIG. 7A  is a diagram of the deformed map image according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 7B  is a partial diagram of the normal map according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 7A , the map image  400 ′ includes a reference coordinate  410 ′, a reference coordinate  420 ′, a reference coordinate  430 ′, and a reference coordinate  440 ′. The map image  400 ′ is an image of 800×600 in resolution and every pixel in the image is deemed a coordinate point. For example, the coordinate point of lower left corner in the image is (1,1), and the coordinate point of upper right corner in the image is (800,600), and therefore the pixel coordinates corresponding to the reference coordinate  410 ′ to  440 ′ in the image are (700,500), (790,100), (10,100), and (100,500) respectively. Meanwhile, assuming that the pixels of the reference coordinates  510 ′ to  540 ′ on the normal map  500 ′ corresponding to the reference coordinates  410 ′ to  440 ′ are (800,600), (800,1), (1,1), and (1,600). Therefore, a coordinate transformation matrix is obtained according to the pixel coordinates corresponding to the four reference coordinates. According to the obtained coordinate transformation matrix, the positioning sites adapted for the map image  400 ′ are converted from the positioning coordinates. 
         [0046]    In another embodiment of the present invention, referring to the detailed implementation of the step S 1200 , please refer to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a flowchart of the step S 1200  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the step S 1200  includes the following steps: as shown in the step S 1210 , an image recognition procedure is executed to the map image to recognize a barcode block in the map image, such as the two-dimensional barcode  700  in  FIG. 2A . As shown in the step S 1230 , the barcode block is decoded to obtain the plurality of reference coordinates. 
         [0047]    In other words, the data related to the reference coordinates in the map image are digitized and displayed with the barcode block. For example, the barcode of the barcode block is but not limited to one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional barcode, high capacity color barcode, or other barcode adapted for being scanned to display information. The one-dimensional barcode is but not limited to Code⇄and Modified Plessey. The two-dimensional barcode is but not limited to quick response code (QR code), Chinese-sensible code, data matrix, and PDF  417  barcode. Referring to the reference coordinates in the stored map image, the following is an example for explaining the details. When the reference coordinates are located on the four corners of the map image, namely, the reference coordinate  410 ′ to the reference coordinate  440 ′ in  FIG. 4A , the storage format of the reference coordinate is shown as Table 1. The information ┌11┘ indicates that the reference coordinate is located on the upper right corner, and the information ┌10┘ indicates that the reference coordinate is located on the lower right corner, and the information ┌00┘ indicates that the reference coordinate is located on the lower left corner, and the information ┌01┘ indicates that the reference coordinate is located on the upper left corner. However, Table 1 is only an example. The storage format of the barcode block is not limited to the previous explanation and can be designed according to the need of the designer. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 11 
                 (N 25°12′29″, E 121°38′54″) 
               
               
                 10 
                 (N 25°08′14″, E 121°38′54″) 
               
               
                 00 
                 (N 25°08′14″, E 121°30′10″) 
               
               
                 01 
                 (N 25°12′29″, E 121°30′10″) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0048]    In another embodiment of the present invention, referring to the detailed implementation of the step S 1200 , please refer to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a flowchart of the step S 1200  according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the step S 1200  includes the following steps: as shown in the step S 1220 , an image recognition procedure is executed to the map image to recognize a plurality of latitude and longitude coordinate blocks in the map image. As shown in the step S 1240 , a character recognition procedure is executed to the plurality of latitude and longitude coordinate blocks to obtain the plurality of reference coordinates. The labeling method for the latitude and longitude coordinate is but not limited to the degree-minute-second format in the previous example or the format of degrees with decimal points. The character recognition procedure applies the techniques of image recognition and optical character recognition (OCR) and is not further explained hereinafter. 
         [0049]    In summary, the positioning or navigation device applying the method illustrated in an embodiment of the present invention tags the current position with the physical map after the positioning coordinate and the image of the physical map are obtained. Therefore, the user uses the positioning device applying the method illustrated in an embodiment of the present invention to mark his current position with the physical map, so that the user is able to explore any kind of environment in a more convenient way. 
         [0050]    The foregoing description has been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments of the invention. It is intended, therefore, that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims and their full scope of equivalents.