JP2012194772A - Electronic book device, server device, reading information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To help a user communicate with other users using reading history information.SOLUTION: An electronic book device comprises: a reception unit that receives a reading instruction to read an electronic book; an electronic book display unit that displays the electronic book according to the reading instruction; a page turning-over unit that turns over the page of the electronic book displayed according to the reading instruction; a reading history information acquisition unit that acquires reading history information according to the reading instruction; a reading information accumulation unit that accumulates the reading history information; a reading information reception unit that receives one or more pieces of reading history information of other users; a related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more pieces of related reading information, or information showing the reading relationship between a user and other users from the one or more pieces of reading history information that the reading information reception unit has received, and one or more pieces of reading information accumulated; and a related reading information display unit that displays one or more pieces of related reading information. The electronic book device can help a user communicate with other users based on the reading history information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic book device and the like.

  Conventionally, there has been an information processing apparatus that can easily share user preference information (see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, there is a system that supports communication between users, and there is a system that can select users with similar interests and preferences with high accuracy (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2009-141746 A (first page, FIG. 1 etc.) JP 2009-151828 A (first page, FIG. 1 etc.)

  However, in the prior art, there is no system that can support communication with other people based on reading history information of two or more users.

  The electronic book device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a book title, an electronic book storage unit that can store one or more electronic books having one or more pages, and one or more readings that are information relating to a reading action performed by a user. A reading information storage unit capable of storing history information, a reception unit that receives a reading action instruction including an opening instruction that is an instruction to open an electronic book, and a page turning instruction that is an instruction to turn a page, and the receiving part receives an opening instruction If the electronic book display unit that receives and reads the electronic book corresponding to the open instruction from the electronic book storage unit and the receiving unit receives the page turning instruction, the page of the electronic book displayed according to the page turning instruction In response to a reading action instruction received by the reception part and a page turning part that displays a different page, reading history information is acquired from the electronic book. A reading history information acquisition unit, a reading information storage unit that stores reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit in a reading information storage unit, a reading information reception unit that receives one or more reading history information of others, and reading Information on a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of another person received by the information receiving unit and one or more reading history information stored in the reading information storage unit, and reading between the user and others An electronic device comprising: a related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship, and a related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit It is a book device.

  With this configuration, communication with other people can be supported based on reading history information.

  Further, in the electronic book device according to the second aspect of the present invention, with respect to the first aspect, the reception unit indicates a book identifier for identifying the electronic book and a user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier. One or more user input information having user intention information that is information is also received, the reading information storage unit stores one or more user input information in the reading information storage unit, and the reading information reception unit stores the other person's information. The related reading information acquisition unit also receives the above user input information, the one or more user input information of another person received by the reading information receiving unit, and one or more user input information stored in the reading information storage unit, It is an electronic book apparatus which acquires related reading information from.

  With this configuration, communication with other people can be supported based on user input information that is information input to a read book.

  Further, in the electronic book device of the third invention, the related reading information display unit is one or more reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit, or a reading information receiving unit, relative to the first or second invention. Changes the mode of displaying one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit, or one or more reading history information or reading information of the reading information storage unit It is an electronic book apparatus which changes the aspect which displays the 1 or more related reading information which the related reading information acquisition part acquired by the 1 or more user input information of a storage part.

  With this configuration, it is possible to very effectively support communication with others based on reading history information.

  Further, in the electronic book device of the fourth invention, in contrast to the third invention, the reading history information or the user input information has time information which is information related to time, and the related reading information display section has one or more. The time indicated by the time information included in the reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit corresponding to each related reading information, or the time included in the user input information received by the reading information receiving unit corresponding to one or more related reading information The time indicated by the time information included in the reading history information of the reading information storage unit corresponding to each of the one or more pieces of related reading information is displayed in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the information is, the more visually noticeable it is. Or one or more related reading information in such a manner that the time indicated by the time information included in the one or more user input information of the reading information storage unit corresponding to each of the one or more related reading information is more visually noticeable. It is an electronic book device that displays.

  With this configuration, it is possible to very effectively support communication with others based on reading history information.

  The electronic book device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention provides a business card information receiving unit for receiving the business card information of another person from another electronic book device and the business card information of the other person with respect to any one of the first to fourth aspects. The electronic book device further includes a business card information display unit for displaying, and can display related reading information and other person's business card information on the same screen at a time.

  With this configuration, it is possible to very effectively support communication with others using both the business card information of the other party and the information related to reading.

  The electronic book system of the sixth invention is an electronic book system comprising two or more electronic book devices and a server device, wherein the electronic book device includes one or more titles of the book and one or more pages. An electronic book storage unit that can store an electronic book, an open instruction that is an instruction to open an electronic book, and a reception act instruction that includes an instruction to turn a page that is an instruction to turn a page, and the reception unit receives an open instruction If the electronic book display unit that displays the electronic book corresponding to the open instruction and the reception unit receives the page turning instruction, a page different from the displayed electronic book page is displayed according to the page turning instruction. A page turning unit, and a reading history information acquisition unit that acquires reading history information from an electronic book in accordance with a reading action instruction received by the receiving unit; A reading information transmitting unit that transmits reading history information acquired by the book history information acquiring unit to the server device, and a relationship for receiving from the server device one or more related reading information that indicates information related to reading between the user and others. The server apparatus includes a reading information receiving unit and a related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information received by the related reading information receiving unit, and the server device is one or more pieces of information related to a reading action performed by the user. A reading information storage unit that can store reading history information, a reading information receiving unit that receives reading history information from each of two or more electronic book devices, and reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit are stored in the electronic book device. A reading information storage unit that is associated with and stored in the reading information storage unit, one or more reading history information of one user received by the reading information receiving unit, and one of other users stored in the reading information storage unit A related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information that is information related to a book that has been read from the above reading history information and that indicates information related to reading between one user and another user; An electronic book system including a related reading information transmitting unit that transmits one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit to at least one of the electronic book devices of one user or another user.

  With this configuration, communication with other people can be supported based on reading history information.

  Further, in the electronic book system of the seventh invention, in contrast to the sixth invention, the accepting unit indicates a book identifier for identifying the electronic book and a user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier. One or more user input information having user intention information as information is also received, the reading information transmitting unit transmits one or more user input information to the server device, and the reading information receiving unit includes two or more electronic devices. One or more user input information is also received from the book apparatus, and the related reading information acquisition unit is stored in the reading information storage unit and one or more user input information of one user received by the reading information receiving unit. From one or more user input information of other users, one or more related reading information, which is information related to a book that has been read, and is information indicating a relationship regarding reading between one user and another user is acquired. It is a child book system.

  With this configuration, communication with other people can be supported based on user input information that is information input to a read book.

  Further, in the electronic book system of the eighth invention, in contrast to the sixth or seventh invention, the electronic book device includes a business card information receiving unit that receives the business card information of another person, and a business card that displays the business card information of the other person. The electronic book system further includes an information display unit, and can display related reading information and other person's business card information at the same time on the same screen.

  With this configuration, it is possible to very effectively support communication with others using both the business card information of the other party and the information related to reading.

  According to the electronic book device of the present invention, communication with other people can be supported based on reading history information.

Embodiment 1 Conceptual diagram showing a usage mode when an electronic book device is used Block diagram of the electronic book device A flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic book apparatus A flowchart for explaining the operation of the reading history information composition process A flowchart for explaining the operation of the related reading information acquisition process The figure which shows the same electronic book management table The figure which shows the reading history information management table Figure showing the same user input information management table The figure which shows the same electronic book management table The figure which shows the reading history information management table Figure showing the same user input information management table The figure which shows the business card information of the same business card information storage part The figure which shows the related reading information acquisition condition management table The figure which shows the example of the related reading information Conceptual diagram of an electronic book system according to Embodiment 2 Block diagram of the e-book system A flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic book apparatus Flow chart for explaining the operation of the server device Overview of the computer system in the above embodiment Block diagram of the computer system

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an electronic book device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, since the component which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in embodiment performs the same operation | movement, description may be abbreviate | omitted again.

  (Embodiment 1)

  In this embodiment, an electronic book device capable of supporting communication with others based on reading history information will be described.

  In this embodiment, an electronic book device that exchanges reading history information and the like with another person and outputs related reading information that is information for activating communication with the other person will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a usage mode when using the electronic book apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, after each electronic book apparatus of two users exchanges reading history information etc., relevant reading information is output in order to activate communication. The related reading information is information related to a book that has been read, and is information indicating a relationship related to reading between the user and another person. A relationship is a concept that includes things in common and differences. The related reading information includes, for example, common information that is information common to one user and other users regarding reading, and difference information that is information that is different between one user and other users regarding reading. The common information is, for example, the title of the book read by one user and the other user, the author of the book read by both, the title, page or content (location) of the book touched by both, and both It is a common genre of books, terms and keywords that appear in books read by both. The difference information is the title, author, and genre of a book that is read by one user and not read by another user, and the title, page, or content of a book that is touched by one user but not touched by another user. Etc. The related reading information may be only common information.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic book apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. The electronic book device 1 includes an electronic book storage unit 101, a reading information storage unit 102, a reception unit 103, an electronic book display unit 104, a page turning unit 105, a reading history information acquisition unit 106, a reading information storage unit 107, and a reading information transmission unit. 108, a reading information receiving unit 109, a related reading information acquisition unit 110, a related reading information display unit 111, a book purchase unit 112, a reading information display unit 113, a business card information storage unit 114, a business card information transmission unit 115, and a business card information reception unit 116. , And a business card information display unit 117.

  The electronic book storage unit 101 can store one or more electronic books. The electronic book has bibliographic information including the title of the book and one or more pages (contents of the book). Further, the bibliographic information may include, for example, a book identifier, an author, a publisher, a publication year, a genre, and the like in addition to the title of the book. The book identifier is, for example, ISBN (International Standard Book Number). The bibliographic information may be considered not to include the title of the book. Needless to say, the data structure of the electronic book is not limited.

The reading information storage unit 102 can store one or more reading history information. The reading information storage unit 102 can also store one or more user input information. Note that both reading history information and user input information are referred to as reading information. Here, the reading history information is information on a history relating to a reading act performed by the user. It can be said that the reading history information is information indicating the progress and history of reading. The reading history information usually has time information indicating a title, a page number, and time. However, the reading history information may be only the book identifier of the read book. Further, the reading history information may be only a book identifier of a book that has been purchased but not read. Note that it is preferable that the reading history information is acquired when the display state of the page continues for a certain time or more. That is, it is preferable not to include the information of the page opened only temporarily in reading history information, such as in the case of flipping. In addition, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 of the electronic book device 1 holds, for example, information (reading speed information) regarding the reading speed for each genre of the holder of the electronic book device 1, and according to the information, It is preferable to determine whether you have read the page or just fluttered. For example, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 reads reading speed information such as “genre“ novel ”, 1 minute / page”, “genre“ specialized book ”, 2 minutes / page”, “genre“ magazine ”, 30 seconds / page”. If the page is turned at a speed equal to or higher than the speed indicated by the reading speed information using the reading speed information stored, the page is marked as read and a predetermined condition (for example, the reading speed information indicates If the page is turned at a speed faster than the speed indicated by the reading speed information so as to satisfy (within 70% of the reading time per page), it is preferable to determine that the page is flipped (not read).
Moreover, user input information is the information which the user input regarding the electronic book. The user input information is usually information having user intention information and a book identifier for identifying an electronic book when the user intention information is input by the user. The user intention information is information indicating the user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier. The user intention information is usually a document, but may be a flag indicating whether the user is good or bad, a flag indicating whether the user is impressed, or the like. Moreover, you may receive the information (A page, a paragraph number, a relative position, etc.) which specify the location of a book with a user intention information.

  The accepting unit 103 accepts instructions and data. The instructions include, for example, a reading action instruction that is an instruction for reading an electronic book, a transmission instruction that is an instruction to transmit reading history information or user input information, a purchase instruction that is an instruction to purchase an electronic book, and the like. is there. The reading action instruction is, for example, an open instruction that is an instruction to open an electronic book, a page turning instruction that is an instruction to turn a page, a close instruction that is an instruction to close an electronic book, or the like. The data is user intention information, for example. Further, when receiving the user intention information from the user, the receiving unit 103 may acquire a book identifier, a page identifier, a content identifier, and the like of the book being displayed, and configure the user input information. In such a case, the reception unit 103 may be considered to have received user input information. Further, the transmission instruction may be an instruction including transmitting business card information. The book identifier is usually an ID such as ISBN, but it may be a title or information on a combination of the title and the author. In addition, the purchase instruction usually includes a book identifier and information on a credit card for approval (credit card number, password, expiration date, etc.).

  Here, reception means reception of information input from an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, reception of information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line, recording on an optical disk, magnetic disk, semiconductor memory, or the like. It is a concept including reception of information read from a medium. That is, the input means such as instructions and data may be anything such as a keyboard, mouse or menu screen. The accepting unit 103 can be realized by a device driver for input means such as a keyboard, control software for a menu screen, or the like.

  When the accepting unit 103 accepts an open instruction, the electronic book display unit 104 reads an electronic book corresponding to the open instruction from the electronic book storage unit 101 and displays it.

  When the receiving unit 103 receives a page turning instruction, the page turning unit 105 displays a page different from the displayed electronic book page according to the page turning instruction. It may be considered that the page turning unit 105 instructs the electronic book display unit 104 to turn pages. Here, the different pages are, for example, the next page, the previous page, an arbitrary page, and the like. That is, the page turning instruction includes, for example, a next page display instruction for instructing display of the next page, a previous page display instruction for instructing display of the previous page, and a display instruction for an arbitrary page having a page number.

  The reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires reading history information from the electronic book in response to the reading act instruction received by the receiving unit 103. The reading history information usually has the title, page number, and time information of the book being displayed. However, the reading history information may be only a title or a book identifier. Note that it is preferable to acquire reading history information when the display state of a page continues for a certain time or longer. In other words, it is preferable not to include pages that have been opened only temporarily in the reading history information, such as in the case of flipping. The reading history information acquisition unit 106 preferably acquires the reading history information every time there is an instruction such as a page turning instruction from the user, but the timing of acquiring the reading history information does not matter.

  The reading information accumulation unit 107 accumulates the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit 106 in the reading information storage unit 102. Further, it is preferable that the reading information storage unit 107 stores one or more user input information in the reading information storage unit 102. The reading information storage unit 107 may add a book identifier or the like to the user intention information received by the receiving unit 103 to configure the user input information, and then store the user input information in the reading information storage unit 102. good. The user input information may be only user intention information and a book identifier, or may be user intention information, a book identifier, a page identifier, user intention information, a book identifier, and a content identifier. Note that when the user intention information is input after the user instructs the content, for example, the reading information storage unit 107 acquires the content identifier of the instructed content, and has the content identifier and the user intention information. Configure and store user input information.

The reading information transmission unit 108 transmits the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit 106 or the user input information received by the reception unit 103. The reading information transmitting unit 108 normally transmits reading history information or the like directly to another electronic book device 1, but transmits reading history information or the like to another electronic book device 1 via a server device (not shown). Also good.
Further, the reading information transmitting unit 108 may transmit only reading history information or user input information that matches a predetermined condition (the condition is held by the reading information transmitting unit 108 or the like). Pre-determined conditions include, for example, “send only reading history information corresponding to electronic books of a specific genre (business books, novels, etc.)” or “reading acts performed at a specific place or time” “Only send reading history information to be sent”.
Moreover, the reading information transmission part 108 is managing the mode, You may manage the conditions of the reading history information and user input information to transmit for every mode. In such a case, the reading information transmitting unit 108 reads out the mode and transmits only reading history information and user input information that match the conditions corresponding to the mode. Here, the modes are, for example, a sales mode, a colleague mode, a best friend mode, a special mode, and the like. For example, the reading information transmission unit 108 stores a condition indicating that only user input information of contents (including predetermined terms such as honorifics) associated with the business is transmitted in association with the business mode. Yes. Further, for example, the reading information transmission unit 108 stores a condition indicating that only reading history information corresponding to an electronic book of a specific genre (business book, etc.) is transmitted in association with the colleague mode. Further, for example, the reading information transmitting unit 108 stores a condition indicating that all reading history information and user input information are transmitted in association with the best friend mode. Furthermore, in association with the special mode, a condition indicating that the user selects the genre of the electronic book in detail and discloses information is stored. In such a special mode, the reading information transmitting unit 108 displays a screen for selecting information to be transmitted before transmission, and selects and transmits only information according to a user instruction.
Further, when the reading information transmitting unit 108 transmits reading history information or user input information, it is preferable that an automatic mode and a manual mode exist. That is, the reading information transmitting unit 108 stores information indicating the automatic mode or information indicating the manual mode. When the reading information transmission unit 108 stores information indicating the automatic mode, the reading information transmission unit 108 transmits the reading history information or the user input information without interaction. Further, when the reading information transmitting unit 108 stores information indicating the manual mode, the reading information transmitting unit 108 transmits reading history information or user input information according to an instruction from the user. Such an instruction preferably includes information for specifying information to be transmitted, information for specifying a counterpart terminal to be transmitted, and the like. In the case of the automatic mode, it is preferable that information for identifying a partner terminal to be transmitted is stored and information can be transmitted only to the partner terminal or the like. It is preferable that the automatic mode and the manual mode can be switched.

  The reading information receiving unit 109 receives one or more reading history information of another person from the other electronic book device 1. It is preferable that the reading information receiving unit 109 receives one or more user input information of another person from the other electronic book apparatus 1.

  The related reading information acquisition unit 110 receives one or more related readings from one or more reading history information of others received by the reading information receiving unit 109 and one or more reading history information stored in the reading information storage unit 102. Get information.

  Further, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 obtains related reading information from one or more user input information of another person received by the reading information receiving unit 109 and one or more user input information stored in the reading information storage unit 102. get.

  The related reading information acquisition unit 110 may perform only the process of acquiring related reading information from a set of reading history information of two users, or the process of acquiring related reading information from a set of user input information of two users You may only go. However, it is preferable that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the related reading information (performs both the above processes) using both the reading history information and the user input information.

  The related reading information display unit 111 displays one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110.

  The related reading information display unit 111 is obtained by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 based on one or more reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 or one or more user input information received by the reading information receiving unit 109. It is preferable to change the manner in which the related reading information is displayed. In addition, a mode of displaying one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 by one or more reading history information of the reading information storage unit 102 or one or more user input information of the reading information storage unit 102 is displayed. It may be changed. In this case, the related reading information displayed on the electronic book device 1 of one user is different from the related reading information displayed on the electronic book device 1 of another user.

Further, the related reading information display unit 111 is a mode in which the time indicated by the reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 corresponding to each of the one or more related reading information is more visually conspicuous as it is newer. Related reading information may be displayed. Further, the related reading information display unit 111 is a mode in which the time indicated by the user input information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 corresponding to each of the one or more related reading information is more visually conspicuous as it is newer. Related reading information may be displayed. Visually conspicuous modes include being arranged at the top of the list of related reading information, being displayed in a different character color (for example, red) or a different font (for example, Bold font), etc. .
Moreover, the related reading information display part 111 is a predetermined order of the type of related reading information (the order is the order of arrangement of the related reading information. For example, the upper part of the display is first and the lower part is later. It is preferable to display related reading information. For example, when the type of related reading information is common information and difference information, the related reading information display unit 111 may display difference information next to the common information. For example, when the types of related reading information are the same genre, the same title, the same author, the same KW, and the same view (positive or negative), the related reading information display unit 111 displays, for example, the genre. They may be displayed in the order of the same, the same title, the same author, the same KW, and the same view (positive or negative).
Further, when the type of the related reading information is the other party or himself / herself has been read or unread, the related reading information display unit 111 displays the related reading information related to the other party's read and unread, for example, You may display the related reading information regarding already read. In such a case, the display mode prioritizes the other party. Further, for example, the related reading information display unit 111 may display the related reading information related to the other party read and self unread after displaying the other party unread and related reading information related to the self reading. In such a case, the self-priority display mode is set.
By the processing of the related reading information display unit 111 described above, it is possible to easily find a topic to talk with the other party, and to achieve effective communication.
Furthermore, the related reading information display part 111 may display related reading information in the new order of the date irrespective of common information and difference information. By displaying in this way, information for communication can be obtained from the recent reading history.

  When the accepting unit 103 accepts a purchase instruction, the book purchasing unit 112 performs a process of purchasing an electronic book corresponding to the purchase instruction. The purchase process includes, for example, a process of downloading an electronic book from a book server apparatus (not shown) that manages the electronic book, and a process of transmitting information related to a credit card to the book server apparatus for approval (an approval process for such a process) Is included.) Note that the processing of the book purchasing unit 112 is a known technique. The purchase instruction usually includes a book identifier.

  The reading information display unit 113 displays other people's reading information received by the reading information receiving unit 109. That is, the reading information display unit 113 displays other person's reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 and / or user input information. In the electronic book device 1, either the processing of the reading information display unit 113 or the processing of the related reading information display unit 111 may be performed.

  The business card information storage unit 114 can store one or more business card information including its own business card information.

  In response to the business card information transmission instruction, the business card information transmission unit 115 reads out its own business card information stored in the business card information storage unit 114 and transmits it to the other electronic book device 1.

  The business card information receiving unit 116 receives another person's business card information from another electronic book device 1. The business card information receiving unit 116 may receive business card information of another person from a server device (not shown).

  The business card information display unit 117 displays the business card information received by the business card information reception unit 116. In the electronic book device 1, the business card information display unit 117 may not be processed.

  The electronic book storage unit 101, the reading information storage unit 102, and the business card information storage unit 114 are preferably non-volatile recording media, but can also be realized by volatile recording media.

  The process in which an electronic book etc. are memorize | stored in the electronic book storage part 101 grade | etc., Is not ask | required. For example, an electronic book or the like may be stored in the electronic book storage unit 101 via a recording medium, and an electronic book or the like transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the electronic book storage unit 101 or the like. Alternatively, an electronic book or the like input via an input device may be stored in the electronic book storage unit 101 or the like.

  The electronic book display unit 104, the page turning unit 105, the related reading information display unit 111, the reading information display unit 113, and the business card information display unit 117 may be considered as including or not including a display device. The electronic book display unit 104 or the like can be realized by display device driver software or display device driver software and a display device.

  The reading history information acquisition unit 106, the reading information storage unit 107, and the related reading information acquisition unit 110 can be usually realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the reading history information acquisition unit 106 and the like is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The reading information transmitting unit 108 and the business card information transmitting unit 115 are usually realized by wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by broadcasting means.

  The reading information receiving unit 109 and the business card information receiving unit 116 are usually realized by wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by means for receiving a broadcast.

  Next, the operation of the electronic book apparatus 1 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S301) The receiving unit 103 determines whether an instruction, data, or the like has been received. If an instruction or the like is accepted, the process proceeds to step S302. If an instruction or the like is not accepted, the process proceeds to step S317.

  (Step S302) The electronic book display unit 104 or the page turning unit 105 determines whether or not the instruction received in step S301 is a reading action instruction. If it is a reading action instruction, the process goes to step S303, and if it is not a reading action instruction, the process goes to step S306.

  (Step S303) The electronic book display unit 104 or the page turning unit 105 performs display control of the electronic book according to the reading action instruction received in step S301. That is, if the reading action instruction received in step S301 is an open instruction, the electronic book display unit 104 reads the electronic book identified by the book identifier included in the open instruction from the electronic book storage unit 101 and displays it. If the reading action instruction received in step S301 is a page turning instruction, the page turning unit 105 switches the display to a page corresponding to the page turning instruction.

  (Step S304) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 constitutes reading history information corresponding to the display control in step S303. The reading history information constituting process constituting the reading history information will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S305) The reading information storage unit 107 stores the reading history information configured in step S304 in the reading information storage unit 102. The process returns to step S301.

  (Step S306) The reading information storage unit 107 determines whether or not the instruction received in step S301 is user intention information. If it is user intention information, go to step S307, and if it is not user intention information, go to step S309.

  (Step S307) The reading information storage unit 107 acquires the book identifier and page identifier of the electronic book being displayed, and obtains user input information including the book identifier and page identifier and the user intention information received in step S301. Constitute.

  (Step S308) The reading information storage unit 107 stores the user input information configured in step S307 in the reading information storage unit 102. The process returns to step S301.

  (Step S309) The book purchasing unit 112 determines whether or not the instruction received in step S301 is a purchase instruction. If it is a purchase instruction, go to step S310, and if it is not a purchase instruction, go to step S314.

  (Step S <b> 310) The book purchase unit 112 configures a purchase instruction using the book identifier, credit card information, and the like included in the purchase instruction.

  (Step S311) The book purchasing unit 112 transmits the purchase command configured in step S310 to a book server device (not shown).

  (Step S312) The book purchasing unit 112 determines whether or not an electronic book has been received in response to the transmission of the purchase command in step S311. If the electronic book is received, the process goes to step S313, and if the electronic book is not received, the process returns to step S312.

  (Step S313) The book purchasing unit 112 accumulates the electronic book received in step S312 in the electronic book storage unit 101. This process completes the purchase of the electronic book. The process returns to step S301. In addition, after the book purchase unit 112 accumulates the electronic book in the electronic book storage unit 101, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 reads the reading history information including only the book identifier or title of the electronic book (read page identifier or the like). It is preferable that the reading information storage unit 107 stores the reading history information in the reading information storage unit 102. The reading history information including only the book identifier indicates that the book has been purchased but has not been read.

  (Step S314) The reading information transmitting unit 108 determines whether or not the instruction received in step S301 is a transmission instruction. If it is a transmission instruction, the process goes to step S315, and if it is not a transmission instruction, the process returns to step S301.

  (Step S315) The reading information transmitting unit 108 transmits one or more reading information (own reading information). The reading information is usually reading history information and user input information, but may be either reading history information or user input information. The transmission destination of the reading information is usually the other electronic book device 1.

  (Step S316) The business card information transmission unit 115 transmits its business card information stored in the business card information storage unit 114. The process returns to step S301. The destination of the business card information is usually another electronic book device 1 but may be a server device (not shown). When the business card information is transmitted to the server device, the business card information is usually transmitted to another electronic book device 1 via the server device.

  (Step S317) The reading information receiving unit 109 and the business card information receiving unit 116 determine whether or not the reading information and the business card information are received. If reading information and business card information are received, the process goes to step S318, and if not, the process returns to step S301.

  (Step S318) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the related reading information using the reading information received in step S317 and the reading information in the reading information storage unit 102. The related reading information acquisition process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S319) The related reading information display unit 111 displays the related reading information acquired in step S318.

  (Step S320) The business card information display unit 117 displays the business card information received in step S317. The process returns to step S301.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the reading information and the business card information are transmitted, but only the reading information may be transmitted.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the reading information and the business card information are received, but only the reading information may be received.

  Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the process is ended by power-off or a process end interrupt.

  Next, the reading history information configuration processing in step S304 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S401) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 determines whether the instruction received in Step S301 is an open instruction. If it is an open instruction, go to step S402, and if it is not an open instruction, go to step S404.

  (Step S402) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires a book identifier included in the open instruction.

  (Step S403) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 stores the book identifier acquired in step S402 in a predetermined buffer. This buffer is a current book identifier buffer. Return to upper process.

  (Step S404) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 determines whether or not the instruction received in step S301 is a page turning instruction. If it is a page turning instruction, the process proceeds to step S405. If it is not a page turning instruction, the process proceeds to step S409.

  (Step S405) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S406, and if the condition is not satisfied, the process returns to the upper process. The predetermined condition is a condition for determining that the page displayed immediately before has been read. The predetermined condition is, for example, that the display time of the page displayed immediately before is “n seconds (n is 60, for example) or more”, or that the user intention information is input while the page is displayed. is there. In the electronic book apparatus 1, it is assumed here that a timer that counts the display time of a page operates when a page is displayed.

  (Step S406) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires the page identifier of the page displayed immediately before or the content identifier of the content existing on the page displayed immediately before. Note that the reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires a page identifier from a page identifier buffer described later. Further, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires a content identifier from a content identifier buffer (not shown). In the content identifier buffer, the content identifier of the content being displayed may be stored, or the content identifier of the content received by the receiving unit 103 as instructed by the user may be stored.

  (Step S407) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 configures reading history information including the book identifier in the current book identifier buffer, the page identifier or content identifier acquired in step S406, time information, and the like. Note that the reading history information acquisition unit 106 can acquire the current time (time information) from a clock or a server device (not shown).

  (Step S408) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 stores the page identifier of the currently displayed page in a buffer (page identifier buffer) (not shown). Return to upper process.

  (Step S409) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 determines whether the instruction received in step S301 is a close instruction. If it is a close instruction, go to step S410, and if it is not a close instruction, go to step S414. In addition, when going to step S414, it is a case where the instruction | indication received at step S301 is another instruction | indication.

  (Step S410) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires the page identifier of the page displayed immediately before, acquires the book identifier of the current book identifier buffer, and displays it immediately before being identified by the page identifier. It is determined whether or not the last page is the last page of the book identified by the book identifier. If it is the last page, go to step S411, and if it is not the last page, go to step S405. Note that the page identifier of the last page of each book may be held in the electronic book storage unit 101, or the page identifier of the last page may be acquired from the electronic book (substance data).

  (Step S411) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 determines whether or not all pages have been read for the book identified by the book identifier in the current book identifier buffer. If all pages have been read, the process goes to step S412. If all pages have not been read, the process goes to step S405. The reading history information acquisition unit 106 searches the reading history information in the reading information storage unit 102 using, for example, the book identifier as a key, and all the page identifiers that are paired with the book identifier are stored in the reading information storage unit 102. Whether or not all pages are being read may be determined based on whether or not there is. The reading history information acquisition unit 106 normally acquires one or more reading history information paired with a book identifier from the reading information storage unit 102, and determines whether all pages are read from the one or more reading history information. to decide.

  (Step S412) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 configures reading history information including a book identifier in the current book identifier buffer and information (for example, a flag) indicating reading.

  (Step S413) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 deletes the reading history information including the book identifier in the current book identifier buffer from the reading information storage unit 102. Return to upper process.

  (Step S414) The reading history information acquisition unit 106 configures reading history information according to an instruction. Return to upper process. In this step, for example, when an instruction to enlarge and display image data in the page is received, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 configures reading history information including a content identifier for identifying the image data and a book identifier. To do. For example, when an instruction to reproduce audio data in a page is received, the reading history information acquisition unit 106 configures reading history information including a content identifier for identifying the audio data and a book identifier.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process of step S413 may not be performed.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition process of step S318 is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG.

  (Step S501) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 receives one or more received reading history information (hereinafter referred to as a first reading history information set as appropriate) and one or more reading history information ( Hereinafter, the title of the common book is acquired from the second reading history information set as appropriate. The first reading history information set is a reading history information set of the other party, and the second reading history information set is a reading history information set of oneself. Here, it is assumed that the reading history information includes time information. Here, it is preferable that the target for acquiring the title of the common book is only from the reading history information indicating the read, but may be from all of the first reading history information set and the second reading history information set. . The acquisition of the common information can provide a topic of books read by each other.

  (Step S502) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 performs time information corresponding to the title acquired in Step S501 (time information in the received one or more reading history information) or user input information corresponding to the title (reception information). The titles are sorted using the number of user input information) included in the key as a key. The reception information refers to received reading history information or user input information. When sorting using time information as a key, the titles are usually sorted in descending order of time information so that the newer time is higher.

  (Step S503) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires common bibliographic information (eg, author, genre, publisher, etc.) from the first reading history information set and the second reading history information set. The acquisition of the common information can provide a topic related to bibliographic information of books read by each other.

  (Step S504) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 calculates the number of bibliographic information, time information corresponding to the bibliographic information (time information in the reception information), or user input information (user input information included in the reception information). Sort bibliographic information as a key. Note that bibliographic information to be sorted is uniquely processed.

  (Step S505) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the title of a book that has been read by the user and that has been purchased by the other party but has not been read. For example, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires one or more titles (referred to as a second title group) paired with the read flag from the second reading history information set. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 also includes one or more titles that are paired with the unread flag from the first reading history information set, or one or more titles included in the reading history information that does not have a read page identifier or the like. (Referred to as the first title group). Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires one or more titles common to the first title group and the second title group. In addition, acquisition of this difference information can activate communication by telling a partner about a read book.

  (Step S506) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 sorts the one or more titles acquired in step S505 using one or more time information of the reading information storage unit 102 corresponding to each title or the number of user input information as a key. To do. That is, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 sorts the one or more titles acquired in step S505 in descending order of the time of reading by the user or the number of user intention information input by the user in descending order.

  (Step S <b> 507) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the title of a book that has user input information in the received information and has not been read or purchased by the user. For example, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires one or more titles of one or more books (books in which the other party has shown interest) in which user input information exists in the received information. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 searches the reading information storage unit 102 using the title of the unread or unpurchased book as a key among the acquired one or more titles, and the title of the unread book Or the title of an unpurchased book that does not exist in the reading information storage unit 102. In addition, acquisition of such difference information can activate communication by allowing the other party to teach or ask questions about a book that has already been read.

  (Step S508) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 sorts the one or more titles acquired in Step S507 using one or more time information in the reception information corresponding to each title or the number of user input information as a key. .

  (Step S509) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires book information of a book that has not been read or purchased in the bibliographic information of the partner's already read bibliography. For example, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires bibliographic information (for example, an author, a genre, etc.) of a partner's already read bibliography in the received information. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 searches the reading information storage unit 102 using each acquired bibliographic information as a key, acquires bibliographic information of an unread book, or bibliographic information that does not exist in the reading information storage unit 102 To get. In addition, acquisition of such difference information can activate communication by allowing the other party to teach or ask questions about the bibliographic information of the read books.

  (Step S510) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the number of appearances (read number) in the received information for one or more pieces of bibliographic information acquired in step S509, and uses the read number as a key. Sort the above bibliographic information.

  (Step S511) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 extracts the keyword (KW) [first KW group] extracted from the partner's already read electronic bibliography and the KW [second KW group] extracted from his / her already read electronic bibliography. ] And acquire one or more matching KWs in the first KW group and the second KW group. The KW may be separately provided in the electronic book, or may be extracted from the actual data of the electronic book by the related reading information acquisition unit 110. In the process of extracting KW from an electronic book, for example, morphological analysis is performed, the number of appearances of nouns or noun phrases and nouns is acquired, and the number of appearances satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, 100 or more, top 3 Etc.) A process of setting a noun or noun phrase to KW of an electronic book. However, the process of extracting KW from an electronic book is a known technique, and the method thereof is not limited. Moreover, the acquisition of the common information in this step can provide a topic about the KWs of the books that have already been read.

  (Step S512) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 obtains one or more KWs acquired in Step S511 in descending order of the appearance frequency of KWs in the partner's already-read electronic bibliography and his / her already-read electronic bibliography. Sort.

  (Step S513) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 examines one or more user intention information of the partner's already read electronic bibliography, and the title or bibliographic information of the electronic book corresponding to the positive user intention information [first affirmation] Title etc.]. In addition, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 examines one or more user intention information of an already read electronic bibliography, and the title or bibliographic information of the electronic book corresponding to the positive user intention information [second positive title etc. ] Is acquired. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the matching title or bibliographic information from the first positive title and the like and the second positive title and the like. Note that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 holds, for example, a positive term dictionary that stores positive terms “good”, “great”, “impressed”, and the like. Determine whether the intention information is positive. A technique for determining whether a sentence such as user intention information is positive or negative is a known technique. This determination method does not matter. In addition, acquisition of this common information can provide a topic about mutually positive books and bibliographic information.

  (Step S514) The related reading information acquisition unit 110 checks one or more user intention information of the partner's already read electronic bibliography, and the title or bibliographic information of the electronic book corresponding to the negative user intention information [first negative Title etc.]. In addition, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 examines one or more user intention information of an already read electronic bibliography, and the title or bibliographic information of the electronic book corresponding to the negative user intention information [second negative title etc. ] Is acquired. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires the matching title or bibliographic information from the first negative title or the like and the second negative title or the like. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 holds, for example, a negative term dictionary storing negative terms “not interesting”, “now one”, etc., and user intention information is stored using the negative term dictionary. Determine whether it is negative. A technique for determining whether a sentence such as user intention information is positive or negative is a known technique. This determination method does not matter. Return to upper process. In addition, acquisition of such common information can provide a topic about a book that is negative for each other.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 5, the received reading history information set and user input information (first reading information) and the reading history information set and user input information (second reading information) stored in the reading information storage unit 102 are used. The related reading information (title, bibliographic information, KW, etc.) that matches the conditions was acquired. Here, the conditions are a condition for acquiring common information (common information) in the first reading information and the second reading information, and a condition for acquiring different information (difference information). There was a difference information condition that was a condition. In addition, the process which acquires common information using a common information condition is step S501, S503, S511, S513, S514. The processes for obtaining the difference information using the difference information condition are steps S505, S507, and S509.

  Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 5, other conditions and acquisition information other than the above-described conditions and acquisition information may be used, and the conditions are not limited.

  Hereinafter, a specific operation of the electronic book device 1 in the present embodiment will be described. Now, user A (Ichiro Yamada) holds the electronic book apparatus 1A. User B (Jiro Ota) holds the electronic book apparatus 1B.

  The electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A stores electronic books purchased by the user A. An electronic book management table managed by the electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 1A is shown in FIG. The electronic book management table includes records having attribute values of “ID”, “title”, “bibliographic information”, “last page”, and “book” by the number of electronic books. “ID” is a book identifier. “Title” is the title of the book. “Bibliographic information” includes information such as “author”, “genre”, and “publisher”. “Last page” is the last page number (number of pages) of the book. “Book” is entity data of an electronic book. When the user A inputs a purchase instruction to the electronic book apparatus 1A, the reception unit 103 receives the purchase instruction, and the information downloaded by the book purchase unit 112 through the purchase process is each record of the electronic book management table.

  Further, it is assumed that the reading history information management table shown in FIG. 7 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 1A. The reading history information management table stores one or more records having “ID” and “reading history information”. “ID” is a book identifier. “Reading history information” has attribute values such as “read page”, “time”, “title”, “author”, “genre”, and “publisher”. “Read page” is an attribute in which information for identifying a read page is stored. Information for identifying a read page includes, for example, page identifiers “1” and “25”, a range of page identifiers “1-85”, “all” indicating all pages (read), and “NULL (unread”). Empty) ". In addition, here, the “time” stores the time information when the book was last read. In the reading history information management table, the time when the page is opened or the time when the page is read may be managed for each page. Further, in the record of “ID = 5655” in FIG. 7, the user A inputs a page turning instruction, the “86” page is displayed, and the “86” page is displayed for a long time to satisfy a certain condition. In the case (when the “86” page is read), the reading history information acquisition unit 106 acquires the book identifier “5655” and the page identifier “86” in the current book identifier buffer, and is identified by the book identifier “5655”. And the reading information storage unit 107 updates the attribute value of the read page to “1-86”. For example, in the record of “ID = 5655” in FIG. 7, when the “90” page is read (when pages 86 to 89 are skipped), for example, the attribute value of the read page is “1”. -85, 90 ". In the record of “ID = 2199” in FIG. 7, since the read page is “NULL”, this book is purchased but not read. In such a case, the value of the attribute “time” is information on the time when the electronic book was purchased.

  In addition, it is assumed that the user input information management table shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 1A. The user input information management table stores one or more records having “ID” and “user input information”. “ID” is a book identifier. “User input information” has attribute values such as “user intention information”, “time”, “title”, “page identifier”, “content identifier”, “author”, “genre”, and “publisher”. In FIG. 8, in the situation where 25 pages of the electronic book with the book identifier “ID = 1234” are displayed as the first record, the user A of the electronic book device 1 </ b> A sends user intention information to the electronic book device 1 </ b> A. Shows that you entered "Funny". The input time is “2010/8/3 10:09”. In other words, in a situation where 25 pages of the electronic book with the book identifier “ID = 1234” are displayed, if the user A inputs the user intention information “Funny”, the receiving unit 103 receives the user intention information “Funny”. Accept. Then, the reading information storage unit 107 acquires the book identifier “ID = 1234” and the page identifier “25” of the electronic book being displayed, and receives the book identifier and the page identifier and the received user intention information “Interesting”. User input information including time information “2010/8/3 10:09” and bibliographic information of the book is configured. Then, the reading information storage unit 107 stores the configured user input information in the reading information storage unit 102.

  Further, in FIG. 8, the third record indicates that the user A of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A has the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A electronic This indicates that the user's intention information “impression (value is“ 1 ”)” is input by pressing the button “impression” of the book apparatus 1A. In such a case, the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A holds the “impressed” button on the screen, and when the accepting unit 103 accepts pressing of the “impressed” button, the reading information storage unit 107 displays the electronic book being displayed. The book identifier “ID = 1234”, the page identifier “215”, the user intention information “impressed (value is“ 1 ”)”, and the like are acquired, and the user input information is configured. Then, the reading information storage unit 107 stores the configured user input information in the reading information storage unit 102.

  In addition, the electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 1B stores an electronic book purchased by the user B. An electronic book management table managed by the electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 1B is shown in FIG.

  Also, it is assumed that the reading history information management table shown in FIG. 10 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 1B.

  Further, it is assumed that the user input information management table shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 1B.

  Furthermore, the business card information storage unit 114 of the electronic book device 1A stores the business card information shown in FIG. 12A, and the business card information storage unit 114 of the electronic book device 1B stores the business card information shown in FIG. Assume that business card information is stored.

  In this situation, it is assumed that the user A and the user B input a transmission instruction to the electronic book device 1A and the electronic book device 1B, respectively. And the reception part 103 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses receives a transmission instruction. Then, the reading information transmitting unit 108 of the electronic book apparatus 1A reads one or more reading information (the reading history information management table in FIG. 7 and the user input information management table in FIG. 8) from the reading information storage unit 102, and the one or more reading information is stored. Is read to the electronic book apparatus 1B. Further, the business card information transmission unit 115 of the electronic book device 1A reads the business card information (FIG. 12A) in the business card information storage unit 114 and transmits it to the electronic book device 1B. The receiving unit 103 of the electronic book apparatus 1B also receives a transmission instruction. Then, the reading information transmission unit 108 of the electronic book apparatus 1B reads one or more reading information (the reading history information management table of FIG. 10 and the user input information management table of FIG. 11) from the reading information storage unit 102, and the one or more reading information is stored. Is read to the electronic book apparatus 1A. Furthermore, the business card information transmission unit 115 of the electronic book device 1B reads the business card information (FIG. 12B) in the business card information storage unit 114 and transmits it to the electronic book device 1A.

  Next, the reading information receiving unit 109 and the business card information receiving unit 116 of the electronic book apparatus 1A receive one or more reading information and business card information from the electronic book apparatus 1B. Furthermore, the reading information receiving unit 109 and the business card information receiving unit 116 of the electronic book device 1B receive one or more reading information and business card information from the electronic book device 1A.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses performs a related reading information acquisition process as follows. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 holds the related reading information acquisition condition management table shown in FIG. 13 and performs related reading information acquisition processing according to the related reading information acquisition condition management table. The related reading information acquisition condition management table includes “ID”, “related reading information category”, “condition”, and “related reading information to be acquired”. “ID” is information for identifying a record. The “related reading information category” indicates the type of record. “Condition” indicates a condition for acquiring related reading information. “Acquired related reading information” indicates the content of the related reading information. That is, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires information specified by “related reading information to be acquired” as related reading information when the “condition” is met.

  First, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 1st record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 compares the title of the reading history information of FIG. 7 with the title of the reading history information of FIG. 10 according to the condition “the title is the same” of the first record, and FIG. 10, the title “title A” included in both of them is detected. Here, the information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 may target only books that have been read (read pages = all), or may target all books in the reading history information management table. This also applies to other conditions. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires “title A” as related reading information according to “acquired related reading information” of the first record. It is preferable that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 configures “common information (title is the same): title A” including “related reading information category” and “condition” as related reading information.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 2nd record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, the author of the reading history information of FIG. 7 is compared with the author of the reading history information of FIG. 10 according to the condition “author is the same” of the second record, and “author A” who is a common author is detected. . Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires “author A” as related reading information according to “related reading information to be acquired” of the second record. It is preferable that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 configures “common information (author is the same): author A” including “related reading information category” and “condition” as related reading information.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 3rd record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, according to the condition “same genre” of the third record, the genre included in the reading history information in FIG. 7 is compared with the genre included in the reading history information in FIG. 10 to detect “fiction” that is a common genre. According to the “related reading information to be acquired (the other party's title, genre, author)” in the third record, the “title, genre, author” corresponding to the genre “novel” is read from the reading history information management table of FIG. Obtain as information. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1A acquires “title A, novel, author A”, “title Z, novel, author Z”, and the like. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 includes “related reading information category” and “condition” and “common information (genre is the same):“ title A, novel, author A ”“ title Z, novel, author Z ””. Is preferably configured as related reading information.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 4th record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, according to the condition of the fourth record “I have read and the other party has not read”, it is read in the reading history information management table of FIG. 7 (read page = all) and the reading history information management of FIG. It is assumed that an unread book identifier (read page is not “all” or does not exist in the reading history information management table) is acquired in the table, but cannot be acquired.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 5th record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, according to the condition of the fifth record “user input information exists in the other party and you are unread (including unpurchased)”, it is the “ID” of the record that exists in the user input information management table of FIG. “ID” not existing in the reading history information management table or “ID” of “read page = NULL” in the reading history information management table of FIG. Then, it is assumed that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A has acquired ID “8211”. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A is paired with the ID “8211” from the user input information management table of FIG. 11 according to the “related reading information (title) to be acquired” of the fifth record. The title “title X” is acquired as related reading information. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 configures “difference information (user input information exists in the other party, self unread): title X” including “related reading information category” and “condition” as related reading information. That is preferred.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 6th record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. And according to the condition of the sixth record “the other party has read and oneself has not read (including unpurchased)”, “ID” corresponding to “read page = all” in the reading history information management table of FIG. “ID” that does not exist in the reading history information management table in FIG. 7 or “ID” in which the read page is not “all” in the reading history information management table in FIG. 7 is acquired. Then, it is assumed that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A has acquired ID “8211”. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1A matches the ID “8211” from the reading history information management table of FIG. 10 according to the “related reading information to be acquired (title, author)” of the sixth record. The title “Title X, Author X” is acquired as related reading information. The related reading information acquisition unit 110 configures “difference information (read by partner, unread by self): title X, author X” including “related reading information category” and “condition” as related reading information. That is preferred.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 7th record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. And according to the condition of the seventh record “I have read and the other party has read”, it is “ID” corresponding to “read page = all” in the reading history information management table of FIG. 7, and the reading history of FIG. An “ID” corresponding to “read page = all” in the information management table is acquired. Then, it is assumed that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1A has obtained the ID “1234”. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A acquires a keyword from the electronic book having the ID “1234” in accordance with the “related reading information to be acquired (common KW)” of the seventh record. Here, for example, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 performs morphological analysis on one or more sentences included in the electronic book, and acquires all nouns or noun phrases. Then, for example, three nouns or noun phrases are acquired in descending order of appearance frequency. Here, it is assumed that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 can acquire “KW1”, “KW2”, and “KW3” as related reading information. In addition, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 includes “related reading information category” and “condition”, and includes “common information (read by oneself, already read by partner):“ KW1 ”,“ KW2 ”,“ KW3 ” It is preferable to configure as reading information.

  Next, the related reading information acquisition part 110 of 1 A of electronic book apparatuses reads the 8th record of the related reading information acquisition condition management table | surface shown in FIG. Then, according to the condition of the eighth record “the user has positive user intention information and the user has positive user intention information”, the user input information in the user input information management table of FIG. “ID = 1234” to be paired with the general user intention information is acquired. Further, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 analyzes the user intention information in the user input information management table of FIG. 11 and acquires “ID = 1234, 8211” paired with the positive user intention information. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 acquires a common “ID = 1234”. Next, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A sets “title A” “author A” paired with the ID “1234” in accordance with “related reading information to be acquired (title, author)” of the eighth record. Are acquired as related reading information from the user input information management table of FIG. Note that the related reading information acquisition unit 110 includes “related reading information category” and “condition” as “common information (positive user intention information exists for the other party and positive user intention information exists for itself): It is preferable to configure title A "" author A "" as related reading information.

  Next, the related reading information display unit 111 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A displays the related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110. Here, the example of the related reading information displayed on the electronic book apparatus 1A is FIG. In the display of related reading information, it is preferable that the related reading information display unit 111 changes the display mode according to the type of related reading information (for example, common information or difference information). For example, it is preferable that the related reading information display unit 111 displays the common information in a visually conspicuous manner.

  The business card information display unit 117 of the electronic book apparatus 1A displays the business card information of the user B. Here, in the electronic book apparatus 1A, it is preferable that the business card information and the related reading information are displayed on the same screen at a time. This is because you can talk about the topic of reading while looking at the business card of the other party, and the story is exciting.

  Further, the reading information display unit 113 of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A may display the reading information of the user B. That is, in the electronic book apparatus 1A, one or more types of information among the reading information, the related reading information, and the business card information are displayed. And it is suitable for two or more types of information among reading information, related reading information, and business card information to be displayed on a screen simultaneously.

  Also in the electronic book apparatus 1B, the same processing as the electronic book apparatus 1A is performed, and related reading information and business card information of the user A are displayed on the electronic book apparatus 1B. Note that the electronic book device 1B may manage a related reading information acquisition condition management table different from that in FIG.

  In the electronic book device 1A and the electronic book device 1B, the received information (reading history information and user input information) and the stored information (reading history information and user input information) are reversed. Even when the related reading information can be acquired, it is preferable that the mode of displaying the related reading information is different. For example, the related reading information display unit of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A includes a time indicated by time information included in reading history information of the user B corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information, or a user corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information. One or more related reading information may be displayed in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the time information included in the user input information of B is, the more visually noticeable it is. Conversely, the related reading information display unit of the electronic book apparatus 1B corresponds to the time indicated by the time information included in the reading history information of the user A corresponding to the one or more pieces of related reading information, or one or more pieces of the related reading information. One or more related reading information may be displayed in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the time information included in the user input information of the user A is, the more visually noticeable. In such a case, the related reading information is displayed mainly considering the other party's information.

  In addition, the related reading information display unit of the electronic book apparatus 1 </ b> A displays a time indicated by time information included in the reading history information of the user A corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information, or a user corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information. One or more related reading information may be displayed in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the time information included in the one or more user input information of A, the more visually noticeable. Conversely, the related reading information display unit of the electronic book apparatus 1B corresponds to the time indicated by the time information included in the reading history information of the user B corresponding to the one or more pieces of related reading information, or one or more pieces of the related reading information. One or more related reading information may be displayed in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the time information included in the one or more user input information of the user B, the more visually noticeable. In such a case, the related reading information is displayed mainly considering one's own information.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, communication with other people can be supported based on reading history information and user input information.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to very effectively support communication with another person using both the business card information of the other party and the information related to reading.

  Note that, according to the present embodiment, the electronic book device 1 may not have a function of transmitting / receiving business card information.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the related reading information display unit 111 has one or more reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 or one or more user inputs received by the reading information receiving unit 109. It is preferable to change the mode of displaying one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 according to the information. In addition, the related reading information display unit 111 includes one or more reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 based on one or more reading history information of the reading information storage unit 102 or one or more user input information of the reading information storage unit 102. It is preferable to change the manner in which the related reading information is displayed. For example, the reading history information or the user input information includes time information that is information about time, and the related reading information display unit 111 receives the reading history received by the reading information receiving unit 109 corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information. In a mode in which the time indicated by the time information included in the information or the time information indicated by the user input information received by the reading information receiving unit 109 corresponding to each of the one or more related reading information is more visually conspicuous, the number is one or more. It is preferable to display related reading information. In addition, the related reading information display unit 111 is a time indicated by time information included in the reading history information of the reading information storage unit 102 corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information, or reading information corresponding to one or more pieces of related reading information. It is preferable to display the one or more related reading information in such a manner that the newer the time indicated by the time information included in the one or more user input information in the storage unit 102 is, the more visually noticeable.

  Furthermore, the processing in the present embodiment may be realized by software. Then, this software may be distributed by software download or the like. Further, this software may be recorded and distributed on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. This also applies to other embodiments in this specification. Note that the software that realizes the electronic book device in the present embodiment is the following program. That is, this program stores in a storage medium a title of a book, one or more electronic books having one or more pages, and one or more reading history information that is information relating to a reading action performed by a user. A receiving unit that receives an opening instruction that is an instruction to open an electronic book and a page turning instruction that is an instruction to turn a page, and when the receiving unit receives the opening instruction, the opening instruction corresponds to the opening instruction An electronic book display unit that displays an electronic book, and a page turning unit that displays a page different from the displayed page of the electronic book according to the page turning instruction when the reception unit receives a page turning instruction, A reading history information acquisition unit that acquires reading history information from the electronic book in response to a reading action instruction received by the reception unit The reading information storage unit that stores the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit in the storage medium, the reading information receiving unit that receives one or more reading history information of others, and the reading information receiving unit Information relating to a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of the other person and one or more reading history information stored in the storage medium, and showing a relationship relating to reading between the user and the other person A program for functioning as a related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit and a related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information that is information is there.

  In the above program, the reception unit includes one or more users having a book identifier for identifying an electronic book and user intention information that is information indicating a user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier. The reading information storage unit also receives the input information, the reading information storage unit also stores the one or more user input information in the reading information storage unit, and the reading information reception unit also receives one or more user input information of others. The related reading information acquisition unit acquires related reading information from one or more user input information of another person received by the reading information receiving unit and one or more user input information stored in the reading information storage unit. As such, it is preferable to have a computer function.

  The program further comprises a business card information receiving unit for receiving business card information of another person from another electronic book device, and a business card information display unit for displaying the business card information of the other person, and the related reading information and the other person It is preferable to make the computer function as information that can be displayed on the same screen at the same time.

  (Embodiment 2)

  In the present embodiment, the apparatus configuration is different from that in the first embodiment. That is, in this embodiment, the server apparatus acquires related reading information using reading information received from two or more electronic book apparatuses, and transmits the related reading information to one or more electronic book apparatuses.

  FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of the electronic book system 2 in the present embodiment. The electronic book system 2 includes two or more electronic book devices 21 and a server device 22.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the electronic book system 2 in the present embodiment. The electronic book device 21 includes an instruction transmission unit 210, an electronic book storage unit 101, a reception unit 103, an electronic book display unit 104, a page turning unit 105, a reading history information acquisition unit 106, a reading information reception unit 109, and a reading information transmission unit 216. , Related reading information receiving unit 217, related reading information display unit 218, book purchase unit 112, reading information display unit 113, business card information storage unit 114, business card information transmission unit 115, business card information receiving unit 116, and business card information display unit 117. It comprises.

  The server device 22 includes an instruction receiving unit 220, a reading information storage unit 221, a reading information receiving unit 222, a reading information storage unit 223, a related reading information acquisition unit 110, and a related reading information transmission unit 225.

  The instruction transmitting unit 210 configuring the electronic book device 21 transmits the related reading information acquisition instruction received by the receiving unit 103 to the server device 22. The related reading information acquisition instruction usually has its own device identifier and the device identifier of the electronic book device 21 of another person. The related reading information acquisition instruction is an instruction to acquire related reading information of the self and others. The receiving unit 103 normally receives a related reading information acquisition instruction from the user.

  The reading information transmission unit 216 transmits the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit 106 to the server device 22. Here, the reading information transmitting unit 216 normally transmits a device identifier for identifying the electronic book device 21 and reading history information to the server device 22. The device identifier may be information for identifying a device such as an IP address or a MAC address, or may be information for identifying a user. In addition, it is preferable that the reading information transmitting unit 216 also transmits one or more pieces of user input information to the server device 22. Even when transmitting user input information, the reading information transmitting unit 216 normally transmits a device identifier to the server device 22 as well. The reading information transmitting unit 216 is usually realized by a wireless or wired communication unit, but may be realized by a broadcasting unit.

  The related reading information receiving unit 217 receives, from the server device 22, one or more related reading information that is information indicating a relationship related to reading between the user and another person. The related reading information receiving unit 217 is usually realized by a wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by a means for receiving a broadcast.

  The related reading information display unit 218 displays the related reading information received by the related reading information receiving unit 217. The related reading information display unit 218 may be considered as including or not including a display device. The related reading information display unit 218 may be realized by display device driver software, or display device driver software and a display device.

  The instruction receiving unit 220 configuring the server device 22 receives a related reading information acquisition instruction from the electronic book device 21. The instruction receiving unit 220 is usually realized by a wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by a means for receiving a broadcast.

  The reading information storage unit 221 can store one or more reading history information in association with the device identifier. The reading information storage unit 221 can also store one or more pieces of user input information in association with the device identifier. The reading information storage unit 221 is preferably a non-volatile recording medium, but can also be realized by a volatile recording medium.

  The reading information receiving unit 222 receives reading history information from each of the two or more electronic book devices 21. In addition, it is preferable that the reading information receiving unit 222 also receives one or more user input information from each of the two or more electronic book devices 21. Here, the reading history information and the user input information are usually transmitted together with the device identifier. The reading information receiving unit 222 is usually realized by a wireless or wired communication means, but may be realized by a means for receiving a broadcast.

  The reading information accumulation unit 223 accumulates the reading history information received by the reading information reception unit 222 in the reading information storage unit 221. The reading information accumulation unit 223 accumulates the reading history information received by the reading information reception unit 222 in the reading information storage unit 221 in association with the electronic book device 21 (device identifier), a user identifier, and the like, for example. The user identifier is information for identifying the user. The reading information storage unit 223 can usually be realized by an MPU, a memory, or the like. The processing procedure of the reading information storage unit 223 is usually realized by software, and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, it may be realized by hardware (dedicated circuit).

  The related reading information transmission unit 225 transmits one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit 110 to the electronic book device 21 of one user or another user.

The related reading information transmitting unit 225 is usually realized by a wireless or wired communication unit, but may be realized by a broadcasting unit.
Next, the operation of the electronic book system 2 will be described. First, the operation of the electronic book device 21 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 17, description of the same steps as those in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is omitted.

  (Step S1701) The reading information transmitting unit 216 configures reading history information to be transmitted. Normally, the reading information transmitting unit 216 configures reading history information to be transmitted by adding a device identifier to the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquiring unit 106. Note that the device identifier is held in advance by the electronic book device 21.

  (Step S1702) The reading information transmitting unit 216 transmits the reading history information configured in step S1701 to the server device 22. The process returns to step S301.

  (Step S1703) The reading information transmitting unit 216 constitutes user input information to be transmitted. Usually, the reading information transmitting unit 216 configures user input information to be transmitted by adding a device identifier to the user input information received by the receiving unit 103.

  (Step S1704) The reading information transmitting unit 216 transmits the user input information configured in Step S1703 to the server device 22. The process returns to step S301.

  (Step S1705) The reception unit 103 determines whether or not a related reading information acquisition instruction has been received. If the related reading information acquisition instruction is accepted, the process goes to step S1706, and if the related reading information acquisition instruction is not accepted, the process returns to step S301.

  (Step S1706) The instruction transmission unit 210 transmits the related reading information acquisition instruction received by the reception unit 103 to the server device 22.

  (Step S1707) The related reading information receiving unit 217 determines whether or not the related reading information is received. If the related reading information is received, the process goes to step S1708; otherwise, the process returns to step S1707.

  (Step S1708) The related reading information display unit 218 displays the related reading information received in step S1707. The process returns to step S301.

  (Step S1709) The reading information display unit 113 displays the reading information of other people received by the reading information receiving unit 109.

  (Step S1710) The business card information display unit 117 displays the business card information of another person received by the business card information reception unit 116. The process returns to step S301.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 17, it is preferable that the other person's business card information, the other person's reading information, and the related reading information are displayed at the same time on the same screen. In the flowchart of FIG. 17, only one or two pieces of information may be displayed among the other person's business card information, the other person's reading information, and the related reading information.

  In addition, in the flowchart of FIG. 17, the timing at which reading history information or user input information is transmitted does not matter. Reading history information and user input information may be transmitted collectively according to a user instruction, or reading history information and user input information may be transmitted each time a reading action instruction or user input information is received. In addition, when transmitting reading history information and user input information collectively, the electronic book apparatus 21 stores reading history information and user input information in the reading information storage means (not shown) which the electronic book apparatus 21 has. deep.

  Moreover, in the flowchart of FIG. 17, the trigger for receiving related reading information is not ask | required.

  Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 17, the process is terminated by powering off or a process termination interrupt.

  Next, the operation of the server device 22 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 18, the description of the same steps as those in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is omitted.

  (Step S1801) The reading information receiving unit 222 determines whether reading information has been received. If reading information is received, it will go to step S1802, and if reading information is not received, it will go to step S1803. The reading information is usually reading history information or user input information. Moreover, reading history information and user input information have a device identifier.

  (Step S1802) The reading information storage unit 223 stores the reading information received in step S1801 in the reading information storage unit 221. The process returns to step S1801.

  (Step S1803) The instruction receiving unit 220 determines whether a related reading information acquisition instruction has been received. If the related reading information acquisition instruction is received, the process goes to step S318, and if not received, the process returns to step S1801.

  (Step S 1804) The related reading information transmitting unit 225 transmits the related reading information acquired in step S 318 to the electronic book device 21. Note that the related reading information transmission unit 225 may transmit the related reading information to the two electronic book devices 21 identified by the two device identifiers included in the related reading information acquisition instruction, or issue the related reading information acquisition instruction. The related reading information may be transmitted only to the transmitted electronic book device 21. The process returns to step S1801.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 18, the process ends when the power is turned off or the process ends.

  Hereinafter, although the sharing of the apparatuses that perform the processing is different, the content of the processing is the same as the processing described in the first embodiment.

  That is, now user A (Ichiro Yamada) holds the electronic book apparatus 2A. In addition, it is assumed that the user B (Jiro Ota) holds the electronic book apparatus 2B.

  In addition, the electronic book storage table 101 of the electronic book apparatus 2A manages the electronic book management table of FIG. 6 in which electronic books purchased by the user A are stored.

  Also, it is assumed that the reading history information management table shown in FIG. 7 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 2A.

  Further, it is assumed that the user input information management table shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 2A.

  The electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 2B stores electronic books purchased by the user B. FIG. 9 shows an electronic book management table managed by the electronic book storage unit 101 of the electronic book apparatus 2B.

  Also, it is assumed that the reading history information management table shown in FIG. 10 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 2B.

  Further, it is assumed that the user input information management table shown in FIG. 11 is stored in the reading information storage unit 102 of the electronic book apparatus 2B.

  Furthermore, the business card information storage unit 114 of the electronic book device 2A stores the business card information shown in FIG. 12A, and the business card information storage unit 114 of the electronic book device 2B stores the business card information shown in FIG. Assume that business card information is stored.

  The reading history information management table shown in FIG. 7, the user input information management table shown in FIG. 8, and the business card information shown in FIG. Suppose that it is transmitted to the server 22 and accumulated in the server device 22.

  Further, each time an instruction of the user B or an operation of the electronic book apparatus 2B is performed, the reading history information management table shown in FIG. 10, the user input information management table of FIG. 11, and the business card information of FIG. Suppose that it is transmitted to the server 22 and accumulated in the server device 22.

  In this situation, it is assumed that the user A has input a related reading information acquisition instruction to the electronic book apparatus 2A. This related reading information acquisition instruction has a device identifier of the electronic book device 2A and a device identifier of the electronic book device 2B.

  Then, the receiving unit 103 of the electronic book apparatus 2A receives a related reading information acquisition instruction. Then, the instruction transmission unit 210 of the electronic book device 2 </ b> A transmits the related reading information acquisition instruction received by the reception unit 103 to the server device 22.

  Next, the instruction receiving unit 220 of the server device 22 receives a related reading information acquisition instruction. Then, the related reading information acquisition unit 110 of the server device 22 reads the reading history information management table and the user input information management table corresponding to the device identifier of the electronic book device 2A and the device identifier of the electronic book device 2B, and reads the reading history. Assume that the related reading information shown in FIG. 14 is acquired using the information management table and the user input information management table. And the related reading information transmission part 225 transmits the related reading information shown in FIG. 14 to 2 A of electronic book apparatuses.

  Next, the related reading information receiving unit 217 of the electronic book apparatus 2A receives the related reading information shown in FIG. 14, and the related reading information display unit 218 displays the related reading information shown in FIG.

  In addition, the related reading information transmission part 225 may transmit the related reading information shown in FIG. 14 to the electronic book apparatus 2B. In such a case, the related reading information receiving unit 217 of the electronic book apparatus 2B receives the related reading information shown in FIG. 14, and the related reading information display unit 218 displays the related reading information shown in FIG.

  Further, the server device 22 may transmit the business card information of the user B to the electronic book device 2A, and may transmit the business card information of the user A to the electronic book device 2B. In such a case, the business card information receiving unit 116 of the electronic book apparatus 2A receives the business card information of the user B, and the business card information display unit 117 displays the business card information of the user B. Further, the business card information receiving unit 116 of the electronic book apparatus 2B receives the business card information of the user A, and the business card information display unit 117 displays the business card information of the user A.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, communication with other people can be supported based on reading history information.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to support communication with others based on user input information that is information input to a read book.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to very effectively support communication with another person using both the business card information of the other party and the information related to reading.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the server device 22 acquires and transmits related reading information, the configuration of the electronic book device 21 is sufficient.

  In addition, the software which implement | achieves the electronic book apparatus 21 in this Embodiment is the following programs. That is, this program stores a title of a book, one or more electronic books having one or more pages in a storage medium, and an opening instruction that is an instruction to open the electronic book and a page turning instruction. A receiving unit that receives a reading action instruction including a page turning instruction, and an electronic book display unit that displays an electronic book corresponding to the opening instruction when the receiving unit receives an opening instruction, and the receiving unit provides a page turning instruction. If accepted, according to the page turning instruction, a page turning unit that displays a page different from the displayed electronic book page, and reading history from the electronic book according to the reading action instruction received by the receiving unit. Reading history information acquisition unit for acquiring information and reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit to the server device A reading information transmitting unit for transmitting information, a related reading information receiving unit for receiving one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship regarding reading between the user and the other person, from the server device, and the related reading information receiving unit Is a program for functioning as a related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information received.

  Moreover, the software which implement | achieves the server apparatus 22 is the following programs. That is, this program stores in the storage medium one or more reading history information, which is information related to a reading action performed by the user, and receives reading history information from each of the two or more electronic book devices. The reading information receiving unit, the reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit, the reading information storing unit that stores the reading history information in the storage medium in association with the electronic book device, and the reading information receiving unit Information about a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of the user and one or more reading history information of another user stored in the storage medium, the one user and the other user The related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information, which is information indicating the relationship related to reading, and the one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit. The or program for functioning as related reading information transmitting unit for transmitting to the electronic book device of the other user is.

  The reading information processing method described in the above embodiment is the following method. That is, a reading information processing method that stores one or more reading history information of each of two or more users in a storage medium, and includes a related reading information acquisition unit and a related reading information output unit. The information acquisition unit is information related to a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of one user and one or more reading history information of another user, and indicates a relationship regarding reading between the user and another person. A related reading information acquisition step for acquiring one or more related reading information as information, and a related reading information output step for the related reading information output unit to output one or more related reading information acquired in the related reading information acquisition step; A reading information processing method comprising: The output in the related reading information output unit includes display on a display, projection using a projector, printing with a printer, sound output, transmission to an external device, accumulation in a recording medium, other processing devices and others. This is a concept that includes delivery of processing results to other programs. Further, the related reading information output unit may be the same as the related reading information transmission unit 225.

In the above-described reading information processing method, user input information of two or more users is also stored in the storage medium. In the related reading information acquisition step, one or more user input information of one user and the other It is preferable to acquire one or more related reading information from one or more user input information of the user.
FIG. 19 shows the external appearance of a computer that executes the program described in this specification to realize the electronic book device or the like of the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiments can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon. FIG. 19 is an overview diagram of the computer system 340, and FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the computer system 340.

  In FIG. 19, the computer system 340 includes a computer 341 including an FD drive and a CD-ROM drive, a keyboard 342, a mouse 343, and a monitor 344.

  In FIG. 20, in addition to the FD drive 3411 and the CD-ROM drive 3412, the computer 341 stores an MPU 3413, a bus 3414 connected to the CD-ROM drive 3412 and the FD drive 3411, and a program such as a bootup program. A RAM 3416 for temporarily storing application program instructions and providing a temporary storage space; and a hard disk 3417 for storing application programs, system programs, and data. Although not shown here, the computer 341 may further include a network card that provides connection to the LAN.

  A program that causes the computer system 340 to execute the functions of the electronic book device of the above-described embodiment is stored in the CD-ROM 3501 or the FD 3502, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 3412 or the FD drive 3411, and further the hard disk 3417. May be transferred to. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to the computer 341 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 3417. The program is loaded into the RAM 3416 at the time of execution. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 3501, the FD 3502, or the network.

  The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 341 to execute the functions of the electronic book device of the above-described embodiment. The program only needs to include an instruction portion that calls an appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 340 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.

  In the above program, in the step of transmitting information, the step of receiving information, etc., processing performed by hardware, for example, processing performed by a modem or an interface card in the transmission step (only performed by hardware) Processing) is not included.

  Further, the computer that executes the program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, it goes without saying that two or more communication units existing in one apparatus may be physically realized by one medium.

In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing by a single device (system), or by distributed processing by a plurality of devices. May be.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the electronic book device according to the present invention has an effect that it can support communication with others based on reading history information, and is useful as an electronic book device or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,21 Electronic book apparatus 2 Electronic book system 21 Each electronic book apparatus 22 Server apparatus 101 Electronic book storage part 102, 221 Reading information storage part 103 Reception part 104 Electronic book display part 105 Page turning part 106 Reading history information acquisition part 107, 223 Reading information storage unit 108, 216 Reading information transmission unit 109, 222 Reading information receiving unit 110 Related reading information acquisition unit 111, 218 Related reading information display unit 112 Book purchasing unit 113 Reading information display unit 114 Business card information storage unit 115 Business card information Transmitter 116 Business card information receiver 117 Business card information display 210 Instruction transmitter 217 Related reading information receiver 220 Instruction receiver 225 Related reading information transmitter

Claims (10)

A title of the book, an electronic book storage unit capable of storing one or more electronic books having one or more pages;
A reading information storage unit capable of storing one or more reading history information that is information relating to a reading action performed by the user;
A reception unit that receives an instruction to open a reading action including an instruction to open an electronic book and an instruction to turn a page that is an instruction to turn a page;
When the accepting unit accepts an open instruction, an electronic book display unit that reads and displays an electronic book corresponding to the open instruction from the electronic book storage unit;
When the reception unit receives a page turning instruction, according to the page turning instruction, a page turning unit that displays a page different from the page of the electronic book being displayed;
Reading history information acquisition unit for acquiring reading history information corresponding to the reading act instruction received by the reception unit;
A reading information storage unit that stores the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit in the reading information storage unit;
A reading information receiving unit for receiving one or more reading history information of others,
From the one or more reading history information of the others received by the reading information receiving unit and the one or more reading history information stored in the reading information storage unit, the information about the book that has been read, and the user A related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship related to reading with the other person;
An electronic book device comprising: a related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit. The reception unit
One or more user input information including a book identifier for identifying an electronic book and user intention information that is information indicating a user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier is also accepted.
The reading information storage unit
The one or more user input information is also accumulated in the reading information storage unit,
The reading information receiving unit
Receive one or more user input information of others,
The related reading information acquisition unit
The electronic book device according to claim 1, wherein related reading information is acquired from one or more user input information of another person received by the reading information receiving unit and one or more user input information stored in the reading information storage unit. . The related reading information display section
One or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit is displayed according to one or more reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit or one or more user input information received by the reading information receiving unit. Change the aspect, or
A mode of displaying one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquisition unit is changed according to one or more reading history information of the reading information storage unit or one or more user input information of the reading information storage unit. The electronic book apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A business card information receiving unit for receiving business card information of another person from another electronic book device;
A business card information display unit for displaying the business card information of the other person,
The electronic book device according to claim 1, wherein the related reading information and the business card information of the other person can be displayed on the same screen at a time. A server device constituting an electronic book system comprising two or more electronic book devices and a server device,
The electronic book device includes:
A title of the book, an electronic book storage that can store one or more electronic books having one or more pages;
A reception unit that receives an instruction to open a reading action including an instruction to open an electronic book and an instruction to turn a page that is an instruction to turn a page;
When the reception unit receives an open instruction, an electronic book display unit that displays an electronic book corresponding to the open instruction;
When the reception unit receives a page turning instruction, according to the page turning instruction, a page turning unit that displays a page different from the page of the electronic book being displayed;
Reading history information acquisition unit for acquiring reading history information corresponding to the reading act instruction received by the reception unit;
A reading information transmitting unit that transmits the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquiring unit to the server device;
A related reading information receiving unit that receives, from the server device, one or more related reading information that is information indicating a relationship related to reading between the user and the other person;
A related reading information display unit that displays one or more related reading information received by the related reading information receiving unit;
The server device
A reading information storage unit capable of storing one or more reading history information that is information relating to a reading action performed by the user;
A reading information receiving unit that receives reading history information from each of the two or more electronic book devices;
Reading history information received by the reading information receiving unit, a reading information storage unit that accumulates in the reading information storage unit,
Information on a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of one user received by the reading information receiving unit and one or more reading history information of other users stored in the reading information storage unit A related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship related to reading between the one user and the other user;
An electronic book system comprising: a related reading information transmitting unit that transmits one or more related reading information acquired by the related reading information acquiring unit to at least one of the electronic book devices of the one user or the other user. Server device. The reception unit
One or more user input information including a book identifier for identifying an electronic book and user intention information that is information indicating a user's opinion or opinion on the electronic book identified by the book identifier is also accepted.
The reading information transmitter is
Transmitting the one or more user input information to the server device;
The reading information receiving unit
Receiving one or more user input information from each of the two or more electronic book devices;
The related reading information acquisition unit
Information about a book that has been read from one or more user input information of one user received by the reading information receiving unit and one or more user input information of other users stored in the reading information storage unit The server apparatus which comprises one or more relevant reading information which is information which shows the relation regarding the reading with said one user and said other user. The electronic book device includes:
A business card information receiving unit for receiving other people's business card information;
A business card information display unit for displaying the business card information of the other person,
The server apparatus which comprises the electronic book system of Claim 5 or Claim 6 which can display the said related reading information and the said other person's business card information on the same screen at once. On the storage medium,
Stores one or more reading history information for each of two or more users,
A reading information processing method comprising a related reading information acquisition unit and a related reading information output unit,
The related reading information acquisition unit is information regarding a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of one user and one or more reading history information of another user, and the user and the other person A related reading information acquisition step of acquiring one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship related to reading;
A reading information processing method, wherein the related reading information output unit includes a related reading information output step of outputting one or more related reading information acquired in the related reading information acquisition step. In the storage medium,
It also stores user input information for each of two or more users,
In the related reading information acquisition step,
The reading information processing method according to claim 8, wherein one or more related reading information is acquired from one or more user input information of one user and one or more user input information of another user. On the storage medium,
The title of the book, one or more electronic books with one or more pages,
And one or more reading history information that is information on the reading activity performed by the user,
Computer
A reception unit that receives an instruction to open a reading action including an instruction to open an electronic book and an instruction to turn a page that is an instruction to turn a page;
When the reception unit receives an open instruction, an electronic book display unit that displays an electronic book corresponding to the open instruction;
When the reception unit receives a page turning instruction, according to the page turning instruction, a page turning unit that displays a page different from the page of the electronic book being displayed;
A reading history information acquisition unit that acquires reading history information from the electronic book in response to a reading act instruction received by the reception unit;
A reading information storage unit that stores the reading history information acquired by the reading history information acquisition unit in the storage medium;
A reading information receiving unit for receiving one or more reading history information of others,
The user and the other person are information on a book that has been read from one or more reading history information of the other person received by the reading information receiving unit and one or more reading history information stored in the storage medium. A related reading information acquisition unit that acquires one or more related reading information, which is information indicating a relationship regarding reading with
The program for functioning as a related reading information display part which displays the 1 or more related reading information which the said related reading information acquisition part acquired.