Patent ID: 7010567

Claim:
A map-data distribution method for distributing map data from a map-data distribution server to a client and causing said client to draw a map image, said map-data distribution method comprising: causing said map-data distribution server to store a plurality of map components obtained by dividing said map data, wherein said map data for drawing a map image is separated by type of data into a plurality of different map components which, when drawn and superimposed, constitute the map image; causing the client to specify an order of priority of transmission of said map components and to transmit said order of priority to said server; causing the server to serially send said map data, by map component, to said client in said order of priority received from said client; and causing said client to store the received map data in a temporary memory while causing said client to start to draw the first received map component of the map image using one of the received map data and the map data stored in said temporary memory before all map components of the map data are received by the client; wherein said map components of said map data include at least one of a map component of road images appearing in the map image, a map component of polygon images appearing in the map image, a map component of names appearing in the map image, and a map component of landmark images appearing in the map image.