JPH0962699A - Electronic book reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic book reproducing device with which reading is prevented from being stopped in the middle and it can be easily discriminated when moving to the next page. SOLUTION: A write interval for writing mesh display data in an image memory is calculated from the visual speed calculated based on set reading range and scheduled reading time (step S31). Document data read out of a recording medium are turned to image data and stored in the image memory (step S34), the stored data are outputted onto a display part and sentences are displayed (step S35). The mesh display data outputted from an arithmetic processing unit are added to the image memory at the calculated write intervals (step S37), the image data to which the mesh display data are added are outputted onto the display part, and mesh display is performed. The mesh display is continued until it comes to the final position of the set reading range (steps S38-S42).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic book reproducing apparatus for reading text information stored in a recording medium and displaying the text on a display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an electronic book reproducing apparatus, text information is recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (compact disk type read-only memory), a floppy disk or an IC card, and the recording medium is reproduced. The device is set in a drive device built in the device to reproduce a sentence, and the sentence is displayed on a display screen provided in the electronic book reproducing device to perform reading.

Conventionally, in this kind of electronic book reproducing apparatus, two kinds of processing, that is, manual processing and automatic processing, are carried out when reading a sentence displayed on a display screen. That is, in the manual process, first, the page of the reading start is displayed on the display screen, and when the user finishes reading the displayed text, the user operates, for example, the key to move to the next page. , The text display process for the next page is started. In the automatic processing, the page is automatically fed at a constant speed by a predetermined operation, and the text display processing for the next page is executed.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the manual processing is selected,
Since the user is reading the text without knowing exactly how many pages have been read within a predetermined time, the user may have to interrupt the reading at a halfway point. Especially, for example, when reading using a portable electronic book reproducing device on a train,
When the user arrives at the disembarkation station, he / she often has to stop reading and get off the train, and frequently stop reading at a halfway point. In addition, when automatic processing is selected, the time to finish reading can be predicted to some extent from the page feed speed, but in order not to interrupt reading at a halfway point, the number of pages in the desired sentence range However, there is an unsolved problem that the user has to calculate the page feed speed for finishing reading this in time, which is troublesome.

Further, particularly when the automatic processing is selected, the page feeding is automatically performed, so that the user does not know when to shift from the page currently being read to the next page, and the user cannot use the page. The person will continue to read while being aware of that, and there is a problem that he cannot concentrate on the essential reading. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to solve the above-mentioned problems, to prevent the reading from being interrupted at a halfway point with a simple setting, and to provide an electronic book reproducing apparatus which can determine the transition time to the next page. To aim.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic book reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an electronic book reproducing apparatus for reading text information stored in a recording medium and displaying a text on a display device. , Setting means for setting a scheduled reading time and a sentence range to finish reading within the scheduled reading time,
A visual speed calculation means for calculating a visual speed based on the scheduled reading time and the text range set by the setting means, and a reading schedule for a text within the set text range based on the visual speed calculated by the visual speed calculation means It is characterized by further comprising a visual position indicating means for sequentially indicating the visual position of the sentence so that the reading is completed within the time.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a portable electronic book reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic book reproducing apparatus. On the upper surface of the electronic book reproducing apparatus 1, there is provided a display unit 2 configured to display a sentence at a position near a rear portion thereof, for example, a liquid crystal screen. Is provided with a key operation unit 3 forming a part of the setting means. The key operation unit 3 includes page forward keys 3a for "previous page" and "next page".
And 3b, definition keys 3c and 3 for "select" and "setting"
There is provided a push button type key composed of d and cursor movement instruction keys 3e to 3h such as “Δ” used for moving the cursor up and down, left and right and setting a numerical value. A recording medium insertion opening (not shown) is provided on the front side in FIG. 1, and the text information is stored, for example, 8 cm in diameter.
A single CD-ROM consisting of a CD-ROM (compact disc type read-only memory) is inserted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic book reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the hatched portion of the display unit 2 is shaded to indicate the visual position by shading the displayed text to indicate the visual position. The length gradually increases at a predetermined display speed. As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic book reproducing apparatus 1 drives the single CD-ROM 4, drives the driving apparatus 5, and controls the driving of the single driving apparatus 5.
A drive controller 6 that reads data from the D-ROM 4, an operation unit interface 7 that outputs a signal in response to an operation of the key operation unit 3, a Kanji ROM 8 that stores Kanji corresponding to code data, and a control procedure A memory 9 that stores programs and data, an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) 10 that controls the display of sentences based on the program of the memory 9 and controls a halftone dot display, and is connected to the arithmetic processing unit 10 and calculated. The writing interval for writing the shaded display data in the image memory 12 is defined based on the visual speed,
A timer circuit 11 forming part of the visual position indicating means,
The text data for one page of the display screen is stored as image data corresponding to the dot configuration of the display screen, and the image memory 12 forming a part of the visual position indicating means, and the arithmetic processing unit 1
A display control circuit 13 that controls the address of the image memory 12 based on a control signal of 0 to control the display of text and halftone dots.
And a driver 14 that amplifies image data supplied from the image memory 12 via the display control circuit 13 and outputs the amplified image data to the display unit 2, a drive controller 6, an operation unit interface 7, a Kanji ROM 8, a memory 9, an arithmetic processing unit. 10,
And a bus 15 for connecting each signal line and control line of the display control circuit 13 and the like.

Next, the processing by the arithmetic processing unit 10 when setting the shaded display will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This processing routine is executed when the "setting" definition key 3d is pressed, and first, step S1.
Then, the menu screen of the shading setting shown in FIG. 4 is displayed. The menu screen has a reading range setting mode that sets the reading range arbitrarily, a table of contents mode that sets the reading range based on the table of contents, a speed fine adjustment mode that finely adjusts the viewing speed, and a speed that directly sets the viewing speed. Each mode item of the setting mode is displayed.

Then, in steps S2 to S5, which mode is selected is determined by the position of the cursor.
Each mode is confirmed when the "select" definition key 3c is pressed. Then, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the "previous page" page feed key 3a is pressed. When the "previous page" page feed key 3a is pressed, it is determined that none of the modes has been selected, and the normal text display screen is displayed. If not, the process returns to step S2.

When the reading range setting mode is selected on the menu screen, a predetermined scheduled reading time is set in step S7 as shown in FIG. 5 (A). The scheduled reading time is set as follows. By operating the left / right direction instruction keys 3g or 3h, the position of the cursor is moved to select the time digit to be set. And "△" or "▽"
By operating the instruction key 3e or 3f, the numerical value is increased or decreased to set a desired time. After that, when the definition key 3c of "select" is pressed, the setting is confirmed, and the confirmed scheduled reading time is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 9.

Next, in step S8, the reading start position and the reading end position are set. The reading start position is shown in Fig. 5.
As shown in (B), the page forward key 3a or 3b for "previous page" or "next page" and the instruction key 3g or 3h for moving the cursor in the left-right direction are operated, and a predetermined line at the reading start position is operated. Is set, and definition key 3c for "select"
Is pressed to confirm the setting. At this time, the starting page displayed at the time of setting is determined from the page data of the single CD-ROM 4 to obtain the starting page, and the starting position is determined from the position of the cursor on the display screen to obtain the starting position. Then, the obtained start page and start position are stored in a predetermined area of the memory 9.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the reading end position is set after being set by the same operation as the reading start position, and the determined end page and end position are obtained in the same manner as above. Is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 9. By this operation, the setting of the shaded display in the reading range setting mode is completed. When the table-of-contents mode is selected on the menu screen, in step S9, as shown in FIG. 6A, the process of setting and confirming the scheduled reading time is executed as in step S7, and the confirmed reading schedule is determined. The time is stored in a predetermined area of the memory 9. Then, step S10
Then, the process of setting and confirming the start page and end page of reading is executed based on the displayed table of contents. As the start page, as shown in FIG. 6B, on the table of contents display screen, after the desired table of contents is displayed by operating the page forward key 3a or 3b of "previous page" or "next page", move the cursor up and down. The setting is performed by selecting a desired item by operating the instruction key 3e or 3f which moves to, and the definition key 3c of "select" is pressed to confirm the setting. The end page is fixed by the same operation as the start page in the table of contents mode, as shown in FIG.

At this time, the start page and the end page are discriminated from the position of the cursor when the desired item is selected on the index screen, and these pages are stored in a predetermined area of the memory 9. As the end page, a value obtained by subtracting one from the page corresponding to the item next to the end item selected on the index screen is stored as the end page. Then, when the speed fine adjustment mode is selected, a normal sentence screen is displayed in step S11, and the shaded portion of the sentence is displayed at the currently set visual speed. In this display state, when the cursor movement instruction key 3e or 3f of "△" or "▽" is operated, the set value of the timer circuit 11 is changed according to the number of times the instruction key 3e or 3f is pressed, for example. By doing so, the visual speed is increased or decreased to finely adjust the speed.

When the speed setting mode is selected, in step S12, as shown in FIG. 7A, for example, the cursor movement instruction keys 3e to 3h such as ".DELTA." For the number of characters displayed in half-tone dot mesh are displayed. The setting is made by operation, and the setting is confirmed when the definition key 3b of "select" is pressed. This number of characters is set as follows. Operate the left / right direction instruction key 3g or 3h to move the cursor position to select the digit to be set, and then use the “△” or “▽” instruction key 3e.
Alternatively, by operating 3f, the numerical value is increased or decreased to set the desired number of characters. Then, in step S13, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B) and (C), for example, a table of contents screen is displayed, and the setting processing of the start position and the end position of the range where the shaded display is performed is executed, and the set start page and end page are stored in the memory 9. Store in a predetermined area. It should be noted that the setting of the range in which the shaded display is performed may be performed on the screens shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C.

Next, the visual speed calculation processing as the visual speed calculation means executed by the arithmetic processing unit 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is started by the upper-level program after the setting process of the halftone dot display is completed, and first, in step S21, the start page and the start position representing the start position in the set reading range are stored in the memory 9. Read from a predetermined storage area.

Next, in step S22, the end page and the end position, which represent the end position of the set reading range, are read from a predetermined storage area of the memory 9. next,
The process proceeds to step S23, and the number of lines of the sentence between each position is obtained from the start position and the end position of the reading range obtained in steps S21 and S22. In the reading range setting mode, first, the number of lines from the stored start position to the end of the page is calculated, and then each page is configured with the same number of lines based on the stored start page and end page. Assuming that there is a line, calculate the number of lines between pages, and further calculate the number of lines from the first line to the end position on the end page,
The number of all these lines is summed to obtain the number of lines between the start position and the end position, and this number of lines is stored in the register. Further, in the table-of-contents mode, the number of lines between pages is calculated from the stored start page and end page assuming that each page has the same number of lines as in the above, and the number of lines is stored in the register.

Then, the process proceeds to step S24, the stored scheduled reading time is read, and the calculated number of lines between the start position and the end position of the reading range is divided by the scheduled reading time, for example, every minute. The number of lines is calculated and stored in the memory 9 as the visual speed when the shaded display is performed, and the visual speed calculation process ends. Next, the processing of the shaded display as the visual position instructing means executed by the arithmetic processing device 10 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

In this process, in order to perform a shaded display for instructing the visual position, the shaded display data is sequentially added to the image data stored in the image memory 12, and the displayed text is shaded. There is. Then, this process is started by a higher-level program after the processing of the visual speed is completed, and first, in step S31, the stored value of the visual speed is read out, and the shaded display data is stored in the image memory 12.
Calculate the writing interval when writing to.

This writing interval is obtained as follows. For example, when the calculated visual speed is 20 lines per minute, it takes 3 seconds to display one line in a shaded manner. If the number of dots in the vertical direction of the character display area on the screen is 480 dots,
The number of horizontal scanning lines in the character display area is 480. For example, when the shaded display data is written every 5 lines, the number of lines that need to be written is 96 lines. Therefore, in this case, writing is performed 96 times in 3 seconds, and the writing interval of the shaded display data for every 5 lines is 31.25 msec.

Next, in step S32, the calculated write interval is set in the timer circuit. Since the writing interval of the shaded display data is measured by the timer circuit 11,
The calculated write interval is set in the timer circuit. The timer circuit 11 is a circulation type timer, and when the set time is reached, for example, it outputs a high-level signal for a predetermined time, and self-resets and restarts counting.

Next, in step S33, the stored reading start page value is read out and set as a read page in the register. When the starting position is stored, the starting position value is also read out to display the shaded display data. The write start address of the image memory 12 when writing is written in the image memory 12 is set in the register. In this case, the setting of the write start address differs depending on whether the selected mode is the reading range setting mode or the table of contents mode. When the reading range setting mode is selected, the reading start position is stored. In addition, since the reading start page is stored when the table of contents mode is selected, the writing start address of the image memory 12 is set to the first character head of the first line of the start page.

Next, the process proceeds to step S34, and the data of the same page as the set read page is written to the single CD-RO.
The data for one page is read out from M4 and stored in the image memory 12 as image data. At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 10 extracts the corresponding kanji or hiragana from the kanji ROM 8 based on the code data read from the single CD-ROM 4, converts each character into image data of a character pattern, and converts this image data. Are stored in the image memory 12.

Here, since each character is represented by the density of dots on the display screen, the image memory 12 is configured with a predetermined number of bits in each of the vertical and horizontal directions corresponding to the number of dots in the vertical and horizontal directions on the screen, and The dots on the screen and the bits in the image memory 12 are in one-to-one correspondence. Then, as shown in FIG. 10A, one character is composed of 24 dots (bits) vertically and horizontally, the character is displayed in black on the screen, and the back portion is displayed in white. , The binary signal “0” is stored in the character portion as black image data, and the binary signal “1” is stored in the back portion as white image data.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the signal level in the XY scanning line in FIG. 10A is "1" in the back part and "0" in the character part.

Next, in step S35, the image data in the image memory 12 is sequentially output for each bit of the horizontal line in a predetermined read cycle, and a sentence is displayed on the display unit 2. Next, the process proceeds to step S36, and the image memory 12
It is determined whether it is time to add the shaded display data to the image data. When the output signal of the timer circuit 11 is high level, step S
Move to 37. If it is at the low level, the process proceeds to step S35 to output the image data.

In step S37, the shaded display data is added to the image data of the image memory 12 based on the set write start address of the image memory 12. Here, the shaded display data is written in a blanking period in which the output processing of the image memory 12 is not performed, for example, in the next horizontal blanking period after the output signal of the timer circuit 11 becomes high level. .

As shown in FIG. 11A, in the case of performing the halftone processing for displaying black every 5 dots, as shown in FIG. 11B, the signal levels of the X'-Y 'scanning lines are shown. The shaded display data of "0" is added to the image data every 5 dots in the shaded range. Since the image data of "0" is stored in the character portion, even if the shaded display data of "0" is added due to the shading, there is no adverse effect on the character portion. It is displayed in gray on the top.

Next, the process proceeds to step S38, and it is determined whether or not it is the end position of the set reading range. Whether or not it is the end page and end line of the stored reading range is determined from the page currently displayed on the screen and the address value in which the shaded display data is written, and when it is determined that the end position is reached, the shaded area is displayed. The display is ended and the page feed is ended. If it is determined that the end position has not been reached, then the flow shifts to step S39.

In step S39, it is determined whether the shaded display is the last line and reaches the last line in the page. It is determined from the current write address value of the image memory 12 whether or not the halftone dot processing within the page has reached the final line. When it is determined that the final line has not been reached, the process proceeds to step S40 and the final When it is determined that the line has been reached, the process proceeds to step S41.

In step S40, the address value to which the shaded display data is added is updated, and the address control in the row (horizontal) and column (vertical) directions of the image memory 12 is performed. For example, when the shaded display data is written at a predetermined dot interval, for example, every 5 dots as shown in FIG. 11A, the column address for one row is fixed and the row address is fixed until the shade of one vertical row is completed. Update by 5. Then, when it is determined from the address value that the row address has reached the final scan line of one row, the address of each row and column is added to the first character part of the adjacent row in order to shade the adjacent row. To set.

When it is determined that the final line in the page has been reached, in step S41, step S3
The value of the read page set in 3 is incremented by 1. Next, the process proceeds to step S42, and the write start address of the image memory 12 is set. In the setting of the write start address in step S33, the value of the write start address to be set differs depending on the selected mode.
The image memory 12 is always displayed at the head of the first character of the first line of the sentence.
Set the write start address of. And step S3
4 and move the data on the next page to a single CD-R
The image data is read out from the OM4, and the image data display and the halftone processing are continued.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
First, the user displays a screen display menu for shaded display settings, and selects which mode defines the shaded display settings. When the reading range setting mode is selected, the scheduled reading time is set and the reading start position and the ending position are set while performing the page feed operation. Processor 1
At 0, the number of lines from the set start position to the end position of reading is calculated, and the calculated number of lines is divided by the set scheduled reading time to calculate the visual speed.

When the user selects the table of contents mode, the table of contents is displayed on the screen, and the user sets the scheduled reading time and operates the keys to set the reading range on the table of contents screen. To do. The arithmetic processing unit 10 discriminates the reading start page and the reading end page from the position of the cursor set in the table of contents screen, and stores each page. Then, the number of lines from the start page to the end page of the reading range is calculated based on the difference between the pages. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 10 divides the calculated number of lines by the set scheduled reading time to calculate the visual speed.

Then, based on the visual speed, the timer circuit 1
The value of the writing interval is set to 1, and thereby the writing timing when writing the shaded display data in the image memory 12 is determined. Then, the arithmetic processing device 10 retrieves the text of the start page of the set reading range, and the text of one page is displayed on the display unit 2. After that, the shading processing is executed, and the shading display data is sequentially added to the image data in the image memory 12 for which visual inspection is to be instructed, based on the set writing interval value. As a result, the display unit 2
The text displayed on the screen is shaded sequentially for each line of the text and for each scanning line. Then, when the shaded display reaches the last line of the last line in the page, the next page is automatically displayed, and the shaded display and the automatic page feed are continued until the final position of the set text range is reached. By reading the text along the shaded display, it is possible to finish reading the text in the set reading range within the scheduled reading time.

When the user selects the speed fine adjustment mode on the menu screen, the normal reading mode is entered and the text is displayed on the display unit 2. Then, the shaded display is performed at the set visual speed, and the user finely adjusts the visual speed by key operation to set the desired visual speed. After that, by the start-up operation by the higher-level program, the text for one page of the start page of the set reading range is displayed, and the halftone display is performed at the visual speed set by the fine adjustment. In this speed fine adjustment mode, the value of the visual speed does not change significantly, so even if the speed is finely adjusted, the halftone dot display end time does not change significantly with respect to the set scheduled time. .

When the user selects the speed setting mode on the menu screen and directly sets the visual speed, the shaded display is performed at the set visual speed. In this mode, the viewing speed can be directly set, so that the setting can be arbitrarily and easily performed according to the reading speed of the reader. Thus, in the first embodiment,
The reading range and the scheduled reading time are set in advance, the visual speed is calculated based on the set values, and the shaded display is performed at the calculated visual speed. Therefore, by reading the text along the shaded display, you can finish reading the text in the set reading range within the set time, and avoid interrupting reading at a halfway point with simple settings. can do. In addition, since it is displayed in a shaded manner, it is possible to easily know the timing to move to the next page and concentrate on reading.

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the displayed character itself is sequentially changed to a predetermined color at the calculated visual speed, and color character display is performed to indicate the visual position. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a part of the color character display processing as the visual position designating means and the image memory 12a are used for RG of three primary colors.
It is different from the first embodiment in that it is configured by each memory of B and that the display unit 2 is a color display screen. Further, the electronic book reproducing apparatus 1 is different from the first embodiment in that, for example, a side surface is provided with a changeover switch for designating a color of a visual position display. The other block configurations, the processing of setting the reading range and the scheduled reading time of the color character display, and the visual speed calculation processing as the visual speed calculation means are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Therefore, the process of displaying color characters as the visual position instructing means executed by the arithmetic processing unit 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, step S
At 51, the data conversion interval when the color character display data is added and the image data is converted is calculated based on the visual speed calculated by performing the same processing as in the first embodiment. The color character display data is added to the image data for which the visual position is to be designated. In the second embodiment, since the color character display data is added for each line, for example, when the visual speed, the number of dots in the vertical direction of the display screen, and the like have the same values as in the first embodiment, the data conversion interval is changed. Is ⅕ of the writing interval of shaded display data, which is 6.25 msec.

Then, in step S52, the calculated data conversion interval is set in the timer circuit as in step S32 of the first embodiment, and in step S53, the reading start page is read by the same processing as in step S33. When reading the value and setting the read page in the register, and when the reading range setting mode is selected, when the color character display data is added to the image memory 12 and the image data is converted,
The data conversion start address of the image memory 12 is set in the register.

Then, the process proceeds to step S54, and the data of the same page as the set read page is written to the single CD-RO.
It is read from M4, converted into image data using the Kanji ROM 8, and the image data for one page is stored in the image memory 12a.
In each RGB memory. In each of the RGB memories, a binary signal "0" is stored in the character portion as black image data, and a binary signal "1" is stored in the back portion as white image data. At this time, image data of the same binarized signal are all stored at the same address of each RGB memory corresponding to a predetermined position (dot) on the screen.

Then, the process proceeds to step S55, where RGB
The image data at the same address in each memory is simultaneously output sequentially for each bit of the horizontal line in a predetermined read cycle, and a sentence is displayed on the display unit 2. Since the same data is stored in the same address of each memory of RGB,
Even if the output image data of the RGB memories are added, the back portion is displayed in white and the characters are displayed in text in black on the screen.

Then, in step S56, step S3
Similar to 6, it is determined whether it is time to add the color character display data and convert the character color. Next, step S5
7, the color character display data is added to the image data of the image memory 12a based on the set data conversion start address of the image memory 12a, and the image data is converted into a display state of predetermined color characters. For example, when the selector switch for specifying the color of the visual position display is set to red,
The image data is converted into the display state of red characters.

As shown in FIG. 14 (A), when the character portion is converted from black to red, as shown in FIG. 14 (B), the RGB signal levels in the X'-Y 'scanning lines are as follows.
By adding the color character display data of "1" only to the image data indicating the visual position of the R image memory 12a, the red color character display can be performed. Originally, the image data of the back portion is "1", so R at a predetermined visual speed
Even if the color character display data of "1" is written in the image memory of 1, the black character can be converted into the red character without any adverse effect.

Then, in step S58, similarly to step S38 of the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not it is the ending position of the set reading range, and step S59.
Then, similarly to step S39, it is determined whether or not the color character display is the last line and reaches the last line in the page. Next, the process proceeds to step S60, and the address value of the image memory that performs color character conversion is updated. The address value is updated as follows. Since the text is displayed vertically, in order to process the red characters sequentially line by line from the character part at the upper right corner of the screen, the image memory of the R image memory 12
The column address of a is fixed until the color character display for one line is completed within the range of one vertical line of the sentence, and the line address is updated by one. Then, in step S61, as in step S41 of the first embodiment, the value of the read page is incremented by 1, and in step S62, the data conversion writing start address of the image memory 12 is set to the first line of the sentence. Set to the head of the first character. Then, the process proceeds to step S54 to read the data of the next page from the single CD-ROM 4.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.
As in the first embodiment, the visual speed is calculated by setting the reading range and the scheduled reading time. The color character display is performed based on the calculated visual speed, and since the text is displayed vertically on the screen, the color character display is performed from the upper right end. When color character display data for converting the character color from black to red is added, the row or column address of only the R image memory 12a is updated, and the R image memory 12 is updated.
The color character display data of "1" is added to the set address of a. As a result, the characters in one vertical line of the displayed text are converted into red for each scanning line, and the red character display sequentially shifts to the text in the adjacent line. Then, while performing automatic page feeding, color character display is sequentially executed up to the end position of the set sentence range.

As described above, in the second embodiment,
The color of the character is sequentially converted for each scanning line of one row.
In the embodiment, the color for displaying color characters is set to red, but the color for displaying color characters can be easily changed.
For example, when color display data of "1" is simultaneously input to the addresses of the R and G image memories corresponding to the same dot on the screen, the color character display can be set to yellow. Therefore, the selection range of colors when displaying color characters is widened, and a highly practical electronic book reproducing device can be provided.

In the above embodiment, the visual position indicating means is achieved by the halftone dot display structure and the color character display structure. However, in addition to this, a lateral line is drawn next to the sentence. Alternatively, the visual position may be designated. For example, a binary signal of "0", for example, is sequentially added to the bit between the character data stored in the image memory and the character data to draw a black side line. In this case, since only the side line is needed, there is an effect that the address management of the image memory becomes easy.

Further, the visual position instructing means may be configured to reversely display only one character in the displayed sentence to instruct the visual position. In this case, a switching circuit is provided between the image memory and the display unit without adding data for instructing the visual position to the image memory, and the horizontal line direction and the vertical line when inverting the input signal of the switching circuit are provided. The arithmetic processing unit manages the timing of each direction. Since the visual position instruction is only one character,
This has the effect of making it easier to see the characters in the entire sentence.

In each of the above embodiments, the sentence is displayed vertically on the screen, but it is possible to indicate the visual position even in the horizontally displayed sentence. In this case, halftone dot display or color character display is sequentially performed from the left side of the upper left character on the display screen, and when the horizontal one line halftone dot display or the like is completed, the halftone dot display or the like is sequentially moved to the lower line. In each of the above embodiments, the number of lines in the set reading range is calculated when calculating the visual speed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of characters in the set reading range is counted. Alternatively, the visual speed may be calculated. For example, when reading data from a single CD-ROM and storing the image data in the image memory, the code number of the data is determined and the number of characters is counted.
Then, when a visual position is designated by shaded display or the like, for example, the position of the character is previously determined when the image data is stored in the image memory, and the shaded display or the like is performed only at the position where the character is present.

Further, in the second embodiment, the characters are displayed in black at the initial stage, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the characters may be displayed in color at the initial stage. Further, in the first embodiment, the image memory may be composed of three memories of RGB, and the shaded display may be colored. For example, the image data of the character portion is displayed in black with "0" in all three memories, and is displayed in white in the back portion with "1". And
When performing the shaded display, the shaded display data of "0" is simultaneously added to the same address of the predetermined two memories for displaying the visual position, and the back portion of the other one memory remains "1". As a result, the shaded display is "1" in the back part.
It can be displayed in its original memory color.

[0051]

As described above, in the electronic book reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, the setting means for setting the scheduled reading time and the sentence range, the visual speed calculating means for calculating the visual speed, and the visual position of the text. And a visual position instructing means for sequentially instructing. For this reason, by reading the text according to the instruction of the visual position, it is possible to finish reading the text of the set reading range within the set scheduled time, and stop the reading at a halfway point with a simple setting. That can be avoided. Further, since the visual position is designated, it is possible to easily know the timing to move to the next page and concentrate on reading.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electronic book reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for setting a shaded display according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a menu screen for setting a shaded display.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a reading range setting mode.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a table of contents mode.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a speed setting mode.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of visual speed calculation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of shaded display according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a normal display state according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a shaded display state according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a main part showing a configuration of an image memory according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of color character display according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a color character display state according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic book reproducing apparatus 2 Display section 3 Key operation section 4 Single CD-ROM 10 Arithmetic processing unit 12 Image memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic book reproducing apparatus for reading out sentence information stored in a recording medium and displaying a sentence on a display device, and setting means for setting a scheduled reading time and a sentence range to finish reading within the scheduled reading time. A visual speed calculation means for calculating a visual speed based on the scheduled reading time and the text range set by the setting means, and a reading schedule for a text within the set text range based on the visual speed calculated by the visual speed calculation means An electronic book reproducing apparatus, comprising: a visual position indicating means for sequentially indicating a visual position of a sentence so that reading can be completed within time.