JP2002269091A - Electronic book device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic book device which can speedily and accurately reach useful information in an electronic document browsed in the past. SOLUTION: Cumulative times of display on a display means 300 are stored in a cumulative display time storage means 500 by document blocks obtained by dividing the electronic document into two or more. Each time the display of an electronic document by the display means is switched, the cumulative display time stored in the storage means 500 about the document block, displayed before the switching, is updated. Then a display control means 100 makes the display means display the indexes of the document blocks so that whether the cumulative display times by the document blocks after the storage and update are long or short can be grasped. Consequently, a user can immediately display a document block including valuable information browsed in the past without doing retrieving operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic book device which can read out and display an electronic document stored in a storage means, and can browse the information as if it were a book, newspaper, magazine, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an electronic book device or a paper book, a part of a document such as a page repeatedly read by a reader often becomes useful information that cannot be found in the table of contents.

[0003] In a paper book, since such a portion is easily turned up due to a turning habit or hand marks, such a portion can be found relatively easily. However, the electronic book device has a drawback that it is difficult to search for a desired portion as described above because the turning habit and hand marks are not attached.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-271800 discloses a configuration in which a designated portion of displayed information can be stored as a memo, and the stored memo can be displayed in a list or the memo portion can be displayed again. Thus, an electronic book device that can be used with the same feeling as a paper book has been proposed.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic book device, the user must make a memo as described above in order to easily display an intended place, which is troublesome and easy to use. Was not good.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1998-344120 discloses a technique of displaying an access destination based on the total number of times a bookmark of an Internet browser is referred to. This technique is applied to an electronic book device. It is also conceivable that priority is given to a portion with a large number of display times so that the reader can easily find the portion.

However, in the priority display based on the number of display times,
Displaying a page by mistake is also added to the count. That is, there is a problem that there is no certainty that the useful information in the electronic document can be efficiently reached because the total viewing time that can really evaluate the importance of the displayed information is not reflected.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, without the need to create a memo,
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic book device that can accurately and quickly reach useful information in an electronic document.

[0009]

The object of the present invention is to display a part of an electronic document stored in a storage means in a switchable manner and to index each document block of the electronic document divided into a plurality of document blocks. Display means for displaying
For each document block, a total display time storage unit that stores the total display time displayed on the display unit, and each time the display of the electronic document by the display unit is switched, for the document block that was displayed before switching, A storage updating unit for updating the total display time stored in the storage unit, and an index for the document block in the display unit in a form capable of grasping the length of the total display time for each document block after the storage update. The electronic book device is provided with display control means for displaying.

In this electronic book device, the accumulated display time displayed on the display means is stored in the accumulated display time storage means for each document block of the electronic document divided into a plurality of sections, and the display means displays the electronic document. Every time is switched, the total display time of the document block displayed before the switching is updated. Then, the index of the document block is displayed on the display means in such a manner that the total display time of each document block after storage update can be grasped. For example, the indexes are displayed on the display means in order from the document block having the longest display time. Therefore, the next time the reader views the electronic document, the index display mode indicates that the document block having the long total display time in the electronic document, in other words, the important part that the user has displayed for a long time in the past. Will be immediately apparent. In particular, since the display mode of the index depends not on the number of display times but on the total display time of the corresponding document block, the truly useful document block can be accurately identified without being affected by the page being displayed by mistake. Can be displayed.

In the above, the electronic document may be stored in the storage unit in advance in a form divided into a plurality of document blocks, and the index of each document block may be stored in the storage unit at the same time. Alternatively, the electronic book device itself may include a delimiter that divides the electronic document into a plurality of document blocks, and an index generator that generates an index for each of the document blocks. In this case, in the electronic book device,
The electronic document can be divided into a plurality of document blocks, and an index for each document block can be created. The electronic document may be stored in the storage unit in advance in a form divided into a plurality of document blocks, and an index of each document block may be created by an electronic book device.

As an index for the document block, an index obtained by extracting a certain number of characters from the document block can be exemplified. The contents of the document block having a long cumulative display time can be easily understood by the characters in the index.

[0013] The problem is also caused by display means for displaying a part of the electronic document stored in the storage means, and for each display part of the electronic document, a total display means for storing the total display time displayed on the display means. Display time storage means, storage update means for updating the cumulative display time stored in the storage means for a display portion before switching each time display of an electronic document by the display means is switched, and display after the update The present invention is also solved by an electronic book device comprising: display control means for preferentially displaying a predetermined display part on a display means in accordance with the total display time of each part.

[0014] In this electronic book device, even if an index is not created and displayed, according to the total display time of the electronic document,
Since the predetermined part is preferentially displayed on the display means, it is possible to immediately display a useful part in the electronic document.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electronic book device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a list of indexes created for each document block when an electronic document is displayed or when the electronic document is divided into a plurality of document blocks is displayed on the front surface of the electronic book apparatus main body (player) 10. A display unit 300 for displaying is provided. Further, below the display unit 300, an operation key unit 8 including operation keys 1 to 4 for display switching, an operation key 5 for index display, and the like is provided. Each time the operation key 1 is pressed, the previous page of the electronic document or index list is displayed, and each time the operation key 2 is pressed, the next page is displayed. Each time the operation key 3 is pressed, the display returns one line, and each time the operation key 4 is pressed, the display advances one line.

The display unit 300 is composed of, for example, an LCD, and a touch panel 6 is provided so as to cover the entire display surface. When the touch panel 6 is selectively touched at the position of a desired index while the index is displayed, the display screen of the display unit 300 is switched to display the contents of the document block corresponding to the touched index. Displayed on the means.

The electronic document is, for example, a PC card 40
0 is stored in the external storage device 400, and the drive unit 7 for reading out the data of the electronic document is provided in the book body 10. The external storage device 4
00 may be composed of another storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a magneto-optical disk. In addition, electronic documents
It may be stored on a fixed disk in the electronic book device main body.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the electronic book device shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a processing / control unit, which is a CPU 101 for controlling each unit via a bus 21;
A ROM 102 storing an operation program and a RAM 103 for temporarily storing data are provided. An input unit 200 receives an input from the operation key unit 8 and the touch panel 6 and sends a signal corresponding to the input to the processing / control unit 100. The display unit 300 displays an electronic document, an index, and the like read from the external storage device 400 in accordance with an instruction from the processing / control unit 100.

Reference numeral 500 denotes a storage medium for storing, as attribute information, the total display time and the like of the document block to which the document displayed on the display unit 300 belongs, and is composed of, for example, a RAM or flash memory backed up by a battery. This storage medium 500 may be portable such as a PC card type flash memory.

An output unit 600 outputs a signal to the display unit 300.

The processing / control section 100 controls the entire electronic book apparatus and functions as a means for performing predetermined processing as described later. More specifically, the display unit 300 displays the electronic document data read from the external storage device via the drive unit 7 into a plurality of document blocks, an index creating unit that creates an index for each of the divided document blocks, and the display unit 300. Means for measuring the display time until the display of the electronic document is switched, that is, the time from the start of display to the release of the display, and updates the total display time for each document block stored in the storage medium 500 each time the display is switched. Display unit 300 based on the operation of the operation key unit 8 and the touch panel 6
Function as a display control means for switching and controlling the display contents of, and displaying an index or an electronic document according to a predetermined priority.

Next, the operation of the electronic book device having the above configuration will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the processing / control section 100. In the following description and drawings, steps are abbreviated as S.

In FIG. 3, when the power is turned on, S1
At 00, an initialization process is performed. In the initialization process, the display read address Pd for the external storage device 400 is initialized. After the initialization process is performed, a display process is performed in S200. As a result, the data of the electronic document is read from the external storage device 400, and the head of the data is displayed on the display unit 300.

Next, in S300, it is determined whether or not attribute information described later of the electronic document exists in the storage medium 500, and if the attribute information exists (S300 determination: YE
S), input processing is repeated in S500, and processing according to the key operation of the user is performed. If no attribute information exists (S
After the attribute information is created in S400, the process proceeds to S500 to repeat the input process.

The subroutine of the display process (S200) will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S201, the electronic document data is read from the external storage device 400 with the current display read address Pd at the head, and displayed on the display unit 300 in step S202.

The attribute information creation processing shown in FIG. 3 (S40)
The subroutine (0) will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The attribute information creation process is a process of dividing an electronic document read from the external storage device 400 into a plurality of document blocks and creating attribute information about the divided document blocks.

First, in step S401, attribute information is initialized.
The attribute information includes the numbers N of a plurality of document blocks formed by dividing the electronic document as shown in FIG. 6, the read address P (N) of the document block, and the total display time T.
(N), and the read address P (N) and the total display time T (N) are stored in the storage medium 500 in association with the document block number N. In the initialization, the start address of the external storage device 400 is set as the read address for the document block with the document block number N (0), and the total display time T (N) is set to 0 for all the document blocks. . Also, a read address P for reading an electronic document from the external storage device 400
Is initialized. Next, in S402, the data is read from the address P of the external storage device 400, and the read address P is updated.

Thereafter, in S403, it is determined whether or not the data of the electronic document has been read. If the data has been read (YES in S403), in S404, it is determined whether or not the delimiter condition is satisfied. Judge. If the condition is not met (NO in S404), the process returns to S402 and repeats the reading process. If the condition is satisfied (S404
Is YES), the read address P at this time is registered (recorded) as attribute information for the document block number N in S405, and the document block number N is updated to separate the next document block in S406. Returning to step S402, the process is repeated until data cannot be read.

In S403, if the data cannot be read (NO in S403), it is determined that all the data has been read, so that the completion of attribute information registration is recorded in S407, and the routine returns.

The break of the electronic document is determined by, for example, the following method.

(1) The electronic document is divided for each data amount that can be displayed on the display surface of the display unit 300 at one time.

(2) Divide by a data amount corresponding to one page of a paper book.

(3) The document is separated by a page break code included in the electronic document in advance.

(4) "Chapter", "section",
Separate with keywords such as "§".

(5) The document is separated by paragraphs.

The subroutine of the attribute information creation processing (S400) by the above methods (1) and (2) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in S421, attribute information is initialized. In addition to the initialization in S401 of FIG. 5, a variable D for determining the data amount is initialized to 0. Then S
At 422, the data is read from the address P of the external storage device 400, and the read address P is updated.

In S423, it is determined whether or not the data has been read. If the data has been read (YES in S423), in S424, the data amount D is incremented (D = D + 1). Next, in S425, it is determined whether or not the condition of the break is met. Whether or not the data meets the delimiting condition is determined based on whether or not the data amount D has reached a constant value. The fixed value is based on the size of the display surface of the display unit 300 or the data amount corresponding to one page of a paper book.

If the condition is not satisfied (S425)
Is NO), the process returns to S422, and the reading is repeated. If the condition is satisfied (the determination in S425 is YE
S) In S426, the data amount D is once cleared (D =
0), in S427, read address P at this time is recorded as attribute information for document block number N,
At 428, the document block number N is updated. And S
Returning to step 422, the above processing is repeated until data can no longer be read.

If data could not be read (S423)
Is NO), the attribute information registration completion is recorded in S429, and the routine returns.

In this manner, for each data amount that can be displayed on the display surface of the display unit 300 at a time, or for one paper book.
An electronic document can be divided into a plurality of document blocks for each data amount corresponding to a page.

Next, the subroutine of the attribute information creation processing (S400) by the method (3) of dividing by the page break code will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, in step S441, attribute information is initialized. In addition to the initialization in S401 of FIG. 5, a variable FF that stores the detection of a page break code is initialized to 0. Then, in S442, the external storage device 40
Data is read from the address P of 0, and the read address P is updated.

In S443, it is determined whether or not the data has been read out. If data has been read out (YES in S443), it is determined in S444 whether or not the variable FF is 1.

When the variable FF is not 1 (ie, when a page break code has not been detected) (NO in S444),
In S448, it is determined whether the read data is a page break code. If the read data is a page break code (determination of S448 is YES), the variable FF is set to 1 in S449.
And that the page break code is detected is stored. If the read data is not a page break code (S44)
8 is NO), the flow returns to S442, and the data reading is repeated.

If the variable FF is 1 in S444 (YES in S444), since the page break code has been detected, the variable FF is cleared to 0 in S445, and the read address at this time is read in S446. P is recorded as attribute information for the document block number N, and the document block number N is updated in S447. Then, the process returns to S442, and repeats the above process until data cannot be read.

If the data could not be read (S4
At step S450, the completion of the attribute information registration is recorded, and the process returns to the end.

In this way, attribute information is created with the address following the page break code as the head of the next document block delimited by the page break code.

Next, the subroutine of the attribute information creation processing (S400) by the method of dividing by the keyword (4) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 9, first, attribute information is initialized in S461. In addition to the initialization in S401 of FIG. 5, a variable FF for storing that a page break code or a line feed code is detected is initialized to 0, and a variable Pff for storing the next address of the page feed code or the line feed code. Is initialized to 0. Next, in S462, the data is read from the address P of the external storage device 400, and the read address P is updated.

In S463, it is determined whether or not the data has been read out. If the data has been read out (the determination in S463 is Y
ES), in S464, it is determined whether or not the variable FF is 1.
When the variable FF is 1, that is, when a page break code or a line feed code is detected (the judgment in S464 is YE
S), the current read address P is stored in the variable Pff in S465, the variable FF is cleared to 0 in S466, and the process proceeds to S467.

As will be described later, the fact that the variable FF is 1 means that the previous read data was a page break code or a line feed code. Next address can be stored.

If the variable FF is not 1 in S464 (NO in S464), the flow directly advances to S467.

In S467, it is determined whether or not the variable Pff is not 0. If Pff is not 0 (YES in S467), it is determined in S468 whether the read data is a keyword. The keywords include, for example, “chapter”, “section”, and “§”.

If the read data is a keyword (YES in S468), in S469, the variable Pff
Is stored as attribute information for the document block number N, the document block number N is updated in S470, the variable Pff is cleared to 0 in S471, and then the
Returning to step 62, the process is repeated. If the read data is not a keyword (NO in S468), S462
Return to and repeat the process.

At S467, the variable Pff
Is 0 (NO in S467), S473
It is determined whether the read data is a page break code or a line feed code. If the read data is a page break code or a line feed code (YES in S473), the variable FF is set to 1 in S474, and the page break code or the line feed code is set. Remember that there was a code. Thus, at the time of the next data reading, it is determined in S464 that the variable FF is 1.

If it is not a page feed code or line feed code (NO in S473), the flow returns to S462 to read data.

If the data could not be read in S463 (NO in S463), the completion of attribute information registration is recorded in S472, and the routine returns.

In this manner, attribute information in which a keyword following a page break or line feed is used as a document delimiter is created.

Next, the subroutine of the attribute information creation processing (S400) by the method of sectioning in paragraph (5) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In FIG. 10, first, in step S481, attribute information is initialized. In addition to the initialization in S401 of FIG. 5,
A variable FF that stores the detection of a page break code or a line feed code is initialized to 0. Then, S48
In step 2, the data is read from the address P of the external storage device 400, and the read address P is updated.

In S483, it is determined whether or not the data has been read, and if the data has been read (YES in S483), it is determined in S484 whether or not the variable FF is 1.

If the variable FF is not 1 (NO in S484), it is determined in S489 whether the read data is a page break code or a line feed code. If the read data is a page break code or a line feed code (S489
Is YES), the variable FF is set to 1 in step S490, and the fact that a page break or line feed code is found is stored.
Returning to S482, the process is repeated. Also when the read data is not a page break code or line feed code (S489
Is NO), and the process returns to S482.

If the variable FF is 1 in S484 (the determination in S484 is YES), the immediately preceding read data is a page break code or a line feed code.
After the variable FF is cleared to 0 in step S486, it is determined in step S486 whether the read data is a space. If the read data is a space (YES in S486), S
At 487, the read address P at this time is stored as attribute information for the document block number N. At S488, after updating the document block number N, the process returns to S482 to repeat the processing.

If the read data is not a space (NO in S486), the process returns to S482 and repeats the process.

If the data could not be read in S483 (NO in S483), S491
Records the completion of attribute information registration, and returns.

In this way, attribute information in which the next address of the page break code is the head of the separated document block is created.

Next, the subroutine of the input processing (S500) of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This input processing is processing when the operation key unit 8 or the touch panel 6 is operated.

In FIG. 11, first, in S501, it is determined whether or not the input is made by any of the operation keys 1 to 5, and if the input is made by any of the operation keys 1 to 5 (the determination in S501 is YES), S550 is performed. Then, an input process corresponding to the operated keys 1 to 5 is performed.

If the input is not an input from any of the operation keys 1 to 5 (NO in S501), it is determined in S502 whether the input is made through the touch panel 6. If the input is through the touch panel 6 (YES in S502), S54.
At 0, an input process corresponding to the touch panel 6 is performed. If it is not an input from the touch panel 6 (the determination in S502 is N
O), return.

Next, the subroutine of the operation key input processing (S550) of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In FIG. 12, first, in S511, it is determined whether or not the index is displayed. If the index is not displayed (NO in S511), the attribute information updating process is performed in S512, and the operation is performed in S513. It is determined which of the keys 1 to 5 the input is to be performed, and the processing corresponding to the operation keys 1 to 5 is performed.

If the input is the operation key 1, the flow goes to S514.
Then, the display read address Pd is returned by Pp for one page to (Pd-Pp), and when the operation key 2 is input, S
At 515, the display read address Pd is changed by one page Pp.
Proceed to (Pd + Pp). When the operation key 3 is input, the display read address Pd is returned by one line Pl to (Pd-Pl) in step S516, and when the operation key 4 is input, the display read address Pd is set to 1 in step S517. The line is advanced by Pl to be (Pd + Pl).

Thereafter, a display process S530 similar to the display process (S200) in FIG.
5, the display area of the electronic document changes. Note that Pp is an address increment corresponding to data for one page of the screen of the display unit 300, and varies depending on the size of the display surface of the display unit 300. Pl is an address increment corresponding to one line of data, which also varies depending on the size of the display surface of the display unit 300.

When the operation key 5 is input, S
At 518, an index update process is performed. At S519, the index number Nm for index display is set to 0, and the index display process is performed at S520.

When an index is displayed when an input is made using the operation keys 1 to 5 (the determination in S511 is Y
ES), and proceeds to S521 shown in FIG.
Is determined, and processing corresponding to the key is performed.

More specifically, if the operation key 1 is input,
In S522, the index number Nm is returned by Np for one page (N
m-Np), and if the input is the operation key 2, S523
To advance the index number Nm by Np for one page (Nm + N
p). If the input is the operation key 3, S52
4, the index number Nm is returned by 1 to (Nm-1). If the operation key 4 is input, the index number Nm is set to 1 in S525.
Proceed to (Nm + 1). Thereafter, an index display process is performed in S520. Thus, the display area of the index changes according to the input of the operation key.

If the input is from the operation key 5, S
At 526, the current time T is obtained. At S527, the display switching time T0 is updated with the current time T. After returning to the display of the electronic document by the display processing at S528, the process returns.

Note that Np is the number of indexes that can be displayed on one page, and varies depending on the size of the display surface of the display unit 300.

Next, the subroutine of the attribute information update processing (S512) shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this processing, for the document block to which the document displayed on the display unit 300 when the operation key unit 8 is operated, the display time is represented by the total display time stored in the storage medium 500 as attribute information. And add
This is a process of updating the total display time.

In FIG. 14, first, at S600, the current time T is obtained and stored. Next, in S601, the operation key unit 8
Calculate the display time of the electronic document that was displayed when was operated. Specifically, the difference (T-T0) between the time T0 at which the previous display was switched and the current time T is T0, and this is the display time.

Then, the document block to which the display portion belongs is specified as follows, and the new display time T0 is added to the total display time for this document block.

First, in S602, a variable i is initialized to 0 in order to refer to attribute information in order from the document block number 0. In S603, the document block number i is obtained from the attribute information.
And the start address P of each document block of (i + 1)
(I) and P (i + 1) are obtained, and it is determined from these whether or not the content of the document block number i is displayed. The start address of the displayed part of the electronic document is P
d, and if P (i) ≦ Pd <P (i + 1) (the determination in S603 is YES), it means that the i-th document block is displayed from the beginning or in the middle, so S
At 605, the total display time T of this i-th document block
The memory is updated by adding T0 to (i).

On the other hand, when P (i) ≦ Pd <P (i + 1) is not satisfied, in other words, when the document block is not displayed from the beginning or the middle of the i-th document block (NO in S603), in S604 It is determined whether or not the head of the i-th document block is displayed on the screen. Specifically, P
It is determined whether d <P (i) <(Pd + Pp). As described above, Pp is an address increment corresponding to data of one page of the screen of the display unit 300.

If Pd <P (i) <(Pd + Pp) (the determination in S604 is YES), the head of the i-th document block is displayed on the screen, and S605
To the total display time T (i) of the i-th document block
After adding T0, the process proceeds to S606. On the other hand, Pd <
If P (i) <(Pd + Pp) is not satisfied (NO in S604), the head of the i-th document block is not displayed on the screen, and the process proceeds to S606.

Thereafter, in S606, the document block number i is updated by adding 1 to it, and in S607, the start address P (i) of the next document block is after the part Pd + Pp displayed on the screen. Or not, that is, P (i)>
It is determined whether or not (Pd + Pp).

Unless P (i)> (Pd + Pp), (S
If the determination in step 607 is NO), the head of the document block is located ahead of the screen display part, and there is a possibility that a subsequent document block may be displayed. Therefore, the processing returns to step S603 and the processing of steps S603 to S607 is performed. repeat.

In S607, P (i)> (Pd + P
In the case of p) (YES in S607), the head of the document block is behind the screen display part, and the subsequent document blocks are naturally behind and are not displayed on the screen. Since there is no need to update the attribute information any more, in S608, T0 is updated with the current time T (T0 = T), and the routine returns.

The above processing will be described by taking as an example a case where all or a part of the N-th document block and all or a part of the (N + 1) -th document block are simultaneously displayed on the display unit 300 with a break in between. I do.

When i = N, the determination in S603 is YES
In S605, the new display time T0 is added to the total display time T (i) of the Nth document block and stored. However, the determination in S604 is NO, and S606
As a result, i is updated by 1 to determine the start address P (i) of the (N + 1) th document block in S607.

Since the (N + 1) -th document block is also displayed on the screen, the determination in S607 becomes NO, and S603
Return to Start address P of the (N + 1) th document block
Since (i) exists after the start or middle address Pd of the Nth document block displayed at the top of the screen, the determination in S603 is NO, but since it is displayed on the screen, S604 Is YES. Therefore, in S605, a new display time T0 is also added to the total display time T (i) for the (N + 1) th document block. If a part or the whole of the (N + 2) th document block is also displayed simultaneously with the (N) th and (N + 1) th document blocks, the judgment in S604 is YES.
, And the total display time is updated in S605.

Thus, even when a plurality of document blocks before and after the break are displayed simultaneously on the display unit 300,
The total display time of each document block can be updated.
Further, by updating T0 with the current time T in S608, the start time of the display time is specified for the newly displayed display unit.

Next, the index update processing of FIG. 12 (S51)
The subroutine 8) will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In this process, the document block numbers are extracted in ascending order of the total display time in the attribute information and, as shown in FIG.
An index table is created in which document block numbers (N in FIG. 16) having a long total display time are arranged in the order of m). The index table is stored in the storage medium 500.

First, in S621, initialization is performed. i is a variable of the index number in the index table, and its initial value is set to 0. j is a variable for sequentially referring to the attribute information, and its initial value is set to 1. k is a variable that stores the document block number in which the maximum value of the total display time of the attribute information is stored, and its initial value is set to 0. Tmax
Is a variable that stores the maximum value of the total display time in the attribute information, and is initially set to T (0). However, once the maximum value of the total display time is found, the second total display time excluding the maximum value is stored. Therefore, Tmax2 is provided, and the maximum value is stored in Tmax2. When the process is repeated, the third largest total display time is searched, and at this time, Tmax2 stores the second. At first, to find the maximum value, Tmax
2 is initialized to 0, and the maximum value is searched for.

First, in S622, it is determined (compared) whether or not the accumulated display time T (j) of the J-th document block is longer than the current maximum accumulated display time Tmax. Tma
If x <T (j) (the determination in S622 is YES), S
At 623, it is determined whether or not the second maximum value Tmax2 of the stored total display time is not zero. Tmax
If 2 ≠ 0 (the determination in S623 is YES), S624
Then, it is determined whether or not the total display time T (j) of the J-th document block is smaller than the second maximum value Tmax2. If Tmax2> T (j) (the determination in S624 is YES), T (j) becomes the maximum except for the maximum value found in order so far, so that Tmax is set to Tmax in S625.
(J) is updated, and the document block number j at this time is stored in k.

Next, in S626, it is determined whether or not the head address P (j + 1) of the next document block is not 0, and if P (j + 1) ≠ 0 (the determination in S626 is YE
S) Since there is subsequent attribute information, j is updated in S627 (j = j + 1), and the process returns to S622 to repeat the processing.

When Tmax <T (j) is not satisfied (S
If Tmax2 ≠ 0 is not satisfied (NO in S622), if Tmax2> T (j) is not satisfied (NO in S624), S6 is determined.
Proceed to 26.

If P (j + 1) = 0 (S62)
6 is NO), since there is no subsequent attribute information, the maximum value can be obtained by referring to the attribute information to the end. In S628, the document block number k is set to
Store as N (i) = k in the index table.

Thereafter, in S629, the address P (i +
It is determined whether or not 1) is not 0. If P (i + 1) ≠ 0 (the determination in S629 is YES), since all of the index tables have not been rearranged yet, S630 and S6
After step 31, the process returns to step S622 to repeat the processing.

However, in S630, it is determined whether or not the maximum value Tmax found this time is 0. If Tmax = 0 (the determination in S630 is YES), there is a document block that has not been displayed yet. That is, there is no need to create an index table any more, so the routine returns. If P (i + 1) = 0 (the determination in S629 is NO), the routine returns.

In addition, Tmax is not equal to 0 (S63).
In the case where the next maximum value is searched by repeating the processing, Tmax2 is updated with Tmax in S631 (T is 0).
max2 = Tmax), and Tmax is set to 0. further,
In order to search again from the beginning of the attribute information, j is set to 0, and the index number i of the index table is updated (i = i + 1).

In this way, an index table in which the document block numbers are arranged in ascending order of the total display time can be obtained.

Next, the subroutine of the index display processing (S520) of FIGS. 12 and 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The creation and display of an index are performed as follows. That is,
The processing / control unit 100 reads the corresponding document block number N from the index number Nm set in the index table, reads the head address P of the document block number N, and displays a certain number of leading characters as an index. The number of indices that can be displayed on the display unit 300 depends on the size of the display surface of the display unit 300, but here, the description will be made assuming that Np displays used in the description of FIG. 13 are performed.

First, in S641, a variable i for counting the number of indexes to be displayed is initialized to 0. Then, S642
Then, a position on the display unit 300 where the index is to be displayed is set according to the variable i. Since Np indexes are displayed, the display unit 300 is set at the i-th position corresponding to Np.

Thereafter, in S643, a fixed number of characters in the electronic document is read from the read address P [(N (i)} corresponding to the document block number N (i) obtained from the index table, and the position set in S642 In other words, an index consisting of a certain number of characters is created and displayed.

Next, the variable i is updated in S644 (i =
i + 1), At S645, it is determined whether or not the variable i is larger than the display number Np (Np <i). If Np <i (the determination in S645 is YES), Np indexes have been displayed, and the routine returns. If the variable i is not larger than the display number Np (the determination in S645 is NO), the process returns to S642 and the process is repeated to display the second, third,... Indices. Thus, the index of each document block is displayed.

Although the index has been described as displaying a fixed number of characters at the beginning of the corresponding document block,
The contents of the index are not limited to this. For example, a word having the highest frequency of use in a document block of an electronic document may be extracted and displayed.

Next, the subroutine of the input processing (S540) by the touch panel 6 in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In FIG. 18, first, in S661, it is determined whether or not an index is displayed. If the index is displayed (YES in S661), the input position is determined in S662. It suffices if it is possible to determine which of the Np displayed indexes has been touched. If the index is not displayed (NO in S661), the process ends and the routine returns.

The process branches depending on the order of Np of the display surface of the display unit 300. If 0th, S6
At 63, the display read address Pd is set to the head address of the document block number N corresponding to the head index number (Nm + 0) of the currently displayed index. Similarly, if it is the first index, in S664, it is set to the head address of the document block number N corresponding to the second index number (Nm + 1) of the currently displayed index. If it is the N-th, in S665, the start address of the document block number N corresponding to the index number (Nm + N) of the currently displayed index is set.

In this way, the read address is updated, and S6
By performing the display processing at 66, a part or all of the document block corresponding to the index touched on the touch panel 6 is displayed.

In this embodiment, since the index of each document block is displayed in the order of the document blocks having the longest total display time, the index reflects the reading method of the user of the electronic book device. It is possible to accurately and quickly reach useful information for the user from the index thus obtained.

The index is not necessarily displayed in the order of the document blocks having the longest total display time. The index may be numbered in ascending order of the total display time. What is necessary is just to display in such a manner that the length of the total display time can be grasped.

If attribute information has existed since the electronic document was obtained, unnecessary portions can be skipped and only useful information can be referred to. For example, when a book is purchased as electronic data, if attribute information can be obtained together, even when reading electronic data for the first time, a page that has been viewed for a long time by another person can be read immediately.

By the way, the electronic document previously divided into a plurality of document blocks and the attribute information of each document block are
It may be obtained from a non-rewritable storage medium such as a D-ROM. Figure 1 shows the procedure for reading attribute information in such a case.
9 will be described.

In FIG. 19, in S801, it is determined whether or not attribute information is stored in the external storage device 400.
If the attribute information is stored (the determination in S801 is YE
S), the attribute information is read, and copied to the storage medium 500 in S802. If the attribute information is not stored, the process returns. Thereafter, as described above, by updating the attribute information stored in the storage medium 500 according to the browsing situation, the reader's reading style is reflected in the index, and useful information can be quickly obtained.

In the above embodiment, the index is displayed and the contents of the predetermined document block are displayed on the display unit 300. However, the index is not displayed, and the index is displayed according to the total display time of each document block. And the processing / control unit 10
0 may control the display priority of the next electronic document to be changed, and the document block having the maximum total display time may be directly displayed on the display unit 300 at the next display. In this case, the processing may be performed in the same manner as the processing procedure shown in the above-described flowchart, except for the processing related to the index such as the index update processing and the index display processing.

[0125] If the attribute information is taken out from the electronic book device and made public so that it can be easily obtained by another person, it is useful for another person to take it. Therefore, if the storage medium 500 is a portable medium such as a flash memory and can be handled by a personal computer or the like, the attribute information can be easily disclosed to others by transmitting the attribute information to a predetermined FTP site or the like. .

If the electronic book device is provided with a transmitting / receiving means, it is possible to obtain and publish electronic data and attribute information without making the storage medium 500 detachable from the book body 10.

[0127]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, pages that have been viewed for a long time in the past can be immediately displayed in the same manner as a paper book, and useful information can be obtained without wasting time. it can. In addition, since the display mode of the index is determined based on the total display time, the reliability of reaching the useful information is higher than that of the index display based on the number of times of reference that was opened by mistake in the past.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an electronic document can be divided into a plurality of document blocks in an electronic book device, and an index can be created for the divided document blocks.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the index is obtained by extracting a fixed number of characters, the contents of the document block having a long total display time can be easily understood from the characters of the index.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a portion having a longer total display time of an electronic document is preferentially displayed without creating and displaying an index, so that a portion having useful information can be displayed immediately. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an electronic book device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a document block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the electronic book device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a processing / control unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of a display process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of attribute information creation processing.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a table of attribute information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of attribute information creation processing in a method in which a fixed amount of data is set as a delimiter of a document block.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of attribute information creation processing in a method of setting a page break code as a document block delimiter.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of attribute information creation processing in a method in which a keyword is set as a delimiter of a document block.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of attribute information creation processing in a method in which paragraphs are set as document block breaks.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of an input process.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of operation key input processing.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure following FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of an attribute process update process.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of an index update process.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing an index table.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of index display processing.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a subroutine of touch panel input processing.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a reading process when attribute information is present in an external storage device.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 processing / control unit (measurement means, display control means,
Display unit (display unit) 500 Storage medium (total display time storage unit) T0 Display time

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Ikeda 3-3-1 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term in Osaka Kokusai Building Minolta Co., Ltd. 5B075 ND20 PQ02 PQ40 PQ46 PQ75 PR04 UU11 5E501 AA12 BA03 BA05 CA04 CB05 FA01 FA23 FA43 FA46

Claims (4)

[Claims] A display unit that displays a part of an electronic document stored in a storage unit in a switchable manner, and displays an index for each document block of the electronic document divided into a plurality of document blocks; For each document block, a total display time storage means for storing the total display time displayed on the display means, and each time the display of the electronic document by the display means is switched, for the document block displayed before switching, A storage update unit for updating the total display time stored in the storage unit; and an index for the document block displayed on the display unit in such a manner that the total display time for each document block after the storage update can be grasped. An electronic book device, comprising: display control means for causing the electronic book device to: 2. The electronic book apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a delimiter that divides the electronic document into a plurality of document blocks; and an index generator that generates an index for each of the document blocks. 3. The electronic book device according to claim 1, wherein the index of the document block is obtained by extracting a certain number of characters from the document block. 4. A display means for displaying a part of an electronic document stored in a storage means, and a total display time storage means for storing a total display time displayed on the display means for each display part of the electronic document. Each time the display of the electronic document is switched by the display unit, for a display portion before switching, a storage update unit that updates a cumulative display time stored in the storage unit, and for each display portion after the storage update. An electronic book device, comprising: display control means for displaying a predetermined display portion preferentially on the display means in accordance with the length of the total display time.