JP5939900B2 - Book type device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic book.

  An electronic book reader is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The electronic book reader includes a dedicated terminal (device) for browsing the electronic book and dedicated software for displaying the electronic book data.

  The electronic book reader has a liquid crystal display, a flat display, and a touch screen. The electronic book reader displays book information, images, videos, and the like acquired from a communication line or a storage device on a flat display. Operations such as turning pages on the displayed information can be performed using a touch screen.

JP 2006-313485 A JP 2009-43011 A

  The electronic book reader generally imitates a book by expressing the book as a two-dimensional image on a flat display. That is, the electronic book reader does not simulate the form of the book itself.

  For this reason, the user may not be able to perform intuitive operations familiar with real books, and may have to learn operations for electronic book readers.

  Specifically, there is a case where it is necessary to learn an operation for an electronic book reader for an operation of turning a page or an operation of referring to another page.

  With real books, you can turn the paper itself. However, in an electronic book reader, an operation of turning a page is realized by a finger slide or touch on a two-dimensional image, a button operation, or the like. For this reason, the operation of a real book cannot be simulated.

  When reading a book, it may be read while referring to information written on another page. For example, “map” or “family tree” in a history book, “person correlation diagram” in a novel, “formal” or “number table” in a mathematical book, “human body structure diagram” in a biological book, and the like.

  In a real book, it is intuitively possible to make a plurality of pages visible at the same time by bending the pages. Also, by putting a finger or a heel between different pages, it is possible to immediately open the page and return to the original page.

  However, in an electronic book reader, such an operation may be difficult to implement or may be complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the operability when turning a page and the operability when referring to another page.

In order to solve the above problems, the book-type device of the present invention is
A book-type device with multiple screens,
A sensor for detecting the bending of each screen;
And a control unit that detects a screen in which a difference in bending between adjacent screens is equal to or greater than a threshold based on a value detected by the sensor.

  You may comprise the said control part so that the screen which is the largest difference may be detected among the screens in which the difference of bending of the said adjacent screen is more than the said threshold value.

  The control unit may be configured to perform display control on a screen in which a difference in bending between adjacent screens is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

The control unit stores the page number displayed on the screen which is the maximum difference in the storage unit,
When the plurality of closed screens are opened, control may be performed to display a page corresponding to the page number stored in the storage unit.

  According to the disclosed embodiment, it is possible to improve operability when turning a page and operability when referring to another page.

It is a figure which shows one Example of a book-type device. It is a functional block diagram which shows one Example of a book-type device. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of operation | movement of a book-type device.

Next, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings based on the following Examples.
In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for those having the same function, and repeated explanation is omitted.

<Example>
<Book type device>
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a book-type device 100.

The book-type device 100 includes screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N (N is an integer of N> 0), sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N, and a binding unit 106.

The screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N are subjected to display control by a scanning line driving circuit (not shown) and a signal line driving circuit (not shown). For example, it is preferable that the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N have flexible physical properties and feel similar to those of a paper book page sheet. Specifically, a thin film of light metal such as a paper sheet (electronic paper), a plastic sheet, a plastic film, or aluminum may be used. The signal line driver circuit may be provided in the binding unit 106. The scanning line driving circuit may be provided in each of the screens 104 _{1 to} 104 _N. The book may be displayed as a two-dimensional image on one main surface of the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N. Moreover, you may make it display a book as a two-dimensional image on the two main surfaces which the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N face each other.

The sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N are sensors that detect that the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N are bent. For example, the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N are formed by coating the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N as a base material in an appropriate pattern. Further, the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N may be formed by laminating in a suitable pattern using the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N as a base material, or may be formed by incorporating them. In FIG. 1, as an example, sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N are formed on the upper part of the display unit on which images of the respective screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N are displayed. That is, the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N may be provided on one main surface of the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N. For example, the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N detect a variation in distortion of the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N as a variation in electric resistance value. As the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N , electrostrictive elements, piezoelectric elements, microcoil elements, or the like can be used.

The binding unit 106 fixes the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N. The binding unit 106 is provided with a signal line driver circuit.

<Book-type device functions>
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the book-type device 100. As shown in FIG.

The book-type device 100 includes screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N , sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N , display units 108 _{1 to} 108 _N , a control unit 110, and a storage unit 112.

The display units 108 _{1 to} 108 _N are areas for displaying books as two-dimensional images on the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N.

The control unit 110 is connected to the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N. The control unit 110 may be configured by a CPU. The control unit 110 detects a screen opened by the user based on the degree of bending detected by the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N. A resistance value may be used as the degree of bending. Specifically, the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N detect the degree of bending of the screens 102 _{1 to} 102 _N as numerical values. The sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N input detected values to the control unit 110. The control unit 110 obtains a difference in the degree of bending between adjacent screens based on the degree of bending input by the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N.

  The controller 110 compares the difference in bending degree with a threshold value. The control unit 110 determines that a screen having a difference in bending degree equal to or greater than a threshold value is an open screen. The control unit 110 stores, in the storage unit 112, information indicating screens having a bending degree difference equal to or greater than a threshold value as the “open screen list L”. The control unit 110 performs control to display on a screen that is determined as a screen that the user has opened. Here, the open screen is a screen that the user is referring to. For example, the user may refer to another screen while viewing one screen. By doing so, it is possible to detect a state where a plurality of screens are open. For example, it is possible to detect a state in which a plurality of screens are opened, such as when a screen is bent and another screen is displayed in half.

  The control unit 110 determines the page with the largest bending difference as the screen that the user is viewing. The control unit 110 performs control to display on the screen that is determined as the screen that the user is viewing. By determining the page with the largest bending difference as the screen that the user is viewing, the page that the user is mainly viewing can be detected.

  The control unit 110 stores the page number displayed on the screen viewed by the user as the “last opened page number” in the storage unit 112. When the user closes and reopens the book-type device 100, the control unit 110 reads the page number stored as the “last opened page number” stored in the storage unit 110, and the page number A page corresponding to may be displayed. In this way, when the number of screens is smaller than the number of pages of the book, the device can be read once by closing and reopening the device.

  The storage unit 112 is connected to the control unit 110. The storage unit 112 stores “open screen list L” and “last opened page number”.

<Operation of book type device>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the book-type input device 100.

  FIG. 3 mainly shows the operation of the control unit 112.

In step S302, the control unit 112 from sensor ₁₀₄ 1 -104 _N, taking measurements _B 1 -B _N.

  In step S <b> 304, the control unit 112 sets “empty” when an open screen is stored in the “open screen list L” stored in the storage unit 112.

  When the “open screen list L” is “empty”, the book-type device is in a closed state. When the “open screen list L” is not “empty”, the book-type device is in an open operation state.

In step S306, the control unit 112 determines whether or not all the measured values B ₁ -B _N from the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N are less than the first threshold value. The first threshold is preferably a value that is detected when the book-type device is opened. The first threshold value may be set in advance.

If the control unit 112 determines in step S306 that all of the measurement values B ₁ -B _N from the sensors 104 _{1 to} 104 _N are less than the threshold value, the process ends. This is because it is assumed that the book-type device is closed.

In step S308, in step S306, when it is determined that there is not less than the threshold value to the measured value _B 1 -B _N from the sensor ₁₀₄ 1 -104 _N, the control unit 112, x: is set to = 2.

In step S310, the control unit 112 determines whether or not | B _X -B _X-1 |> second threshold value. The second threshold may be set in advance.

In step S312, if it is determined in step S310 that | B ₁ −B _N |> the second threshold value, the control unit 112 “opens the screen pair corresponding to B _X , B _X−1. Is added to the screen list L ”.

In step S314, if it is not determined in step S310 that | B ₁ −B _N |> second threshold value, or in step S312, a screen pair corresponding to B _X and B _X-1 is set to “opened screen. Then, the control unit 112 sets x: = x + 1.

  In step S316, the control unit 112 determines whether or not x> N.

  If x> N is not determined in step S316, the process returns to step S310.

In step S318, if x> N is determined in step S316, the control unit 318 determines that | B _X -B _X-1 | is out of the screen pairs included in the “open screen list L”. The largest screen pair is selected, and the page number displayed on the screen is stored as “last opened page number P”. For example, the page number displayed on the screen 102x is stored.

  When the book-type device is closed and opened again, the control unit 112 refers to the “last opened page number P” stored in the storage unit 112 and displays the page number P.

  You may make it not display on the screen determined not to be open. Even if the screen is determined to be open, if the difference in the degree of bending between adjacent screens is small, the screen is assumed to be the reference screen, and the brightness of the display is reduced. You may do it. By doing so, power consumption can be reduced.

  In the embodiment described above, a touch sensor may be used as a method for detecting an open screen. In other words, a screen touched by a human finger may be determined as an “open screen”.

  Further, a rotation sensor may be attached to the base of the screen, that is, the binding unit 106, and the “open screen” may be determined based on the rotation angle.

  According to one embodiment of a book-type device, an operation of turning pages can be realized like turning a paper itself like a real book.

  Further, like a real book, it is possible to perform operations such as bending a page so that a plurality of pages can be seen at the same time, and easily moving between pages by sandwiching a finger or a heel between different pages. That is, the book-type device can be operated intuitively and quickly.

  Since the operation of the book-type device is the same as that of a real book, there is no need to learn the operation specific to the book-type device, and even a user unfamiliar with an electronic device can use digitized book information. become able to. In other words, it can be a universal design.

  Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, each embodiment is merely an example, and those skilled in the art will understand various variations, modifications, alternatives, substitutions, and the like. I will. For convenience of explanation, an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described using a functional block diagram. However, such an apparatus may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various variations, modifications, alternatives, substitutions, and the like are included without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Book-type input device 102 _N (N is an integer of N> 1) Screen 104 _N sensor 106 Binding part 108 _N display part 110 Control part 112 Storage part

Claims (4)

A book-type device with multiple screens,
A sensor for detecting the bending of each screen;
A book-type device comprising: a control unit that detects a pair of screens whose difference in bending between adjacent screens is greater than or equal to a threshold value based on a value detected by the sensor. Wherein the control unit is configured of the adjacent screen bend screen pair difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, detects the screen pair, the largest difference, book-type device according to claim 1. The book-type device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs display control on a pair of screens in which a difference in bending between adjacent screens is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Having a storage unit,
The control unit stores, in the storage unit, the page number displayed on the screen pair that is the maximum difference,
4. The book-type device according to claim 1, wherein when the plurality of closed screens are opened, control is performed to display a page corresponding to a page number stored in the storage unit. 5. .

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