JP2006031269A - Information display device, information display control method, information display control program and recording medium with information display control program recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information display device, an information display control method, an information display control program and a recording medium for recording the information display control program for allowing a user to efficiently grasp the previous reading contents at the time of resuming reading. <P>SOLUTION: When the display instruction of document data 106 from a user is accepted by an instruction input part 123, a document data processing part 131 reads bookmark data 111 corresponding to the document data 106 from a storage part 125. Then, a data structure analyzing part 135 specifies the head of a sentence or the head of a paragraph including the bookmark position as a separation position based on the bookmark position information of the bookmark data 111 and the structure analytic result of the document data 106. Afterwards, the display of the document data 106 is operated from the separation position at a display part 124. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display device that displays document data, an information display control method, an information display control program, and a recording medium on which the information display control program is recorded.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some document data display devices have a bookmark function as one of functions for assisting a user's reading. The bookmark function is as follows. First, when the user who has finished reading performs a power-off operation of the display device and the display of the document is completed, the display position of the document data displayed at that time is recorded as the bookmark position. Thereafter, when the user instructs the display device to display the same document data, the display device displays the document from the recorded bookmark position. By using this bookmark function, the user can grasp how far the document has been read, so that it is possible to quickly start reading the continuation of the document that has been read until the previous time.

  Here, when a user finishes reading at a position that is well-separated for the user, for example, at the beginning of a chapter or paragraph, the next reading can be easily grasped. Is possible. However, if the reading must be interrupted suddenly during reading, the bookmark position is not necessarily a good position for the user. In this case, since the next reading is displayed from a position that is not well-separated for the user, it may be difficult for the user to grasp the previous reading content.

In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses an electronic book apparatus that displays a synopsis when displaying a previously displayed document. In this electronic book apparatus, an outline is created by the following procedure. First, document data needs to be distinguished in advance into a portion that can be used for synthesizing and a portion that cannot be used for synthesizing. When displaying the synopsis, first, document data of a portion from the bookmark position two times before the previous one to the previous bookmark position is read out. Next, a portion that can be used for synthesizing is extracted from the read portion. Then, a synopsis is created by connecting the extracted parts, and this synopsis is displayed.
JP 2002-297634 A (publication date: October 11, 2002)

  However, the conventional electronic book device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

  In the above-described conventional electronic book apparatus, the document data needs to be distinguished in advance into a portion that can be used for synthesizing and a portion that cannot be used for synopsis. Therefore, in order to display the synopsis, it is necessary to prepare dedicated document data for synopsis display, and there is a problem that synopsis display cannot be performed with general document data.

  There is also a problem in that a synopsis cannot be created if a portion from the previous reading end position to the previous reading end position does not include a portion that can be used for synthesizing.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to provide an information display device, an information display control method, and an information display that enable a user to efficiently grasp the content of the previous reading when reading is resumed. An object is to provide a recording medium on which a control program and an information display control program are recorded.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information display device according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays a document based on document data, a document analysis unit that analyzes a document structure of document data to be displayed, and a display unit Display control means for controlling display, wherein the document analysis means is based on the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data displayed at the end of the previous display and the analysis result of the document structure. The display start position is specified, and the display control means controls to display the document data based on the display start position.

  An information display control method according to the present invention is a method for controlling an information display device including a display unit that displays a document based on document data, in order to solve the above-described problem. A document analysis step for analyzing the document structure; and a display control step for controlling the display in the display unit. In the document analysis step, the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display ended The display start position is specified based on the previous display position indicating the result and the analysis result of the document structure, and the display control step is controlled to display the document data based on the display start position. .

  For example, as in the conventional configuration, when document data is displayed based only on the previous display position, if the previous display position is halfway, the user grasps the previous reading content. It can be difficult. In contrast, in the above configuration and method, the display start position is specified based on the previous display position and the analysis result of the document structure, and the document data is displayed based on the specified display start position. It has come to be. In other words, an approximate position where display should be started is recognized based on the previous display position, and the document structure is analyzed, so that a position that is well-delimited in the document structure is set as the display start position. Therefore, since it is possible to display document data from a position that is well-separated for the user, it is possible to provide an information display device that allows the user to efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  Further, by analyzing the document structure in the document data, a position that is well-separated for the user is set as the display start position, so there is no need to provide special data in the document data itself. Therefore, according to the above-described configuration and method, even in the case of general document data, it is possible to start displaying the document data in a state where the user can efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  The information display device according to the present invention further includes an instruction input unit that receives an instruction input by a user in the above-described configuration, and the document analysis unit receives an instruction input by the user that is received by the instruction input unit. The display start position may be specified according to the content.

  According to the above configuration, since the display start position is specified according to the content of the instruction input by the user, the user sets the display start position set by analyzing the document structure to a favorite position. Is possible. Therefore, display can be started from a position according to the user's preference.

  The information display apparatus according to the present invention further includes an instruction input unit that receives an instruction input by a user in the above configuration, and the display control unit displays the document data based on the previous display position. In addition, when the instruction input from the user is received by the instruction input unit, the document data may be displayed based on the display start position.

  According to the above configuration, first, the document data is displayed based on the previous display position, and the document data is displayed based on the display start position when an instruction is input from the user. become. Therefore, when the display is performed based on the previous display position, the display is performed based on the display start position set based on the analysis of the document structure only when the user feels it is difficult to grasp the contents. It becomes possible.

  In the information display device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, the document analysis unit includes a head of a sentence including the previous display position, a head of a paragraph including the previous display position, and a chapter including the previous display position. An image or a specific character string at the head or before the previous display position and closest to the previous display position may be specified as the display start position.

  In the above configuration, when the start of the sentence including the previous display position, the beginning of the paragraph including the previous display position, or the beginning of the chapter including the previous display position is set as the display start position, it is separated for the user. Document data can be displayed from a good position. In addition, images, specific character strings, and the like remain in the impression for the user, and are expected to be a “trigger” for remembering the position where the document has been read. Therefore, if the display start position is set as described above, the user can easily grasp “how far” or “where to read”.

  In the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, when the display control unit controls to display the document data based on the display start position, the previous display based on the previous display position is performed. The display mode of the range may be controlled to be displayed differently from the other ranges.

  According to said structure, when the display based on a display start position is performed, the range currently displayed at the time of the last display end will be specified. Therefore, it becomes possible for the user to understand the relationship between the previous display range and the range where the display is started.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the information display device according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays a document based on document data, a display control unit that controls display in the display unit, Based on the storage unit that stores the reading information indicating the display status of the document data, the previous display position that indicates the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display ended, and the reading information Reading position estimation means for estimating a reading position where the user has finished reading the document data when the display of the document is finished, and the display control means displays the document data based on the reading position It is characterized by controlling to.

  The information display control method according to the present invention stores a display unit for displaying a document based on document data and reading information indicating a display state of the document data up to the present time in order to solve the above-described problem. A control method for an information display device including a storage unit, wherein a display control step for controlling display on the display unit and a display position in the document data displayed at the time when the previous display is completed are shown A reading position estimation step for estimating a reading position at which the user has finished reading the document data when the previous display is completed based on the previous display position and the reading information, and in the display control step, Control is performed to display document data based on the reading position.

  In the above configuration and method, the reading position where the user has finished reading the document data at the previous reading is estimated based on the previous display position and the reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time. . The document data is displayed based on the estimated reading position. Therefore, the user can start reading the document data from the vicinity of the portion where the previous reading has been completed, so that reading can be resumed more smoothly.

  Further, since the reading position is estimated based on the previous display position and the reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time, it is not necessary to provide the document data itself with special data. Therefore, according to the above-described configuration and method, display of document data can be started in a state in which the user can resume reading more smoothly even with general document data.

  Note that the reading position based on the reading information can be estimated based on, for example, the range that the user has already read and the time required for the reading. As a more specific example, first, the average display time per character is calculated from the total time of the corresponding document data displayed so far and the number of characters displayed during that time. Next, the previous reading position can be estimated from the average display time per character and the display time of the page displayed at the end of the previous display.

  Further, the information display device according to the present invention further comprises document analysis means for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed in the above configuration, wherein the document analysis means includes the reading position and the analysis result of the document structure. The display start position may be specified based on the display control unit, and the display control unit may control to display the document data based on the display start position.

  According to the above configuration, the display start position is specified based on the reading position and the analysis result of the document structure, and the document data is displayed based on the specified display start position. . That is, the approximate position where display should be started is recognized based on the reading position, and the document structure is analyzed, so that a position with a good break in the document structure is set as the display start position. Therefore, since it is possible to display document data from a position that is well-separated for the user, it is possible to provide an information display device that allows the user to efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  The information display apparatus according to the present invention further includes an instruction input unit that receives an instruction input by a user in the above configuration, and the display control unit displays the document data based on the previous display position. In addition, when the instruction input from the user is received by the instruction input unit, the document data may be displayed based on the reading position.

  According to the above configuration, first, the document data is displayed based on the previous display position, and the document data is displayed based on the reading position when an instruction is input from the user. Become. Therefore, when the display is performed based on the previous display position, the display can be performed based on the reading position set based on the reading information only when the user feels it is difficult to grasp the contents. It becomes.

  Further, in the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the document analysis unit includes a head of a sentence including the reading position, a head of a paragraph including the previous display position, and a head of a chapter including the previous display position. Alternatively, an image or a specific character string before the previous display position and closest to the previous display position may be specified as the display start position.

  In this way, as described above, it is possible for the user to easily grasp “how far” or “where to read”.

  In the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, when the display control unit controls to display the document data based on the reading position, the previous display range based on the previous display position is provided. The display mode may be controlled so as to be displayed differently from the other ranges.

  In this way, as described above, it becomes possible for the user to understand the relationship between the previous display range and the display start range.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the information display device according to the present invention should display a display unit that displays a document based on document data, display control means that controls display in the display unit, and display A document analysis unit that analyzes the document structure of the document data and divides the document data into a plurality of blocks, and the display control unit displays the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display ended The document structure of the document data in the vicinity of the block including the previous display position indicating is controlled to be displayed in a simplified manner by displaying each block in a predetermined display mode, and among the blocks displayed in the simplified display The control is performed so that the detailed display of the document corresponding to the specific block is performed.

  An information display control method according to the present invention is a control method for an information display device including a display unit that displays a document based on document data in order to solve the above-described problem, and the display in the display unit A display control step for controlling the document data, and a document analysis step for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed and dividing the document data into a plurality of blocks. In the display control step, the previous display is completed. The document structure of the document data in the vicinity of the block including the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data displayed at the time is controlled to be displayed in a simplified manner by displaying each block in a predetermined display mode. , And control to perform detailed display of a document corresponding to a specific block among the blocks displayed in the simplified display It is.

  In the above configuration and method, the document data is divided into a plurality of blocks based on the document structure, and the simplified display is performed based on the blocks, and the detailed display of the document corresponding to the specific block is also performed. It has become. That is, the user can recognize the document structure near the previous display position by the simplified display, and can recognize the specific document content as the reading start position candidate by the detailed display. Therefore, it is possible to provide an information display device that allows the user to efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  Further, in realizing the above configuration and method, there is no need to provide special data in the document data itself. Therefore, even for general document data, the display of the document data can be started in a state where the user can efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  In the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the display unit includes a first display unit and a second display unit, and the display control unit displays the simplified display in the second display. It is good also as a structure controlled by performing in a part and displaying the document corresponding to a specific block in the said 1st display part.

  According to the above configuration, since the simplified display and the detailed display are performed on separate display units, it is possible to simultaneously confirm the simplified display and the detailed display. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the document structure and grasp the detailed contents at the same time, and the reading start position can be determined more efficiently.

  The information display device according to the present invention may be configured such that, in the above configuration, the specific block on which the detailed display of the document is performed is a block including the previous display position.

  According to the above configuration, the block including the previous display position is first displayed in detail, and the position of the block in the document structure is displayed. Therefore, the user can grasp the previous reading content more efficiently.

  The information display device according to the present invention further includes an instruction input unit that receives an instruction input by a user in the above configuration, and a specific block on which a detailed display of a document is performed is received by the instruction input unit. It is good also as a structure specified based on the instruction | indication input from a user.

  According to said structure, the content of the block specified based on the instruction | indication input from a user is displayed in detail. Therefore, the user can select a block as a candidate for starting reading while looking at the simplified display, and can confirm the contents.

  Moreover, the information display apparatus which concerns on this invention is good also as a structure by which the information content of an applicable block is shown in the display aspect of each block in said simplification display in said structure.

  According to the above configuration, the information amount of each block is shown in the simplified display, so that the user can more easily understand the document structure.

  Further, in the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, each block in the simplified display is indicated by a predetermined graphic, and the information amount of the corresponding block is indicated by the length of the graphic. It is good also as a structure.

  According to the above configuration, each block information amount is indicated by the length of the graphic, so that the document structure can be presented in a form that can be easily visually recognized.

  The information display device according to the present invention further includes an instruction input unit that receives an instruction input by a user in the above configuration, and the area of the display area of the second display unit is the display area of the first display unit. When the instruction input unit accepts an instruction input to display a document after the specific block, the display control unit causes the second display unit to It may be configured to perform control to display documents after the block.

  According to the above configuration, the reading start position is searched by performing the simplified display and the detailed display, and when the reading start position is determined, the document is displayed on the second display unit having a larger display area. The contents will be displayed. Accordingly, the flow of processing from the determination of the reading start position to the start of reading becomes smooth, and the user can perform subsequent reading in a wider display area.

  Further, the information display device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, based on the storage unit that stores the reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time, the previous display position information, and the reading information. A reading position estimation means for estimating a reading position at which the user has finished reading the document data when the display of the document is completed, and the specific block on which the detailed display of the document is performed includes the reading position It is good also as composition which is.

  In the above configuration, the reading position where the user has finished reading the document data at the time of the previous reading is estimated based on the previous display position and the reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time. Then, the detailed display of the document is performed based on the estimated reading position. Therefore, since detailed display is performed from the vicinity of the location where reading was completed last time, the user can specify the reading start position more smoothly.

  In the information display device according to the present invention, in the above configuration, when the display control unit performs control so as to perform the simplified display, the display mode of the previous display range based on the previous display position It is good also as a structure controlled so that it displays differently from this range.

  In this way, as described above, it becomes possible for the user to understand the relationship between the previous display range and the display start range.

  The information display device according to the present invention may be configured such that, in the above configuration, a specific block on which a detailed display of a document is displayed is displayed in a display mode different from blocks other than the specific block.

  This makes it possible for the user to understand the relationship between a specific block where the detailed display of the document is displayed and a block other than the specific block.

  An information display control program according to the present invention is characterized by causing a computer to execute each means included in the information display device according to the present invention in order to solve the above-described problems.

  In addition, a recording medium on which an information display control program according to the present invention is recorded is characterized in that the information display control program according to the present invention is recorded in order to solve the above-described problems.

  According to the above configuration, the information display control program according to the present invention is read by a computer, and the program is executed to implement each unit included in the information display device in association with various hardware. be able to.

  As described above, when reading is resumed, the information display device according to the present invention displays the information from a position that is good for the user based on the user's instruction. For example, the document data is displayed from the previous bookmark position, and buttons such as “move to beginning of paragraph” and “move to beginning of sentence” are also displayed. If the user selects “move to the beginning of the paragraph”, the page is displayed from the beginning of the paragraph.

  As a result, since any document data can be displayed from a position that is good for the user, the user can efficiently grasp the content of the previous reading.

  In addition, when reading is resumed, the information display apparatus according to the present invention estimates the previous reading position and displays it from the beginning of the sentence including the estimated reading position as a position that is good for the user. Specifically, first, the average display time per character is calculated from the total time of the corresponding document data displayed so far and the number of characters displayed during that time. Next, the previous reading position is estimated from the average display time per character and the display time of the page displayed at the end of the previous display. And it displays from the head of the sentence containing the estimated position.

  Accordingly, any document data can be displayed from a position that is good for the user, and the previous reading content can be efficiently grasped.

  The information display device according to the present invention has a configuration in which the display area is divided into two. In the first display area, at least a part of one of position candidates to be read again as a position that is good for the user is displayed in a readable (human readable) format. Document data is displayed in a simplified manner in the second display area. At this time, the part displayed at the end of the previous display and the part displayed in the first display area are displayed in a manner distinguishable from the other parts. And according to the instruction | indication which determines a reading start position of a user, it displays from the reading start position determined in the 2nd display area.

  As a result, the user can find a position with good separation while grasping the positional relationship between the previous display end position and the reading start position candidate for any document data, and the previous reading content can be efficiently used. I can grasp it well.

  The information display device according to the present invention has a configuration in which the display area is divided into two. In the first display area, at least a part of one of the reading start position candidates is displayed in a readable format. At this time, the reading start position candidate to be displayed first is a sentence including the estimated previous reading position. Document data is displayed in a simplified manner in the second display area. At this time, the part displayed at the end of the previous display and the part displayed in the first display area are displayed in a manner distinguishable from the other parts. And according to the instruction | indication which determines a reading start position of a user, it displays from the reading start position determined in the 2nd display area.

  As a result, the user can find a position with good separation while grasping the positional relationship between the previous display end position and the reading start position candidate for any document data, and the previous reading content can be efficiently used. I can grasp it well.

(Embodiment 1)
An embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings.

(Display system configuration)
The information display system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information display system includes an information display device 101, a server 102, a PC (Personal Computer) 103, a network 104, and a recording medium 105.

  The information display device 101 is a device that processes and displays data. Specifically, the information display device 101 is a device that displays document data 106 and the like stored in the device on a display screen. The user can read the document at a desired time by carrying the information display device 101.

  The server 102 is a device that stores a plurality of document data 106 as a document database in a storage device. The document data 106 stored as this document database can be downloaded by an external communication terminal via the network 104.

  The network 104 is configured by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

  The PC 103 is a general personal computer that includes a display as display means, a keyboard and mouse as input means, a communication interface, and a recording medium processing device that reads / writes information from / to the recording medium 105. . As described above, the PC 103 is connected to the server 102 via the network 104 and can download the document data 106 stored in the server 102 based on an instruction from the user. Yes.

  The document data 106 downloaded by the PC 103 is recorded on the recording medium 105 according to an instruction from the user, and is transmitted to the information display apparatus 101 via the recording medium 105. The recording medium 105 is not limited to the document data 106, and various data may be recorded as long as the storage capacity permits. However, in the present embodiment, the recording medium 105 is described for the sake of simplicity. It is assumed that only one document data 106 is stored in. However, the recording medium 105 may record a plurality of data. In the present embodiment, the document data 106 is structured so as to execute a predetermined process in accordance with the definition of the document description language.

  As the recording medium 105, any recording medium can be used as long as it is a removable medium capable of storing the document data 106. For example, a flash memory or the like is preferably used.

(Configuration of information display device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the information display apparatus 101 includes a control unit 121, a recording medium reader 122, an instruction input unit 123, a display unit 124, and a storage unit 125.

  The recording medium reader 122 reads the document data 106 recorded on the recording medium 105. The recording medium reader 122 is constituted by, for example, a flash memory reader. In the present embodiment, the information display apparatus 101 does not need to write data to the recording medium 105, but may be configured to perform processing for writing some data to the recording medium 105. . In this case, a recording medium reader / writer that reads and writes data from and to the recording medium 105 may be provided instead of the recording medium reader 122.

  The instruction input unit 123 receives an instruction input from a user. Specifically, a touch pen 202, a touch panel, a cross key 201, and the like, which will be described later, correspond to the instruction input unit 123.

  The display unit 124 is a display unit that displays the document data 106 and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) such as buttons used for operations. The display unit 124 is configured by a thin display such as a liquid crystal display device.

  The storage unit 125 is a storage unit that stores various data necessary for the operation of the information display apparatus 101 and stores bookmark data 111 described later. As the storage unit 125, any recording medium may be used as long as it is a non-volatile memory. For example, a flash memory or the like is preferably used.

  The control unit 121 is a block that controls operations in the information display apparatus 101. As a functional block, the document data processing unit 131, a user instruction processing unit 132, a display control unit (display control unit) 133, and a layout calculation unit (display) Control means) 134, a data structure analysis section (document analysis means) 135, and a bookmark data creation section 136.

  The document data processing unit 131 performs a process of reading the document data 106 recorded on the recording medium 105 from the recording medium reader 122 based on an instruction from the user and information recorded in the bookmark data 111. It is.

  The user instruction processing unit 132 is a block for instructing the document data processing unit 131 and the data structure analysis unit 135 according to the content of the instruction input by the user input from the instruction input unit 123. Examples of the instruction input by the user include a document data designation instruction, a previous / next page turning instruction, and a display instruction from a position that is good for the user. The display control unit 133 is a block that controls display on the display unit 124 based on an instruction from the layout calculation unit 134.

  The data structure analysis unit 135 is a block that analyzes the sentence structure of the document data 106 read by the document data processing unit 131 based on an instruction from the user instruction processing unit 132. As the structure analysis process, for a specific position in the document data 106, a process of specifying the head position of the paragraph or the head position of the sentence based on the structure of the sentence can be cited.

The layout calculation unit 134 is a block that calculates a display layout on the display screen of the display unit 124 based on the document data 106 read by the document data processing unit 131 and various buttons to be displayed. The bookmark data creation unit 136 is a block that performs registration / update processing of the bookmark data 111 stored in the storage unit 125.

Each functional block included in the control unit 121 is such that a calculation unit such as a CPU executes a program stored in a storage unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM, and a recording medium reader 122, an instruction input unit 123, This can be realized by controlling the hardware configuration of the display unit 124, the storage unit 125, and the like. Therefore, the computer having these means can realize the various functions of the control unit 121 simply by reading the recording medium storing the program and executing the program. In addition, by recording the program on a removable recording medium, the various functions and various processes described above can be realized on an arbitrary computer.

  As a recording medium on which the program is recorded, the storage unit 125 may be used, or a memory (not shown) such as a ROM may be used as the program medium for processing by the microcomputer. However, it may be a program medium provided with a program reading device as an external storage device and readable by inserting a recording medium therein.

  In any case, the stored program is preferably configured to be accessed and executed by the microprocessor. Furthermore, it is preferable that the program is read out, and the read program is downloaded to a program storage area of the microcomputer and the program is executed. It is assumed that this download program is stored in advance in the main unit.

  The program medium is a recording medium configured to be separable from the main body, such as a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk or a hard disk, or a disk such as a CD / MO / MD / DVD. Fixed disk, IC card (including memory card), etc., or semiconductor ROM such as mask ROM, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), flash ROM, etc. In particular, there are recording media that carry programs.

  In addition, if the system configuration is capable of connecting to a communication network including the Internet, the recording medium is preferably a recording medium that fluidly carries the program so as to download the program from the communication network.

  Further, when the program is downloaded from the communication network as described above, it is preferable that the download program is stored in the main device in advance or installed from another recording medium.

(Appearance of display device)
Next, the external appearance of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The information display device 101 is a portable display device, and includes a display unit 124, a cross key 201, and a touch pen 202.

  As described above, the display unit 124 is a display unit that displays the document data 106 and a GUI such as buttons used for operation. In addition, a touch panel is provided on the display screen of the display unit 124 so as to accept a touch input by the touch pen 202. The instruction input unit 123 described above includes input means including a touch pen 202 and a touch panel. Note that the touch panel of the display unit 124 may be configured to accept an input by a user's finger. In this case, the information display device 101 may be configured not to include the touch pen 202.

  A cross key 201 is an input unit that receives selection inputs in four directions from the user. With the cross key 201, for example, a page turning operation of a document is accepted. The instruction input unit 123 described above also includes the cross key 201.

  A recording medium insertion port 107 into which the recording medium 105 is inserted is provided on the side surface of the main body housing of the information display device 101. The recording medium reader 122 reads data from the recording medium 105 set by being inserted into the recording medium insertion port 107.

(Details of bookmark data)
Next, the structure of the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Bookmark data 111 includes a bookmark information area 301. A bookmark information area 301 is an area for recording bookmark information of each document data 106.

  The bookmark information area 301 includes a file name area 302 and a bookmark position area 303. The file name area 302 is an area for recording the file name of the corresponding document data 106. The bookmark position area 303 is an area for recording bookmark position data indicating the bookmark position set when the corresponding document data 106 was previously displayed. In the present embodiment, when the corresponding document data 106 is displayed next time, data indicating the position where the display is started is recorded as bookmark position data.

  In this embodiment, for one document data 106, a 20-byte storage area is secured as the file name area 302, and a 10-byte storage area is secured as the bookmark position area 303. The size of these storage areas is not particularly limited.

  Note that the bookmark position need not be limited to the display start position, and any information can be used as the bookmark position data as long as the information indicates which part of the document data is to be displayed at the next display. Good. For example, when the next display is performed, information indicating the position in the document data 106 that should be located at the center or the last part of the display screen of the display unit 124 may be used as the bookmark position data.

  Here, a specific example of the bookmark data 111 will be described. FIG. 4 shows an example of the document data 106. FIG. 5 shows the contents of the bookmark data 111 in which the bookmark information of the document data 106 shown in FIG. 4 is recorded. In FIG. 5, the file name area 302 records “Severely None. Txt” which is the file name of the corresponding document data 106. In the bookmark position area 303, “27th line” is recorded as the previous bookmark position.

(Processing procedure)
Next, the flow of processing executed by the information display apparatus 101 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step 601 (hereinafter referred to as S601), the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction to specify the document data 106 to be displayed to be input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user.

  In step S <b> 602, the document data processing unit 131 determines whether bookmark information corresponding to the specified document data 106 exists in the bookmark data 111 based on the user instruction input in step S <b> 601. If the corresponding bookmark information exists (Yes in S602), the process proceeds to S603. If the corresponding bookmark information does not exist (No in S602), the process proceeds to S604.

  In step S <b> 603, the document data processing unit 131 reads bookmark position data from the bookmark position area 303 of the bookmark information area 301 in the bookmark data 111 for the specified document data 106. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, the information “27th line” is read. When the process of S603 is performed, the process proceeds to S604.

  In step S <b> 604, the document data processing unit 131 reads a read portion of the designated document data 106 from the recording medium 105 via the recording medium reader 122. Here, after the determination in S602 is No, if the processing shifts to S604, the bookmark information corresponding to the document data 106 does not exist, so the data from the head portion of the document data 106 does not exist. Read as a read part. On the other hand, after the process of S603, when the process proceeds to S604, the corresponding part of the document data 106 is read as a read part based on the bookmark position data obtained in S603. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, reading is performed from the 27th line of the document data 106 as a portion set as bookmark position data.

  In step S <b> 605, the layout calculation unit 134 determines a display layout for displaying data read from the recording medium reader 122 by the document data processing unit 131 on the display unit 124. At this time, the display layout of the buttons “move to beginning of sentence” and “move to beginning of paragraph” is also determined.

  Next, in S606, the display control unit 133 issues an instruction to display the contents on the display unit 124 based on the display layout determined in S605. At this time, buttons “move to beginning of sentence” and “move to beginning of paragraph” are also displayed.

  Thereafter, in S607, the user instruction processing unit 132 enters a state of waiting for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user is detected, first, in step S608, the user instruction processing unit 132 determines whether the instruction input from the user is a page turning instruction. To do. If it is determined that the input instruction is for turning pages (Yes in S608), the document data processing unit 131 calculates the position information of the read portion based on the instruction to return to the previous page or the instruction to advance to the next page. The processing from S604 is performed based on the read portion. On the other hand, if it is determined that the input instruction is not for turning pages (No in S608), the process proceeds to S609.

  In step S <b> 609, the user instruction processing unit 132 determines that the user's instruction input is in a position before the content that is currently displayed and that is well-separated for the user (the beginning of a sentence or the beginning of a paragraph, and the following separation positions). It is determined whether or not it is an instruction to change the display position for display. The instruction to change the display position corresponds to the touch pen 202 touching the “move to beginning of sentence” button or “move to beginning of paragraph” button displayed on the display screen of the display unit 124. is there.

  If it is determined that the instruction is to change the display position (Yes in S609), the process proceeds to S610. On the other hand, if it is determined that the instruction is not for changing the display position (No in S609), it is considered that a display end instruction has been input, and the process proceeds to S611.

  In step S610, the data structure analysis unit 135 reads and analyzes data in a portion of the document data 106 prior to the currently displayed portion, and specifies a break position (the beginning of a sentence or the beginning of a paragraph). When the delimiter position is “the beginning of the sentence”, the data structure analysis unit 135 searches for the position where the punctuation is present forward from the currently displayed content. When the position that is good for the user is “the beginning of the paragraph”, the data structure analysis unit 135 searches for a position where there is a punctuation in the forward direction from the currently displayed content, and a line break immediately after that. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S605, and the display layout is calculated according to the obtained break position information.

  On the other hand, when a display end instruction is input, the bookmark data creation unit 136 updates the information in the bookmark position area 303 corresponding to the document data 106 in the bookmark data 111 in S611. Specifically, the bookmark data creation unit 136 deletes the bookmark position data recorded in the bookmark position area 303 and reads the information of the first line of the content displayed in S606 from the display control unit 133. This position is recorded in the bookmark position area 303 as new bookmark position data. Thereafter, the display ends.

(Display example when the beginning of a paragraph is used as a break position)
Next, with reference to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, a display example of the display unit 124 in the case where the beginning of a paragraph is set as a break position will be described. FIG. 7A shows the display state of the display unit 124 when the document data 106 is the document shown in FIG. 4 and the display is performed based on the bookmark position data in S606 of the flowchart shown in FIG. Yes.

  In this state, when the “move to the beginning of paragraph” button is pressed by the user, the user's instruction is displayed from the beginning of the paragraph as a break position before the currently displayed content in S609. Is determined to be an instruction to change the display position (Yes in S609). In step S <b> 610, the data structure analysis unit 135 reads data in a portion before the currently displayed portion of the document data 106, analyzes the structure, and specifies the beginning position of the paragraph. Here, in the case of the document shown in FIG. 4, the beginning of the paragraph including the sentence of the first line “XX, XXXXXX” of the portion displayed as shown in FIG. "*********."

  When the head position of the paragraph is specified as described above, the layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout by calculation so that the head of the specified paragraph becomes the head of the display screen (S605). When the display layout is determined, the display unit 124 displays the contents of the document data 106 in the determined display layout based on the control of the display control unit 133. FIG. 7B shows the document 124 in which the document data 106 is shown in FIG. 4, and the display unit 124 displays when the top of the paragraph is the top of the display screen in S <b> 606 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6. Is displayed.

  Thereafter, the page feed / return operation is sequentially performed, so that the processing from S604 to S608 is repeated until an end instruction is input from the user. Here, when an instruction “move to the beginning of the paragraph” is issued, the page is displayed so that the beginning of the paragraph becomes the top of the display screen every time the display page is switched in the subsequent page forward / backward operations. May be performed.

  In the above description, the display example in the case where the beginning of the paragraph is set as the break position has been described. However, in the case where the beginning of the sentence is set as the break position, substantially the same processing is performed.

  As described above, the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment displays the document data 106 and then re-displays the document from the position (the beginning of the sentence / the beginning of the paragraph) that is good for the user based on the user's instruction. By doing so, the user can grasp the previous reading content efficiently.

(Modification 1 of Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, the bookmark position data that can be recorded in the bookmark data 111 is set to be one for each document data. However, a plurality of bookmark position data can be recorded for each document data. It may be. As a result, for example, it is possible to perform processing such as displaying the bookmark from the bookmark position that was displayed twice before.

(Modification 2 of Embodiment 1)
In the above-described first embodiment, the position that is good for the user is the “start of sentence” or “start of paragraph”. However, for example, “start of chapter” or a character string specified by the user may be used. It may be an image or animation.

  Objects such as images and animations are more visually noticeable than text strings and leave an impression on the reader. In other words, looking at such an object is expected to be a “trigger” for remembering the position where the document has been read. Therefore, if the delimiter position is the object position as described above, the user can easily grasp “how far” or “where to read”.

(Modification 3 of Embodiment 1)
In the above-described embodiment, when the document data 106 is displayed, the document data 106 is first displayed from the previous bookmark position, and then the document data is displayed again from the delimiter position based on the user's instruction. On the other hand, when the document data 106 is displayed by providing a setting menu related to the display position and setting the head of the sentence / the head of the paragraph as a position that is good for the user in advance, You may always make it display from a division | segmentation position. In this case, when the display of the document data 106 is ended, the next display position may be determined. By providing such a setting menu, an easy-to-use interface can be provided for various users.

(Modification 4 of Embodiment 1)
In the above-described embodiment, when the document data 106 is redisplayed from the separation position based on the user's instruction, the document data 106 is displayed as it is, but the part displayed at the end of the previous display and the other parts May be displayed in an identifiable manner. A specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b). For example, instead of FIG. 7B, as shown in FIG. 8A, the portion displayed at the end of the previous display may be underlined. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8B, the part other than the part displayed at the end of the previous display may be underlined. Of course, the display is not limited to the underline display, but may be displayed in another identifiable manner such as a change in font size or a change in background color.

(Modification 5 of Embodiment 1)
In the above-described embodiment, simple text data is used as the document data 106, and in S610, the data structure analysis unit 135 searches forward from the currently displayed content when searching for “the beginning of the paragraph”. Look for a position where there is a punctuation and there is a line break immediately after it. In contrast, the document data 106 may be data described in HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language), XML (extensible Mark-up Language), or the like. What is necessary is just to look for the position where the paragraph tag (<P>) exists in the forward direction from the currently displayed content.

(Embodiment 2)
Another embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure which has the function similar to the structure demonstrated in above-mentioned Embodiment 1, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. The information display system according to the present embodiment is the same as the other configurations except for the configuration of the information display device 101 in the information display system shown in the first embodiment.

(Configuration of information display device)
FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the difference from the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is that the control unit 121 further includes a reading position estimation unit (reading position estimation means) 915 and reading data 916 in the storage unit 125. Is a more memorized point. Other configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  The reading position estimation unit 915 is a block that performs processing for estimating the previous reading position based on the reading data 916 stored in the storage unit 125. The reading position estimation unit 915 also performs an update process of the reading data 916.

(Appearance of display device)
The appearance of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration described with reference to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. Note that the display screen example in the display unit 124 shown in FIG. 2 is slightly different in the present embodiment, which will be described later.

(Details of bookmark data)
The structure of the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Further, the format of each data in the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Details of reading data)
Next, the structure of the reading data 916 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The reading data 916 includes a reading information area 1101. A reading information area 1101 is an area for recording reading time information of each document data 106.

  The reading information area 1101 includes a file name area 1102, a display time area 1103, a display character count area 1104, and an end display time area 1105. The file name area 1102 is an area for recording the file name of the corresponding document data 106. A display time area 1103 is an area for recording the total time of the corresponding document data 106 displayed so far. The display character number area 1104 is an area for recording the number of characters displayed during the time recorded in the display time area 1103. End display time area 1105 is an area for recording the display time of the page displayed at the end of the previous display.

  In this embodiment, for one document data 106, a 20-byte storage area is secured as the file name area 302, a 10-byte storage area is secured as the display time area 1103, and a 10-byte storage area as the display character number area 1104. A 10-byte storage area is secured as the end-time display time area 1105. The size of these storage areas is not particularly limited.

  Here, a specific example of the reading data 916 will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of the reading data 916 in which the reading information of the document data 106 shown in FIG. 4 is recorded. In FIG. 11, in the file name area 1102, the file name of the corresponding document data 106, “Sometimes.txt” is recorded. In the display time area 1103, the total time “608 seconds” displayed so far of the corresponding document data 106 is recorded. In the display character number area 1104, the number of characters “456 characters” displayed during the time “608 seconds” recorded in the display time area 1103 of the corresponding document data 106 is recorded. In the display time area at end 1105, the display time “54 seconds” of the page displayed at the end of the previous display is recorded.

(Processing procedure)
Next, the flow of processing executed by the information display apparatus 101 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in S1301, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction to specify the document data 106 to be displayed to be input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user.

  In step S <b> 1302, the document data processing unit 131 determines whether bookmark information corresponding to the specified document data 106 exists in the bookmark data 111 based on the user instruction input in step S <b> 1301. Then, it is determined whether or not reading information corresponding to the designated document data 106 exists in the reading data 916. If the corresponding bookmark information and reading information exist (Yes in S1302), the process proceeds to S1303. If the corresponding bookmark information and reading information do not exist (No in S1302), the process proceeds to S1308.

  In step S <b> 1303, the document data processing unit 131 reads bookmark position data from the bookmark position area 303 of the bookmark information area 301 in the bookmark data 111 for the designated document data 106. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, the information “27th line” is read.

  In step S <b> 1304, the document data processing unit 131 reads the read portion of the designated document data 106 from the recording medium 105 through the recording medium reader 122. Here, based on the bookmark position data obtained in S1303, the corresponding portion of the document data 106 is read as a read portion. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, reading is performed from the 27th line of the document data 106 as a portion set as bookmark position data.

  In step S <b> 1305, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads display time information from the display time area 1103 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the designated document data 106. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “608 seconds” is read. Similarly, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads display character number information from the display character number area 1104 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the designated document data 106. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “456 characters” are read. Similarly, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads end display time information from the end display time area 1105 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 in the reading data 916. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “54 seconds” is read.

  Next, in S1306, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates the previous reading position based on the information obtained in S1305. First, the average display time per character is obtained by dividing the display time obtained in S1305 by the number of display characters obtained in S1305. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the average display time “1.3 seconds” per character is obtained by dividing the display time “608 seconds” by the number of display characters “456 characters”. Next, by dividing the display time at end obtained in S1305 by the average display time per character obtained earlier, which character of the page displayed at the previous reading position, that is, at the end of the previous reading, Estimate whether you have read until. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, it was displayed at the end of the previous reading by dividing the display time at the end “54 seconds” by the average display time per character “1.3 seconds”. It is estimated that “41.5 characters” have been read from the top of the page.

  In S1307, the data structure analysis unit 135 analyzes the document data 106 read in S1304, and specifies the head position of the sentence including the estimated reading position obtained in S1306. That is, a position where there is a punctuation is searched forward from the designated reading position obtained in S1306, and this position is held as delimiter position information. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S1309.

  On the other hand, if NO in S1302, that is, if the corresponding bookmark information and reading information do not exist, the document data processing unit 131 reads the read portion of the designated document data 106 from the recording medium 105 to the recording medium reader in S1308. Read through 122. Here, data from the head portion of the document data 106 is read as a read portion. When the process is moved to S1308 after the process of S1313 described later, the corresponding part of the document data 106 is read based on the position information of the previous / next page obtained in S1312 described later.

  When the processing of S1307 or the processing of S1308 is completed, the layout calculation unit 134 next displays a layout for displaying data read from the recording medium reader 122 by the document data processing unit 131 on the display unit 124 in S1309. To decide.

  Next, in step S1310, the display control unit 133 instructs the display unit 124 to display the content based on the display layout determined in step S605. At this time, the reading position estimation unit 915 starts measuring the display time of the displayed page.

  Thereafter, in S1311, the user instruction processing unit 132 enters a state of waiting for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 is detected by the user, first, in step S1312, the user instruction processing unit 132 determines whether the instruction input from the user is a page turning instruction. To do. If it is determined that the input instruction is a page turning instruction (Yes in S1312), the position information of the read portion is calculated based on the document data processing unit 131, an instruction to return to the previous page, or an instruction to advance to the next page. The processing from S1313 is performed based on the read portion. On the other hand, if it is determined that the input instruction is not a page turning instruction (No in S1312), the process proceeds to S1314.

  In step S <b> 1313, the reading position estimation unit 915 updates information in the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 of the reading data 916. First, the reading position estimation unit 915 ends the measurement of the display time started in S1310, and adds the value to the information recorded in the display time area 1103. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the measured display time is added to “608 seconds”. Next, the reading position estimation unit 915 adds the value of the number of characters displayed in S1310 to the information recorded in the display character number area 1104. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the number of display characters is added to “456 characters”. Then, based on the position information of the previous / next page obtained in S1312, the processing from S1308 is performed.

  In S <b> 1314, the reading position estimation unit 915 updates information in the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 of the reading data 916. First, the measurement of the display time started in S1310 is stopped, and the value is added to the information recorded in the display time area 1103. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the measured display time is added to “608 seconds”. Next, the value of the number of characters displayed in S1310 is added to the information recorded in the display character number area 1104. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the number of display characters is added to “456 characters”. Then, the information recorded in the end display time area 1105 is deleted, and the display time value measured earlier is recorded. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “54 seconds” is deleted, and a new display time value is recorded.

  In step S <b> 1315, the bookmark data creation unit 136 updates information in the bookmark position area 303 corresponding to the document data 106 of the bookmark data 111. Specifically, the bookmark data creation unit 136 deletes the bookmark position data recorded in the bookmark position area 303 and reads the information of the first line of the content displayed in S1310 from the display control unit 133. This position is recorded in the bookmark position area 303 as new bookmark position data. Thereafter, the display ends.

(Display example for estimating reading position)
Next, a display example of the display unit 124 when the reading position is estimated will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 shows the contents displayed on the display unit 124 at the end of the previous reading. In S1306 described above, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates that the previous reading position is “41.5 characters” from the top of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading. Therefore, when the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates that reading has been completed up to the second character of the third line of the text displayed on the display unit 124.

  When the previous reading position is estimated, the data structure analysis unit 135 searches for a position where there is a punctuation in the forward direction from the previous reading position (S1307). In the case of the example shown in FIG. 13, the estimated reading position is up to the second character on the third line, and the position where the forward punctuation mark is located is “but the second line is“ ... ”. The front part.

  When the head position of the sentence including the previous reading position estimated as described above is specified, the layout calculation unit 134 calculates the display layout so that the head position of the specified sentence becomes the head of the display screen. Determine (S1309). When the display layout is determined, the display unit 124 displays the contents of the document data 106 in the determined display layout. FIG. 14 shows the display state of the display unit 124 at this time.

  As described above, when displaying the document data 106, the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment estimates the previous reading position and displays it from the head of the sentence including the estimated reading position. Therefore, the user can reduce the trouble of searching for “how far the user has read the previous time”, so that the user can efficiently grasp the content of the previous reading.

(Modification 1 of Embodiment 2)
In the above-described embodiment, when the document data is displayed, the previous reading position is estimated, and the sentence including the estimated reading position is displayed from the top. However, there are cases where the estimated reading position is incorrect (which is completely different from the position actually read by the user). In such a case, the user is uncomfortable.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 15, after displaying from the previous bookmark position, the previous reading position is estimated based on the user's instruction (whether the “move to estimated position” button has been pressed), You may make it display again from the head of the sentence containing the estimated reading position.

  If the display is started from the estimated position after the user issues an instruction as described above without displaying from the estimated position suddenly, discomfort to the user due to the estimated position error can be reduced. Explaining in detail, rather than suddenly displaying from an unexpected (wrong) estimated position, the display is performed after the user is prepared to some extent “maybe displayed from an unexpected position” It is expected that the user will not feel uncomfortable in operation.

(Modification 2 of Embodiment 2)
In general, the speed of reading a document often varies depending on the genre of the document to be read (eg, literary novel, SF novel, reasoning novel, technical engineering book, etc.). For example, in the case of reading an easy-to-read genre document such as an SF novel, reading speed is generally high. On the other hand, when reading a document describing a complicated technique such as a technical book, reading speed is generally slow.

  In the above-described embodiment, when a new document is read for the first time, the display time of the document is short, so the average display time per character calculated from the reading information is not reliable (unreliable). However, if the document genre is used, it is possible to accurately estimate how far the document is read for the first time. The embodiment will be described below.

  First, document genre information is previously assigned to each document. Then, as shown in FIG. 16, a genre area 1106 is added to the reading information area 1101 as a document genre item. This is data representing the genre of a document read in the past. In the example of FIG. 16, the genre area 1106 of the document in the file name area 1102 “Mucashibanashi.txt” is “literary novel”.

  The overall processing flow is the same as in FIG. 12, but the processing in S1306 is modified as shown in FIG. Here, the second modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 16, the description will be supplemented as appropriate using a specific example when a document whose file name area 1102 is “newly released novel.txt” is displayed.

  In S 1361, the reading position estimation unit 915 determines whether the display time of the reading information is smaller than the threshold value. This has the same meaning as determining whether or not the estimated average display time value per character is reliable. This threshold value may be 180 seconds, for example. If the display time of the reading information is smaller than the threshold value (YES in S1361), the process proceeds to S1362. If the display time of the reading information is greater than or equal to the threshold (NO in S1361), the process proceeds to S1365. When the document “Newly released novel.txt” shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, since “30 seconds (reading information display time) <180 seconds (threshold)”, the process proceeds to S1362.

  In S1365, the reading position estimation process described above (same as S1306 in FIG. 12) is performed from the reading information.

  On the other hand, in S1362, the reading information of the same genre in the reading data read in the past is searched and acquired. In the case of FIG. 16, when a document “Newly Released Novel.txt” is read, the reading information in the genre “literary novel”, that is, the document “Reading Information.txt” (Reading Information) (First)) and “Liquid Crystal Story.txt” (reading information (second)) reading information is acquired. Here, it may be read out including the reading information of “newly released novel.txt” (reading information (third)) itself.

In S 1363, the average display time and the average number of display characters are calculated from the reading information acquired in S 1362. In the case shown in FIG. 16, when the document “Newly released novel.txt” is read,
Average display time (seconds) = (608 + 700) / 2 = 654 (seconds)
Average number of displayed characters (characters) = (456 + 650) ÷ 2 = 554 (characters)
It becomes.

  In S1364, an average display time per character is obtained from the average value calculated in S1362. In the case shown in FIG. 17, when a document of “Newly released novel.txt” is read, the average display per character is obtained by dividing the average display time “654 seconds” by the average number of display characters “554 characters”. Obtain time “1.2 seconds”. Next, the end time display “30 seconds” is divided by the average display time “1.2 seconds” per character to finish reading from the top of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading to “25 characters”. Estimated.

  By using the document genre as described above, it is possible to accurately estimate how far a document is read for the first time.

(Embodiment 3)
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure which has the function similar to the structure demonstrated by each above-mentioned embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. The information display system according to the present embodiment is the same as the other configurations except for the configuration of the information display device 101 in the information display system shown in the first embodiment.

(Configuration of information display device)
FIG. 18 shows a schematic configuration of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the difference from the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is that the display unit 124 is provided with a first display unit 124a and a second display unit 124b, and the control unit 121 is further simplified data. The difference is that a creation unit (display control means) 1607 is provided, and the structure analysis processing by the data structure analysis unit 135 is different. Other configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  The simplified data creation unit 1607 is a block that creates simplified data representing the document content in a simplified state based on the data structure of the document data 106 analyzed by the data structure analysis unit 135. In the case of the present embodiment, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates data representing a line or the like instead of characters as simplified data.

  The data structure analysis unit 135 according to the present embodiment performs a process of dividing the document data 106 into a plurality of blocks, specifically, a structure analysis process of dividing one sentence into one block. Note that it is not necessary to limit one sentence to one block. For example, a document may be manually divided in advance and the divided portions may be used as blocks.

  The first display unit 124 a and the second display unit 124 b display a document based on the display layout specified by the layout calculation unit 134. The first display unit 124a displays the document represented by the document data 106 in detail for each block described above. The second display unit 124b displays the document represented by the document data 106 and the simplified data. In the present embodiment, the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b are obtained by dividing a “one” screen. However, these windows may be independent windows in the “one” screen. These may be display devices independent of each other. In the present embodiment, the second display unit 124b displays information in a region having a larger area than the region in which the first display unit 124a displays the document represented by the document data 106. That is, the area where the second display unit 124b can actually display information is wider than the area where the first display unit 124a can display blocks.

(Appearance of display device)
The appearance of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration described with reference to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. Note that the display screen example in the display unit 124 shown in FIG. 2 is slightly different in the present embodiment, which will be described later.

(Details of bookmark data)
The structure of the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Further, the format of each data in the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Processing procedure)
Next, the flow of processing executed by the information display apparatus 101 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1801, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction to specify the document data 106 to be displayed to be input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user.

  In step S1802, the document data processing unit 131 determines whether bookmark information corresponding to the designated document data 106 exists in the bookmark data 111 based on the user instruction input in step S1801. If the corresponding bookmark information exists (Yes in S1802), the process proceeds to S1803. If the corresponding bookmark information does not exist (No in S1802), the process proceeds to S1804.

  In step S <b> 1803, the document data processing unit 131 reads bookmark position data from the bookmark position area 303 of the bookmark information area 301 in the bookmark data 111 for the specified document data 106. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, the information “27th line” is read. When the process of S1803 is performed, the process proceeds to S1804.

  In step S <b> 1804, the document data processing unit 131 reads the read portion of the designated document data 106 from the recording medium 105 through the recording medium reader 122. Here, after the determination in S1802 is No, if the processing shifts to S1804, the bookmark information corresponding to the document data 106 does not exist, so the data from the head portion of the document data 106 is changed. Read as a read part. On the other hand, after the process of S1803, when the process proceeds to S1804, the corresponding part of the document data 106 is read as a read part based on the bookmark position data obtained in S1803. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, reading is performed from the 27th line of the document data 106 as a portion set as bookmark position data.

  In step S <b> 1805, the data structure analysis unit 135 analyzes the data structure of the read document data 106. In the present embodiment, the data structure analysis unit 135 recognizes a punctuation mark as a block break. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the document represented by the document data 106 is divided into a plurality of blocks.

  In step S <b> 1806, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data based on the data structure of the document data 106 analyzed by the data structure analysis unit 135. The simplified data is information that represents the document content represented by the document data 106 in a simplified state. In the case of this embodiment, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data so that lines are displayed instead of characters. At this time, one displayed line corresponds to one block (one sentence), and the length of the line corresponds to the length of the character string of the block. Since the simplified data is created in this way, the simplified data becomes information for identifying each of the plurality of blocks.

  In step S <b> 1807, the layout calculation unit 134 determines a display layout for displaying data read from the recording medium reader 122 by the document data processing unit 131 on the display unit 124. The display layout determined here simplifies and displays all the documents represented by the document data 106 on the second display unit 124b. The layout calculation unit 134 calculates a display layout so that lines are displayed according to the order of a plurality of blocks in the document represented by the document data 106.

  In step S1808, the display control unit 133 issues an instruction to display the content on the second display unit 124b based on the display layout determined in step S1807. Thereby, the second display unit 124b displays the simplified data according to the determined display layout. That is, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b so as to display information including information for identifying each of the plurality of blocks. At this time, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b based on the bookmark position information obtained in S1803 so that information representing the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading is also displayed. To do.

  Thereafter, in step S1809, the user instruction processing unit 132 enters a state of waiting for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 is detected by the user, in step S1810, the user instruction processing unit 132 displays in detail the blocks from which the instruction input from the user has already been identified. It is determined whether or not the instruction is. If it is determined that the instruction is to display details after the already specified block (Yes in S1810), the positional information of the specified block is obtained, and the process proceeds to S1813. If it is determined that it is not an instruction to display in detail the blocks that have already been identified (No in S1810), the process proceeds to S1811.

  In S1811, the user instruction processing unit 132 regards the instruction input from the user as an instruction to display the block identified as the reading start position candidate separately from the other blocks. Then, the layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout when the block specified by the information input to the user instruction processing unit 132 is displayed on the first display unit 124a by calculation.

  Next, in S1812, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b to distinguish and display the block specified as the reading start position candidate and the other blocks. In addition, the display control unit 133 controls the first display unit 124a based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 so that the identified block is displayed in a readable format. Thereafter, the processing returns to S1809.

  On the other hand, in S <b> 1813, the user instruction processing unit 132 interprets that the information indicating the user instruction is information indicating that the blocks that have already been identified are displayed in detail. The layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout by calculation so that the specified block and the subsequent blocks are displayed in a readable format on the second display unit 124b.

  Next, in S1814, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b so that the identified block and the subsequent blocks are displayed in a readable format according to the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134. . As a result, the second display unit 124b displays the identified block and the subsequent blocks in a readable format based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134.

  Next, in S1815, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 is detected by the user, in S1816, the user instruction processing unit 132 determines whether the user instruction input is a page turning instruction. If it is determined that it is an instruction to turn pages (Yes in S1816), the position information of the previous / next page is obtained, and the process proceeds to S1813. If it is determined that it is not a page turning instruction (No in S1815), it is considered that a display end instruction has been issued, and the process proceeds to S1817.

  In step S <b> 1817, the bookmark data creation unit 136 updates the information in the bookmark position area 303 corresponding to the document data 106 in the bookmark data 111. Specifically, the bookmark data creation unit 136 deletes the information recorded in the bookmark position area 303, reads out the information of the first line of the content displayed in S1814 from the display control unit 133, and reads this position. Is recorded in the bookmark position area 303 as new bookmark position data. Thereafter, the display ends.

(Display example for simplified display)
Next, a display example of the display unit 124 when simplified display is described with reference to FIGS. In S1807 described above, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data based on the data structure of the document data 106 analyzed by the data structure analysis unit 135. Based on the simplified data, the second display unit 124b displays the simplified data in the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 in S1808. At this time, based on the bookmark position information obtained in S1803, the layout calculation unit 134 also displays information representing the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading (in the case of the present embodiment, Specifically, the display layout is determined so that the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading is displayed surrounded by a dotted frame). FIG. 20A shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  When the simplified data is displayed, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for the user's instruction input, and the input user instruction is an instruction to display in detail the blocks that have already been identified. It is determined whether or not there is (S1810). In the case of this example, the user's instruction input is not an instruction to display details after the already specified block, but a block specified as a reading start position candidate (in this embodiment, the reread start position As a candidate, it is determined that the instruction is to distinguish and display other blocks (identify the block at the top of the page that was displayed at the end of the previous reading) (No in S1810), so in S1811 Processing shifts. Then, the layout calculation unit 134 displays the block specified as the reading start position candidate and the other blocks separately (in the case of the present embodiment, specifically, only the specified block is displayed). Determine the display layout (so that is displayed as a bold line). Further, the display control unit 133 controls the first display unit 124a so that the identified block is displayed in a readable format based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 (S1812). FIG. 20B shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  In the above example, the block at the top of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading is specified as the candidate for the reread start position, but from among the blocks displayed on the second display unit 124b A block as a candidate for a reread start position may be specified by the user touching a specific block with the touch pen 202.

  When the document is displayed, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction input by the user, and whether the input user instruction is an instruction to display in detail the blocks already identified. It is determined whether or not (S1810). In the case of this example, it is determined that the user's instruction input is an instruction to display in detail the blocks that have already been identified (Yes in S1810), so the layout calculation unit 134 displays the second display unit. The display layout is determined by calculation so that the specified block and subsequent parts are displayed in a readable format in 124b (S1813). When the layout is determined, the second display unit 124b displays the determined block and the subsequent blocks in a readable format with the determined display layout. FIG. 20C shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  As described above, the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment displays the contents of the document data through the following steps. The first stage is to divide the document data into a plurality of blocks. The second stage is to display the divided blocks in a simplified manner in a format that allows each block to be distinguished. At this time, information that can distinguish the previous display end position from other parts is also displayed in the simplified display part. By displaying the document in a simplified manner in this manner, the reader can easily understand the layout of the document rather than displaying a detailed sentence. Also, by displaying the previous display end position so that it can be distinguished from other parts, the reader can easily grasp “how far” or “from where” the reader should read.

  The third step is to display the block specified as the reading start position candidate in a readable format based on the user's instruction. At this time, in the simplified display portion, the reading start page screen also displays information that can be distinguished from other portions. Thereby, the positional relationship between the reading start position and the previous display end position becomes clear.

  The fourth stage is to display in a readable format from the reading start position determined by the user. As a result, it is possible to find a position that is well-separated for the user while grasping the positional relationship between the previous display end position and the reading start position candidate, and efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

(Modification 1 of Embodiment 3)
In the above-described embodiment, the display unit 124 includes the two display areas of the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b. However, the display unit 124 has one display area and the reading start position. The display area may be divided into two only when the process of determining is performed.

(Modification 2 of Embodiment 3)
In the above-described embodiment, the bookmark position information that can be recorded in the bookmark data 111 is set to one for each document data. However, the bookmark position information can be recorded for each document data. May be. Then, when the simplified data is displayed on the second display unit 124b, information on a plurality of bookmark positions may also be displayed. Further, the second display unit 124b may be divided into a plurality of display areas, and information on each bookmark position may be displayed on each of the display areas.

(Modification 3 of Embodiment 3)
In the above-described embodiment, lines are displayed instead of characters when the document data 106 is displayed in a simplified manner. Alternatively, symbols may be displayed instead of characters. At this time, a symbol may be added or a display form may be changed so that the first sentence of a chapter, the first sentence of a paragraph, and other sentences can be identified.

  Further, when the document data 106 is displayed in a simplified manner on the second display unit 124b, only the conspicuous objects (chapter number, chapter name, head of each paragraph, image or animation) may be displayed in detail.

  For example, in FIG. 21A, lines are displayed instead of characters on the second display unit 124b, but chapter numbers and chapter names are displayed in detail. Further, in FIG. 21B, the punctuation portion at the beginning of each paragraph (from the beginning of the paragraph to the first reading point) is displayed in detail. Note that it is not necessary to limit the reading to the punctuation mark. For example, only the first 10 characters of each paragraph may be displayed in detail.

  In FIG. 21C, an image (or animation) is displayed in detail. Such objects are more visually noticeable than text strings and leave an impression on the reader. In other words, seeing such an object is a “trigger” for remembering the position where the document has been read. Therefore, by displaying only the conspicuous objects in detail as shown in FIG. 21C, the reader can easily grasp “how far” or “where to read”.

(Modification 4 of Embodiment 3)
In the above-described embodiment, nothing is displayed on the first display unit 124a during the simplified display in S1808. However, at the time of the processing of S1808, as shown in FIG. 20B, the first block of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading may be displayed on the first display unit 124a. In this way, by displaying on the first display unit 124a without waiting for the user's input, it is possible to save time and effort for the user to input an instruction for performing detailed display.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, in S1808, a part of each sentence at the top of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading is displayed in a readable form on the first display unit 124a, and the second display unit A simplified display may be performed at 124b. More specifically, in FIG. 22, the first punctuation part (up to the punctuation mark) of each sentence is displayed on the first display part 124a in a readable form for a plurality of sentences following from the position displayed by the thick line on the second display part 124b. it's shown.

  The display as shown in FIG. 22 makes it easy for the reader to grasp the layout of the document, and also allows the contents of the sentence to be understood to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp how far the reader has read or “where to read”. In FIG. 22, “...” Indicates a display form in which a detailed sentence is simplified.

(Embodiment 4)
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure which has the function similar to the structure demonstrated by each above-mentioned embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. The information display system according to the present embodiment is the same as the other configurations except for the configuration of the information display device 101 in the information display system shown in the first embodiment.

(Configuration of information display device)
FIG. 23 shows a schematic configuration of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, the simplified data creation unit 1607 included in the control unit 121 in the third embodiment is provided in the control unit 121 in the second embodiment. Are different. Other configurations are the same as those described in the first to third embodiments, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

(Appearance of display device)
The appearance of the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration described with reference to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment. Note that the display screen example in the display unit 124 shown in FIG. 2 is slightly different in the present embodiment, which will be described later.

(Details of bookmark data)
The structure of the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Further, the format of each data in the bookmark data 111 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Details of reading data)
The structure of the reading data 916 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment (see FIG. 10). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Further, the format of each data in the reading data 916 in the present embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment (see FIGS. 4 and 11). Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Processing procedure)
Next, the flow of processing executed by the information display apparatus 101 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S2201, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction to specify the document data 106 to be displayed to be input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user.

  In step S2202, the document data processing unit 131 determines whether bookmark information corresponding to the specified document data 106 exists in the bookmark data 111 based on the user instruction input in step S2201. Then, it is determined whether or not reading information corresponding to the designated document data 106 exists in the reading data 916. If the corresponding bookmark information and reading information exist (Yes in S2202), the process proceeds to S2203. If the corresponding bookmark information and reading information do not exist (No in S2202), the process proceeds to S2206.

  In step S <b> 2203, the document data processing unit 131 reads bookmark position data from the bookmark position area 303 of the bookmark information area 301 in the bookmark data 111 for the specified document data 106. When the bookmark data 111 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, the information “27th line” is read.

  In step S <b> 2204, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads display time information from the display time area 1103 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the designated document data 106. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “608 seconds” is read. Similarly, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads display character number information from the display character number area 1104 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the designated document data 106. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “456 characters” are read. Similarly, the reading position estimation unit 915 reads end display time information from the end display time area 1105 of the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 in the reading data 916. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “54 seconds” is read.

  Next, in S2205, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates the previous reading position based on the information obtained in S2204. First, the average display time per character is obtained by dividing the display time obtained in S2204 by the number of display characters obtained in S2204. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the average display time “1.3 seconds” per character is obtained by dividing the display time “608 seconds” by the number of display characters “456 characters”. Next, by dividing the end display time obtained in S2204 by the average display time per character obtained earlier, the last reading position, that is, which character of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading is displayed. Estimate whether you have read until. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, it was displayed at the end of the previous reading by dividing the display time at the end “54 seconds” by the average display time per character “1.3 seconds”. It is estimated that “41.5 characters” have been read from the top of the page.

  In step S <b> 2206, the document data processing unit 131 reads the designated document data 106 from the recording medium 105 via the recording medium reader 122.

  In step S <b> 2207, the data structure analysis unit 135 analyzes the data structure of the read document data 106. In the present embodiment, the data structure analysis unit 135 recognizes a punctuation mark as a block break. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the document represented by the document data 106 is divided into a plurality of blocks. In addition, the data structure analysis unit 135 identifies a block including the previous reading position based on the bookmark position information obtained in S2203 and the reading position information estimated in S2205.

  In step S <b> 2208, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data based on the data structure of the document data 106 analyzed by the data structure analysis unit 135. In the case of this embodiment, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data so that lines are displayed instead of characters. At this time, one displayed line corresponds to one block (one sentence), and the length of the line corresponds to the length of the character string of the block. Since the simplified data is created in this way, the simplified data becomes information for identifying each of the plurality of blocks.

  Next, in S2209, the layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout by calculation. One of the display layouts determined here is a display layout for simplifying and displaying all the documents represented by the document data 106 on the second display unit 124b. The layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout so that the line is displayed according to the order of a plurality of blocks in the document represented by the document data 106.

  Another display layout determined in S2209 is a display layout for displaying, on the first display unit 124a, a block including the previous reading position identified in S2207 as a reading start position candidate. is there. The layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout so that the block identified in S2207 is displayed in a readable format.

  Next, in S2210, the display control unit 133 instructs to display the contents on the second display unit 124b based on the display layout determined in S2209. Thereby, the second display unit 124b displays the simplified data according to the determined display layout. That is, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b so as to display information including information for identifying each of the plurality of blocks. At this time, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b based on the bookmark position information obtained in S2203 so that information representing the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading is also displayed. To do.

  Next, in S2211, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b to distinguish and display the block specified as the reading start position candidate and the other blocks. In addition, the display control unit 133 controls the first display unit 124a based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 so that the identified block is displayed in a readable format.

  Thereafter, in S2212, the user instruction processing unit 132 is in a state of waiting for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 by the user is detected, in S2213, the user instruction processing unit 132 displays in detail the blocks after the block in which the instruction input from the user has already been specified. It is determined whether or not the instruction is. If it is determined that the instruction is to display details after the already specified block (Yes in S2213), the positional information of the specified block is obtained, and the process proceeds to S2215. If it is determined that it is not an instruction to display in detail the blocks that have already been identified (No in S2213), the process proceeds to S2214.

  In S2214, the user instruction processing unit 132 regards the instruction input from the user as an instruction to display a specific block separately from the other blocks. Then, the layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout when the block specified by the information input to the user instruction processing unit 132 is displayed on the first display unit 124a by calculation. Thereafter, the process returns to S2211.

  On the other hand, in S2215, the user instruction processing unit 132 interprets that the information indicating the user's instruction is information indicating that the blocks that have already been identified are displayed in detail. The layout calculation unit 134 determines the display layout by calculation so that the specified block and the subsequent blocks are displayed in a readable format on the second display unit 124b.

  Next, in S2216, the display control unit 133 controls the second display unit 124b so that the specified block and the subsequent blocks are displayed in a readable format in accordance with the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134. . As a result, the second display unit 124b displays the identified block and the subsequent blocks in a readable format based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134. At this time, the reading position estimation unit 915 starts measuring the display time of the displayed page.

  Next, in S2217, the user instruction processing unit 132 is in a state of waiting for an instruction input from the user. When an instruction input from the instruction input unit 123 is detected by the user, in S2218, the user instruction processing unit 132 determines whether or not the user instruction input is a page turning instruction. If it is determined that it is an instruction to turn pages (Yes in S2218), the position information of the previous / next page is obtained, and the process proceeds to S2219. If it is determined that it is not a page turning instruction (No in S2218), it is considered that a display end instruction has been issued, and the process proceeds to S2220.

  In step S <b> 2219, the reading position estimation unit 915 updates information in the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 of the reading data 916. First, the reading position estimation unit 915 ends the measurement of the display time started in S2216, and adds the value to the information recorded in the display time area 1103. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the measured display time is added to “608 seconds”. Next, the reading position estimation unit 915 adds the value of the number of characters displayed in S2216 to the information recorded in the display character number area 1104. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the number of display characters is added to “456 characters”. Then, based on the previous / next page position information obtained in S2218, the processing from S2215 is performed.

  On the other hand, in S <b> 2220, the reading position estimation unit 915 updates information in the reading information area 1101 corresponding to the document data 106 of the reading data 916. First, measurement of the display time started in S2216 is stopped, and the value is added to the information recorded in the display time area 1103. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the measured display time is added to “608 seconds”. Next, the value of the number of characters displayed in S2216 is added to the information recorded in the display character number area 1104. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the number of display characters is added to “456 characters”. Then, the information recorded in the end display time area 1105 is deleted, and the display time value measured earlier is recorded. When the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, “54 seconds” is deleted, and a new display time value is recorded.

  In step S <b> 2221, the bookmark data creation unit 136 updates the information in the bookmark position area 303 corresponding to the document data 106 of the bookmark data 111. Specifically, the bookmark data creation unit 136 deletes the bookmark position data recorded in the bookmark position area 303 and reads the information of the first line of the content displayed in S2216 from the display control unit 133. This position is recorded in the bookmark position area 303 as new bookmark position data. Thereafter, the display ends.

(Display example when reading position is estimated and simplified display)
Next, a display example of the display unit 124 when the reading position is estimated and the simplified display is performed will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 and 26A to 26C. FIG. 25 shows the contents displayed on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at the end of the previous reading. In S2205 described above, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates that the previous reading position is “41.5 characters” from the top of the page displayed at the end of the previous reading. Therefore, when the reading data 916 is in the state shown in FIG. 11, the reading position estimation unit 915 estimates that the reading has been completed up to the second character of the third line of the text displayed on the second display unit 124b.

  In S2208, the simplified data creation unit 1607 creates simplified data based on the block division information of the document data 106 analyzed by the data structure analysis unit 135 and the block information including the reading position. Based on the simplified data, the second display unit 124b displays the simplified data in the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 in S2210. At this time, based on the bookmark position information obtained in S2203, the layout calculation unit 134 also displays information representing the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading (in the case of the present embodiment, Specifically, the display layout is determined so that the portion displayed at the end of the previous reading is displayed surrounded by a dotted frame). FIG. 26A shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  When the simplified data is displayed, the layout calculation unit 134 displays the block identified as the reading start position candidate and the other blocks separately (in the case of the present embodiment, specifically, Determines the display layout so that only the identified blocks are displayed in bold lines). Further, the display control unit 133 controls the first display unit 124a so that the identified block is displayed in a readable format based on the display layout determined by the layout calculation unit 134 (S2211). FIG. 26B shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  When the document is displayed, the user instruction processing unit 132 waits for an instruction input by the user, and whether the input user instruction is an instruction to display in detail the blocks already identified. It is determined whether or not (S2213). In the case of this example, it is determined that the user's instruction input is an instruction to display in detail the blocks that have already been identified (Yes in S2213), so the layout calculation unit 134 displays the second display unit. The display layout is determined by calculation so that the identified block and the subsequent blocks are displayed in a readable format in 124b (S2215). When the layout is determined, the second display unit 124b displays the determined block and the subsequent blocks in a readable format with the determined display layout. At this time, measurement of the display time of this page is started. FIG. 26C shows a display state on the first display unit 124a and the second display unit 124b at this time.

  As described above, the information display apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment displays the contents of the document data through the following steps. The first stage is to divide the document data into a plurality of blocks. The second stage is to display the divided blocks in a simplified manner in a format that allows each block to be distinguished.

  The third stage is to first estimate the previous reading position as a candidate for the reading start position, and display the block including that portion in a readable format. At this time, information that can distinguish the previous display end position and reading start position from other parts is also displayed in the simplified display part. Thereby, the positional relationship between the reading start position and the previous display end position becomes clear.

  The fourth stage is to display in a readable format from the reading start position determined by the user. As a result, while grasping the positional relationship between the previous display end position and the reading start position candidate, it is possible to search for a position that is well-separated for the user, and to efficiently grasp the previous reading content.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The information display device according to the present invention can be applied to a portable document display device such as an electronic book device.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the information display system provided with the information display apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the external appearance of the said information display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the data structure of bookmark data. It is a figure which shows an example of document data. It is a figure which shows the content of the bookmark data in which the bookmark information of the document data shown in FIG. 4 was recorded. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of display processing according to Embodiment 1. (A) and (b) are diagrams showing examples of display on the display unit when the beginning of a paragraph is set as a break position. (A) and (b) in FIG. 5 show the part displayed at the end of the previous display and the other part when redisplaying the document data from the separation position based on the user's instruction. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a display part in the case of displaying in the aspect which can be identified. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information display device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of reading data. It is a figure which shows the content of the reading data in which the reading information of the document data shown in FIG. 4 was recorded. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of display processing according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the content currently displayed on the display part at the time of completion | finish of the last reading. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of displaying the content of document data so that the head position of the sentence containing the estimated previous reading position may become the head of a display screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in the case of displaying from the last bookmark position, estimating the last reading position based on a user's instruction | indication, and re-displaying from the head of the sentence containing the estimated reading position. It is a figure which shows the example of the reading information data at the time of adding the item of a document genre to reading information data. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process in the modification of a reading position estimation process. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information display device according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of display processing according to Embodiment 3. The same figure (a)-the figure (c) are figures which show the example of a display of a display part in the case of performing simplified display. The same figure (a)-the same figure (c) are figures which show the display modification of a display part in the case of performing a simplified display. The figure which shows the example of a display which displayed a part of each sentence in the head part of the page currently displayed on the 1st display part at the time of the end of the last reading in a readable form, and simplified display on the 2nd display part. is there. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information display device according to Embodiment 4. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of display processing according to Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows the content currently displayed on the 1st display part and the 2nd display part at the end of the last reading. FIGS. 9A to 9C are diagrams showing display examples of the display unit when the reading position is estimated and simplified display is performed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Information display apparatus 102 Server 104 Network 105 Recording medium 106 Document data 121 Control part 122 Recording medium reader 123 Instruction input part 124 Display part 124a First display part 124b Second display part 125 Storage part 131 Document data processing part 132 User instruction Processing unit 133 Display control unit (display control means)
134 Layout calculation unit (display control means)
135 Data structure analysis section (document analysis means)
136 Bookmark Data Creation Unit 1607 Simplified Data Creation Unit (Display Control Unit)
201 cross key 202 touch pen 915 reading position estimation unit (reading position estimation means)

Claims (25)

A display for displaying the document based on the document data;
Document analysis means for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed;
Display control means for controlling the display in the display unit,
The document analysis means specifies the display start position based on the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data that was displayed at the time when the previous display ended, and the analysis result of the document structure,
An information display device, wherein the display control means controls to display document data based on the display start position. An instruction input unit for receiving an instruction input by a user;
2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the document analysis unit specifies the display start position according to the content of the instruction input by the user received by the instruction input unit. An instruction input unit for receiving an instruction input by a user;
The display control means controls to display the document data based on the previous display position, and thereafter, based on the display start position when an instruction input from the user is received by the instruction input unit. 2. The information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is controlled to display document data.   The document analysis means is at the beginning of a sentence including the previous display position, the beginning of a paragraph including the previous display position, the beginning of a chapter including the previous display position, or before the previous display position. 2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein an image or a specific character string closest to the display position is specified as the display start position.   When the display control means controls to display the document data based on the display start position, the display mode of the previous display range based on the previous display position is displayed differently from the other ranges. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the information display device is controlled. A display for displaying the document based on the document data;
Display control means for controlling display in the display unit;
A storage unit for storing reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time;
Based on the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display was completed and the reading information, the user has finished reading the document data when the previous display is completed. Reading position estimating means for estimating the reading position being
An information display device, wherein the display control means controls to display document data based on the reading position. A document analysis means for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed;
The document analysis means specifies the display start position based on the reading position and the analysis result of the document structure,
7. The information display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control means controls to display document data based on the display start position. An instruction input unit for receiving an instruction input by a user;
The display control means controls to display the document data based on the previous display position, and when an instruction input from the user is received by the instruction input unit thereafter, based on the reading position. 7. The information display device according to claim 6, wherein control is performed so as to display document data.   The document analysis means is the head of the sentence including the reading position, the head of the paragraph including the previous display position, the head of the chapter including the previous display position, or before the previous display position, and the previous display. 8. The information display device according to claim 7, wherein an image or a specific character string closest to the position is specified as the display start position.   When the display control unit controls to display the document data based on the reading position, the display mode of the previous display range based on the previous display position is displayed differently from the other ranges. The information display device according to claim 6, wherein the information display device is controlled. A display for displaying the document based on the document data;
Display control means for controlling display in the display unit;
Document analysis means for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed and dividing the document data into a plurality of blocks;
The display control unit displays the document structure of the document data in the vicinity of the block including the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data displayed at the time when the previous display is finished, and displays each block in a predetermined display mode. An information display device that controls to perform simplified display and performs detailed display of a document corresponding to a specific block among blocks displayed in the simplified display. The display unit includes a first display unit and a second display unit,
12. The display control unit according to claim 11, wherein the display control unit performs control so that the simplified display is performed on the second display unit and a document corresponding to a specific block is displayed on the first display unit. Information display device.   12. The information display device according to claim 11, wherein the specific block on which the detailed display of the document is performed is a block including the previous display position. An instruction input unit for receiving an instruction input by a user;
12. The information display device according to claim 11, wherein a specific block on which a detailed display of a document is performed is specified based on an instruction input from a user received by the instruction input unit.   12. The information display device according to claim 11, wherein the display mode of each block in the simplified display indicates an information amount of the corresponding block.   16. The information display device according to claim 15, wherein each block in the simplified display is indicated by a predetermined graphic, and the information amount of the corresponding block is indicated by the length of the graphic. An instruction input unit for receiving an instruction input by a user;
The area of the display area of the second display section is larger than the area of the display area of the first display section;
Control in which the display control means causes the second display unit to display the document after the specific block when the instruction input unit receives an instruction input for displaying the document after the specific block. The information display device according to claim 12, wherein: A storage unit for storing reading information indicating the display state of the document data up to the present time;
Based on the previous display position and the reading information, further comprising reading position estimation means for estimating a reading position where the user has finished reading the document data when the previous display is completed,
12. The information display device according to claim 11, wherein the specific block on which the detailed display of the document is performed is a block including the reading position.   When the display control means controls to perform the simplified display, the display mode of the previous display range based on the previous display position is controlled to be displayed differently from the other ranges. The information display device according to claim 11.   12. The information display device according to claim 11, wherein the specific block on which the detailed display of the document is performed is displayed in a display mode different from blocks other than the specific block. A control method for an information display device comprising a display unit for displaying a document based on document data,
A document analysis step for analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed;
A display control step for controlling display in the display unit,
In the document analysis step, the display start position is specified based on the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display was completed, and the analysis result of the document structure,
In the display control step, control is performed so as to display document data based on the display start position. A display for displaying the document based on the document data;
A control method of an information display device comprising a storage unit for storing reading information indicating the display status of the document data up to the present time,
A display control step for controlling display in the display unit;
Based on the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data that was displayed when the previous display was completed and the reading information, the user has finished reading the document data when the previous display is completed. A reading position estimating step for estimating a reading position being
In the display control step, control is performed so as to display document data based on the reading position. A control method for an information display device comprising a display unit for displaying a document based on document data,
A display control step for controlling display in the display unit;
Analyzing the document structure of the document data to be displayed and dividing the document data into a plurality of blocks,
In the display control step, the document structure of the document data in the vicinity of the block including the previous display position indicating the display position in the document data displayed when the previous display is finished is displayed in a predetermined display mode for each block. And displaying the document corresponding to the specific block among the blocks displayed in the simplified display. .   The information display control program for making a computer perform each means with which the information display apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 20 is provided.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the information display control program according to claim 24 is recorded.

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