JP4650103B2 - Electronic book display device, information processing method, recording medium, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic book display device, an information processing method, a recording medium, and a program, and in particular, an electronic book display device and information that can quickly acquire appropriate information related to words appearing in the electronic book. The present invention relates to a processing method, a recording medium, and a program.

  In recent years, electronic books and devices and software for browsing electronic books have become widespread. Accordingly, various techniques for improving the convenience of electronic books have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-67099 A

  By the way, in recent years, when browsing the contents of an electronic book, for example, when examining information related to an unknown word or an interesting word in the electronic book (for example, the meaning of the word), more appropriate information is used. There is a need to be able to obtain it quickly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to quickly acquire appropriate information related to words appearing in an electronic book.

An electronic book display device according to the present invention is an electronic book display device that displays electronic book content on a display unit, and a keyword that is a character string designated by the user in the electronic book content according to a user instruction. relevant keywords relevant information, registration and the first acquisition control means for controlling the acquisition from the server connected to the Internet, and storage control means for controlling storage of the storage means of the keyword-related information, keywords in the database And a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information and a first keyword that is a keyword from the first electronic book that is an electronic book is registered in the database. Key already registered in the database from the second electronic book, which is an electronic book different from the electronic book of 1 When the second keyword and the first keyword that are the keywords match and the keyword-related information related to the second keyword is stored in the storage means, the second keyword is based on the genre of the second electronic book. the update interval setting means for changing the first update interval, on the basis of the first update interval, a determination means for determining whether past due for updating the keyword-related information stored in the storage means When the time limit has passed, the second acquisition control means for controlling the acquisition of the keyword related information so as to acquire the keyword related information from the server, and the keyword information stored in the storage means as the second acquisition control means. Update means for updating the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the first and third acquisition control means for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information stored in the storage means. It is characterized in.

  Further including display control means for controlling the display of the display means so as to display the keyword related information acquired by the control of the first acquisition control means, the second acquisition control means, or the third acquisition control means. Can be.

  The display control means can control the display of the display means to display a button for inputting an instruction to update the keyword related information when displaying the keyword related information that has expired.

  The first acquisition control means can control acquisition of keyword-related information so as to acquire keyword-related information using a search service provided by the server.

  The update interval setting means can set the first update interval based on the genre of the electronic book.

  The update interval setting means can change the first update interval based on the genre of the second electronic book according to a user instruction.

  When the electronic book that is the source of the keyword related to the keyword-related information is a new publication that has not passed a predetermined period from the date of issue, the determination unit determines a predetermined second update that is different from the first update interval. Based on the interval, it can be determined whether or not the deadline has passed.

  The second acquisition control unit can control the acquisition of the keyword related information so as to acquire the keyword related information from the server according to a user instruction when the time limit has passed.

An information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method of an electronic book display device that displays electronic book content on a display unit, and is a character string designated by the user in the electronic book content according to a user instruction. keywords related information related to a keyword, a first acquisition control step of controlling the acquisition from the server connected to the Internet, a storage control step of controlling storage of the storage means of the keyword-related information, the keywords A registration step for registering in the database and a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information are set , and a first keyword that is a keyword is registered in the database from the first electronic book that is an electronic book. The second electronic book, which is an electronic book different from the first electronic book, is stored in the database. When the second keyword that is the keyword registered in the first keyword matches the first keyword and the keyword-related information related to the second keyword is stored in the storage means, the second electronic book based on the genre, the determination and the update interval setting step of changing the first update interval, on the basis of the first update interval, whether past due for updating the keyword-related information stored in the storage means The second acquisition control step for controlling the acquisition of the keyword related information so as to acquire the keyword related information from the server when the time limit has passed, and the keyword information stored in the storage means is the second An update step for updating to the keyword related information acquired by the control of the acquisition control step, and the keyword related information stored in the storage means Characterized in that it comprises a third acquisition control step of controlling the acquisition.

The program of the present invention and the program recorded on the recording medium of the present invention are designated by the user in the contents of the electronic book by the user's instruction on the computer that displays the contents of the electronic book on the display means . A first acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of keyword-related information related to a keyword that is a character string from a server connected to the Internet; and a storage control step for controlling storage of the keyword-related information in a storage means; A registration step for registering the keywords in the database, and a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information, and a first keyword that is a keyword from the first electronic book that is an electronic book is stored in the database. When registered, the second electronic book is an electronic book different from the first electronic book. When the second keyword, which is a keyword already registered in the database from the book, matches the first keyword, and keyword-related information related to the second keyword is stored in the storage means, the second keyword based of the genre of the electronic book, and the update interval setting step of changing the first update interval, on the basis of the first update interval, or is past the expiration date of updating the keyword-related information stored in the storage means A determination step for determining whether or not, a second acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of keyword-related information so as to acquire keyword-related information from the server when the time limit has passed, and a keyword stored in the storage means An update step for updating the information to the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the second acquisition control step, and storing in the storage means Which is to execute a third acquisition control step of controlling the acquisition of keywords related information.

According to the electronic book display device, the information processing method, the program, and the recording medium of the present invention, the keyword related information related to the keyword that is the character string designated by the user in the content of the electronic book according to the user's instruction. Is acquired from a server connected to the Internet, storage of keyword-related information in the storage means is controlled, keywords are registered in the database, and the first update interval is an interval for updating the keyword-related information If There set Rutotomoni, first keyword is registered in the database is a keyword from the first e-book is an electronic book, a database from a second e-book and the first e-book is a different electronic books If the second keyword, which is a keyword already registered in, matches the first keyword, When the keyword-related information associated with the second keyword are stored in the storage means, based on the genre of the second e-book, the first update interval is changed, based on the first update interval, It is determined whether or not the time limit for updating the keyword related information stored in the storage means has passed, and if the time limit has passed, the acquisition of the keyword related information is controlled so as to acquire the keyword related information from the server, The keyword information stored in the storage unit is updated to the keyword related information acquired from the server, and the acquisition of the keyword related information stored in the storage unit is controlled.

  According to the present invention, information related to words appearing in an electronic book can be stored. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly acquire appropriate information related to words appearing in an electronic book.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Correspondences between constituent elements described in the claims and specific examples in the embodiments of the present invention are exemplified as follows. This description is to confirm that specific examples supporting the invention described in the claims are described in the embodiments of the invention. Therefore, even if there are specific examples that are described in the embodiment of the invention but are not described here as corresponding to the configuration requirements, the specific examples are not included in the configuration. It does not mean that it does not correspond to a requirement. On the contrary, even if a specific example is described here as corresponding to a configuration requirement, this means that the specific example does not correspond to a configuration requirement other than the configuration requirement. not.

  Further, this description does not mean that all the inventions corresponding to the specific examples described in the embodiments of the invention are described in the claims. In other words, this description is an invention corresponding to the specific example described in the embodiment of the invention, and the existence of an invention not described in the claims of this application, that is, in the future, a divisional application will be made. Nor does it deny the existence of an invention added by amendment.

The electronic book display device according to claim 1 (for example, the electronic book display device 1 of FIG. 1) is an electronic book display device that displays the contents of the electronic book on display means (for example, the display unit 11 of FIG. 1). A server connected to the Internet (for example, the Internet 101 in FIG. 5) of keyword related information related to a keyword that is a character string designated by the user in the content of the electronic book in accordance with a user instruction (e.g., the server 102-1 to 102-n in FIG. 5) and the first acquisition control means for controlling the acquisition from (eg, Internet search unit 124 of FIG. 6), the storage means of the keyword-related information (e.g., storage control means for example for controlling the storage in the storage unit 57) FIG. 2, the search information storage unit 125) of FIG. 6, Noboru the keyword in the database And registering means for (keyword registration unit 122 of FIG. 6), sets a first update interval is an interval of updating the keyword-related information, first from the first e-book the an electronic book is the keyword When one keyword is registered in the database, the second keyword that is the keyword already registered in the database from the second electronic book that is the electronic book different from the first electronic book, and the When the keyword-related information that matches the first keyword and the keyword-related information related to the second keyword is stored in the storage means, the first keyword is based on the genre of the second electronic book. updating interval setting means for changing the update interval (e.g., update interval setting unit 126 of FIG. 6) and, on the basis of the first update interval, the storage hand Determination means for determining whether or not the time limit for updating the keyword-related information stored in (for example, the update time limit determination unit 128 in FIG. 6), and if the time limit has passed, the keyword-related information A second acquisition control unit (for example, an update information acquisition unit 129 in FIG. 6) that controls acquisition of the keyword related information so as to acquire the keyword information from the server, and the keyword information stored in the storage unit. Update means for updating the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the second acquisition control means (for example, the stored information update unit 130 in FIG. 6), and acquisition of the keyword-related information stored in the storage means And third acquisition control means for controlling (for example, the stored information acquisition unit 127 in FIG. 6).

  The electronic book display device according to claim 2 (for example, the electronic book display device 1 in FIG. 1) includes the first acquisition control unit, the second acquisition control unit, or the third acquisition control unit. It further includes display control means (for example, the display control unit 121 in FIG. 6) for controlling the display of the display means so as to display the keyword related information acquired by the control.

  In the electronic book display device according to claim 3 (for example, the electronic book display device 1 in FIG. 1), when the display control unit displays the keyword-related information that has passed the time limit, the keyword-related information. The display of the display means is controlled so as to display a button (for example, a button 236 in FIG. 18) for inputting an update command.

The information processing method according to claim 9 is an information processing of an electronic book display device (for example, the electronic book display device 1 of FIG. 1) that displays the contents of the electronic book on display means (for example, the display unit 11 of FIG. 1). The method is connected to the Internet (for example, the Internet 101 in FIG. 5) of keyword-related information related to a keyword that is a character string designated by the user in the content of the electronic book according to a user instruction. are server (e.g., server 102-1 to 102-n in FIG. 5) and the first acquisition control step of controlling the acquisition from (eg, Internet search unit 124 of FIG. 6), the storage means of the keyword-related information ( for example, data storage control step (e.g., step S70 of FIG. 14), the keywords for controlling storage in the storage unit 57) FIG 2 Registration step of registering on the base (e.g., step S2 of FIG. 7) and, the keyword sets a first update interval is an interval for updating the relevant information, the keyword from the first e-book the an electronic book When the first keyword is registered in the database, the second keyword is the keyword already registered in the database from the second electronic book that is the electronic book different from the first electronic book. When the keyword and the first keyword match and the keyword related information related to the second keyword is stored in the storage means, based on the genre of the second electronic book, an update interval setting step of changing the first update interval (e.g., step S65 of FIG. 14), based on the first update interval A determination step (for example, step S136 in FIG. 19) for determining whether or not a time limit for updating the keyword related information stored in the storage means has passed, and if the time limit has passed, the keyword related information A second acquisition control step (for example, step S138 in FIG. 19) for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information so as to acquire information from the server, and the keyword information stored in the storage means An update step (for example, step S139 in FIG. 19) for updating to the keyword related information acquired by the control of the acquisition control step, and a third for controlling the acquisition of the keyword related information stored in the storage means And an acquisition control step (for example, step S106 in FIG. 16).

In the program according to claim 10 , the embodiment (however, an example) to which each step corresponds is the same as the information processing method according to claim 9 .

The recording medium according to claim 11 (for example, the removable medium 82 of FIG. 2) records the program according to claim 10 .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an external configuration of an electronic book display device 1 to which the present invention is applied as viewed from a display surface on which content of an electronic book is displayed. A display 21, a button 12, direction keys 13-1 to 23-4, and buttons 14 to 16 are provided on the display surface of the electronic book display device 1.

  The display unit 11 is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays electronic book content, various operation screens, and the like.

  The button 12 is used, for example, when confirming designation of a range in the content of the electronic book displayed on the display unit 11 or confirming selection of items in various operation screens.

  The direction keys 13-1 to 13-4 are used, for example, when the cursor 21 displayed on the display unit 11 is moved or when the screen is scrolled up, down, left, or right. Hereinafter, the user simply operates the cursor 21 unless it is particularly necessary to operate the cursor 21 using the direction keys 13-1 to 13-4 or a mouse (not shown). It expresses.

  The button 14 is used when, for example, a keyword display function described later with reference to FIG. 16 is used.

  The button 15 is used, for example, when an internet search function described later with reference to FIG. 9 is used.

  The button 14 is used, for example, when a database search function described later with reference to FIG. 12 is used.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the display configuration when the content (text) of the electronic book is displayed on the display unit 11. In the upper left area 22 of the display unit 11, the chapter number and title of the chapter including the content displayed on the display unit 11 are displayed. Further, the page number of the electronic book displayed on the display unit 11 is displayed in the lower right region 23 of the display unit 11.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic book display device 1. The electronic book display device 1 includes a display unit 11, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, an image processing unit 52, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 53, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 54, an input unit 55, an output unit 56, and a storage unit. 57, a communication unit 58, and a drive 59. The CPU 51, the image processing unit 52, the ROM 53, and the RAM 54 are connected to each other via the bus 71, and the display unit 11, the input unit 55, the output unit 56, the storage unit 57, the communication unit 58, and the drive 59 are input. They are connected to each other via the output interface 72. The bus 71 and the input / output interface 72 are connected to each other.

  The CPU 51 receives processing instructions and data input by the user using the input unit 55 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71, and is stored in the ROM 53 based on the input processing instructions. Various processes are executed in accordance with a program loaded into the RAM 54 from the storage unit 57.

  The image processing unit 52 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and generates image data to be displayed on the display unit 11 under the control of the CPU 51. The image processing unit 52 supplies the generated image data to the display unit 11 via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72, and causes the display unit 11 to display an image based on the image data.

  The ROM 53 stores basically fixed data among programs used by the CPU 51 and calculation parameters.

  The RAM 54 stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 51, parameters and data that change as appropriate during the execution.

  The input unit 55 includes the button 12, the direction keys 13-1 to 23-4, the buttons 14 to 16, the mouse, the keyboard, or a pointing device (for example, a stylus pen) not shown in FIG. Is operated when various commands are input to the electronic book display device 1.

  The output unit 56 is configured by, for example, a speaker and outputs sound processed by the CPU 51 and the like.

  The storage unit 57 includes, for example, flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory), FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory, ferroelectric) Memory) or a non-volatile storage medium such as OUM (Ovonic Unified Memory). The storage unit 57 stores book data, a dictionary database, a keyword database, storage information, storage information management information, and the like.

  Book data is content data of an electronic book. The book data is a separate file for each title of the electronic book.

  The dictionary database includes, for example, various dictionaries such as Japanese dictionaries, English-Japanese dictionaries, Japanese-English dictionaries, and encyclopedias other than dictionaries, dictionaries such as technical dictionaries or dictionaries (hereinafter collectively referred to as dictionary data). It is a database that manages those data.

  The keyword database is a database for managing keywords registered by the user from the contents of the electronic book. The keyword is a word registered in a keyword database different from the book data by a process that will be described later with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of one set of data set (record) in the keyword database. One record of the keyword database is assigned to one keyword, and each record includes a keyword number, a keyword, a group name, and source information.

  The keyword number is a number assigned to each keyword in order to uniquely identify the keyword.

  The group name indicates the name of the group in which the keyword is registered. Each keyword is registered in at least one of the groups set by the user, and is used, for example, when displaying keywords classified by group. For example, the user can classify keywords according to purposes by setting a learning group, a hobby group, a work group, and the like.

  The source information is information relating to the origin of the keyword. The source information includes the title name, page, and position (for example, from what character to what character in the page) of the electronic book that is the source of the keyword. When the same keyword is registered from a plurality of different sources, for example, when the same keyword is registered from different pages of the same electronic book or the same keyword is registered from different electronic books, the source information for each place (source) is recorded. Is done.

  As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 12, the storage information is information stored (saved) in the storage unit 57 as information related to keywords acquired from a website on the Internet or a dictionary database. It is.

  The stored information management information is a database for managing stored information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a set of data sets (records) of stored information management information. One record of stored information management information is assigned to one keyword, and each record includes a keyword number, a keyword, an update interval, an automatic update setting, a new publication flag, and individual information.

  The update interval indicates an interval at which the stored information related to the keyword that is the target of this record is updated.

  The automatic update setting indicates a setting value for whether to automatically update the storage information whose update deadline has passed. When the automatic update setting is set to ON, the stored information is automatically updated. When the automatic update setting is set to OFF, that is, when the manual update is set, the stored information is instructed by the user. Updated by

  The new publication flag indicates whether or not the electronic book that is the source of the keyword that is the target of this record includes a new publication for which a predetermined period (for example, three months) has not elapsed since the date of issue. If the new issue flag is set to ON, this indicates that this keyword was registered from a new e-book. If the new issue flag is set to OFF, this keyword will be registered from a new e-book. Indicates that it is not Note that the default value of the new publication flag is OFF. In addition, the new publication flag is periodically updated every predetermined period (for example, one month).

  One piece of individual information is recorded for one piece of stored information related to the keyword that is the target of this record, and the number of pieces of individual information is recorded. The individual information includes a data number, type, title name, link destination, and search date and time.

  The data number is a number assigned to uniquely identify each stored information.

  There are two types of Internet search or database search, and when the stored information is acquired by an Internet search process to be described later with reference to FIG. 9, the search is set to Internet search, and the stored information is shown in FIG. If it is obtained by a database search process described later with reference to FIG.

  The title name indicates the title of the page of the website from which the stored information is acquired when the type of the stored information is Internet search, and indicates the type of dictionary data from which the stored information is acquired when the type of the stored information is database search.

  The link destination indicates information indicating the storage location of the page of the website from which the stored information was acquired (for example, URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) when the type of stored information is Internet search, and the type of stored information is database search In this case, information (for example, a page number) indicating the location in the dictionary data from which the saved information is acquired is shown.

  The search date and time indicates the date and time when the stored information was searched. Instead of the search date and time, the save date and time when the save information is saved may be recorded.

  The communication unit 58 connects to the Internet 101 shown in FIG. 4 by wired communication or wireless communication, and communicates with the servers 102-1 to 102-n connected to the Internet 101. In the communication of the communication unit 58, in the case of wireless communication, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standard defined by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, etc.), W- Mobile phones such as CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and PIAFS (Personal Handyphone System Internet Access Forum Standard), communication standards such as PHS (Personal Handyphone System), and standards such as Bluetooth (trademark) can be applied. In the case of wired communication, standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark) defined by IEEE802.3 can be applied to the communication of the communication unit 58. The communication unit 58 communicates with the servers 102-1 to 102-n via the Internet 101 based on a protocol such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol).

  The servers 102-1 to 102-n are, for example, WWW (World Wide Web) servers, FTP servers, e-mail servers, and the like, and are electronic books that communicate with the servers 102-1 to 102-n via the Internet 101. Various services (such as a search service) are provided to a device such as the display device 1. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to distinguish the servers 102-1 to 102-n individually, they are simply referred to as servers 102.

  The drive 59 is connected to the input / output interface 72 as necessary. The drive 59 is appropriately connected to a removable medium 81 made of an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, and various data (for example, book data or dictionary data) read from the removable medium 81 is stored in the electronic book display device 1. Supply to each part. Note that the removable medium 81 may store a keyword database, storage information, or storage information management information.

  In addition, the drive 59 is appropriately connected to a removable medium 82 formed of an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, and the program read therefrom is installed in the storage unit 57.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration realized by the CPU 51 by executing a predetermined program. When the CPU 51 executes the program, the display control unit 121, the keyword registration unit 122, the database search unit 123, the Internet search unit 124, the search information storage unit 125, the update interval setting unit 126, the storage information acquisition unit 127, and the update deadline determination Functions including the unit 128, the update information acquisition unit 129, the stored information update unit 130, and the communication control unit 131 are realized.

  The display control unit 121 controls display of various screens of the display unit 11. Specifically, the display control unit 121 instructs the processing input by the user using the input unit 55 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71, or the keyword registration unit 122, the database search unit 123, and the Internet search. Display data for causing the display unit 11 to display the instructed screen is generated based on an instruction from the unit 124, the stored information acquisition unit 127, or the update time limit determination unit 128. The display unit 11 supplies the generated display data to the image processing unit 52 via the bus 71. Further, the display control unit 121 has a browser function, and converts information sent from the server 102 based on a protocol such as HTTP into display data to be displayed on the display unit 11.

  In addition, when an arbitrary character string in the content of the electronic book displayed on the display unit 11 is designated by the user using the cursor 21 or the like, the display control unit 121 displays the display unit 11 as necessary. The title name and page number of the electronic book displayed on the page, the position on the content of the character string (for example, from what character to what character in the page), and information including the electronic book's metadata (below) , Referred to as character string designation information) is supplied to the keyword registration unit 122, the database search unit 123, the Internet search unit 124, or the search information storage unit 125. The display control unit 121 supplies information indicating the keyword instructed to display the storage information by the user to the storage information acquisition unit 127.

  As will be described later with reference to FIG. 7, the keyword registration unit 122 registers the keyword specified by the user in the keyword database based on the keyword registration instruction input by the user using the input unit 55. In addition, when the character string designation information is supplied from the search information storage unit 125, the keyword registration unit 122 updates the keyword database based on the character string designation information.

  As will be described later with reference to FIG. 12, the database search unit 123 is an arbitrary character specified by the user from the contents of the electronic book based on the database search processing instruction input by the user using the input unit 55. Information related to the column or keyword is searched from the dictionary database, and the searched information is acquired. The database search unit 123 supplies information acquired from the dictionary database to the display control unit 121 or the search information storage unit 125 as necessary.

  As will be described later with reference to FIG. 9, the Internet search unit 124 selects arbitrary characters designated by the user from the contents of the electronic book based on the instruction of the Internet search process input by the user using the input unit 55. Information related to the column or keyword is acquired from the information stored in the server 102. The Internet search unit 124 supplies information and data to be transmitted to the server 102 to the communication control unit 131. Further, the Internet search unit 124 acquires information and data transmitted from the server 102 from the communication control unit 131, and stores the acquired information and data in the display control unit 121 or the search information storage unit 125 as necessary. Supply.

  The search information storage unit 125 stores information acquired from the server 102 by the Internet search unit 124 or information acquired from the dictionary database by the database search unit 123 based on a processing instruction input by the user using the input unit 55. Then, it is stored (saved) in the storage unit 57. The search information storage unit 125 updates the stored information management information every time new information is stored. Further, the search information storage unit 125 supplies the keyword registration unit 122 with character string designation information related to the character string related to the information stored in the storage unit 57. In addition, the search information storage unit 125 supplies the update interval setting unit 126 with a character string related to information to be stored in the storage unit 57 and information indicating the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the character string.

  The update interval setting unit 126 sets an interval for updating the stored information, as will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The storage information acquisition unit 127 reads storage information related to the keyword specified by the user from the storage unit 57 via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72 based on an instruction from the display control unit 121. The storage information acquisition unit 127 supplies the read storage information to the display control unit 121. The storage information acquisition unit 127 reads a record of storage management information corresponding to the keyword for which display of storage information is designated by the user from the storage unit 57 via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72, and updates the read record. This is supplied to the time limit determination unit 128.

  As will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, the update time limit determination unit 128 calculates the update time limit of the storage information and determines whether or not the current date has passed the update time limit of the storage information. In addition, the update time limit determination unit 128 generates update flag management information for managing whether or not the update time limit of each storage information displayed as a list on the display unit 11 has passed. The update time limit determination unit 128 supplies the update flag management information to the display control unit 121. Further, when the automatic update setting is set to ON, the update time limit determination unit 128 supplies information indicating the link destination of the stored information whose update time limit has passed to the update information acquisition unit 129.

  As will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, the update information acquisition unit 129 includes information for updating storage information that has passed the update deadline, a communication control unit 131, a bus 71, an input / output interface 72, and a communication unit 58. And from the server 102 via the Internet 101. At that time, the update information acquisition unit 129 supplies information and data to be transmitted to the server 102 to the communication control unit 131. Further, the update information acquisition unit 129 acquires information and data transmitted from the server 102 from the communication control unit 131. The update information acquisition unit 129 supplies the acquired information to the saved information update unit 130.

  The saved information update unit 130 updates the saved information stored in the storage unit 57 with the information acquired from the update information acquisition unit 129. Further, the storage information update unit 130 updates the storage information management information with the update of the storage information.

  The communication control unit 131 communicates with the server 102 via the bus 71, the input / output interface 72, the communication unit 58, and the Internet 101 based on a protocol such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol). I do.

  Next, processing executed by the electronic book display device 1 will be described.

First, a keyword registration process executed by the electronic book display device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 8 , it is assumed that the contents of the electronic book are displayed on the display unit 11 and the user designates the character string 151 using the cursor 21.

  In step S1, the keyword registration unit 122 determines whether keyword registration is instructed. Specifically, for example, when the user presses the button 14, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating that the button 14 has been pressed to the keyword registration unit 122 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. To do. If the keyword registration unit 122 acquires information indicating that the button 14 has been pressed, the keyword registration unit 122 determines that keyword registration has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, the keyword registration unit 122 registers a keyword, and the keyword registration process ends. Specifically, the keyword registration unit 122 acquires character string designation information related to the character string 151 from the display control unit 121.

  The keyword registration unit 122 searches for keywords that match the character string 151 from keywords registered in the keyword database. When a keyword matching the character string 151 is searched, the keyword registration unit 122 adds source information to a keyword database record corresponding to the searched keyword based on the character string specifying information.

  If no keyword matching the character string 151 is found, the keyword registration unit 122 adds a new record to the keyword database. The keyword registration unit 122 assigns a keyword number to a newly registered keyword, and registers the keyword number and the keyword (character string 151) in the added record. The keyword registration unit 122 registers the source information in the added record based on the character string designation information.

  Further, the keyword registration unit 122 acquires, from the input unit 55 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71, the information indicating the group name registered by the user by operating the input unit 55. The keyword registration unit 122 registers the group name in the added record.

  If it is determined in step S1 that keyword registration is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, the Internet search unit 124 determines whether an Internet search is instructed. Specifically, for example, when the user presses the button 15, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating that the button 15 has been pressed to the Internet search unit 124 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. To do. If the Internet search unit 124 acquires information indicating that the button 15 has been pressed, the Internet search unit 124 determines that an Internet search has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the Internet search unit 124 performs an Internet search process, and the keyword registration process ends. Details of the Internet search process will be described later with reference to FIG. 9. By this process, information related to the character string 151 is searched from the server 102 connected to the Internet 101, and the searched information is acquired.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the Internet search is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the database search unit 123 determines whether database search is instructed. Specifically, for example, when the user presses the button 16, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating that the button 16 has been pressed to the database search unit 123 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. To do. If the database search unit 123 acquires information indicating that the button 16 has been pressed, the database search unit 123 determines that a database search has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the database search unit 123 performs a database search process, and the keyword registration process ends. Details of the database search process will be described later with reference to FIG. 12. By this process, information related to the character string 151 is searched from the dictionary database, and the searched information is acquired.

  Next, details of the Internet search process in step S4 of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S21, the display control unit 121 displays a search menu. Specifically, the Internet search unit 124 supplies information indicating that an Internet search is instructed by the user to the display control unit 121. The display control unit 121 generates display data for displaying the search menu shown in FIG. 10 and supplies the generated display data to the image processing unit 52 via the bus 71. The image processing unit 52 generates image data of an image to be displayed on the display unit 11 based on the display data. The image processing unit 52 supplies the generated image data to the display unit 11 via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72, and causes the display unit 11 to display an image based on the image data. That is, the search menu shown in FIG.

  The search menu shown in FIG. 10 is a list of methods for searching or acquiring information related to the character string 151. The user selects a search service for searching for information related to the character string 151 by designating a desired item in the search menu with the cursor 21, or obtains information related to the character string 151. You can choose how to specify the URL directly.

  In the following, a series of processes in which the image processing unit 52 generates image data based on the display data generated by the display control unit 121 and causes the display unit 11 to display an image based on the image data is performed by the image processing unit 52. Also, it is expressed that the screen is displayed on the display unit 11 based on the display control unit 121.

  In step S22, the Internet search unit 124 acquires information via the Internet. Specifically, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating the item specified by the user from the search menu with the cursor 21 to the Internet search unit 124 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. The Internet search unit 124 acquires character string designation information related to the character string 151 from the display control unit 121.

  When the user selects a predetermined search service from the search menu, the Internet search unit 124 is designated by the user via the communication control unit 131, the bus 71, the input / output interface 72, the communication unit 58, and the Internet 101. Communication is performed with the server 102 that operates the search site that provides the search service based on a protocol such as HTTP, and a search for information related to the character string 151 is requested. The server 102 transmits information indicating a search result of information related to the character string 151 to the electronic book display device 1 via the Internet 101. The Internet search unit 124 acquires information transmitted from the server 102 via the communication unit 58, the input / output interface 72, the bus 71, and the communication control unit 131.

  In addition, when the user selects a method of directly specifying the URL of the website from the search menu, the Internet search unit 124 inputs and outputs information indicating the URL that the user subsequently inputs by operating the input unit 55. Obtained from the input unit 55 via the interface 72 and the bus 71. The Internet search unit 124 communicates with the server 102 specified by the URL based on a protocol such as HTTP via the communication control unit 131, the bus 71, the input / output interface 72, the communication unit 58, and the Internet 101. Information requesting transmission of information on the page of the website designated in the URL is transmitted to the server 102. The server 102 transmits information on the page of the website specified by the URL to the electronic book display device 1 via the Internet 101. The Internet search unit 124 acquires information transmitted from the server 102 via the communication unit 58, the input / output interface 72, the bus 71, and the communication control unit 131. When the URL of the website that provides the search service is specified, the server 102 that operates the search site that provides the specified search service is requested to search for information related to the character string 151. Information indicating a search result of related information may be acquired.

  In step S23, the display control unit 121 displays the acquired information. Specifically, the Internet search unit 124 supplies the information acquired from the server 102 in step S22 to the display control unit 121. The image processing unit 52 causes the display unit 11 to display information acquired from the server 102 under the control of the display control unit 121. That is, a search result of information related to the character string 151 by the search service designated by the user or a website page acquired from the server 102 is displayed on the display unit 11.

  FIG. 11 shows an example in which a search result of information related to the character string 151 by the search service designated by the user is displayed on the display unit 11. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the display unit 11 displays a title bar 161, a window 162, buttons 163 to 166, and scroll buttons 167 and 168.

  In the title bar 161, information indicating that the result of the Internet search processing is displayed on the display unit 11 is displayed.

  Information acquired from the server 102 is displayed in the window 162. In the case of the example shown in FIG. 11, a list of search results of information related to the character string 151 by the search service designated by the user is displayed in the window 162. The user moves the cursor 171 displayed in the window 162 using the cursor 21 or the like so as to select a desired website page in the list of search results, and confirms the selected website page. As a result, the information on the selected website page is acquired from the server 102 by the same processing as in step S22 described above, and the acquired information on the website page is displayed in the window 162. In step S22, when the information on the website page specified by the URL specified by the user is acquired, the acquired website page information is displayed in the window 162.

  Further, the user can instruct the display of stored information, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, by pressing the button 163 with the cursor 21.

  Further, the user can instruct execution of Internet search by pressing the button 164 with the cursor 21. That is, it is possible to instruct execution of the processing from step S21 described above.

  The user can instruct execution of database search by pressing the button 165 with the cursor 21. Can be switched. That is, it is possible to instruct execution of processing from step S6 in FIG.

  Furthermore, the user can save the information displayed in the window 162 in the storage unit 57 by pressing the button 166 with the cursor 21.

  In addition, the user can cause the window 162 to display a page before or after the currently displayed information by pressing the scroll button 167 or 168 with the cursor 21.

  In step S24, the search information storage unit 125 determines whether or not an instruction to store the acquired information has been given. Specifically, when the user presses the button 166 with the cursor 21, the input unit 55 sends information indicating that the button 166 has been pressed via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71 to the search information storage unit 125. To supply. If the search information storage unit 125 acquires information indicating that the button 166 has been pressed, the search information storage unit 125 determines that the storage of the acquired information has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the search information storage unit 125 acquires information to be stored. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 includes information acquired from the server 102 that is the source of the information displayed in the window 161, and the URL and title name of the page of the website from which the information is transmitted. Information is acquired from the Internet search unit 124. In addition, the search information storage unit 125 acquires character string designation information related to the character string 151 from the display control unit 121.

  In step S26, the search information storage unit 125 performs a search information storage process. Details of the search information storage processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 14, but information related to the character string 151 acquired from the server 102 is stored by this processing.

  If it is determined in step S24 that saving of the acquired information is not instructed, the processes in steps S25 and S26 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S27.

  In step S27, the Internet search unit 124 determines whether or not an instruction to end the search is given. When the user operates the input unit 55 to instruct the end of the Internet search, the input unit 55 sends information indicating that the end of the Internet search is instructed via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. This is supplied to the Internet search unit 124. When the Internet search unit 124 acquires information indicating that the end of the Internet search has been instructed, the Internet search unit 124 determines that the end of the search has been instructed, and the Internet search process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S27 that the end of the Internet search is not instructed, the process returns to step S22, and the processes in steps S22 to S27 are performed until it is determined in step S27 that the end of the search is instructed. Is repeatedly executed. That is, based on a user instruction, information related to the character string 151 is further acquired from the server 102 connected to the Internet 101, and the acquired information is stored.

  As described above, information related to an arbitrary word in the contents of the electronic book can be searched easily and quickly from a vast amount of information stored in the server 102 connected to the Internet 101 to obtain appropriate information. Can be obtained. In addition, a search service on the Internet 101 can be easily used.

  Next, details of the database search processing in step S6 in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  In step S41, the display control unit 121 displays a search menu. Specifically, the image processing unit 52 displays the search menu shown in FIG. 13 on the display unit 11 under the control of the display control unit 121.

  The search menu shown in FIG. 13 is a list of types of dictionary data included in the dictionary database. The user can specify the type of dictionary data for searching for information related to the character string 151 by specifying desired dictionary data in the search menu with the cursor 21.

  In step S42, the database search unit 123 searches for information in the dictionary database. Specifically, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating an item designated by the user from the search menu using the cursor 21 to the database search unit 123 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. The database search unit 123 acquires character string designation information related to the character string 151 from the display control unit 121. The database retrieval unit 123 retrieves information related to the character string 151 from dictionary data designated by the user in the dictionary database via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72, and acquires the retrieved information.

  In step S43, the display control unit 121 displays the acquired information. Specifically, the database search unit 123 supplies the information acquired in step S42 to the display control unit 121. The image processing unit 52 causes the display unit 11 to display information acquired from the server 102 under the control of the display control unit 121. That is, information related to the character string 151 acquired from the dictionary data designated by the user is displayed on the display unit 11. At this time, the screen displayed on the display unit 11 has, for example, the same configuration as the screen shown in FIG. However, the title bar 161 indicates that the result of the database search process is displayed on the display unit 11 and information indicating the type of dictionary data used for the search.

  In step S44, it is determined whether or not an instruction to save the acquired information is given in the same process as the process in step S24 of FIG. 9 described above. If it is determined that an instruction to save the acquired information is given, the process proceeds to step S45.

  In step S45, the search information storage unit 125 acquires information to be stored. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 obtains information acquired from the dictionary data that is the source of the information displayed in the window 161, the type of dictionary data from which the information was acquired, and the position of the dictionary data ( For example, information including a page number on which information is recorded is acquired from the database search unit 123. In addition, the search information storage unit 125 acquires character string designation information related to the character string 151 from the display control unit 121.

  In step S46, the search information storage unit 125 performs a search information storage process. The details of the search information storage process will be described later with reference to FIG. 14. By this process, information related to the character string 151 acquired from the dictionary database is stored.

  If it is determined in step S44 that saving of the acquired information is not instructed, the processes in steps S45 and S46 are skipped, and the process proceeds to step S47.

  In step S47, the database search unit 123 determines whether or not an instruction to end the search is given. When the user operates the input unit 55 to instruct the end of the database search, the input unit 55 sends information indicating that the end of the database search is instructed via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. The data is supplied to the database search unit 123. When the database search unit 123 acquires information indicating that the end of the database search has been instructed, the database search unit 123 determines that the end of the search has been instructed, and the database search process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S47 that the end of the database search is not instructed, the process returns to step S42, and the processes in steps S42 to S47 are performed until it is determined in step S47 that the end of the search is instructed. Is repeatedly executed. That is, based on a user instruction, information related to the character string 151 is further acquired from the dictionary database, and the acquired information is stored.

  In this manner, information related to an arbitrary word in the content of the electronic book can be searched from the dictionary database easily and quickly, and the searched information can be acquired.

  Next, the details of the search information storing process in step S26 in FIG. 9 and step S46 in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  In step S61, the keyword registration unit 122 registers a keyword. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 supplies character string designation information related to the character string 151 to the keyword registration unit 122. The keyword registration unit 122 registers keywords by the same process as step S2 in FIG. 7 described above. That is, when the character string 151 is already registered as a keyword, the source information is added to the keyword database record corresponding to the keyword, and when the character string 151 is not yet registered as a keyword, the character string 151 is a new one. It is registered in the keyword database as a keyword.

  In step S62, the search information storage unit 125 determines whether the character string 151 designated by the user is registered in the storage information management information. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 searches for keywords that match the character string 151 among the keywords registered in the storage information management information stored in the storage unit 57. When a keyword that matches the character string 151 is searched from the stored information management information, the search information storage unit 125 determines that the character string 151 specified by the user is registered in the stored information management information, and the processing is step. Proceed to S62.

  In step S63, the update interval setting unit 126 compares the update intervals. The search information storage unit 125 supplies the update interval setting unit 126 with information indicating the character string 151 and the genre of the electronic book recorded in the metadata of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151. The update interval setting unit 126 is set in an update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book and a record of saved information management information in which a keyword matching the character string 151 is registered (hereinafter also referred to as a matching keyword record). Compare with the update interval.

  In step S64, the update interval setting unit 126 determines whether or not the update intervals are different based on the result of the process in step S63. If it is determined that the update intervals are different, the process proceeds to step S65.

  In step S65, the update interval setting unit 126 sets an update interval. The update interval setting unit 126 supplies the display control unit 121 with information indicating that the update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151 is different from the update interval set in the matching keyword record. To do. The image processing unit 52 causes the display unit 11 to display a dialog for allowing the user to select whether or not the update interval can be changed based on the control of the display control unit 121.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a dialog displayed on the display unit 11 at this time. This dialog is used to select whether or not to change the update interval set for the keyword matching the character string 151 to an update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151. A message is displayed. The user can select to change the update interval by pressing the button 191 in the dialog with the cursor 21, and select to cancel the change in the update interval by pressing the button 192 in the dialog with the cursor 21. can do. When the button 191 or 192 is pressed, the input unit 55 supplies information indicating the pressed button to the update interval setting unit 126 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71.

  When the button 191 is pressed, the update interval setting unit 126 changes the update interval of the matching keyword record to the update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151. When the button 192 is pressed, the update interval is not changed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S68.

  In addition, the latest current affairs and buzzwords that handle seasonal topics such as newspapers and weekly magazines, and that are likely to be frequently added, changed, or deleted in the information stored in the server 102 are included in the content. For genres of electronic books that are highly likely to be included, the update interval is set to a short interval (for example, 1 to 7 days) so that the information is frequently updated. In addition, various guide books such as travel guides and gourmet guides, academic books, etc. can be revised at relatively short intervals, and information stored in the server 102 can be added, changed, or deleted at relatively short intervals. For electronic book genres that contain a lot of highly information, the update interval is set to a slightly shorter interval (for example, 1 to 6 months). In addition, we deal with topics that are not related to current topics such as novels and classics, and update the genre of electronic books that are rarely revised and rarely use the latest current vocabulary and buzzwords. The period is set to a long interval (for example, one year). Note that the update interval for each genre may be arbitrarily changed by the user.

  If it is determined in step S64 that the update interval is different, the update interval may be automatically changed. Furthermore, the update interval may be automatically changed only when the update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book is shorter than the update interval of the matching keyword record.

  If it is determined in step S64 that the update interval is not different, the process of step S65 is skipped, and the process proceeds to step S68.

  If it is determined in step S62 that the character string 151 specified by the user is not registered in the stored information management information, the process proceeds to step S66.

  In step S66, the search information storage unit 125 adds a record of stored information management information. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 reads the keyword number assigned to the keyword corresponding to the keyword that matches the character string 151 from the keyword database. The search information storage unit 125 adds a new record to the stored information management information, and registers the keyword number and character string 151 read from the keyword database in the added record. Further, the search information storage unit 125 sets the automatic update setting of the added record to ON or OFF based on the setting by the user.

  In step S67, the update interval setting unit 126 sets an update interval. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 supplies the character string 151 and information indicating the genre of the electronic book recorded in the metadata of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151 to the update interval setting unit 126. To do. The update interval setting unit 126 sets an update interval corresponding to the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the character string 151 in the added record in the keyword database.

  In step S68, the search information storage unit 125 determines whether the electronic book is a new publication. The search information storage unit 125 refers to the issue date of the electronic book recorded in the metadata of the electronic book, and if a predetermined period (for example, three months) has not elapsed since the issue date, the electronic book is newly published. The process proceeds to step S69.

  In step S <b> 69, the search information storage unit 125 turns on the new publication flag of the storage information management information record (matching keyword record or added record) corresponding to the character string 151.

  If it is determined in step S68 that the electronic book is not a new publication, the process of step S69 is skipped, and the process proceeds to step S70.

  In step S7, the search information storage unit 125 stores the information, and the search information storage process ends. Specifically, the search information storage unit 125 uses the information acquired from the server 102 by the Internet search unit 124 in step S25 in FIG. 9 described above, or the database search unit 123 in the step S45 in FIG. Information acquired from the database is stored (saved) in the storage unit 57, and a data number is assigned to the stored information.

  The search information storage unit 125 adds individual information corresponding to the newly stored information to the record of the stored information management information corresponding to the character string 151, and registers each item of the individual information. Specifically, the data number of the newly stored information is registered in the data number, and the date and time when the information was acquired is registered in the search date and time. When the information acquired from the server 102 is saved, Internet search is set as the type, the title name of the page of the website of the information source is registered as the title name, and the information Information (for example, URL) indicating the storage location of the page of the transmission source website is registered. Furthermore, when the information acquired from the dictionary database is stored, the database search is set as the type, the type of the dictionary data searched for information is registered as the title name, and the dictionary data searched for information as the link destination Information (for example, page number of dictionary data) indicating the storage position of information in is registered.

  In this manner, information related to the character string 151 acquired from the server 102 or information related to the character string 151 acquired from the dictionary database can be easily saved.

  Next, a keyword display process executed by the electronic book display device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, for example, after the user presses the button 14, the user operates the input unit 55 to specify a group of keywords to be displayed in a list, and information indicating the specified group is input from the input unit 55. It is started when the data is supplied to the display control unit 121 via the output interface 72 and the bus 71.

  In step S101, the display control unit 121 displays a list of keywords. Specifically, the display control unit 121 acquires the keyword database stored in the storage unit 57 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. The image processing unit 52 displays a list of keywords belonging to the group designated by the user on the display unit 11 under the control of the display control unit 121.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a keyword list screen. In the example shown in FIG. 17, the display unit 11 displays a title bar 201, windows 202-1 to 202-5, buttons 203 to 205, and scroll buttons 206 and 207.

  In the title bar 161, information indicating that a list of keywords belonging to the group designated by the user is displayed on the display unit 11 is displayed.

  In windows 202-1 to 202-5, different keywords are displayed, and the title name and page number of the electronic book indicating the origin of the keywords are displayed. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the windows 202-1 to 202-5, they are simply referred to as windows 202.

  Note that the display order of the keywords can be, for example, ascending or descending order of the date and time when the keywords were registered, or the alphabetical order of the keywords. Further, the number of windows 202 in which keywords are displayed may be set to a number other than five.

  The user can select one of the windows 202-1 to 202-5 by operating the direction keys 13-1 to 13-4 or a mouse (not shown) to move the cursor 211.

  In addition, the user can instruct display of saved information related to the keyword displayed in the window 202 selected by the cursor 211 by pressing the button 203 with the cursor 21.

  Further, the user can instruct execution of an Internet search for the keyword displayed in the window 211 selected by the cursor 211 by pressing the button 204 with the cursor 21.

  Further, the user can instruct execution of a database search for a keyword displayed in the window 211 selected by the cursor 211 by pressing the button 205 with the cursor 21.

  Furthermore, the user can cause the display unit 111 to display a page before or after the currently displayed keyword list page by pressing the scroll button 206 or 207 with the cursor 21.

  In step S <b> 102, the display control unit 121 determines whether display of storage information is instructed. Specifically, when the user presses the button 203 with the cursor 21, the input unit 55 displays the position of the cursor 211 and information indicating that the button 203 has been pressed via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. To the display control unit 121. If the display control unit 121 acquires the position of the cursor 211 and information indicating that the button 203 has been pressed, the display control unit 121 determines that display of stored information has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S103.

  In step S103, the storage information acquisition unit 127 determines whether there is storage information related to the keyword designated by the user. Specifically, the display control unit 121 supplies information indicating a keyword for which display of storage information is instructed by the user to the storage information acquisition unit 127. The saved information acquisition unit 127 searches the saved information management information for a keyword that matches the keyword specified by the user. When a keyword that matches the keyword specified by the user is searched, the display control unit 121 determines that there is stored information related to the keyword specified by the user, and the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the display control unit 121 executes a stored information list display process. Details of the stored information list display process will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, and, for example, a screen shown in FIG. 18 is displayed on the display unit 11 by this process. In the example shown in FIG. 18, a list of saved information search results is displayed on the display unit 11, and a title bar 231 and buttons 233, 235, and 236 are displayed.

  The title bar 231 indicates that the search result of the stored information related to the keyword specified by the user is displayed on the display unit 11 and information indicating the number of searched stored information.

  In the area 232, the update interval set for the keyword designated by the user is displayed. The user can display a screen for changing the update interval by pressing the button 233 displayed on the right side of the area 232 with the cursor 21. That is, the user can set an arbitrary update interval for each keyword.

  In the area 234, the setting value of the automatic update setting of the keyword designated by the user is displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 18, it is shown that the automatic update setting of the keyword “margin transaction” is set to manual update. The user can change the keyword automatic update setting from manual update to automatic update or from automatic update to manual update by pressing a button 235 displayed on the right side of the region 234.

  In a region 237, search results of stored information related to the keyword specified by the user are displayed as a list. When the saved information is information acquired by Internet search, the title of the page of the website from which the saved information is obtained, information indicating the storage location of the page of the website from which the saved information is obtained (for example, URL), and The date and time when the saved information was last updated is displayed. Note that, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 19, when the update period of the storage information has passed and the update method of the storage information is set to manual update, an instruction to update the storage information is given. A button 236 is displayed. The user can update the stored information whose update deadline has passed by pressing the button 236 with the cursor 21.

  Further, when the saved information is information obtained by database search, the type of dictionary data from which the saved information is obtained and information (for example, page number) indicating the storage location of the saved information in the dictionary data are displayed. .

  Furthermore, a hyperlink indicating the position information of the storage unit 57 in which the storage information is stored is embedded in the text indicating the search result of each storage information (hereinafter referred to as storage information text). By pressing each saved information text with the cursor 21, the saved information is read from the storage position of the storage unit 57 linked by the hyperlink, and the saved information is displayed on the display unit 11.

  In step S105, the display control unit 121 determines whether display of storage information has been instructed. Specifically, when the user presses the saved information text with the cursor 21, information indicating that the saved information text is pressed is supplied to the display control unit 121 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. If the display control unit 121 acquires information indicating that the stored information text has been pressed, the display control unit 121 determines that display of the stored information is instructed, and the process proceeds to step S106.

  In step S106, the storage information acquisition unit 127 acquires storage information. Specifically, the display control unit 121 supplies the storage information acquisition unit 127 with information indicating the storage position of the storage unit 57 linked by a hyperlink embedded in the storage information text pressed by the user. . The saved information acquisition unit 127 reads the saved information from the storage unit 57 via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72 based on the acquired information indicating the recording position. The storage information acquisition unit 127 supplies the read storage information to the display control unit 121.

  In step S107, the display control unit 121 displays the stored information, and the keyword display process ends. Specifically, the image processing unit 52 displays a screen based on the stored information on the display unit 11 under the control of the display control unit 121.

  If it is determined in step S105 that display of storage information has not been instructed, for example, if the user has instructed to end display of a list of search results of storage information without instructing display of storage information, The processes of S106 and S107 are skipped, and the keyword display process ends.

  If it is determined in step S103 that there is no stored information related to the keyword specified by the user, the process returns to step S102.

  If it is determined in step S102 that display of stored information is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the Internet search unit 124 determines whether an Internet search is instructed. Specifically, when the user presses the button 204 with the cursor 21, the input unit 55 sends information indicating that the button 204 has been pressed to the Internet search unit 124 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. Supply. If the Internet search unit 124 acquires information indicating that the button 204 has been pressed, the Internet search unit 124 determines that an Internet search has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S109.

  In step S109, the Internet search process described above with reference to FIG. 9 is executed, and the keyword display process ends. By this processing, information related to the keyword specified by the user is acquired from the server 102 connected to the Internet 101, and the acquired information is displayed on the display unit 11.

  If it is determined in step S108 that internet search is not instructed, the process proceeds to step S110.

  In step S110, the database search unit 123 determines whether a database search is instructed. Specifically, when the user presses the button 205 with the cursor 21, the input unit 55 sends information indicating that the button 205 has been pressed to the database search unit 123 via the input / output interface 72 and the bus 71. Supply. If the database search unit 123 acquires information indicating that the button 205 has been pressed, the database search unit 123 determines that a database search has been instructed, and the process proceeds to step S111.

  In step S111, the database search process described above with reference to FIG. 12 is executed, and the keyword display process ends. By this processing, information related to the keyword specified by the user is acquired from the dictionary database, and the acquired information is displayed on the display unit 11.

  If it is determined in step S110 that the database search is not instructed, for example, the user instructs the end of the display of the keyword list without instructing any of the stored information display, the Internet search, and the database search. If so, the keyword display process ends.

  As described above, it is possible to easily and quickly acquire saved information related to a keyword designated by the user, or acquire information related to the keyword from the server 102 or the dictionary database.

  Next, details of the stored information list display process in step S104 of FIG. 16 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S131, the storage information acquisition unit 127 acquires storage information management information. Specifically, the storage information acquisition unit 127 stores a record of storage management information corresponding to a keyword specified by the user (hereinafter also referred to as a specified keyword record) via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72. Read from 57. The saved information acquisition unit 127 supplies the designated keyword record to the update time limit determination unit 128. The update time limit determination unit 128 generates update flag management information corresponding to the designated keyword record.

  In step S132, the update time limit determination unit 128 determines whether or not the new publication flag of the designated keyword record is ON. If it is determined that the new publication flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S133.

  In step S133, the update time limit determination unit 128 changes the update interval. Specifically, the update deadline determination unit 128 sets to perform the subsequent processing based on the update interval corresponding to the newly published electronic book, not the update interval set in the designated keyword record. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S134.

  Note that the update interval corresponding to the newly published electronic book is shorter than the normal update interval. This is because there is a high possibility that new information and words will appear in the contents of the newly published electronic book, and information stored in the server 102 related to the keyword registered from the newly published electronic book is added in a short cycle. This is because there is a high possibility that changes, deletions, and the like will be performed. Regardless of the genre of the electronic book, the update interval corresponding to the newly published electronic book may be a uniform very short interval (for example, one day), or for each genre of the electronic book, The interval may be shorter than the normal update interval.

  If it is determined in step S132 that the new publication flag is OFF, the process of step S133 is skipped, and the process proceeds to step S134.

  In step S134, the update time limit determination unit 128 determines whether or not the update time limits of all stored information have been confirmed. Specifically, the update deadline determination unit 128 determines whether or not the individual information recorded in the designated keyword record, that is, whether the update deadline of all stored information related to the keyword designated by the user has been confirmed. . If it is determined that the update deadline of all stored information has not been confirmed, the process proceeds to step S135.

  In step S135, the update time limit determination unit 128 compares the update time limit of the stored information with the current date. Specifically, the update deadline determination unit 128 calculates the update deadline of the saved information by adding the update interval to the search date of the saved information for which the update deadline is checked next. At this time, if the new publication flag is determined to be ON in step S132, the update deadline determination unit 128 uses the update interval changed in step S133, and if the new publication flag is determined to be OFF, The update deadline is calculated using the update interval set in the keyword record. The update deadline determination unit 128 compares the calculated update deadline with the current date.

  In step S136, based on the result of the process in step S135, the update time limit determination unit 128 determines whether or not the storage information update time limit has passed, and if it is determined that the storage information update time limit has passed, The process proceeds to step S137.

  In step S137, the update time limit determination unit 128 determines whether or not automatic update is set. If the automatic update setting of the designated keyword record is set to ON, the update time limit determination unit 128 determines that automatic update is set, and the process proceeds to step S138.

  In step S138, the update information acquisition unit 129 acquires information for updating the stored information. The update deadline determination unit 128 supplies information indicating the link destination of the stored information whose update deadline has passed to the update information acquisition unit 129. The update information acquisition unit 129 is based on the communication control unit 131, the bus 71, the input / output interface 72, the communication unit 58, and the server 102 specified by the acquired link destination and the protocol such as HTTP via the Internet 101. Communication is performed, and information indicating the link destination and requesting transmission of information on the page of the website is transmitted to the server 102. The server 102 obtains the information on the page of the designated website, that is, the latest information on the page of the website from which the storage information determined to have passed the update deadline in step S136 is sent to the Internet 101. To the electronic book display device 1. The update information acquisition unit 129 acquires information transmitted from the server 102 via the communication unit 58, the input / output interface 72, the bus 71, and the communication control unit 131.

  In step S139, the storage information update unit 130 updates the storage information. Specifically, the update information acquisition unit 129 supplies information acquired from the server 102 to the storage information update unit 130. The stored information update unit 130 stores the acquired information in the storage unit 57 and deletes old information stored in the storage unit 57. That is, the storage information update unit 130 updates the storage information. In addition, the storage information update unit 130 updates the search date and time of the individual information of the record of the storage information management information corresponding to the updated storage information. Thereafter, the process returns to step S134, and the processes of steps S134 to S140 are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S134 that the update deadline of all stored information has been confirmed.

  If it is determined in step S137 that automatic updating is not set, the process proceeds to step S140.

  In step S140, the update time limit determination unit 128 sets the update flag to ON. Specifically, the update deadline determination unit 128 sets the update flag of the update flag management information corresponding to the storage information that has passed the update deadline to ON. Thereafter, the process returns to step S134, and the processes of steps S134 to S140 are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S134 that the update deadline of all stored information has been confirmed.

  If it is determined in step S136 that the storage information update deadline has not passed, the process returns to step S134, and steps S134 to S140 are performed until it is determined in step S134 that all the storage information update deadlines have been confirmed. This process is repeatedly executed.

  If it is determined in step S134 that the update deadline of all stored information has been confirmed, the process proceeds to step S141.

  In step S141, the display control unit 121 displays a list of search results for stored information, and the stored information list display process ends. Specifically, the saved information acquisition unit 127 reads the designated keyword record from the storage unit 57 again via the bus 71 and the input / output interface 72 and supplies the designated keyword record to the display control unit 121. The update time limit determination unit 128 supplies the update flag management information to the display control unit 121. The image processing unit 52 causes the display 11 to display a list of saved information search results shown in FIG. 18 based on the control of the display control unit 121 based on the designated keyword record and the update flag management information. At this time, a button 236 for updating the storage information is displayed for the storage information for which the update flag is set to ON. As described above, the stored information can be updated to the latest information by pressing the button 236.

  Thus, the keyword registered by the user from a plurality of electronic books can be displayed for each group. In addition, the stored information related to each keyword can be updated automatically or with a simple operation at an appropriate interval according to each keyword.

  As described above, the information related to the keyword can be easily and quickly acquired from the server 102 connected to the Internet 101, the dictionary database, or the stored information stored in the storage unit 57. Therefore, appropriate information can be obtained easily and quickly from a wide range of information sources. In addition, information related to an arbitrary character string in the content of the electronic book can be acquired while the display of the content of the electronic book is continued.

  The stored information is automatically updated based on the update interval according to the genre of the electronic book that is the source of the keyword related to the stored information, or the update interval set by the user by pressing the button 233 in FIG. Or updated by a simple operation. Furthermore, the storage information related to the keyword registered from the new electronic book is updated at a shorter interval than usual. Therefore, the stored information is updated at appropriate intervals, and the stored information can always be kept valid. Further, by utilizing the stored information, it is possible to reduce the load and cost required for communication. Further, even if the communication with the Internet 101 is not possible or the storage medium storing the dictionary database is not connected to the electronic book display device 1, information related to the keyword can be acquired from the stored information. it can.

  In addition, since keywords registered from multiple e-books can be displayed at once, multiple e-books can be associated with each other via keywords, or words appearing in multiple e-books can be listed and used as an index. Or can be used for

  As described above, the keyword-related information related to the keyword, which is a character string specified by the user in the content of the electronic book, is controlled by the user's instruction from the server connected to the Internet. A first update interval, which is an interval for updating the related information, is set, storage of the keyword related information in the storage unit is controlled, and the keyword related information stored in the storage unit is determined based on the first update interval. It is determined whether or not the time limit for updating has passed, and when the time limit has passed, the acquisition of keyword related information is controlled so that the keyword related information is acquired from the server, and the keyword information stored in the storage means is stored in the server. When updating the keyword related information acquired from the above and controlling the acquisition of keyword related information stored in the storage means, It is possible to store the information related to the words that come out to the child book. In addition, it is possible to quickly acquire appropriate information related to words appearing in the electronic book.

  In the Internet search function, not only a search service but also a search function for an Internet shopping website may be used. For example, by making it possible to use the search function of Internet shopping related to books, it is possible to quickly search for books related to arbitrary words appearing in the contents of electronic books.

  In addition, the updated old storage information is accumulated for a certain period so that the storage information can be restored to the original state, and the update interval of the storage information is changed according to the free space of the storage medium storing the storage information. You may make it make it.

  In addition, when updating the stored information, if the page of the website from which the stored information was acquired has been deleted or the storage location of the website page has been changed, the update information cannot be acquired. You may make it leave the preservation | save information which passed the deadline as it is.

  The present invention is not limited to the dedicated electronic book display device described above, but can display the contents of an electronic book such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, an electronic dictionary display device, and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Can be applied to.

  The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in the electronic book display device 1 from a recording medium.

  As shown in FIG. 2, this recording medium is not only configured by a removable medium 82 on which a program is recorded, which is distributed to provide a program to the user, separately from the electronic book display device 1. It is provided with a nonvolatile heading included in the ROM 53 or the storage unit 57 in which a program is recorded, which is provided to the user in a state of being pre-installed in the electronic book display device 1.

  The program for executing the above-described series of processing is an electronic book display via a wired or wireless communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting via an interface such as a router or a modem as necessary. It may be installed in the device 1.

  Further, in the present specification, the step of describing the program stored in the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order. It also includes processes that are executed individually.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a structure of the external appearance of the electronic book display apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the data of a keyword database. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the data of preservation | save information management information. It is a block diagram which shows the communication environment of an electronic book display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the function implement | achieved by CPU of the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the keyword registration process performed by the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed on the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detail of the internet search process of step S4 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the search menu displayed on the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the search result of an internet search. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detail of the database search process of FIG.7 S6. It is a figure which shows the example of the search menu displayed on the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the search information storage process performed with the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the dialog displayed on the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the keyword display process performed by the electronic book display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a keyword list screen. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen of the list of the search results of preserve | saved information. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detail of the preservation | save information list display process of FIG.16 S104.

Explanation of symbols

  1 electronic book display device, 11 display unit, 51 CPU, 52 image processing unit, 53 ROM, 57 storage unit, 59 drive, 82 removable media, 101 internet, 102 server, 121 display control unit, 122 keyword registration unit, 123 database Search unit, 124 Internet search unit, 125 Search information storage unit, 126 Update interval setting unit, 127 Saved information acquisition unit, 128 Update deadline determination unit, 129 Update information acquisition unit, 130 Saved information update unit, 131 Communication control unit

Claims (11)

In the electronic book display device that displays the contents of the electronic book on the display means,
First acquisition control means for controlling acquisition of keyword-related information related to a keyword that is a character string designated by the user in the contents of the electronic book from a server connected to the Internet in accordance with a user instruction and,
A storage control means for controlling storage of the storage means of the keyword-related information,
Registration means for registering the keyword in a database;
When a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information is set and the first keyword that is the keyword is registered in the database from the first electronic book that is the electronic book, the first The second keyword, which is the keyword already registered in the database, from the second electronic book, which is the electronic book different from the first electronic book, matches the first keyword, and the second Update interval setting means for changing the first update interval based on the genre of the second electronic book when the keyword related information related to the keyword is stored in the storage means ;
Based on the first update interval, a determination means for determining whether past due for updating the keyword-related information stored in said storage means,
A second acquisition control unit configured to control acquisition of the keyword-related information so as to acquire the keyword-related information from the server when the time limit has passed;
Updating means for updating the keyword information stored in the storage means to the keyword related information acquired by the control of the second acquisition control means;
3. An electronic book display device comprising: third acquisition control means for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information stored in the storage means. Display control for controlling display of the display means so as to display the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the first acquisition control means, the second acquisition control means, or the third acquisition control means. The electronic book display device according to claim 1, further comprising means. The display control means controls the display of the display means to display a button for inputting an instruction to update the keyword related information when displaying the keyword related information that has passed the deadline. The electronic book display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electronic book display apparatus is an electronic book display apparatus. The said 1st acquisition control means controls acquisition of the said keyword relevant information so that the said keyword relevant information may be acquired using the search service which the said server provides. Electronic book display device. The electronic book display device according to claim 1, wherein the update interval setting unit sets the first update interval based on a genre of the electronic book. The electronic book display device according to claim 1 , wherein the update interval setting unit changes the first update interval based on a genre of the second electronic book according to a user instruction. The determination means is a predetermined different from the first update interval when the electronic book that is a source of the keyword related to the keyword related information is a new publication that has not passed a predetermined period from the date of issue. The electronic book display device according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the time limit has passed is determined based on the second update interval. The said 2nd acquisition control means controls acquisition of the said keyword relevant information so that the said keyword relevant information may be acquired from the said server according to a user's instruction | indication when the said time limit is passed. 1. The electronic book display device according to 1. In the information processing method executed by the electronic book display device for displaying the contents of the electronic book on the display means,
A first acquisition control step of controlling acquisition of keyword-related information related to a keyword, which is a character string designated by the user in the contents of the electronic book, from a server connected to the Internet according to a user instruction and,
A storage control step of controlling storage of the storage means of the keyword-related information,
A registration step of registering the keyword in a database;
When a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information is set and the first keyword that is the keyword is registered in the database from the first electronic book that is the electronic book, the first The second keyword, which is the keyword already registered in the database, from the second electronic book, which is the electronic book different from the first electronic book, matches the first keyword, and the second An update interval setting step of changing the first update interval based on the genre of the second electronic book when the keyword related information related to the keyword is stored in the storage means ;
A determination step of determining whether or not a time limit for updating the keyword-related information stored in the storage unit has passed, based on the first update interval;
A second acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information so as to acquire the keyword-related information from the server when the time limit has passed;
An update step for updating the keyword information stored in the storage means to the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the second acquisition control step;
And a third acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information stored in the storage means. A computer that displays the contents of the electronic book on the display means,
The user's instruction, a first acquisition control step of controlling the keywords related information related to the keyword is specified string, the acquisition from a server connected to the Internet by the user in the content of the electronic book and,
A storage control step of controlling storage of the storage means of the keyword-related information,
A registration step of registering the keyword in a database;
When a first update interval that is an interval for updating the keyword-related information is set and the first keyword that is the keyword is registered in the database from the first electronic book that is the electronic book, the first The second keyword, which is the keyword already registered in the database, from the second electronic book, which is the electronic book different from the first electronic book, matches the first keyword, and the second An update interval setting step of changing the first update interval based on the genre of the second electronic book when the keyword related information related to the keyword is stored in the storage means ;
A determination step of determining whether or not a time limit for updating the keyword-related information stored in the storage unit has passed, based on the first update interval;
A second acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information so as to acquire the keyword-related information from the server when the time limit has passed;
An update step for updating the keyword information stored in the storage means to the keyword-related information acquired by the control of the second acquisition control step;
A third acquisition control step for controlling acquisition of the keyword-related information stored in the storage means;
A program for running A recording medium on which the program according to claim 10 is recorded.

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