JPH09134370A - Electronic book - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To read a composition in a short time by reading information stored in a storage medium by means of executing division at every page so as to store it by means of plural-page unit and reading it through the use of a succeeding page indicating key and a preceding page indicating key so as to display page turning-over. SOLUTION: An area for recording information of a floppy disk 14 for the portion of the plural pages is provided in a memory 18. Then, designated two- page portion information is read from the flopply disk at the time of starting display in display devices 2 and 3 and the information is respectively written in the memory 18. When the succeeding page indocating key 4A or the preceding page indicating key 4B is operated, contents for the portion of one page after or before the page under display at preset are read from the floppy disk 14 and the display contents of the display devices 2 or 3 are changed. Therefore, the contents of the floppy disk 14 are displayed in the respective display screens of the display devices 2 and 3 as if the book pages are turned over in a short time just like a case where a book is turned over by the operation of the succeeding page indicating key 4A and the preceding page indicating key 4B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention stores the contents of characters, line drawings, photographs, etc. of books, newspapers, magazines, etc. in an electronic, optical, magnetic recording device and reads them out. Regarding display device.

[0002]

The electronic book referred to in the present invention is a device that satisfies the following requirements. (1) Sentences (including Chinese characters) or figures can be displayed with the same display capability as existing books. (2) The contents of a book with several hundred pages or more are stored in a small disk (magnetic or optical) or an IC card, and this is read and displayed. (3) As a portable device, it can be carried around like a book and can be read anywhere.

In order to make it a portable device, the following functions are excluded as compared with a personal computer. In other words, it can be said that new tools were born by eliminating the following functions. (A) Print out the displayed contents. (No printer) (b) Performing complex searches. (No keyboard) Conventional e-books have the problem that when changing the display contents, if you cannot execute it in the same short time as when flipping over the book, the waiting time for the change is extremely troublesome for the reader. It was

The electronic book of the present invention aims to solve such problems.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

That is, according to the present invention, a reading device for reading information such as characters stored in a storage medium divided into pages, and a display device for displaying the read one page of information,
A next page instruction key for instructing to display the next page, a previous page instruction key for instructing to return to the display of the previous page, and an auxiliary storage means for storing the information read by the reading device in a unit of a plurality of pages, Display output control means for controlling the information stored in the auxiliary storage means to be read out by the operation of each key and to be displayed on the display device so as to turn the page.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which an electronic book is opened.
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the electronic book is closed. FIG. 3 shows the electronic book of FIG. 2 with a strap for easy carrying. FIG. 4 shows a sewing machine hinge provided so that the opening surface becomes flat in the opened state as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right display devices 2 and 3 of the electronic book 1 is a thin type such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display or a flat cathode ray tube.

The display screen of the display device 2 is provided with an area 2A for displaying a page of contents displayed on the screen and an area 2B for displaying an operating state of the electronic book 1 as described later.
Further, the display screen of the display device 3 is provided with an area 3A for displaying a page of the content displayed on the screen and an area 3B for displaying a title of an item related to the display content.

Key group 4 is a next page instruction key 4A for instructing to display the next page, a previous page instruction key 4B for instructing to return to the previous page, and an instruction for displaying a table of contents of stored information. Table of contents instruction key 4C, cursor movement key that freely moves the cursor that indicates a specific position on the displayed page
4D, cursor movement key 4D Cursor confirmation key 4E to confirm the position of the cursor specified by 4D, automatic display instruction key 4F to instruct to automatically display the next page, instruct to extract information about underline Information extraction key 4
G, an external information key 4H for instructing to receive information from each unit, a facsimile display output 4I for instructing to display and output the received information of the facsimile, and the like.

By the way, instead of the cursor movement key 4D,
Vertical cursor movement key 4D1, horizontal cursor movement key 4D2 that moves the cursor vertically and horizontally
May be separately provided.

In such a case, when the vertical cursor movement key 4D1 is pressed, the cursor moves downward from the upper end of the display screen, and when it reaches the lowermost end, it is reversed and moves upward. Similarly, with respect to the horizontal cursor movement key 4D2, when the cursor reaches the left and right ends of the display screen, the cursor is reversed and returns to the original direction.

Therefore, by providing the two keys 4D1 and 4D2 as described above, it is possible to efficiently move to a specific position on the display screen and improve the operability.

Since the keys 4F to 4I are not frequently used, these keys may be omitted and only the frequently used keys may be arranged at positions where they can be easily operated. In this case, the function of each of these keys is displayed in the area 2B or 3B of the display screen of the display device 2 or 3, or is displayed in the foremost part (or the last part) of the content displayed as the table of contents. And cursor movement key 4D and cursor confirmation key
If 4E is used and one of the functions of each of the keys 4F to 4I is selected, the same effect as when the keys 4F to 4I are installed on the main body can be achieved.

In this example, the storage medium is a floppy disk, and a plurality of floppy disks can be stored in the floppy disk stock hole 5. The floppy disk to be displayed is inserted into the floppy disk drive device 6. After the insertion, the display is started by the power switch 7.

When the electronic book 1 is closed, there is a click sound with a click and the hook 10 is locked, and the state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Further, in the opened state as shown in FIG. 1, the display surface becomes flat left and right by the function of the sewing machine hinge 8 shown in FIG. In addition, a strap 9 is provided on the electronic book 1 of FIG.
The state shown in FIG. 3 is possible.

Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In this embodiment, 8, 16 or 32
Bit CPU 11 is used.

A pulse is generated from the clock generator 13 by the function of the crystal oscillator 12, and this pulse causes the CP
The execution cycle of U 11 is determined.

By operating the various keys 4A to 4I, key signals are fetched by the CPU 11 via the I / O interface 15 and the bus 21. Communication via a telephone line is performed by a converter 1 via a modem (not shown).
6 and serial I / O interface 17.

A memory 18 such as a readable / writable semiconductor memory temporarily records information from the floppy disk 14 as a recording medium as described later.

ROM (Read Only Memory) 19
Stores a program for operating the electronic book 1 in advance as described later. It also has a read-on memory 20 for standard Kanji fonts prepared in advance. Then, these elements are connected to the bus 21.

The bus 21 has a liquid crystal control IC 22.
Also, the display devices 2 and 3 including liquid crystal displays are connected via the drivers 23 and 23.

The display devices 2 and 3 made up of liquid crystal displays are arranged to display like a spread book as shown in FIG. 1, and one of them may display a sentence and the other may display a table of contents, etc., if necessary. Good.

An image display memory (for two screens) 25 for updating each display screen of the display devices 2 and 3 is connected to the liquid crystal control IC 22. The contents of the floppy disk 14 inserted in the floppy disk drive 6 are read by the floppy disk drive 6 and processed by the floppy disk controller 26.

Next, the basic functions of the electronic book 1 thus constructed will be described below.

When the contents instruction key 4C is operated after the power switch 7 is turned on, the CPU 11 instructs the floppy disk controller 26 to read the contents of the contents stored in the floppy disk 14. Then, the floppy disk drive device 6 reads the contents of the instructed table of contents from the floppy diskette 14, and the read contents of the table of contents are transferred to the image display memory 25. The contents of the table of contents are displayed on the display screen in the form of character patterns.

As a result, the operator (reader) can select a desired table of contents based on the displayed contents. The selection is made as follows.

That is, by operating the cursor movement key 4D, the cursor on the standard screen is moved to a desired index position and stopped, and when the index indicating key 4C is operated again, the desired index is selected. .

Then, when the contents of the page corresponding to the selected table of contents are read from the floppy disk 14 and transferred to the image display memory 25, the contents of the page are displayed on the display screen of the display device. The reader can read the displayed contents through the display screen.

Next, when the next page instruction key 4A is operated,
The contents of the next one page following the currently displayed page are read from the floppy disk 14 and the display contents of the display device 2 or the display device 3 are changed. On the other hand, the previous page instruction key 4
When B is operated, the contents of one page before the currently displayed page are read from the floppy disk 14 and the display device 2
Alternatively, the display content of the display device 3 is changed.

Therefore, by operating the next page instruction key 4A and the previous page instruction key 4B, the contents of the floppy disk 14, which is the recording medium, are displayed on the respective display screens of the display devices 2 and 3 so as to turn the pages of the book. To be done.

In the present invention, when the display contents of the display devices 2 and 3 are changed, it is executed in a short time as in the case of turning over a book.

In order to carry out this, as shown in FIG. 6, areas 18-1 to 18-16 for recording information of the floppy disk 14 for a plurality of pages (for example, 16 pages) are stored in the memory 18.
Is provided.

When the display of the display devices 2 and 3 is started, the information for the designated two pages is stored in the floppy disk 14.
Read this information from area 18-7 of memory 18,
Write in 18-8 respectively. At the same time, the memory 18
6 pages of information of the pages before the two pages to be displayed in the areas 18-1 to 18-6 are written, and the information of the pages after the two pages to be displayed in the areas 18-9 to 18-16 of the memory 18 is written. Write page information for 8 pages.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the contents of the designated page of the floppy disk 14 are displayed on the display devices 2 and 3 (step S21). Then, when there is an input from the keys 4A to 4I during the display (step S2
2) It is determined whether or not this key input is the next page instruction key 4A (step S23).

As a result, when the next page instruction key 4A is pressed,
It is determined whether or not there is room in the text data in the recording areas 18-9 to 18-16 of the memory 18 (step S2).
4).

As a result, when there is no room in the text data,
In other words, the recording area 18-
When the contents up to 5 and 18-16 have been displayed, the information for 8 pages following the page of the display is read from the floppy disk 14 (step S25), and the recording areas 18-1 to 18-16 are read. The information (text data) stored in is shifted by 8 pages in the direction of arrow A (step S2).
6).

As a result, the information to be displayed next is shifted and stored in the recording areas 18-7 to 18-8, and new eight pages of information are recorded in the recording areas 18-9 to 18-.
16 is stored.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S24 is that there is room in the text data, processing advances to step S27 and the page to be displayed next is set.

By the way, when a negative determination is made in step 23, the process proceeds to step S28, it is determined whether or not the key input is the previous page instruction key 4B, and it is determined whether or not the previous page instruction key 4B has a margin (step S29).

As a result, when there is no room, in other words, the recording areas 18-1, 18- of the memory 18 are input by key input.
When the display up to the contents of 2 is completed, the information for 8 pages before the page of the display is read from the floppy disk 14 (step S30), and the recording areas 18-1 to 18-1 are selected.
Information (text data) stored in 8-16 is indicated by an arrow B.
8 pages are shifted in the direction (step S31).

As a result, the recording areas 18-1 to 18-1
Information recorded up to 8-8 is recorded in the recording area 18-9.
.. to 18-16, and information for eight new pages is stored in the recording areas 18-1 to 18-8.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S29 is that there is room in the text data, step S27
Go to and set the page to be displayed next.

By the way, according to the present invention, external information such as newspapers and magazines can be received using a telephone line, and at the time of reception, it is written in a storage medium such as a floppy disk 14 in advance. The external information can be received for the first time only by checking the presence or absence of the reception permission information such as the number of valid receptions updated every reception.

In order to realize this, the floppy disk 14 has an area 14-A for storing the effective period and an area 14 for storing the effective reception amount in addition to the area for storing the body text as shown in FIG. -B, area 14-C for storing the number of valid receptions are provided respectively.

Here, the date is used as the effective period, and the number of pages or the number of characters is used as the effective reception amount.

Next, a control example of this function will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when the external information reception key 4H instructing to receive external information is operated, the date of the day is received (step S61).

Next, a floppy disk 14 which is a storage medium
The valid period, the valid reception amount, and the valid reception count, which are the reception permission information, are read out from the respective areas 14-A to 14-C (step S62).

Then, when the valid period is within the period, and the valid reception amount and the valid count are both within the limits (steps S63 to S65), external information (text data) is received, and the received text data is received. A floppy disk
Store in 14 predetermined areas.

Next, when the storage of the external information in the floppy disk 14 is completed, the value of the effective reception amount is reduced by the amount corresponding to the reception amount and the remaining effective reception amount is reduced to the floppy disk.
The contents of the area 14-B of 14 are rewritten, and the number of times of reception is reduced by 1 to rewrite the contents of the area 14-C to the remaining number of valid receptions. Therefore, the contents of the areas 14-B and 14-C in the floppy disk 14 are updated each time the external information is received and stored.

On the other hand, if any of the negative determinations at steps S63, S64 and S65, the external information floppy disk
Since it cannot be stored in 14, the warning to that effect is displayed (step S68).

In the above case, steps S63 and S6
It is impossible to store external information in the floppy disk 14 unless all three conditions of 4 and S65 are satisfied.
Floppy disk if only one of these conditions is met
It may be possible to store external information in 14.

If the floppy disk 14 is sold by providing the function as described above, the purchaser has already paid for the reception of the external information at the time of the purchase. Therefore, when receiving information as in the conventional case, it is not necessary to check whether or not the recipient is registered.

Further, according to the present invention, the information to be received by the facsimile is temporarily stored in a floppy disk.
The information is stored in 14 and the information is displayed on the display devices 2 and 3 as needed.

In order to realize such a function, FIG.
As shown in, a switching device 31 for switching the signal path is provided at the end of the telephone line 30.
And the facsimile 32, or the telephone line 30 and the electronic book 1 can be connected.

Next, this function will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when receiving a facsimile, the writable page P of the floppy disk 14 which is a storage medium is read (step S71), and the reception is started (step S72).

Next, the received contents are stored in the memory 18 until the contents for one page are received (step S73).
, S74). Then, the contents for one page are stored in the memory 18
When it is stored inside, one page of the content is written in the floppy disk 14 (step S75).

Then, the value of P is incremented by 1 (step S76), and if the reception is not completed (step S77), the reception of the next one page is continued. On the other hand, when the reception end signal is detected in step S77, the value of P is written in a predetermined area of the floppy disk 14 (step S78).

Therefore, the next reception can be written from the P-th page.

Next, when the information received in this way is displayed on the display devices 2 and 3, the key 41 for instructing that the received information of the facsimile should be output and displayed is displayed.

Further, each time the key 41 is operated, the received information is sequentially updated and displayed on the display devices 2 and 3.

It is also possible to transfer the received information in the floppy disk 14 to a facsimile and obtain a hard copy by the facsimile.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, the text information stored in the storage medium is displayed on the display device so as to turn the pages of the book, and the display content of the display device can be changed in an extremely short time. Therefore, the reader can obtain the effect that the page can be turned over in a short time and the text can be read as in the case of the conventional book.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an open state of an electronic book embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a closed state of the electronic book of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example in which a strap is provided on the electronic book of FIG. 1 for easy carrying.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the sewing machine hinge of FIG. 1.

5 is a block diagram of hardware of the electronic book of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a usage example of a memory for realizing the information reading function of the electronic book of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an information reading function.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a storage example of a floppy diskette for realizing an external information receiving function.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an external information receiving function.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for realizing a facsimile reception display function.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a facsimile reception display function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Electronic book 2, 3 Display device 4A Next page instruction key 4B Previous page instruction key 4D Cursor move key 4G Signal extraction key 4H External information reception key 4I Facsimile display output key 6 Floppy disk drive device 11 cpu 14 Floppy disk 18 Memory 19 ROM

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A reading device for reading information such as characters stored in a storage medium divided into pages, a display device for displaying the read information for one page, and an instruction for displaying the next page. A page instruction key, a previous page instruction key for instructing to return to the display of the previous page, an auxiliary storage means for storing the information read by the reading device in units of a plurality of pages, and an auxiliary storage means for operating the respective keys. An electronic book, comprising: a display output control unit that controls stored information to be read and displayed on a display device so as to turn a page.