JP2012141967A - Electronic book system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic book system capable of making a community of a page so as to provide a sense of unity for a plurality of users.SOLUTION: An electronic book system is basically based on findings such that content included in a page image can be specified by specifying a position coordinate in the page image and comments can be input in association with the content so as to make a community of a page of an electronic book and provide a sense of unity for a plurality of users. An electronic book system 13 according to the invention includes a terminal 11 for displaying an electronic book and an electronic book server 12 connected to the terminal 11 through a communication line.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic book system. Specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic book system capable of making a magazine a community and giving a plurality of users a sense of unity.

  JP 2007-156783 A discloses an electronic book system. This electronic book system can download an electronic book to a user's terminal and display the electronic book.

JP 2007-156783 A

  The electronic book system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-156783 can download an electronic book to a user terminal. However, this system is basically intended for letting users download electronic books, not for communication between users. As a result, this system is simply a book that can be viewed on an electronic medium.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic book system capable of making a magazine into a community and giving a plurality of users a sense of unity.

  Basically, the present invention allows a user to specify content included in a book page and allows a user to input a comment related to the content. Based on the knowledge that can give a sense of unity.

  A first aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic book system. The electronic book system 13 includes a terminal 11 that can display an electronic book, and an electronic book server 12 connected to the terminal 11 via a communication line.

  The electronic book server 12 includes an electronic book storage unit 21, an electronic book server reception unit 22, a read processing unit 23, an information update unit 24, and an electronic book server transmission unit 25. The electronic book storage unit 21 includes a page (page) image of the electronic book, content included in the electronic book, coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content in the page image of the electronic book, and comments related to the coordinate metadata. Remember. The receiving unit 22 of the electronic book server receives information transmitted from the terminal 11. The read processing unit 23 reads information on the electronic book stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 based on the information received by the receiving unit 22 of the electronic book server. The information update unit 24 updates the information stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 based on the information received by the reception unit 22 of the electronic book server. The transmission unit 25 of the electronic book server transmits information related to the electronic book including one or more contents read by the reading processing unit 23 to the terminal 11.

  On the other hand, the terminal includes a receiving unit 41 of the terminal, a display unit 42, a content specifying unit 43, an input unit 44 of the terminal, and a transmitting unit 45 of the terminal. The receiving unit 41 of the terminal receives information related to the electronic book transmitted from the electronic book server 12. The information relating to the electronic book includes information relating to one or a plurality of contents. The display unit 42 displays information on the electronic book based on the information on the electronic book received by the receiving unit 41 of the terminal. The content designating unit 43 designates specific content included in the electronic book including one or more contents displayed on the display unit 42 by selecting the position coordinates of the content. The input unit 44 of the terminal inputs instructions and comments related to the position coordinates of the content specified by the content specifying unit 43. The transmission unit 45 of the terminal transmits an instruction and a comment regarding the content input by the input unit 44 of the terminal to the electronic book server 12.

  In the present invention, coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content in the page image of the electronic book is stored, and each of the plurality of contents included in the page displayed on the terminal is specified based on the coordinate information. Therefore, the user can specify content using the coordinate information. Thereby, the user can input a comment freely in relation to each content. Furthermore, since the comment input by the user through the terminal is transmitted to the electronic book server 12 and stored / updated in association with the content, various users can view the input comment in relation to the content. .

  According to a preferred aspect of the electronic book system of the present invention, the electronic book server 12 scans the page image capturing unit 26 that captures the page image of the book, and the page image of the book captured by the page image capturing unit 26 into the page. A position coordinate acquisition unit 27 for obtaining position coordinates on the page of the included content.

  The electronic book system of this aspect can automatically obtain the position coordinates of the content only by scanning a book on a paper medium, for example.

  In a preferred aspect of the electronic book system of the present invention, the electronic book storage unit 21 of the electronic book server 12 further includes an input disabled area in which instructions and comments cannot be input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 in the coordinate metadata. Remember based on. In addition, the electronic book server 12 further determines whether or not the specific content selected by the content specifying unit 43 of the terminal 11 is included in the non-inputable region. The non-inputable region is stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. An input permission determination unit 28 that makes a determination with reference to data related to the above is included. The information update unit 24 of the electronic book server 12 stores the comment stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 only when the input availability determination unit determines that the specific content is not included in the input availability region. Update the information.

  With such a configuration, the electronic book system according to the present invention can provide an area where a comment can be input and an area where a comment cannot be input, for each page included in the electronic book. Therefore, it is possible to publish content that wants to avoid comments from general users, such as advertising content, in the electronic book.

  In a preferred aspect of the electronic book system of the present invention, the electronic book server 12 further includes a comment totaling unit 29 that counts the number of times comments are input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 for each content included in the electronic book, It includes an image generation unit 30 that generates a page image of an electronic book corresponding to the number of comments input counted by the comment counting unit 29 and stores the generated page of the electronic book in the electronic book storage unit 21.

  As described above, since the electronic book system according to the present invention counts the number of times comments are input for each content, which content among the content included in the page image of the electronic book is interested in the user. You can see what is being collected. Further, according to the present invention, for example, a page image in a ranking format in which contents are displayed in the order of the number of comments input is generated according to the number of comments. Can be built.

  In a preferred aspect of the electronic book system of the present invention, the electronic book server 12 generates an opaque image that is displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 in a superimposed manner on the page image of the electronic book, and is superimposed on the page image. When it is determined that the displayed opaque image has been dragged by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11, a part of the opaque image along the locus dragged by the input unit 43 is transmitted to the terminal 11. It further includes a scratch processing unit 31 displayed on the display unit 42.

  When the electronic book system according to the present invention has such a configuration and displays an opaque image superimposed on content included in the electronic book, for example, a user viewing the electronic book can view the opaque image on the opaque image. By performing a drag operation using the input unit of the terminal, it is possible to view the content existing below the opaque image. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the preference when the user browses the electronic book.

  Since the electronic book system of the present invention stores coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content in the page image of the electronic book, the user designates the content for inputting the comment by the position coordinates. it can. Therefore, it is possible to give a plurality of users a sense of unity in inputting comments to the same content (same position coordinates).

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of an electronic book system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the concept of coordinate metadata. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where the position coordinates of the content are measured. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page image displayed on the display unit of the terminal. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of processing in the position coordinate acquisition unit. FIG. 5A shows an image before scanning. FIG. 5B shows an example of the processed image after scanning. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing in the scratch processing unit. FIG. 6A shows an example of a state where an opaque image is generated on a page image. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a process of transmitting a part of the non-transparent image displayed on the page image. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment (computer) of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment (game machine) according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention (a mobile phone with a computer graphic function). FIG. 10 is a photograph replacing a drawing showing an example in which a page image is displayed on a terminal for displaying an electronic book. FIG. 11 is a photograph replacing a drawing showing an example of a page image on which icons and comments are displayed. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining another preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. The present invention includes those appropriately modified within the scope obvious to those skilled in the art from the following embodiments. In other words, any configuration and operation of the electronic book system at the time of filing can be appropriately employed in the electronic book system according to the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an electronic book system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic book system 13 of the present invention includes a terminal 11 that can display an electronic book, and an electronic book server 12 connected to the terminal 11 via a communication line. As a result, the terminal 11 and the electronic book server 12 can exchange data through a communication line such as the Internet.

  An example of the terminal 11 is an electronic book reader. The terminal 11 may be a portable computer, a mobile phone, a portable game machine, or a PDA that stores a program for browsing an electronic book. The electronic book server 12 includes a computer constituting the server. The server 12 has an input / output unit, a control unit, a calculation unit, and a storage unit. These elements are connected by a bus or the like so that information can be exchanged. That is, when predetermined information is input from the input / output unit, the control unit reads a control program stored in the main memory of the storage unit. And a control part reads the data memorize | stored in the memory | storage part suitably according to the instruction | indication of the control program, and performs a predetermined calculation in a calculating part. Then, the calculation result is temporarily stored in the storage unit and output from the input / output unit. Note that the terminal 11 in the present system also includes a computer, and has the same configuration as the electronic book server.

  An electronic book server 12 shown in FIG. 1 includes an electronic book storage unit 21, a reception unit 22 of an electronic book server, a read processing unit 23, an information update unit 24, a transmission unit 25 of an electronic book server, and a page image. It has a capturing unit 26, a position coordinate acquisition unit 27, an input availability determination unit 28, a comment counting unit 29, an image generation unit 30, and a scratch processing unit 31. The electronic book server 12 of this invention should just have arbitrary things among said structure. Moreover, the electronic book server 12 of the present invention may include elements other than the above-described configuration.

  The electronic book storage unit 21 stores an electronic book page image, content included in the electronic book, coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content in the electronic book page image, and comments associated with the coordinate metadata. It is an element for. A database in the electronic book server 12 functions as the electronic book storage unit 21. A preferred database is a relational database. The relational database associates electronic books, pages, page images, multiple contents contained in electronic books, coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of content in electronic book page images, and comments related to coordinate metadata. And remember. Further, the electronic book storage unit 21 further stores the ID of the user who posted the comment, the number of times the comment has been posted, and the number of times the comment has been viewed, in association with the comment. The ID of the user who posted the comment includes information that is considered necessary for categorizing the user, such as information on the user's identification number, gender, age, age, and occupation.

  Here, FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates an example of the page image of the electronic book and the coordinate metadata 51 for measuring the position coordinates of the content in the page image. As shown in FIG. 2, the coordinate metadata 51 indicates xy coordinate information for each of the page images 52 included in the electronic book. The coordinate metadata 51 is stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 in association with the page image 52 included in the electronic book. For example, the coordinate metadata 51 includes an identification number corresponding to the page image. Have FIG. 2 shows an example of a page image 52 with an electronic book. In this page image, photographic images of a plurality of clothes are posted as contents. In the example of FIG. 2, the description of the clothing is described in text in association with a photograph of the clothing that is the content. Further, the page image 52 shown in FIG. 2 also includes advertisement information for advertising. The page image 52 may be an image obtained by scanning a paper medium. The page image 52 may be originally electronically drawn. In the present invention, the page image 52 is preferably a scanned paper medium. As shown in FIG. 2, photographs (images) showing products on this page exist as contents. That is, this page contains a plurality of contents.

  FIG. 3 shows an example in which the position coordinates of the content included in the page image are measured based on the coordinate metadata 51. In the example shown in FIG. 3, although not normally displayed on the display unit of the terminal 11, a position coordinate area (43, 44) is allocated for each content. As shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the position coordinates for each content do not overlap with the position coordinates of other contents. The position coordinates of the content are specified by defining a rectangular area having four points such as an upper right point, an upper left point, a lower right point, and a lower left point based on the coordinate metadata 51. That is, by defining an area including the content included in the page image 52 by the coordinate metadata 51, the position coordinates of the content included in the page image are specified. For example, the position coordinates including the content are defined as upper left (x1, y1), upper right (x2, y2), lower left (x3, y3), and lower left (x4, y4). The position coordinates may be defined by four or more coordinate points.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 3, an input possible area 54 in which an instruction and a comment can be input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 and an input and an instruction incapable of inputting the instruction and the comment by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 are impossible. Region 54 exists. At least information relating to the coordinates of the input-impossible area 54 is stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. For example, for an area other than the area stored as the input-impossible area 54, an instruction and a comment may be input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11. Specifically, the input addition area 44 is defined for each page by the creator of the electronic book, and the input-impossible area 54 is content that is not desired to be commented by the user of the terminal 11 (for example, , Advertising content). Note that the input enabled area 54 and the input additional area 44 are also defined by a plurality of coordinate points based on the coordinate metadata. It is determined by the input availability determination unit 28 (to be described later) whether the position coordinates where the instruction and the comment are input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 belong to the input possible region 54 or the input additional region 44. Is done.

  The receiving unit 22 of the electronic book server is an element for receiving information transmitted from the terminal 11. Usually a server is equipped with a transceiver. For this reason, a well-known thing can be used suitably for the receiving part 22 of the electronic book server of this invention.

  The reading processing unit 23 is an element for reading information on the electronic book stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 based on the information received by the receiving unit 22 of the electronic book server. For example, the electronic book server 12 receives information indicating that the content included in the page has been selected from the terminal 11. Then, the electronic book server 12 reads a comment stored in association with the position coordinates including the content from the electronic book storage unit 21 and transmits the comment to the terminal 11. Then, the display unit of the terminal 11 displays the comment in association with the position coordinates including the content. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a comment is displayed on the page image of the electronic book on the display unit of the terminal 11.

  The information update unit 24 is an element for updating the information stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 based on the information received by the reception unit 22 of the electronic book server. For example, it is assumed that a user displays a page of an electronic book on the terminal 11 and inputs a comment specifying a certain content. Then, the terminal 11 transmits the designated content and the input comment to the electronic book server. The information updating unit 24 stores the received comment in association with the position coordinates of the designated content. At this time, it is preferable that the ID of the content input person is also stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. The presence of the information update unit 24 accumulates comments from the user and updates the electronic book storage unit 21.

  The transmission unit 25 of the electronic book server is an element for transmitting information related to the electronic book including one or more contents read by the reading processing unit 23 to the terminal 11.

  The page image capturing unit 26 is an element for capturing a page image of a book. The electronic book server 12 only needs to be connected to, for example, a scanner or a photographing unit, and this scanner or photographing unit functions as the page image capturing unit 26.

  The content area determination unit 27 is an element for scanning (sweeping) the page image of the book captured by the page image capturing unit 26 to obtain content area information included in the page. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of processing in the content area determination unit 52. FIG. 5A shows an image before sweeping. FIG. 5B shows an example of the processed image after the sweep.

  The input availability determination part 28 indicates whether or not the specific content selected by the content designating unit 43 of the terminal 11 is included in the input impossible region, and includes information related to the input impossible region stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. It is an element for reference and judgment. Since the electronic book storage unit 21 stores the position coordinates of the unacceptable area based on the coordinate metadata, the input availability determination unit 28 determines that the position coordinates of the content selected by the content specifying unit 43 of the terminal 11 are the same. , It is determined whether or not it matches the position coordinates of the non-inputtable area. When it is determined that the position coordinates of the content selected by the terminal and the position coordinates of the input-impossible area match, the input availability determination unit 28 transmits the information to the information update unit 24. The information update unit 24 that has received the information that the content and the position coordinates of the input-impossible area match, even if a comment is input by the terminal in relation to the content, information on the comment stored in the electronic book storage unit Do not update. That is, the information update unit 42 updates the comment information stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 only when the input availability determination unit 28 determines that the specific content is not included in the input availability region. To do.

  The comment totaling unit 29 totals at least the number of times comments are input by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 for each content included in the electronic book. In addition, the comment totaling unit 29 may acquire ID information of a user who inputs a comment using the input unit 44 of the terminal 11. The comment input person ID includes comment ID information that is considered necessary for categorizing the user, such as information on the user identification number, gender, age, age, and occupation. Therefore, the comment totaling unit 29 grasps, for example, the number of comments for each gender, the number of comments for each age, the number of comments for each age, and the number of comments for each occupation for specific content included in the page.

  Note that the electronic book server 12 may include a user information storage unit for storing user information including the user ID. When the electronic book server 12 is connected to the terminal 11, the electronic book server 12 acquires the ID of the user associated with the terminal 11. And since the user information storage part has memorize | stored user ID, the calculation process according to user ID can be performed. In addition, when the electronic book server 12 receives a comment from the terminal 11, it can change the type and color of the icon displayed in association with the comment by storing the comment in association with the user ID. it can. For example, when the user's ID is a commercial ID (for example, an ID beginning with 5), an icon picture can be used as an abacus picture.

  The image generation unit 30 generates a page image of an electronic book corresponding to the number of comments input counted by the comment totaling unit 29. For example, the page image of an electronic book corresponding to the number of times of input of a comment is a page image that displays only the one with the highest number of input comments, a page image that displays only the one with the lowest number of input comments, and the input of comments Displays page images for sorting and displaying content in descending order of the number of pages, page images for sorting and displaying content in ascending order of comment input, and statistical data that classifies users who input comments by user ID as graphs A page image is included. As described above, the image generation unit 30 automatically generates a page image of an electronic book according to the number of input comments input by the comment totaling unit 29. Then, the image generation unit 30 stores the generated page image of the electronic book in the electronic book storage unit 21. Thus, by storing the new page image generated in the electronic book storage unit 21, the new page image is read by the reading processing unit 23 and then transmitted to the terminal 11, and the display unit of the terminal 11 is displayed. 42.

  The scratch processing unit 31 generates an opaque image that is displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 while being superimposed on the page image of the electronic book, and the opaque image that is displayed while being superimposed on the page image is displayed on the terminal 11. When it is determined that the drag operation is performed by the input unit, a part of the generated opaque image is transmitted along the locus dragged by the input unit and displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a part of the impermeable image 56 generated by the scratch processing unit 31 is transmitted along a dragged locus (broken line). Here, the drag operation by the input unit includes, for example, an operation of sliding with the click of the mouse pointer pressed and a slide operation of the touch panel. FIG. 6A shows an example of an impermeable image 56 displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 by being superposed on the page image of the electronic book by the scratch processing unit 31. In the state shown in FIG. 6A, when the drag operation is performed on the opaque image 56 by the input unit 44 of the terminal 11 along the locus (broken line) shown in FIG. Image processing for transmitting a part of the impermeable image 56 along the operated locus (broken line) is performed. Thereby, the content (photograph or text) drawn in the lower layer of the opaque image is displayed on the display screen of the terminal.

  The terminal shown in FIG. 1 includes a terminal receiving unit 41, a display unit 42, a content specifying unit 43, a terminal input unit 44, and a terminal transmitting unit 45.

  The receiving unit 41 of the terminal is an element for receiving information related to an electronic book including one or more contents transmitted from the electronic book server 12.

  The display unit 42 is an element for displaying information about the electronic book based on the information about the electronic book received by the receiving unit 41 of the terminal.

  The content designating unit 43 is an element for designating specific content included in an electronic book including one or more contents displayed on the display unit 42 by selecting the position coordinates of the content. The terminal 11 includes input devices such as a cross key, a touch panel, and a mouse pointer. For example, the display unit 42 includes an instruction icon. The instruction icon moves on the display unit in response to an input from the cross key. When the instruction icon is moved with the cross key and the selection information is input in a state where the instruction icon is located in an allocation area of a certain content, the content is designated.

  The input unit 44 of the terminal is an element for inputting instructions and comments related to the position coordinates of the content specified by the content specifying unit 43. The display unit 42 may be a touch panel, and the display unit may be a part of the input unit 44. In this case, the position coordinates of the content can be easily specified by designating an image related to the displayed content.

  The terminal transmission unit 45 is an element for transmitting instructions and comments regarding the content input by the terminal input unit 44 to the electronic book server 12.

  Note that the terminal 11 may have a photographing unit such as a camera. The photographing unit is an element for photographing an image. A camera or a photographing unit provided in a portable terminal is already known. Therefore, in the present invention, a known camera can be adopted as appropriate. An image captured by the imaging unit of the terminal 11 may be transmitted from the transmission unit 45 to the electronic book server 12 and generated as a page image or content of the electronic book.

  Next, an operation example of the electronic book of the present invention will be described.

[Create e-book data]
For example, the server operator presses a page with a book on the imaging unit of the scanner. Then, the scanner is driven. Then, the imaging unit of the scanner scans a certain page of the book and obtains a page image of the book. Then, the page image of the book obtained by the scanner is transmitted to the electronic book server, and the page image capturing unit 26 stores the received page image of the book in the electronic book storage unit 21. At this time, the server operator may input information related to the page taken into the server, and the electronic book storage unit 21 may store the input information. Examples of information about the captured page are the title, number of pages, and genre of the book that contains the page.

  Further, for example, it is assumed that the portion shown in FIG. 5A exists in the page image of the book captured by the page image capturing unit 26. In this case, the position coordinate acquisition unit 27 scans (sweeps) the image for each row (or for each column). For example, average color information is obtained for each pixel. A book includes a background, a content image, and text. The background portion is usually the color used for the end portion or the like, or is a white background. In addition, there is usually a part where the background can be seen in the part where the text exists. Therefore, when the image is swept and a color different from the background color continues for a predetermined pixel or more, that portion may be recognized as a region where the content image exists. On the other hand, the text portion may also be recognized by using a function in known OCR software. In addition, the electronic book server 12 performs a calculation for determining the position coordinates including the content. For example, since the electronic book server 12 knows the position where the image related to the content exists, the area where the image exists may be set as the position coordinates including the content. Furthermore, the electronic book server 12 knows the position of the content and the position of the text. Some users may not be able to specify the content image accurately. On the other hand, the text part may be linked. For this reason, the electronic book server 12 may perform an arithmetic processing on each content so that the region including the image (or photograph) indicating the content and not including the text portion is the position coordinate of the content. Good. By doing so, it is possible to instruct the content while making use of the links attached to the characters.

[Users browse electronic books]
A user of the terminal 11 photographs a page with a book with a camera. Then, the transmission unit 45 of the terminal transmits image data of a page of a certain book photographed by the camera to the electronic book server 12. Then, the electronic book server 12 receives the image data of the page transmitted by the terminal 11. The electronic book server 12 analyzes the received image data and determines which page is stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. At this time, the content included in the received page is recognized by performing the same process as the creation of the electronic book data described above, and stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 using information on the type of content and the display area of the content. You may perform matching with a page. At this time, page matching may be performed using information on the types and position coordinates of a plurality of contents. And the electronic book server 12 reads the information regarding the received page from the electronic book memory | storage part 21 using the information regarding the matched page. The information related to this page includes information for causing the terminal 11 to display a certain page of the electronic book. This information may include comments. This information may further include information on the position coordinates of the content.

  When the terminal 11 accesses the electronic book server 12, the electronic book server 12 may transmit information for displaying a screen related to the electronic book. In addition, after the terminal 11 accesses the electronic book server 12, you may make it input a user's ID suitably. Then, since the electronic book server 12 stores information related to the user in association with the user ID, various services can be provided. The information displayed on the terminal 11 may include, for example, titles of a plurality of electronic books. Information indicating that the terminal 11 has selected an electronic book is transmitted to the electronic book server 12. Then, the electronic book server 12 transmits data relating to the cover image and table of contents of the selected electronic book. The terminal 11 that has received these data can display the cover and table of contents information of the selected electronic book on the display unit.

  When the user decides to purchase an electronic book, purchase information is input to the terminal 11 from the input device of the terminal 11. Then, the terminal 11 transmits purchase information to the electronic book server 12. Upon receiving the purchase information, the electronic book server 12 stores that the electronic book has been purchased in association with the user ID. When there is a request for browsing the electronic book from the terminal 11 using the user ID, information for displaying the electronic book is transmitted to the terminal 11.

  Then, when the user's terminal 11 selects a certain page, the electronic book server 12 that has received the information reads the page image of the book, the content included in the electronic book, the page image of the electronic book from the electronic book storage unit 21. The coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content and the comments related to the coordinate metadata are read out and transmitted to the terminal 11. At this time, if there is a comment regarding the content included in the page, the electronic book server 12 selects an icon as appropriate, and also displays information about the icon so as to be displayed superimposed on the content. It is good also as transmitting to.

  The terminal 11 that has received information from the electronic book server 12 displays information about a certain page on the display unit. In this way, the user can browse the electronic book.

[User enters comment on e-book]
As described above, an image related to a page of a book on the display unit of the terminal 11 is displayed. This image includes one or more contents. Although not displayed on the display unit, the page image is associated with coordinate metadata for measuring the position coordinates of the content, and the position of each content included in the page image is defined by the position coordinates in the page image. Has been. For example, when the display unit is a touch panel, touching an image of content of interest (for example, clothes) detects the touched position coordinates. On the other hand, in the electronic book storage unit 21,
Based on the coordinate metadata, the position coordinates of the non-inputtable area are stored. Then, it is determined whether or not the position coordinates detected by the touch operation match the position coordinates of the non-inputtable area stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. If it is determined that the touched position coordinates do not match the position coordinates of the non-inputable area, a comment input field such as Twitter (registered trademark) is displayed on the display unit. Then, the user enters characters into the comment input field via the input unit. Then, a comment related to the position coordinates of a certain content is input to the terminal 11. When the user decides to transmit the content, the user selects a transmission button displayed on the display unit. Then, the terminal 11 receives a transmission instruction. Then, the terminal 11 transmits a comment to the electronic book server 12 together with the user ID and information regarding a certain content. This comment may be forwarded to the Twitter (registered trademark) site as a tweet on Twitter (registered trademark). On the other hand, if it is determined that the position coordinates detected by the touch operation match the position coordinates of the non-inputtable area stored in the electronic book storage unit 21, the information is transmitted to the electronic book server 12. The In the electronic book server 12 that has received the information that the content and the position coordinates of the non-inputable area match, a comment input field such as Twitter (registered trademark) is not displayed on the display unit. Therefore, no comment is input to the input disabled area by the input unit of the terminal 11.

  In the above description, Twitter (registered trademark) is taken as an example. However, in order to input a comment, a known system can be used as appropriate. Other examples of comment input are Evernote (registered trademark) and Facebook (registered trademark).

[Update e-book data]
The electronic book server 12 receives the comment together with the user ID and information related to a certain content (content identification information) transmitted from the terminal 11. Then, the electronic book server 12 stores the received comment in the electronic book storage unit 21 and updates the electronic book data. At this time, the comment and the ID of the user who provided the comment are also stored in association with the identification information of a certain content. Note that the electronic book storage unit 21 preferably updates the number of times the comment is viewed.

[Adjust icon]
The terminal 11 that implements the system of the present invention can select a mode in which some icon is displayed on the display unit when content is displayed on the display unit of the terminal 11 and there is a comment regarding the content. . When this mode is selected, a certain page of the electronic book is displayed on the display unit, and an icon is displayed superimposed on the content image. The icon may be displayed only when there is a comment related to the content.

  Further, the type or color of the displayed content may change based on the user ID. For example, when the content posted on the electronic book is an individual user, pictograms may be displayed as icons. By using pictograms as icons indicating individuals, access to pictogram providing sites can be increased. Moreover, since a specific pictogram will be displayed only to the friend who has downloaded the specific pictogram, it can be displayed that it is the comment which the friend posted.

  For example, when the amount of comments stored in association with a certain content is greater than or equal to a threshold value, it is difficult to display the content on the terminal instead of displaying icons related to all comments. Therefore, a threshold value is stored in the storage unit, and the number of comments stored in association with a certain content is compared. When the number of comments stored in association with a certain content exceeds a threshold value, processing for reducing icon display is performed. For example, the user information storage unit 43 stores a user evaluation rank in association with the user ID. Then, comments from users with a low evaluation are deleted until the number of comments falls below the threshold. In addition, the electronic book server has a clock that measures the current time. Then, the current time is compared with the comment posting time, and processing is performed so as not to display icons from the oldest to a predetermined number. Further, the number of times the comment has been viewed is stored, and processing is performed so that the icon is not displayed for a comment having a low number of times viewed. By doing in this way, even if a plurality of comments are gathered, only icons related to comments that are of high interest to the user can be displayed on the terminal 11.

[Commenting comments]
The electronic book server 12 counts the number of input comments for each content. Specifically, a comment is input by the input unit of the terminal 11, and the number of comments stored in the electronic book server 21 is totaled and counted for each content. In addition, since the user ID information related to the user's sex and age is associated with the input comment, the electronic book server 12 classifies the user who input the comment into a category based on the user ID information, and calculates Process and count the number of comments for each category. Therefore, the electronic book server 12 calculates the total number of comments input for the electronic book, the total number of comments input for each page image included in the electronic book, and the total number of comments input for each content included in the page image. , For each category based on user information. Information regarding the number of comments collected by the electronic book server 12 is stored in the electronic book storage unit 21.

[Generate image]
The electronic book server includes an image generation unit 30 and generates a new page image based on the information regarding the number of comments compiled as described above. In other words, the new page image may be displayed, for example, by rearranging the contents in a ranking format according to the total number of comments, or the statistics of comments grasped for each category based on user information are displayed in a pie chart or bar graph. May be displayed. The image generation unit 30 reads information related to the number of comments stored in the electronic book unit 21, performs predetermined calculation processing and image processing, and generates a new page image.

[Scratch processing]
The scratch processing unit 31 generates an opaque image that is displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 while being superimposed on the page image of the electronic book, and the opaque image that is displayed while being superimposed on the page image is displayed on the terminal 11. When the input unit 44 determines that the drag operation has been performed, a part of the generated opaque image is transmitted along the locus dragged by the input unit 44 and displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11. When a non-transparent image is generated on the electronic book, when the drag operation is performed on the non-transparent image 56 with a certain locus by the input unit of the terminal 11, the scratch processing unit 31 follows the drag operation locus. Along with this, image processing for transmitting a part of the opaque image 56 is performed. Thereby, the content (photograph or text) drawn in the lower layer of the opaque image is displayed on the display screen of the terminal.
In addition, for example, the creator of the electronic book generates an opaque image superimposed on a part of the electronic book. This non-transparent image can be made transparent only when a specific drag operation is performed by the user, for example. In other words, when the user browses the electronic book, the electronic book server requests the user's membership number and password, and collates with the membership information stored in the membership information database, and the membership number and password match. Allows scratches on opaque images. Even when the opaque image is dragged by a user who is not registered as a member, the scratch processing unit 31 does not transmit the opaque image. By adopting such a configuration, for example, paid member users can be differentiated from other users, and motivation for paid member registration can be created.

[Computer configuration]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment (computer) of the present invention. This embodiment relates to a computer based on computer graphics (such as a graphic computer). As shown in FIG. 6, the computer 101 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 102, a geometry calculation unit such as a geometry calculation circuit 103, a rendering unit such as a renderer 104, a texture generation unit such as a texture generation circuit 105, and an illumination processing circuit. An illumination processing unit such as 107, a display information creation unit such as a display circuit 108, a frame buffer 109, and a monitor 110 are provided. These elements are connected by a bus or the like and can transmit data to each other. In addition, a storage unit including a main memory (not shown), various tables, a work memory 111 serving as a work area, a texture memory 112 storing textures, and the like may be included. The hardware constituting each unit is connected via a bus, for example. The storage unit may be configured by a RAM such as a VRAM, a CR-ROM, a DVD, a hard disk, or the like.

  A central processing unit (CPU) 102 is a device for controlling a program or the like for generating an image. The work memory 111 may store data used by the CPU 102, a display list, and the like. Then, the CPU 102 may read a program or the like stored in the main memory and perform a predetermined process. However, the predetermined processing may be performed only by hardware processing. For example, the CPU 102 reads polygon data as world coordinate three-dimensional object data from the work memory 111 and outputs the polygon data to the geometry calculation circuit 103. Specifically, a processor having a main processor, a coprocessor, a data processor, four arithmetic operation circuits, a general-purpose operation circuit, or the like as appropriate. These are connected by a bus or the like so that signals can be exchanged. In addition, a data expansion processor for expanding compressed information may be provided.

  The geometry calculation circuit 103 is a circuit for performing coordinate conversion or the like on the input polygon data to data in a viewpoint coordinate system with the viewpoint as the origin. The geometry calculation circuit 103 outputs the processed polygon data to the renderer 104. Specific geometry operation circuits include a geometry processor, coprocessor, data processor, four arithmetic operation circuit, or general-purpose operation circuit connected to the main processor through a bus.

  The renderer 104 is a circuit or device for converting polygon unit data into pixel unit data. The renderer 104 outputs data in units of pixels to the texture generation circuit 105. Specific examples of the renderer 104 include a data processor, four arithmetic operation circuits, or a general-purpose arithmetic circuit connected to the main processor through a bus.

  The texture generation circuit 105 is a circuit for generating a texture color in units of pixels based on the texture data stored in the texture memory 112. The texture generation circuit 105 outputs pixel unit data having texture color information to the illumination processing circuit 107. Specific examples of the texture generation circuit 105 include a data processor connected to the main processor through a bus, a four arithmetic operation circuit, or a general-purpose operation circuit.

  The illumination processing circuit 107 is a circuit for performing shading on a polygon having texture color information using a normal vector, a barycentric coordinate, and the like in pixel units. The illumination processing circuit 107 outputs the shaded image data to the display circuit 108. Specific examples of the illumination processing circuit 107 include a data processor connected to the main processor through a bus, a four arithmetic operation circuit, or a general-purpose operation circuit. Then, information relating to light may be appropriately read out from a table stored in the memory and the like to perform shading.

  The display circuit 108 is a circuit for writing the image data input from the illumination processing circuit 107 to the frame buffer 109, reading the image data written in the frame buffer 109, and controlling it to obtain display image information. The display circuit 108 outputs the display image information to the monitor 110. Specific examples of the display circuit include a drawing processor, a data processor, four arithmetic operation circuits, and a general-purpose operation circuit connected to the main processor through a bus.

  The monitor 110 is a device for displaying a computer graphics image in accordance with input display image information.

  Since the computer of the present invention includes the image generation apparatus of the present invention as a renderer, a texture generation circuit, and a display device, the scale of hardware can be reduced by sharing the circuit elements in these. In addition, by applying the geometry part to 2D vector images, it is possible to perform geometry conversion on 2D vector images, and shape transformation and scaling by matrix operations can be performed on vector images without adding dedicated hardware or software operations. Can be done. In addition, 2D and 3D display commands that have been treated as separate objects can be handled in a unified manner, and the composition of these 2D / 3D images can be performed at the same time. The situation which becomes complicated can be prevented effectively.

[Computer operation]
Hereinafter, an operation example of generating an image using a computer will be described. The CPU 102 reads polygon data from the work memory 111 and outputs the polygon data to the geometry calculation circuit 103. The geometry calculation circuit 103 performs processing such as coordinate conversion of the input polygon data into data of a viewpoint coordinate system with the viewpoint as the origin. The geometry calculation circuit 103 outputs the processed polygon data to the renderer 104. The renderer 104 converts polygon unit data into pixel unit data. The renderer 104 and the texture generation circuit 105 generate a texture color in units of pixels based on the texture data stored in the texture memory 112. The texture generation circuit 105 outputs pixel unit data having texture color information to the illumination processing circuit 107. The illumination processing circuit 107 shades a polygon having texture color information using a normal vector, barycentric coordinates, etc. in pixel units. The illumination processing circuit 107 outputs the shaded image data to the display circuit 108. The display circuit 108 writes the image data input from the illumination processing circuit 107 into the frame buffer 109, reads out the image data written into the frame buffer 109, and obtains display image information. At the same time, 2D / 3D synthesis processing can be performed by using information such as an edge buffer. The display circuit 108 outputs the display image information to the monitor 110. The monitor 110 displays a computer graphics image according to the input display image information.

  Since the computer of the present invention includes the image generation apparatus of the present invention as a renderer, a texture generation circuit, and a display device, the scale of hardware can be reduced by sharing the circuit elements in these. In addition, by applying the geometry part to 2D vector images, it is possible to perform geometry conversion on 2D vector images, and shape transformation and scaling by matrix operations can be performed on vector images without adding dedicated hardware or software operations. Can be done. In addition, 2D / vector and 3D display commands that have been handled as separate objects can be handled in a unified manner, and the 2D / 3D and vector images can be combined simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the system from becoming complicated.

[Game console configuration]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment (game machine) according to the present invention. The embodiment represented by this block diagram can be suitably used particularly as a portable, home or business game machine. Therefore, in the following, it will be described as a game machine. Note that the game machine shown in the figure may include at least the processing unit 200 (or may include the processing unit 200 and the storage unit 270, or the processing unit 200, the storage unit 270, and the information storage medium 280). These blocks (for example, the operation unit 260, the display unit 290, the sound output unit 292, the portable information storage device 294, and the communication unit 296) can be arbitrary constituent elements.

  The processing unit 200 performs various processes such as control of the entire system, instruction instruction to each block in the system, game processing, image processing, and sound processing. The function of the processing unit 200 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.) or ASIC (gate array, etc.) and a given program (game program).

  The operation unit 260 is for the player to input operation data. The function of the operation unit 260 can be realized by, for example, a controller including a lever, a button, an outer frame, and hardware. In particular, in the case of a portable game machine, the operation unit 260 may be formed integrally with the game machine body. Processing information from the controller is transmitted to the main processor via a serial interface (I / F) or bus.

  The storage unit 270 is a work area such as the processing unit 200 or the communication unit 296. In addition, programs and various tables may be stored. The storage unit 270 may include, for example, a main memory 272, a frame buffer 274, and a texture storage unit 276, and may also store various tables. The function of the storage unit 270 can be realized by hardware such as ROM and RAM. Examples of the RAM include VRAM, DRAM, and SRAM, and may be appropriately selected depending on the application. A VRAM or the like constituting the frame buffer 274 is used as a work area for various processors.

  An information storage medium (storage medium usable by a computer) 280 stores information such as programs and data. The information storage medium 280 can be sold as a so-called game cassette. The function of the information storage medium 280 can be realized by hardware such as an optical disk (CD, DVD), a magneto-optical disk (MO), a magnetic disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or a memory (ROM). The processing unit 200 performs various processes based on information stored in the information storage medium 280. The information storage medium 280 stores information (program or program and data) for executing the means of the present invention (this embodiment) (particularly, the blocks included in the processing unit 200). Note that the information storage medium 280 is not necessarily required when information such as programs and data is stored in the storage unit. Part or all of the information stored in the information storage medium 280 is transferred to the storage unit 270 when the system is powered on, for example. Further, as information stored in the information storage medium 280, program code for performing a predetermined process, image data, sound data, display object shape data, table data, list data, and instructions for instructing the processing of the present invention. Information including at least two of information, information for processing according to the instruction, and the like.

  The display unit 290 outputs an image generated according to the present embodiment, and functions thereof are CRT (CRT), LCD (Liquid Crystal), OEL (Organic Electroluminescent Device), PDP (Plasma Display Panel), or HMD. It can be realized by hardware such as (head mounted display).

  The sound output unit 292 outputs sound. The function of the sound output unit 292 can be realized by hardware such as a speaker. The sound output is processed by a sound processor connected to the main processor or the like via a bus, for example, and output from a sound output unit such as a speaker.

  The portable information storage device 294 stores player personal data, save data, and the like. Examples of the portable information storage device 294 include a memory card and a portable game device. The functions of the portable information storage device 294 can be achieved by known storage means such as a memory card, flash memory, hard disk, and USB memory.

  The communication unit 296 is an arbitrary unit that performs various controls for communicating with the outside (for example, a host device or other image generation system). The function of the communication unit 296 can be realized by various processors, hardware such as a communication ASIC, a program, or the like.

  The program or data for executing the game machine may be distributed from the information storage medium included in the host device (server) to the information storage medium 280 via the network and the communication unit 296.

  Examples of the processing unit 200 include a game processing unit 220, an image processing unit 230, and a sound processing unit 250. Specific examples include a main processor, a coprocessor, a geometry processor, a drawing processor, a data processor, four arithmetic operation circuits, or a general-purpose operation circuit. These are appropriately connected by a bus or the like so that signals can be exchanged. In addition, a data expansion processor for expanding compressed information may be provided.

  Here, the game processing unit 220 accepts coins (price), sets various modes, progresses the game, sets a selection screen, and positions and rotation angles of objects (rotation angles around the X, Y, or Z axes). , Processing to move the object (motion processing), processing to determine the position of the viewpoint (virtual camera position) and line-of-sight angle (virtual camera rotation angle), processing to place objects such as map objects in the object space, Operation data from the operation unit 260 includes various game processes such as a hit check process, a process for calculating game results (results, results), a process for a plurality of players to play in a common game space, or a game over process. Or based on personal data, stored data, game programs, etc. from the portable information storage device 294.

  The image processing unit 230 performs various types of image processing in accordance with instructions from the game processing unit 220 and the like. The sound processing unit 250 performs various types of sound processing in accordance with instructions from the game processing unit 220.

  All of the functions of the game processing unit 220, the image processing unit 230, and the sound processing unit 250 may be realized by hardware, or all of them may be realized by a program. Alternatively, it may be realized by both hardware and a program. The image processing unit 230 includes one including a geometry calculation unit 242 (three-dimensional coordinate calculation unit) and a drawing unit 240 (rendering unit).

  The geometry calculation unit 242 performs various geometry calculations (three-dimensional coordinate calculation) such as coordinate conversion, clipping processing, perspective conversion, or light source calculation. Then, the object data (after the perspective transformation) after the geometry processing (object vertex coordinates, vertex texture coordinates, luminance data, or the like) is stored in the main memory 272 of the storage unit 270 and saved, for example.

  The drawing unit 240 draws the object in the frame buffer 274 based on the object data after the geometry calculation (after perspective transformation) and the texture stored in the texture storage unit 276.

  Examples of the drawing unit 240 include a texture mapping unit 242 and a shading processing unit 244. Specifically, it can be implemented by a drawing processor. The drawing processor is connected to a texture storage unit, various tables, a frame buffer, a VRAM, and the like via a bus and further connected to a display.

  The texture mapping unit 242 reads the environment texture from the texture storage unit 276, and maps the read environment texture to the object.

  The shading processing unit 244 performs shading processing on the object. For example, the geometry processing unit 242 performs light source calculation, and obtains the luminance (RGB) of each vertex of the object based on the light source information for shading processing, the illumination model, the normal vector of each vertex of the object, and the like. Based on the luminance of each vertex, the shading processing unit 244 obtains the luminance of each dot on the primitive surface (polygon, curved surface) by, for example, phone shading or Gouraud shading.

  An example of the geometry calculation unit 242 includes a normal vector processing unit 244. The normal vector processing unit 244 may perform a process of rotating the normal vector of each vertex of the object (in a broad sense, the normal vector of the surface of the object) using a rotation matrix from the local coordinate system to the world coordinate system. .

  The game machine of the present invention includes the image generation device of the present invention in the image processing unit. As a result, the circuit elements can be shared, and the control destination from the game processing unit 220 can be unified with respect to the image processing. By combining the processing unit for vector, 2D, and 3D image processing into one, it is possible to System control can be avoided and the complexity of the system can be reduced. If the configuration of the game machine is used as appropriate, it is possible to obtain a device that can also function as an image display device in a slot machine, a pachinko gaming machine, or the like.

[Basic operation of game console]
When the system is turned on, part or all of the information stored in the information storage medium 280 is transferred to the storage unit 270, for example. A game processing program is stored in, for example, the main memory 272, and various data is stored in the texture storage unit 276, a table (not shown), or the like.

  Operation information from the operation unit 260 is transmitted to the processing unit 200 via, for example, a serial interface or a bus (not shown), and sound processing and various image processing are performed. The sound information processed by the sound processing unit 250 is transmitted to the sound output unit 292 via the bus and released as sound. Also, save information stored in a portable information storage device 194 such as a memory card is transmitted to the processing unit 200 via a serial interface or bus (not shown), and predetermined data is read from the storage unit 170.

  The image processing unit 230 performs various image processing in accordance with instructions from the game processing unit 220 and the like. Specifically, the geometry calculation unit 242 performs various geometry calculations (three-dimensional coordinate calculation) such as coordinate conversion, clipping processing, perspective conversion, or light source calculation. Then, the object data (after the perspective transformation) after the geometry processing (object vertex coordinates, vertex texture coordinates, luminance data, or the like) is stored in the main memory 272 of the storage unit 270 and saved, for example. Next, the drawing unit 240 draws the object in the frame buffer 274 based on the object data after the geometry calculation (after perspective transformation) and the texture stored in the texture storage unit 276.

  The information stored in the frame buffer 274 is transmitted to the display unit 290 via the bus and drawn. In this way, it functions as a game machine having computer graphics.

  Since the game machine of the present invention includes the image generation apparatus of the present invention in the image processing unit, the hardware scale can be reduced by sharing circuit elements and the like, and the vector, 2D, and 3D image processing unit is unified. As a result, it is possible to reduce the wasteful hardware / control processing by preventing the system from becoming complicated. As described above, since development / manufacturing costs and power consumption can be reduced, the present invention is particularly suitable for portable game machines and the like.

[Configuration of mobile phone]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention (a mobile phone with a computer graphic function). The embodiment shown in this block diagram can be suitably used particularly as a mobile phone with a three-dimensional computer graphic function, particularly as a mobile phone with a game function or a mobile phone with a navigation function.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile phone includes a control unit 221, a memory unit 222 that stores a program and image data for the control unit 221, and serves as a work area such as a control unit and a communication unit, and a wireless A wireless communication function unit 223 for communication, an imaging unit 224 such as a CCD camera that captures still images and moving images and converts them into digital signals, and an LCD display for displaying images and characters Unit 225, operation unit 226 including numeric keys and various function keys, voice input unit 227 such as a microphone for voice calls, voice output unit 228 for outputting sounds such as a receiver and a speaker, and the mobile phone A battery 229 for operating the terminal and a power supply unit 230 that stabilizes the battery 229 and distributes the battery 229 to each functional unit are included.

The control unit 201 performs various processing such as control of the entire mobile phone system, instruction instruction to each block in the system, game processing, image processing, and sound processing. The function of the control unit 221 can be realized by hardware such as various processors (CPU, DSP, etc.) or ASIC (gate array, etc.), or a given program (game program).

  More specifically, the control unit includes an image processing unit (not shown), and the image processing unit includes a geometry calculation unit such as a geometry calculation circuit and a drawing unit (renderer). Furthermore, a texture generation circuit, an illumination processing circuit, or a display circuit may be provided. Furthermore, the drawing processing circuit in the computer or game machine described above may be provided as appropriate.

  Since the mobile phone of the present invention includes the image generation apparatus of the present invention as a geometry calculation unit and a drawing unit included in the control unit, the hardware scale can be reduced by sharing circuit elements and the like. By unifying the 3D image processing unit, it is possible to prevent a situation where the system is complicated, thereby reducing wasteful hardware / control processing. As described above, since development / manufacturing costs and power consumption can be reduced, the present invention is suitably used for small-sized telephones such as mobile phones.

[Operation example of mobile phone]
First, the voice communication operation will be described. For example, voice input to the voice input unit 227 is converted into digital information by the interface, subjected to predetermined processing by the control unit 221, and output as a radio signal from the radio communication function unit 223. Also, when receiving the other party's sound information, the wireless communication function unit 223 receives the wireless signal, undergoes a predetermined conversion process, and then is output from the audio output unit 228 under the control of the control unit 221. The

  Next, the operation and processing for processing an image are basically the same as the operation and processing in the computer or game machine described above. When processing information is input from the operation unit 224 via an interface or bus (not shown), for example, based on an instruction of the image processing unit in the control unit 221, a geometry processor or the like can change a work area such as a RAM, various tables, or the like. Is used as appropriate to perform geometry calculations. Further, the renderer of the control unit 221 performs a rendering process based on a command from the image processing unit in the control unit 221. Image information appropriately subjected to culling processing, clipping processing, anti-aliasing processing, etc. is subjected to predetermined drawing processing by a drawing processor, stored in a frame buffer, and displayed as an image on a display unit. In this way, 3D computer graphics are displayed.

  Since the mobile phone of the present invention includes the image generation device of the present invention as a geometry calculation unit and drawing unit included in the control unit, the hardware scale can be reduced by sharing circuit elements and the system is complicated. Therefore, it is suitable for small phones such as mobile phones.

[About other embodiments]
Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a content evaluation system.
In short, the content evaluation system of the present invention is capable of adding and counting the user's interest in the content for each content included in the page image of the electronic book.

  As described above, according to the present invention, basically, a comment is attached to each content, and the comment can be shared and viewed among a plurality of users. However, for example, suppose that a user discovers content that is interesting even though he / she is reading an electronic book, without needing to add a comment. In such a case, if there is a tool that allows users to easily show only their interest in content without adding comments, the number of users who are interested in a certain content should be counted and aggregated. Will also be possible. In this way, by collecting information on how much users are interested in a specific content, the information can be used effectively as a marketing tool for sales of products related to the content. Can do.

  However, a tool that allows the user to easily indicate an interest in the web page for each web page is a conventionally known technique (for example, “Like” button of Facebook (registered trademark)). etc). In this respect, the preferred embodiment of the present invention counts the content included in the page image of the electronic book by adding the user's interest in the content. It is possible to determine whether he / she is interested in a photograph of a person or a person).

  The configuration of such a content evaluation system will be described more specifically. The content evaluation system is constructed in the electronic book server 12. That is, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electronic book server 12 further includes a content information storage unit 32 and a total numerical value storage unit 33 in addition to the above-described configuration.

  First, in addition to the above-described information, the electronic book storage unit 21 of the electronic book server 12 associates each content included in the page image of the electronic book with the coordinate data on the page image where the content is located. A button image attached to the content is stored. This button image is read by the read processing unit 23 of the server and transmitted to the terminal 11 by the transmission unit 25 of the server. Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the button image 64 is displayed near the content included in the page image by the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 based on the coordinate data on the page image where the content is located. The The button image 64 can be selected by the button selection unit 46 of the terminal 11. When the button image 64 is selected, information indicating that the button image 64 has been selected is transmitted via the transmission unit 45 of the terminal. , To the electronic book server 12. As shown in FIG. 12, the button image 64 is preferably displayed together with the comment 65 transmitted by the terminal 11.

The content information storage unit 32 is, for example, a web page on which more detailed information about the content is posted in association with information related to the content stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 (coordinate data on the page image where the content is located). URL, content title (for example, product name or product type name), and URL of the page image containing the content are stored. When the electronic book server 12 receives the information that the button image has been selected from the terminal 11, the electronic book server 12 displays the URL of the read processing unit 23, for example, the web page on which more detailed information about the content is posted, as the display unit of the terminal 11. The data is transmitted to the terminal 11 so as to be displayed on the terminal 42. In addition, the electronic book server 12 may transmit the title of the content (for example, a product name or a product type name) to the terminal 11. As a result, information on the content can be provided to a user who is interested in the content on the page.
Further, a button image is arranged for each content based on the coordinate data on the page image where the content is located, and the URL of the web page is stored for each content, so that the user can select the page image from the page image. Know exactly what content you are interested in.

  In addition, when the electronic book server 12 receives information indicating that the button image has been selected from the terminal 11, the read processing unit 23 obtains the URL information of the page image including the content from the content information storage unit 32. The information may be read out, transmitted to another server (a server on which a service such as Twitter (registered trademark), Evernote (registered trademark), or Facebook (registered trademark) operates) and linked to those services. As a result, the URL of the page image containing the content that a certain user is interested in can be widely spread on the Internet.

  For each content stored in the electronic book storage unit 21, the total numerical value storage unit 33 stores the total numerical value of the number of times the button image associated with the content is selected. That is, when each user selects a button image by the button selection unit 46 of each terminal 11, the selection information is received by the electronic book server 12. Then, the information update unit 24 of the electronic book server 12 updates the information stored in the total numerical value storage unit 33, and each time a button image is selected, content selection information is added to the total numerical value storage unit 33. Stored and updated. In this way, by storing information on the number of times of content selection (the number of users who are interested in a certain content) in the total numerical value storage unit 33, the information on the total numerical value is used for marketing for various purposes. Can be used as a tool. For example, the electronic book manager can grasp the best seller and the trend of the product for each content based on the selected total number of times. Further, the total numerical value of the selected content may be displayed on the user terminal 11. For example, the electronic book server 12 transmits information for displaying the total numerical value with the button image selected to the terminal 11 via the transmission unit 25 of the server. As described above, the terminal 11 that has received the information for displaying the total numerical value from the electronic book server 12 displays the total numerical value on the display unit 42 in association with the content. An example in which the display unit 42 displays the total number of button selections is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the total number of button selections is preferably displayed in the total number display area 66 in association with specific content. As described above, the total value display area 66 displays the total value of the selection times of the button images, so that the user can grasp the social interest of the product or person numerically.

[About yet another embodiment]

  Hereinafter, still another embodiment according to the present invention will be described. In the following description, the description of the same configuration as the above-described embodiment will be omitted, and a configuration different from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described.

FIG. 13 shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 in another embodiment of the present invention. In other embodiments of the invention, the user can select an icon 74 in association with specific content. For example, the user can select each icon shown in the icon area shown in the upper right of the display screen by dragging and dropping. The selection of the icon may be performed with the input of the comment 75 or may be performed without the input of the comment 75. An example of an icon represents an emotion that a user has with respect to specific content. For example, as an example of an icon, an icon of “joy”, an icon of “anger”, an icon of “sadness”, and an icon of “fun” can be considered. However, various other icons can be expressed. An icon numerical value is set for each icon selected by the user. Different icon numerical values may be set according to the type of icon, or the same numerical value may be set. For example, “+10” for the “joy” icon, “−10” for the “anger” icon, “−5” for the “sadness” icon, “+5” for the “fun” icon, etc. , Can be set as appropriate. When a specific icon 74 is selected from among a plurality of icons 74 related to the content specified via the terminal 11, information about the selected icon is transmitted to the server 12. When the server 12 receives the information about the icon from the terminal 11, the server 12 accumulates and adds the icon numerical value for each icon in relation to the specified content, and obtains the total numerical value of the icon numerical value. The server 12 transmits the calculated total value for each icon to the terminal 11. Then, the display unit 32 of the terminal 11 displays the total numerical value for each icon related to the content and the total numerical value of all the icons. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 13, the total numerical value for each icon and the total numerical value (star mark) of all the icons are displayed in the total numerical value display area 76.
The system configuration will be specifically described below.

  In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic book server 12 includes an icon storage unit 34 and a total numerical value storage unit 33 in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

  The icon storage unit 34 stores an icon numerical value set for each icon together with a plurality of icons to be displayed on the terminal 11. As described above, the icon preferably represents a user's emotion. Moreover, the example of an icon numerical value is a numerical value which can be calculated with a computer, for example, 1-10 points or -1-10 points is set according to the kind of icon. The icon and the icon numerical value are preferably stored in association with each other.

  The total numerical value storage unit 33 stores the total numerical value of the icon numerical value for each icon stored in the icon storage unit 34 in association with the content stored in the electronic book storage unit 21. That is, the total numerical value storage unit 33 stores content, icons, and total numerical values of icon numerical values in association with each other. Further, the sum of the icon values of all icons attached in association with the content may be calculated by the calculation unit and stored in the total value storage unit 33.

  As described above, the electronic book server 12 includes the icon storage unit 34 and the total numerical value storage unit 33. For this reason, the read processing unit 23 of the electronic book server 12 stores the information about the electronic book stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 in the icon storage unit 34 based on the information received by the reception unit 22 of the electronic book server. Information on the plurality of icons is also read.

  The information updating unit 24 of the server 12 updates the total numerical value stored in the total numerical value storing unit 56 together with the information stored in the electronic book storage unit 21 based on the information received by the receiving unit 22 of the electronic book server. . That is, the information update unit 24 performs a calculation process for adding the icon numerical values stored in the total numerical value storage unit 33 based on the information received from the terminal 11 (icon selection information), and sums the added total numerical values. Store in the numerical value storage unit 56. For example, the icon value may be summed for each icon type, or the sum of all icon values associated with a certain content regardless of the icon type. Also good.

  In addition, the transmission unit 25 of the server 12 transmits information related to a plurality of icons to the terminal 11 together with information related to the electronic book including one or more contents read out by the read processing unit 23.

On the other hand, in another embodiment of the present invention, the terminal 11 includes an icon selection unit 47 in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.
The icon selection unit 47 is means for selecting an icon related to the content designated by the content designation unit 43 from among a plurality of icons displayed on the display unit 42. When receiving information on a plurality of contents from the electronic book server 12, the display unit 42 of the terminal 11 selects an arbitrary icon from among a plurality of icons as shown in FIG. A prompt is displayed. The icon selection unit 47 performs processing for selecting an arbitrary icon from among a plurality of icons in relation to the content specified by the content specifying unit 43.

That is, the receiving unit 41 of the terminal 11 receives information on the electronic book and information on a plurality of icons transmitted from the electronic book server 12. The display unit 42 of the terminal 11 displays a plurality of icons together with information about the electronic book based on the information about the electronic book received by the receiving unit 41 of the terminal. The content designating unit 43 designates specific content included in the electronic book displayed on the display unit 32 by selecting a content allocation area. The input unit 44 of the terminal 11 inputs an instruction and a comment regarding the content specified by the content specifying unit 43. The icon selection unit 47 selects an icon related to the content designated by the content designation unit 43 from the plurality of icons displayed on the display unit 42.
The transmission unit 45 of the terminal 11 transmits the instruction and comment regarding the content input by the input unit 44 of the terminal and the icon selected by the icon selection unit 47 to the electronic book server 12.

  As described above, in the electronic book system according to another embodiment, information is exchanged between the terminal 11 and the electronic book server 12 through the telecommunication line. When the electronic book server 12 receives information about the icon from the terminal, the information update unit 24 causes the total number of icon values stored in the total number storage unit 33 to be related to the icon received from the terminal 12. Update. The total number of icon values is updated each time an icon is selected by the terminal 11. And the electronic book server 12 transmits the information for displaying the total numerical value of the icon updated by the information update part 24 with respect to the terminal 12 via the transmission part 25 of a server. As described above, the terminal 11 that has received the information for displaying the total numerical value of the icon from the electronic book server 12 displays the total numerical value of the icon on the display unit 42. An example in which the display unit 42 displays the total number of icons is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the total numerical value of the icon is preferably displayed in the total numerical value display area 76 in association with the specific content.

  Because of this configuration, in another embodiment of the present invention, the user of the electronic book system can visually see what emotions other users have with respect to the specific content by the total number of icon values. Can be grasped.

  Further, the electronic book server 12 according to another embodiment may further include an image data storage unit 35 and an image data transmission unit 36.

  The image data storage unit 35 stores a plurality of image data together with the threshold value of the total numerical value stored in the total numerical value storage unit 33. In other words, the image data storage unit 35 stores a threshold value of the total number of icon values in association with each image data. In the image data storage unit 35, for example, when the total value of the icons representing “fun” in relation to a certain content exceeds 100 pt, specific image data expressing the emotion “fun” is stored. It has come to be extracted.

  When the total numerical value updated by the information update unit 24 exceeds the threshold value stored in the image data storage unit 35, the image data transmission unit 36 displays the image data exceeding the threshold value on the display unit 42 of the terminal 11. Information for display is transmitted to the terminal 11. That is, each time an icon is selected by the terminal 11, the total numerical value storage unit 33 of the electronic book server 12 accumulates, adds, and stores the total numerical value of the icon numerical value corresponding to the icon selected in relation to the content. ing. Then, the electronic book server 12 determines whether or not the total number accumulated and added in this way exceeds a threshold value stored in the image data storage unit 35. When the electronic book server 12 determines that the threshold value stored in the image data storage 35 has been exceeded, the image data stored by the image data transmission unit 36 in relation to the total numerical value exceeding the threshold value. Is transmitted to the terminal 11. The terminal 11 that has received the image data from the electronic book server 12 performs a process of displaying the image data on the display 432.

  Thus, in another embodiment, the terminal 11 is triggered by the fact that the total numerical value accumulated and added for each icon in association with the content stored in the total numerical value storage unit 33 exceeds a certain threshold. The display unit 42 can display image data. For this reason, the user can visually grasp from the image data that the icon value of the icon related to the specific content (for example, a numerical value representing emotion) has become a certain value or more.

  A program for implementing the electronic book system of the present invention was created and installed on a server. This program is such that the electronic book system of the present invention can be implemented if the terminal has a known browser or viewer. FIG. 10 is a photograph replacing a drawing showing an example in which a page image is displayed on a terminal for displaying an electronic book. FIG. 11 is a photograph replacing a drawing showing an example of a page image on which icons and comments are displayed. As shown in FIG. 11, according to the present invention, a plurality of comments are linked on the captured book image. Thereby, this invention can make the page magazine surface of the taken-in book into a community.

  Since the present invention relates to an electronic book system, it can be used in the home appliance industry.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Terminal 12 Electronic book server 13 Electronic book system 21 Electronic book storage part 22 Reception part 23 of an electronic book server Reading process part 24 Information update part 25 Transmission part 26 of an electronic book server 26 Page image capture part 27 Position coordinate acquisition part 28 Input Availability determination part 29 Comment aggregation means 30 Image aggregation part 31 Scratch processing part 32 Content information storage part 33 Total numerical value storage part 34 Icon storage part 35 Image data storage part 36 Image data transmission part 41 Terminal reception part 42 Display part 43 Content specification Unit 44 input unit 45 terminal transmission unit 46 button selection unit 47 icon selection unit 51 coordinate metadata 52 page image 53 inputable region 54 non-inputable region 55 comment 56 opaque image

Claims (5)

An electronic book system (13) including a terminal (11) capable of displaying an electronic book, and an electronic book server (12) connected to the terminal (11) via a communication line,

The electronic book server (12)
Electronic book storage for storing a page image of an electronic book, content included in the electronic book, coordinate metadata for measuring position coordinates of the content in the page image of the electronic book, and comments associated with the coordinate metadata Part (21),
A receiving unit (22) of an electronic book server that receives information transmitted from the terminal (11);
A read processing unit (23) for reading out information on the electronic book stored in the electronic book storage unit (21) based on the information received by the receiving unit (22) of the electronic book server;
An information updating unit (24) for updating information stored in the electronic book storage unit (21) based on information received by the receiving unit (22) of the electronic book server;
A transmission unit (25) of an electronic book server that transmits information related to an electronic book including one or more contents read by the read processing unit (23) to the terminal (11);

The terminal is
A receiving unit (41) of a terminal that receives information about an electronic book including one or more contents transmitted from the electronic book server (12);
A display unit (42) for displaying information on the electronic book based on information on the electronic book received by the receiving unit (41) of the terminal;
A content designation unit (43) for designating specific content included in an electronic book including one or more contents displayed on the display unit (42) by selecting a position coordinate of the content;
An input unit (44) for inputting instructions and comments related to the position coordinates of the content specified by the content specifying unit (43);
A transmission unit (45) of a terminal that transmits an instruction and comment regarding the content input by the input unit (44) of the terminal to the electronic book server (12);
including,

Electronic book system.

The electronic book server (12)
A page image capture unit (26) for capturing a page image of a book;
A position coordinate acquisition unit (27) that scans the page image of the book captured by the page image capturing unit (26) and obtains the position coordinates of the content included in the page on the page;
including,
The electronic book system according to claim 1.

The electronic book storage unit (21) of the electronic book server (12) further defines a non-inputable area in which instructions and comments cannot be input by the input unit (44) of the terminal (11), as the coordinate metadata. To remember based on
The electronic book server (12) further stores whether or not the specific content selected by the content specifying unit (43) of the terminal (11) is included in the non-inputtable area. An input availability determination unit (28) for determining with reference to the unit (21),
The information updating unit (24) of the electronic book server (12) only when the input availability determination unit (28) determines that the specific content is not included in the input availability region. The electronic book system according to claim 1, wherein information of the comment stored in the electronic book storage unit (21) is updated.

The electronic book server (12) further includes, for each content included in the electronic book, a comment counting unit (29) that counts the number of times a comment is input by the input unit (44) of the terminal (11);
An image generation unit (30) that generates a page image of an electronic book according to the number of input comments input by the comment aggregation unit (29) and stores the generated page of the electronic book in the electronic book storage unit (21). The electronic book system according to claim 1.

The electronic book server (12) generates an opaque image to be displayed on the display unit (32) of the terminal (11) in a superimposed manner on the page image of the electronic book, and is displayed in a superimposed manner on the page image. If it is determined that a drag operation is performed on the input opaque image by the input unit (34) of the terminal (11), a part of the non-transparent image is dragged by the input unit (34). The electronic book system according to claim 1, further comprising a scratch processing unit (31) that is transmitted along the line and displayed on the display unit (32) of the terminal (11).

Images