WO2014076977A1

WO2014076977A1 - Electronic device, display control method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2014076977A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/057307
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健介堀内
Original assignee: 株式会社東芝
Priority date: 2012-11-15
Filing date: 2013-03-14
Publication date: 2014-05-22
Also published as: CN103959370A; JP5342059B1; JP2014099081A

Abstract

According to this embodiment, an electronic device is equipped with a display device, a sensor, and a display control means. The sensor detects the orientation of the display device. When one side of the display device changes from a first state along a first direction to a second state along a second direction differing from the first direction, the display control means causes the alignment direction of the characters in the second state to conform to the alignment direction of the characters in the first state in order to display the characters. When the alignment direction of the characters in the second state is caused to conform with the alignment direction of the characters in the first state, if the number of characters per line is a first quantity or less, the display control means displays the alignment direction of the characters in the second state in a direction differing from the alignment direction of the characters in the first state.

Description

Electronic device, display control method and program

Embodiment of this invention is related with the display control technique for browsing an electronic book.

In recent years, electronic devices that can be driven by a battery and are configured to be easily carried and electronically downloaded (purchased) from a content provider via the Internet for reading (purchasing) electronic book data have begun to spread. This type of electronic device is called an electronic book reader or the like.

JP 2012-108675 A

By the way, in e-book readers, tablet terminals, etc., a rectangular display surface can be used in either portrait (portrait) or landscape (landscape) orientation, and for example, from a portrait state to a landscape state Some of them have a function of automatically switching the display form from the portrait form to the landscape form.

However, depending on the display state before switching, for example, the display state after switching may be poorly readable.

An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, a display control method, and a program that appropriately control document display.

According to the embodiment, the electronic device includes a display device, a sensor, and display control means. The sensor detects the orientation of the display device. When one side of the display device changes from a first state along the first direction to a second state along a second direction different from the first direction, the display control means The character arrangement direction in the state is displayed in accordance with the character arrangement direction in the first state. When the number of characters per line when the character arrangement direction in the second state matches the character arrangement direction in the first state is less than or equal to the first number, the display control means The character arrangement direction in the state 2 is displayed in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a basic operation of display control of the electronic book by the character direction control module of the electronic book application program that operates on the electronic apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a first diagram for explaining an operation principle related to display control of an electronic book unique to a character direction control module of an electronic book application program operating on the electronic apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a second diagram for explaining an operation principle related to display control of an electronic book unique to the character direction control module of the electronic book application program operating on the electronic apparatus of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a character direction changing process executed by the character direction control module of the electronic book application program operating on the electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation principle related to display control of an electronic book unique to a character direction control module of an electronic book application program operating on the electronic apparatus of the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is an exemplary view for explaining an operation principle related to display control of an electronic book unique to a character direction control module of an electronic book application program operating on the electronic apparatus of the fourth embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
First, the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of the electronic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The electronic device 1 is realized as an electronic book reader for downloading and browsing electronic books from a content provider that provides electronic book sales services via the Internet, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 is provided with a touch panel display 15 in the center of the front surface of the housing. The touch panel display 15 incorporates an LCD (Liquid crystal display) 15A and a touch panel 15B. The electronic apparatus 1 has a wireless communication function using, for example, Wi-Fi. With this wireless communication function, an electronic book can be purchased from a content provider, that is, downloaded via the Internet.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the electronic apparatus 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic device 1 includes a CPU 11, a system controller 12, a main memory 13, a graphics controller 14, a touch panel display 15, a wireless communication device 16, an operation unit 17, an external storage device 18, an acceleration sensor 19, and an EC. (Embedded controller) 20, power button 21, PSC (Power supply controller) 22, battery 23, and the like.

The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operation of various components in the electronic apparatus 1 and loads and executes various programs from the external storage device 18 such as a flash memory to the main memory 13.

Among various programs executed by the CPU 11, there are an OS (Operating System) 100 that manages resource management, an electronic book application program 110 that operates under the OS 100, and the like. The electronic book application program 110 is a book viewer for browsing an electronic book, and includes a character direction control module 111.

The system controller 12 is a device that connects between the local bus of the CPU 11 and various components. The system controller 12 includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 13. The system controller 12 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 14 via a PCI EXPRESS serial bus or the like.

The graphics controller 14 is a display controller that controls the LCD 15 </ b> A used as a display monitor of the electronic apparatus 1. A display signal generated by the graphics controller 14 is sent to the LCD 15A. The LCD 15A displays a screen image based on the display signal. A touch panel 15B is disposed on the LCD 15A. The touch panel 15B is an electrostatic capacitance type pointing device for inputting on the screen of the LCD 15A. The touch position on the screen where the finger is touched and the movement of the touch position are detected by the touch panel 15B.

The wireless communication device 16 is a device configured to execute wireless communication using, for example, Wi-Fi. The operation unit 17 is a group of operation buttons disposed on the peripheral wall of the electronic device 1, for example.

The acceleration sensor 19 is a sensor for detecting whether the screen of the LCD 15A is used in portrait (portrait) or landscape (landscape) direction. Based on the detection signal output from the acceleration sensor 19, it is possible to further determine the vertical relationship of the screen for each of the portrait case and the landscape case.

EC20 is a one-chip microcomputer including an embedded controller for power management. The EC 20 has a function of powering on / off the electronic apparatus 1 in accordance with the operation of the power button 21 in cooperation with the PSC 22. The PSC 22 is a device that controls supply of power for operation to various components in the electronic apparatus 1. The PSC 22 also has a function of charging the battery 23 using power from an external commercial power source.

Next, display control of an electronic book executed by the character direction control module 111 of the electronic book application program 110 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the basic operation of electronic book display control by the character direction control module 111 of the electronic book application program 110. FIG. 3 shows an example in which a Japanese electronic book is displayed. The same applies to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 7, and FIG.

電子 Electronic books can be roughly classified into two types according to the appearance of the books. There are “characters” composed of characters represented by novels and essays, and “fixed layouts” composed of characters and figures represented by comics and magazines, and their layouts. The following is a description of display control for the former “character”.

”The layout of“ text ”changes depending on factors such as screen size, typesetting information, and vertical / horizontal writing. This is called reflow and is a concept characteristic of electronic books.

As described above, the electronic apparatus 1 has the acceleration sensor 19. A detection signal output from the acceleration sensor 19 is stored in a built-in register of the system controller 12. The character direction control module 111 periodically reads the detection signal from the built-in register of the system controller 12 and monitors the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A.

Now, it is assumed that the user is browsing with the screen orientation of the LCD 15A being a portrait and displaying the electronic book vertically ((A) of FIG. 3). Thereafter, it is assumed that the user changes the screen orientation of the LCD 15A to landscape. Upon detecting this change, the character direction control module 111 that monitors the screen orientation of the LCD 15A reflows so that the electronic book is displayed vertically in the orientation of the LCD 15A after the change, that is, in the landscape (FIG. 3). (B)).

Conversely, even when the screen orientation of the LCD 15A changes from landscape to portrait, the character direction control module 111 executes the same reflow. In addition, here, the case where the electronic book is browsed while being displayed vertically is illustrated, but when the electronic book is browsed while being displayed horizontally, the screen orientation of the LCD 15A is changed from landscape to portrait or from portrait to landscape. Even in the case of a change, the character direction control module 111 of course executes reflow so that the electronic book is displayed horizontally in the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A after the change.

By the way, various types of “text” e-books are possible. For example, elderly people with low vision and low vision people tend to browse with a larger character size than usual. In this case, as the screen orientation of the LCD 15A is changed, if the reformatting is performed in accordance with the screen size as it is, the number of characters per line is extremely reduced as shown in FIG. There is a risk that.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 (when the character size is larger than usual), the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A is set as a portrait, and the electronic book is displayed vertically. If the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A is changed to a landscape from the state of being browsed, and the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A is a landscape and the electronic book is displayed horizontally, This is a case where the screen orientation of the LCD 15A is changed to portrait.

Therefore, the electronic apparatus 1 is provided with a mechanism for preventing a decrease in readability due to a change in the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A, which will be described in detail below.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation principle related to display control of an electronic book unique to the character direction control module 111 of the electronic book application program 110 operating on the electronic apparatus 1.

Now, it is assumed that the user is browsing with the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A being a portrait and displaying the electronic book vertically. At this time, it is assumed that the user has made the character size larger than usual ((A) in FIG. 5). Thereafter, it is assumed that the user changes the screen orientation of the LCD 15A to landscape. When the character direction control module 111 that monitors the screen orientation of the LCD 15A detects this change, the character orientation control module 111 basically performs reflow so that the screen orientation of the LCD 15A after the change, that is, the electronic book is displayed vertically in the landscape. To do.

The character direction control module 111 of the electronic device 1 determines whether or not the number of characters per line after the reflow is equal to or less than a threshold during reflow. When the value is equal to or less than the threshold, the character direction control module 111 switches from vertical writing to horizontal writing and reflows so that the electronic book is displayed in horizontal writing in the landscape ((B) in FIG. 5). That is, by changing the arrangement direction of the characters, the number of characters per line is prevented from being less than or equal to the threshold value, and readability is prevented from deteriorating. Whether or not the number of characters per line is equal to or smaller than the threshold value can be determined by whether or not the display font size is equal to or larger than the threshold value.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the character direction changing process executed by the character direction control module 111 of the electronic apparatus 1.

When the screen direction of the LCD 15A changes (YES in block A1), the character direction control module 111 checks whether or not the number of characters per line has decreased before and after the change (block A2). If it has decreased (YES in block A2), the character direction control module 111 checks whether or not the number of characters per line is less than or equal to the threshold (block A3). If it is equal to or less than the threshold (YES in block A3), the character direction control module 111 changes the character arrangement direction so that the number of characters per line increases (block A4).

Note that the case where the number of characters per line does not decrease before and after the change includes the case where the number of characters per line increases, as well as the case where the number is the same. Therefore, for example, when the screen of the LCD 15A is a square, the character direction control module 111 does not change the character direction (even if the number of characters per line is less than or equal to the threshold value).

Further, the character direction control module 111 may provide a user interface for enabling the user to arbitrarily set the validity / invalidity of the function of changing the character arrangement direction in accordance with the change in the screen orientation.

Thus, the electronic apparatus 1 realizes appropriate control of document display so as not to cause a decrease in readability accompanying a change in the screen orientation.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The character direction control module 111 of the electronic book application program 110 operating on the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment only changes the character alignment direction in accordance with the change in the screen orientation of the LCD 15A. Display underline or sideline objects on the document. FIG. 7 shows a display example of an object by the character direction control module 111.

Now, it is assumed that the user is browsing with the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A being a portrait and displaying the electronic book vertically. At this time, it is assumed that the user has made the character size larger than usual ((A) in FIG. 7). Thereafter, it is assumed that the user changes the screen orientation of the LCD 15A to landscape.

The character direction control module 111 of the electronic device 1 also determines whether or not the number of characters per line after reflow is less than or equal to a threshold during reflow. If the number is less than or equal to the threshold, the number of characters per line is less than or equal to the threshold. Switch from vertical writing to horizontal writing so that it does not occur, and reflow so that the electronic book is displayed horizontally in the landscape.

At this time, the character direction control module 111 of the electronic apparatus 1 displays the underlined object (a1) on the reflowed document ((B) of FIG. 7). When switching from horizontal writing to vertical writing, the character direction control module 111 displays a sideline object on the reflowed document.

The object may be displayed only for a certain period after the character arrangement direction is changed, or may be continuously displayed after the change. Needless to say, if the screen orientation never changes, the object is not displayed.

The display of this object allows the user to intuitively recognize that the character arrangement direction has been changed.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

The change in the arrangement direction of the characters described in the first and second embodiments is particularly useful when reading with a large character size. Otherwise, the electronic book application performs an unintended behavior of the user. As a result, usability may be felt to decrease.

On the other hand, some e-book applications have a “special capital letter mode” that adjusts parameters for elderly people with low vision or low vision. For example, when the “special capital letter mode” is valid, the following difference occurs as compared with when it is invalid.

The font size increases. The font changes from Mincho to Gothic. The background color is black and the character color is white for easy identification. Therefore, an electronic book application that operates on the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment. The character direction control module 111 of the program 110 enables the function of changing the character alignment direction in accordance with the change in the screen orientation only when the “special capital letter mode” is enabled. When the character direction control module 111 is applicable to various electronic book applications, it is an electronic book application having a “special capital letter mode”, and only when the “special capital letter mode” is valid, the screen orientation changes. Enable the function to change the character alignment direction.

This prevents unintentional behavior for users who do not use the “special capital letter mode” but increase the character size, and prevents unnecessary confusion.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.

During reading, you may want to enlarge, for example, difficult characters. Some electronic book applications have a function of enlarging and displaying an arbitrary area of a document being displayed. The case where the enlarged display is performed is considered to be a case where the user wants to pay attention to a specific character. In such a case, it is preferable that the display state is maintained even if the orientation of the screen changes.

Therefore, the character direction control module 111 of the electronic book application program 110 that operates on the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment does not perform reflow even if the screen orientation changes during the enlarged display, and the display state before the change To maintain.

Now, as shown in FIG. 8A, it is assumed that the document of the electronic book being read is displayed on the screen of the LCD 15A. Then, it is assumed that the user enlarges and displays an arbitrary area (b1) in the document ((A ′) in FIG. 8). Thereafter, it is assumed that the user changes the orientation of the screen of the LCD 15A. In this case, the character direction control module 111 maintains the display state before the change without performing the reflow accompanying the change in the screen orientation ((B) in FIG. 8).

It should be noted that a method for enlarging the font size is also conceivable as an enlarged display method. Therefore, the character direction control module 111 enlarges, for example, when a font size equal to or larger than the second threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value for determining whether the number of characters per line is equal to or smaller than the threshold value is selected. It is also possible to determine that the display is being performed.

As described above, the electronic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment realizes appropriate control of document display according to usage scenes.

Since the operation control processing of the present embodiment can be realized by software (program), the software is installed in a normal computer through a computer-readable storage medium storing the software, and executed. The same effect as that of the embodiment can be easily realized.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

A display device;
A sensor for detecting the orientation of the display device;
When one side of the display device changes from the first state along the first direction to the second state along the second direction different from the first direction, the character in the second state Display control means for displaying the arrangement direction in accordance with the arrangement direction of the characters in the first state;
Comprising
The display control means, when the number of characters per line when the character alignment direction in the second state matches the character alignment direction in the first state is less than or equal to the first number, An electronic apparatus that displays a character arrangement direction in a second state in a direction different from a character arrangement direction in the first state.
The display control means determines that the number of characters per line is equal to or less than a first number when a font size of characters when a document is displayed on the display device is set to be equal to or greater than a first size. The electronic device as described in.
When the font size of the character when the document is displayed on the display device is set to a second size larger than the first size, the display control unit displays the display state in the first state. The electronic device according to claim 2 to be maintained.
The display control unit changes the state of the enlarged display in the first state when the part of the document displayed on the display device changes from the first state to the second state during the enlarged display. The electronic device of Claim 1 or 2 to maintain.
When the display control means displays the character arrangement direction in the second state in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state, an object indicating that the character arrangement direction has been changed is displayed. The electronic device according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 to be displayed.
The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the object is a side line or an underline.
When the document display is performed in the first mode, the display control means displays the character arrangement direction in the second state in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the function is enabled.
The display control means can set validity / invalidity of a function for displaying the character arrangement direction in the second state in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state. The electronic device according to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
A display control method for an electronic device including a display device,
Detecting the orientation of the display device;
When one side of the display device changes from the first state along the first direction to the second state along the second direction different from the first direction, the character in the second state Display the alignment direction in accordance with the alignment direction of the characters in the first state,
In the case where the number of characters per line in the case where the character arrangement direction in the second state matches the character arrangement direction in the first state is less than or equal to the first number, Displaying the character arrangement direction in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state;
Display control method.
When the computer is changed from the first state in which one side of the display device is along the first direction to the second state along the second direction different from the first direction, the computer in the second state Functioning as display control means for displaying the character arrangement direction in accordance with the character arrangement direction in the first state,
When the computer functioning as the display control unit matches the character arrangement direction in the second state with the character arrangement direction in the first state, the number of characters per line is equal to or less than the first number. In such a case, the program is operated to display the character arrangement direction in the second state in a direction different from the character arrangement direction in the first state.