WO2023128671A1 - Method, device, and system for providing digital comics - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for providing digital comics, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, comprises the steps of: acquiring page images from digital comics based on printed comics; rearranging acquired page images along a reference direction; detecting, in each of the rearranged page images, one or more cut regions and a sequence region, which is the region in each page image excluding the margin at the edges thereof; assigning sequential numbers to the one or more cut regions that have been detected, in accordance with the direction in which a reader's gaze flows; adjusting the size of the detected sequence region in accordance with the size of the display of a user terminal; when a display switching event occurs, highlighting a cut region corresponding to the current point in sequence based on the assigned sequential number; and shifting the position of the sequence region including the highlighted cut region such that the reference point of the highlighted cut region is positioned at the reference point of the display, wherein the one or more cut regions include one or more of an independent cut region and a non-independent cut region.

Description

Method, apparatus and system for providing digital cartoons

The present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and system for providing digital cartoons. More particularly, it relates to a method, apparatus, and system for providing digital cartoons capable of effectively displaying digital cartoons obtained on the basis of printed cartoons through a small display device.

The publishing market, which was dominated by printed publications, is gradually changing to digital publications. In line with this trend, efforts are being made to convert comic books or magazines previously published in print format into digital data and utilize them.

As a method of converting printed cartoons into digital data, a method using a scanner may be exemplified. When each page of the printed cartoon is scanned with a scanner, digital data corresponding to each page of the printed cartoon can be obtained, and a digital cartoon can be generated by appropriately processing it.

However, there is no particular problem when digital cartoons obtained in this way are displayed through a digital device with a relatively large display size, such as a personal computer or e-book reader, but are displayed through a digital device with a relatively small display size such as a mobile phone. When it does, several problems arise.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the line of sight in digital cartoons is more complicated than the line of sight in webtoons. Therefore, when digital comics are displayed on a small display device, readability may be lower than that of webtoons. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, when a page of a digital cartoon is simply reduced to fit the size of a mobile phone display, relatively large blanks appear on the display of a small display device. In particular, more blank spaces appear at the top and bottom of the display compared to the left and right sides of the display. Also, as the page size of digital comics is reduced, readability deteriorates.

To solve this problem, a method of rearranging the cut areas of digital comics in a format similar to that of webtoons has been proposed. However, this method has a disadvantage in that continuity between cut regions is not maintained due to rearranged cut regions.

The present disclosure has been made in accordance with the above-mentioned needs, and the problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to efficiently display digital cartoons based on printed cartoons even on a small display device and to maintain continuity between cut regions. It is to provide a provision method, apparatus and system.

The problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

In order to solve the above problems, a method for providing digital cartoons according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes obtaining page images from digital cartoons based on printed cartoons; rearranging the acquired page images along a reference direction; detecting at least one cut region for each of the rearranged page images and a sequence region excluding a blank space at an edge of the page image; allocating sequential numbers to the one or more detected cut regions according to the flow of the reader's gaze; adjusting the size of the detected sequence region according to the size of a display of a user terminal; emphasizing a cut region corresponding to a current sequence based on the assigned sequence number when a display switching event occurs; and moving a position of a sequence region including the highlighted cut region such that a reference point of the highlighted cut region is positioned at a reference point of the display, wherein the at least one cut region is one of an independent cut region and a non-independent cut region. contains more than

Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a digital cartoon based on a printed cartoon is displayed based on a sequence area, but the location of the sequence area is moved so that the reference point of the cut area corresponding to the current sequence is located at the reference point of the display. Complex line of sight can be simplified similarly to the line of sight in webtoons.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, digital cartoons are displayed based on sequence areas, but as the position of the sequence areas is moved, the cut areas corresponding to the current sequence are directly or relatively highlighted and displayed, so that continuity between cut areas is maintained. This can increase the user's satisfaction and improve the user's readability.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, when the cut region corresponding to the current order is relatively emphasized, the amount of information on the remaining regions except for the cut region of the current order is reduced, so resources of the display device can be efficiently utilized.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a diagram illustrating a comparison between a gaze flow in a digital cartoon obtained based on a printed cartoon and a gaze flow in a conventional webtoon.

2 is a diagram illustrating a comparison between a page of a digital cartoon obtained based on a printed cartoon and a page of the corresponding digital cartoon being reduced and displayed through a user terminal.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining terms used in the present disclosure, and are diagrams illustrating page images of digital cartoons.

4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital cartoon providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital cartoon providing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

7 is a diagram for explaining methods of detecting a sequence region from a page image.

8 is a diagram illustrating integrated page images constituting a digital cartoon.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the integrated page images shown in FIG. 8 are divided into two page images.

10 is a diagram illustrating some page images among page images rearranged along a first direction.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating images in which an image effect for reducing an amount of information is applied to a sequence region extracted from the first page image of FIG. 10 .

12 to 28 are diagrams illustrating how the page images shown in FIG. 9 are displayed through a user terminal.

29 is a flowchart illustrating a digital cartoon providing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become clear with reference to embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the present disclosure makes this disclosure complete, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs It is provided to fully inform the scope of the invention, the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used in a meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. In addition, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly specifically defined.

Terminology used in this specification is for describing embodiments and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. In this specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the entry and exit phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and/or "comprising" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements other than the recited elements.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like elements.

First, a brief description of terms used in the present disclosure will be given. The explanation of terms is intended to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that the terms described below are not used in the sense of limiting the technical spirit of the present disclosure, unless explicitly limited in the detailed description of the present disclosure.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining terms used in the present disclosure, and are diagrams illustrating page images of digital cartoons.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a page image of a digital cartoon includes a page area 10, 10', a cut area 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and a scene area 30, 30'. , sequence areas 40 and 40' and speech bubble areas 50 and 50'. In FIGS. 3A and 3B , each area is exaggerated or reduced compared to actual areas for convenience of description.

The page areas 10 and 10' mean the entire area of the page image of the digital cartoon. That is, it can be understood that the size of the page image is the size of the page areas 10 and 10'. The page areas 10 and 10' may include one or more cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26.

The cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are regions corresponding to cuts of printed comics. A cut is the most basic unit in print comics and the smallest unit of a story. Cut contains content. Examples of content include pictures and fingerprints. The fingerprint may be arranged around the picture or inside a speech bubble arranged around the picture. Cuts and cuts can generally be distinguished by borders. The shape of the edge may be a shape including one or more of a straight line, a curve, and a free curve.

According to an embodiment, the cut regions 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , and 26 may include independent cut regions and non-independent cut regions.

The independent cut areas are connected to each other by a cut area 20 with an outline, a cut area 26 that can be distinguished by cut areas 24 and 25 without an outline but with outlines disposed around, and cartoon elements. However, it may include cut regions that can be divided. Here, the cartoon element may be a picture, a speech bubble, or a fingerprint without a speech bubble.

Examples of cut regions that are connected to each other by cartoon elements but can be divided are as follows. A first example is a case where there is an outlier between two adjacent cut regions. Existence of an outlier is a case where a small part (for example, hair or a hand of a person) of a picture included in one cut area invades an adjacent cut area. In this regard, referring to 24, 25, and 26 of FIG. 3B, it can be seen that the curly hair of the person included in the cut area 26 invades the cut areas 24 and 25 disposed thereon. there is. A second example is a case where two adjacent cut regions are connected by a word bubble, and fingerprints in the word bubble are not cut even when the two cut regions are divided. Two adjacent cut regions are connected by a speech bubble, and the case where there is no fingerprint in the speech bubble can also be regarded as corresponding to the second example. A third example is a case in which two adjacent cut regions are connected by a speech bubble-free fingerprint. Specifically, it is a case where the two cut areas are connected by an onomatopoeia expressed in fingerprints (eg, 'smile') or a mimetic word expressed in fingerprints (eg, 'trude').

On the other hand, the cut area 20 with an outline is an area in which the ratio of straight lines is greater than or equal to a reference value among areas divided by continuous outlines, an area in which the radius of curvature of the outline is less than the reference value among areas divided by continuous outlines, or It can be understood as a region having a size greater than or equal to a reference value among regions divided by continuous outlines. Alternatively, it may be regarded as corresponding to the cut region 20, which is a region having a size greater than or equal to a reference value among regions divided by continuous outlines and a ratio of straight lines constituting the outline greater than or equal to the reference value. However, the criterion for classifying the cut area 20 with the outline is not necessarily limited to the size, ratio of straight lines constituting the outline, and radius of curvature of the outline.

The cut area 26 that does not have an outline but can be distinguished by the cut areas 24 and 25 with an outline may be understood as a region including content among areas excluding areas distinguished by continuous outlines. In the case of the cut area 26 without an outline, there are many cases in which a difference in contrast or color between the corresponding cut area 26 and the periphery of the cut area 26 is high. Accordingly, a virtual outline may be formed by connecting points having a contrast difference greater than a reference value, and a cut region 26 without an outline may be detected based on the virtual outline.

The non-independent cut area may include a cut area having a cut area therein, and cut areas connected to each other by cartoon elements but cannot be divided. Here, the cartoon element may be a picture, a speech bubble, or a fingerprint without a speech bubble.

Examples of cut regions that are connected to each other by cartoon elements but cannot be divided are as follows. The first example is when there are pictures placed across two or more cut areas. For example, unlike the previously described outliers (character's hair and hands), the first example corresponds to the case where the body (body, head, arms, legs) of a person is arranged across two or more cut areas. A second example is a case in which two or more adjacent cut areas are connected by one or more word balloons, and when the two or more cut areas are divided, fingerprints in the word balloon are cut. In this regard, referring to 21, 22, and 23 of FIG. 3A, the three cut regions 21, 22, and 23 disposed at the top are connected to each other by speech bubbles, and the cut regions 21, 22, 23), it can be seen that the fingerprint in the speech bubble is cut off. A third example is a case in which one cut area among two or more adjacent cut areas is a 'meaningless' cut area or a 'small size' cut area, but the cut area represents the passage of time. As an example of a meaningless cut area, a cut area in which only a background is arranged without a person can be taken as an example. A fourth example is a case where there are 'subdivided cut areas' in the vertical direction within a paragraph in which a plurality of cut areas are arranged in the horizontal direction. A fifth example is a case where there are 'subdivided cut areas' in left and right directions within a paragraph in which a plurality of cut areas are arranged in a vertical direction. A sixth example is a case in which one or more cut regions having different heights exist within a paragraph in which a plurality of cut regions are arranged in a horizontal direction.

That is, according to the examples described above, the non-independent cut areas may be understood to correspond to areas including cut areas that are connected to each other by cartoon elements but cannot be divided for readability of readers.

The scene areas 30 and 30 ′ refer to areas that the reader focuses on among the cut areas 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , and 26 included in the page area 10 . According to an embodiment, an independent cut area including an amount of information greater than or equal to a reference value or a non-independent cut area including an amount of information greater than or equal to a reference value may be determined as a scene area among independent cut areas and non-independent cut areas. According to another embodiment, the non-independent cut area may be determined as the scene area 30 or 30' regardless of the amount of information of the independent cut area or the non-independent cut area. 3A and 3B show cases in which non-independent cut areas are determined as scene areas 30 and 30'.

The sequence areas 40 and 40' refer to areas including all contents within the page areas 10 and 10'. In other words, the sequence areas 40 and 40' refer to areas excluding top and bottom blanks and left and right blanks at the edges of the page areas 10 and 10'. Therefore, the sequence areas 40 and 40' have smaller sizes than the page areas 10 and 10'. For example, the outlines of the sequence areas 40 and 40' are the outlines of the page areas 10 and 10' among the outlines constituting one or more cut areas disposed along the outlines of the page areas 10 and 10'. Can be defined by nearby outlines. As another example, the outlines of the sequence areas 40 and 40' are formed by four straight lines passing through the uppermost, lower, left, and right outermost points among the points constituting the content of the page areas 10 and 10'. can be defined by

The speech bubble areas 50 and 50' refer to areas where fingerprints or characters are disposed. In some cases, fingerprints or text may not be present in the speech bubble areas 50 and 50'. The speech bubble areas 50 and 50' may be disposed inside the cut area 20 or may be disposed protruding from the outline of the cut area 20. The speech bubble areas 50 and 50' protruding from the outline of the cut area 20 may invade the outline of an adjacent cut area. The speech bubble areas 50 and 50' do not have a predetermined shape. Instead, most of the speech bubble areas 50 and 50' may have a different brightness or a different color compared to the surroundings of the speech bubble area 50. Accordingly, the speech bubble areas 50 and 50' may be detected through light-dark contrast or color contrast with the surroundings. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) may be performed on the speech bubble regions 50 and 50'. Character data recognized in the speech bubble areas 50 and 50' may be stored and managed in a separate database other than a database in which digital cartoons are stored.

4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital cartoon providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a digital cartoon providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a user terminal 100 and a digital cartoon providing device 200 .

The user terminal 100 provides identification information of the user terminal 100 to the digital cartoon providing device 200 and displays the digital cartoon provided from the digital cartoon providing device 200 . The user terminal 100 may include a small display device such as a mobile phone. A more detailed description of the configuration of the user terminal 100 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 .

The digital cartoon providing device 200 obtains identification information of the user terminal 100 and setting information related to the digital cartoon, and based on the obtained identification information and setting information, pre-stored digital cartoons are displayed in the user terminal 100. It is processed appropriately and provided to the user terminal 100 .

According to the embodiment, the digital cartoon providing apparatus 200 may process each page image of the digital cartoon for each reference region. The reference area may be set to one of a cut area, a sequence area, and a page area. For example, the reference area may be directly set by the user. At this time, the user may be differentially provided with information on the selectable reference area according to the amount of money the user has paid. As another example, the reference area may be automatically set by the digital cartoon providing apparatus 200 in consideration of identification information of the user terminal 100 . The reference area may be set to one of a cut area, a sequence area, and a page area, but may be changed according to each step when each page image of a digital cartoon is processed.

The digital cartoon providing device 200 may be a server for providing a digital cartoon service to the user terminal 100 . A more detailed description of the configuration of the digital cartoon providing apparatus 200 will be described later with reference to FIG. 6 .

5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the user terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an input unit 120, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, an interface unit 160, a memory 170, and a control unit 180. and a power supply unit 190 and the like.

The components shown in FIG. 5 are not essential to implement the user terminal 100, so the user terminal 100 described in this specification may have more or fewer components than the components illustrated above. there is.

More specifically, among the components, the wireless communication unit 110 includes wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and a wireless communication system (not shown), and wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and other user terminals (not shown). It may include one or more components that enable communication or wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and an external server (not shown). In addition, the wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more components that connect the user terminal 100 to one or more networks. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include at least one of a broadcast receiver 111, mobile communication 112, wireless Internet 113, short-distance communication 114, and location information unit 115.

The input unit 120 may include a camera 121 or video input unit for inputting a video signal, a microphone 122 or audio input unit for inputting an audio signal, and a user input unit 123 for receiving information from a user. Examples of the user input unit 123 include a touch key and a mechanical key. Voice data or image data collected by the input unit 120 may be analyzed and processed as a user's control command.

The sensing unit 140 may include one or more sensors for sensing at least one of information within the user terminal 100, surrounding environment information surrounding the user terminal 100, and user information. For example, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141, an illumination sensor 142, a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, and gravity. Sensor (G-sensor), gyroscope sensor (gyroscope sensor), motion sensor (motion sensor), RGB sensor, infrared sensor (IR sensor), finger scan sensor, ultrasonic sensor , and may include one or more of optical sensors. Among the illustrated sensors, information sensed by two or more sensors may be combined and utilized.

The output unit 150 is for generating an output related to sight, hearing or touch. The output unit 150 may include one or more of a display unit 151, an audio output unit 152, a haptic tip unit 153, and a light output unit 154. The display unit 151 may implement a touch screen by forming a mutual layer structure or integrally with the touch sensor. Such a touch screen may function as a user input unit 123 providing an input interface between the user terminal 100 and the user and provide an output interface between the user terminal 100 and the user.

The interface unit 160 serves as a passage for various types of external devices connected to the user terminal 100 . The interface unit 160 includes a wired/wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired/wireless data part, a memory card port, and an identification module. It may include one or more of a port connecting provided devices, an audio input/output port, a video input/output port, and an earphone port. In response to an external device being connected to the interface unit 160, the user terminal 100 may perform appropriate control related to the connected external device.

In addition, the memory 170 stores data supporting various functions of the user terminal 100 . The memory 170 may store a plurality of application programs (application programs or applications) running in the user terminal 100 , data for operation of the user terminal 100 , and commands. At least some of these application programs may be downloaded from an external server through wireless communication. In addition, at least some of these application programs are on the user terminal 100 from the time of shipment for the basic functions of the user terminal 100 (eg, incoming call function, outgoing call function, message receiving function, message sending function) can exist Meanwhile, the application program may be stored in the memory 170, installed on the user terminal 100, and driven by the control unit 180 to perform an operation or function of the user terminal 100.

The control unit 180 controls overall operations of the user terminal 100 in addition to operations related to the application program. The control unit 180 may provide or process appropriate information or functions to the user by processing signals, data, information, etc. input or output through the components described above or by running an application program stored in the memory 170.

In addition, the controller 180 may control at least some of the components discussed in conjunction with FIG. 5 in order to drive an application program stored in the memory 170 . Furthermore, the controller 180 may combine and operate at least two or more of the components included in the user terminal 100 to drive the application program.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power to each component included in the user terminal 100 . The power supply unit 190 includes a battery, and the battery may be a built-in battery or a replaceable battery.

6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital cartoon providing apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the digital cartoon providing device 200 may include a region detection unit 210, a text recognition unit 220, an effect processing unit 230, a control unit 240, a database 250, and a communication unit 260. can

The database 250 stores various data necessary to service digital cartoons to the user terminal 100 . The database 250 may include a first database 251 , a second database 252 and a third database 253 .

The first database 251 stores user information. User information may include one or more of the user's ID, password, name, identification information of the user terminal 100, and setting information for digital cartoons.

The identification information of the user terminal 100 may include one or more of a serial number assigned to the device, a manufacturer of the device, and a name of the device, but is not necessarily limited to the examples. Also, such identification information may be collected from the user terminal 100 or may be directly provided by the user.

Setting information for digital cartoons may include various types of information related to a display method of digital cartoons. For example, information on a reference region applied to digital cartoons, the type and number of effects to be applied to the reference region, criteria for generating display switching events, and the like may be exemplified, but are not necessarily limited to the exemplified examples.

The display switching event occurs when a display switching command is received from the user, when the reference time is reached after displaying the reference area, or when the position of the reference area is moved by the display switching command, and a specific point of the reference image changes to a specific point on the display. This can happen when a point is reached. Among the exemplified cases, a criterion for generating a display switching event may be set in advance, and the set content may be implemented to be changeable by a user.

The display switching command may include a voice command and a gesture command. Gesture commands include Single Tab, Double Tab, Press, Deep Press, Pan, Swipe, Flick, Scroll and Can include drag.

Meanwhile, the display change event may include a page image change event and a cut region change event. For example, a gesture command for generating a page image conversion event and a gesture command for generating a cut region conversion event may be set differently. As another example, a gesture command for generating a page image conversion event and a gesture command for generating a cut region conversion event may not be distinguished and may be identically set.

The second database 252 stores digital comics corresponding to printed comics. There may be various methods of acquiring digital cartoons based on printed cartoons. For example, a digital cartoon may be acquired by scanning a printed cartoon using a scanner or photographing a printed cartoon using a camera. At this time, scanning or shooting may be performed targeting a reference range of the printed cartoon. The reference range may mean two consecutive pages that are shown when the printed comic book is opened, or may mean one page. When scanning or photographing is performed in the reference range, an integrated page image corresponding to two consecutive pages or a page image corresponding to one page may be obtained. If this process is repeated for one printed comic book, a digital comic consisting of a plurality of combined page images or a digital comic consisting only of a plurality of page images can be obtained.

According to an embodiment, one or more labels may be labeled on digital cartoons stored in the second database 252 .

For example, the label may include a category label for classifying digital cartoon categories. The category label may include a category label for available age, a category label for publication country, a category label for publication language, a category label for genre, and a category label for subject matter.

As another example, the label may include a gaze flow information label. The gaze flow information label is a label indicating a cut region where the gaze flow starts in the page image.

More specifically, Korea uses the left-side binding method of binding the left side of the book. Therefore, printed comics published in Korea turn pages from right to left. Therefore, when a print comic is opened, the viewpoint flow starts from the left page and moves to the right page. Also, within a page, the viewpoint flow starts from the upper left side of the corresponding page and proceeds in the order of the upper right side, lower left side, and left and right side. Accordingly, even in the page image of a digital cartoon, the viewpoint flow starts from the upper left side and proceeds in the order of the upper right side, the lower left side, and the lower right side.

In contrast, Japan uses the right-side binding method of binding the book. Therefore, printed comics published in Japan turn pages from left to right. Therefore, when a print comic is opened, the viewpoint flow starts from the right page and moves to the left page. Further, within a page, the viewpoint flow starts from the upper right side of the corresponding page, and proceeds in the order of upper left side, lower right side, and lower left side. Accordingly, even in the page image of a digital cartoon, the viewpoint flow starts from the upper right side and proceeds in the order of upper left side, lower right side, and lower left side.

As described above, the overall direction of the flow of viewpoints and the starting position of the flow of viewpoints of printed comics are different depending on the country in which the printed comics were first published. Therefore, if the information of the cut region where the gaze flow starts is labeled on the digital cartoon as the gaze flow information label, it is not necessary to perform separate image processing to detect the location where the gaze flow starts in each page image, so it takes time for image processing. resources can be reduced.

In addition to what has been exemplified above, it goes without saying that digital cartoons may be labeled with more various types of labels. Also, labeling of digital cartoons may be performed manually or automatically.

The third database 253 stores text data recognized in the speech bubble area 50 of the page image. The text data stored in the third database 253 may be displayed through the user terminal 100 after at least one of font, size, and effect is processed into a form suitable for the user terminal 100 . Whether to process text data may be set in advance by a user of a digital cartoon service or a provider of a digital cartoon service, and set information may be implemented to be changeable.

In the above description, the case where the digital cartoon providing device 200 includes all of the first database 251 to the third database 253 has been described as an example, but one or more of them may be included in an external server (not shown). there is. In this case, the digital cartoon providing device 200 may acquire data required to provide a digital cartoon service by communicating with an external server.

The region detection unit 210 detects regions in each page image of the digital cartoon. Here, the region means one or more of the page region 10, the cut regions 20, 21, and 22, the scene region 30, the sequence region 40, and the speech bubble region 50 described above.

According to an embodiment, the region detection unit 210 detects a region of one page image as a target. Specifically, in the case of a digital cartoon composed of a plurality of page images, the region detection unit 210 detects a region for each page image.

According to another embodiment, the region detection unit 210 detects a region of the integrated page image as a target. Specifically, in the case of a digital cartoon composed of a plurality of combined page images, the region detection unit 210 detects a region for each combined page image. At this time, the area detector 210 first detects two consecutive page images from the integrated page image.

The detected page images may be rearranged along the reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. The first direction means a vertical direction from top to bottom. The second direction means a horizontal direction from left to right. The third direction means a horizontal direction from right to left. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic corresponding to a printed comic whose first publication country is Korean, page images detected from the integrated page image may be rearranged in the second direction.

When the page image is prepared, the region detection unit 210 detects an outline in the page image. Then, candidate regions are detected based on the feature information of the detected outline, and the detected candidate regions are determined as one of an independent cut region, a non-independent cut region, and a speech bubble region.

In order to detect the independent cut region, the region detection unit 210 checks whether there is a candidate region distinguished by an outline among candidate regions, compares the size of candidate regions, or checks whether candidate regions are connected by cartoon elements. , or whether candidate regions connected by cartoon elements can be separated.

For example, the region detection unit 210 detects regions divided by continuous outlines among candidate regions. At this time, not only the outline dividing the cut area 20 but also the outline of the content may be detected in the area divided by the continuous outline. Accordingly, the area detector 210 detects, as the cut area 20 , only an area in which the ratio of straight lines included in the outline is greater than or equal to a reference value among the detected areas.

Thereafter, the area detector 210 also detects an area including content among areas other than the detected cut area 20 as a cut area (see 26 in FIG. 3B ). In this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the cut region 26 in which the outline is not defined is excluded from the detection target.

According to another embodiment, the area detector 210 may convert the page image into grayscale in order to detect the cut area 26 in which the outline is not defined. Next, a virtual outline is created by connecting points having a contrast difference from the surroundings greater than a reference value, and a cut area 26 is detected based on the virtual outline.

To detect the speech bubble area 50, the area detector 210 may compare contrast or color between the candidate areas and the surrounding area. As a result, among the candidate regions, a candidate region whose contrast with the surroundings is greater than or equal to the reference value or a candidate region whose color contrast with the surroundings is greater than or equal to the criterion is detected as the speech bubble region 50 . Optical character recognition may be performed on the detected speech bubble area 50 by the character recognition unit 220 to be described later.

In order to detect non-independent cut regions, the region detector 210 compares positions between candidate regions or determines whether candidate regions are connected by cartoon elements. Alternatively, it is possible to check whether candidate regions connected by cartoon elements are in a state in which they cannot be divided.

For example, when a second cut area exists within the first cut area, the area detection unit 210 detects the first cut area as a non-independent cut area.

As another example, when two or more candidate regions adjacent to each other are connected by a cartoon element but cannot be separated, the region detector 210 detects the candidate regions as non-independent cut regions.

When the detection of the cut area including the independent cut area 20 and/or the non-independent cut areas 21, 22 and 23 is completed, the area detection unit 210 detects a scene area based on the detected cut areas. . According to an embodiment, when the amount of information included in each of the detected cut areas is calculated, a cut area including an amount of information equal to or greater than a reference value may be detected as the scene area 30 . This is because the scene area 30 is an area that the reader focuses on in the page area 10, and is likely to contain a large amount of information about straight lines, curves, colors, and the like. According to another embodiment, the scene region 30 may be determined as a non-independent cut region among the independent cut regions 20 and the non-independent cut regions 21, 22, and 23.

After detecting the scene area 30 , the area detector 210 detects the sequence area 40 based on the cut areas disposed along the outline of the page area 10 among the detected cut areas. At this time, the sequence area 40 may be detected in various ways. Methods of detecting the sequence area 40 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7 .

Detection of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, and 23, detection of the scene region 30, detection of the speech bubble region 50, and detection of the sequence region 40 may be sequentially performed according to a predetermined order. However, region detection is not necessarily performed in a predetermined order, and the region detection order may be changed in some cases, or different regions may be detected simultaneously.

When detection of regions such as the cut regions 20, 21, 22, and 23, the scene region 30, the sequence region 40, and the speech bubble region 50 is completed, the region detector 210 detects the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23) are assigned sequential numbers according to the flow of the reader's gaze. For example, if Korea is the first publishing country of printed comics corresponding to digital comics, the flow of the reader's gaze within the printed comics page starts from the upper left side of the page, then moves to the upper right side, lower left side, and lower right side in that order. . Accordingly, the region detection unit 210 considers the positions of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, and 23 within the page image of the digital cartoon and assigns sequential numbers corresponding to the gaze flow.

Meanwhile, sequential numbers may be newly allocated for each page image. As another example, sequential numbers may be newly allocated for each two consecutive page images. As another example, sequential numbers may be assigned to all page images included in digital cartoons.

Among the assigned sequential numbers, information of a cut region disposed at a point where a reader's gaze flow starts may be labeled in a digital cartoon as a gaze flow information label.

In the above description, the case in which sequential numbers are assigned to cut regions after all regions are detected in a page image has been described as an example, but sequential numbers may be assigned after detection of the scene region 30 is completed.

In addition, in the above description, the cut areas 20, 21, 22, and 23 and the scene area 30 have been separately described. However, this is for convenience of explanation, and it may be understood that the scene area 30 is a cut area that meets a specific criterion among cut areas detected in the page image. Therefore, in the following description, 'allocating sequential numbers to the cut areas 20, 21, 22, and 23' means that sequential numbers are assigned to the cut areas 20, 21, 22, and 23 and the scene area 30. It can mean becoming.

Meanwhile, in order to perform the above-described operation, the area detection unit 210 may include an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model can be trained in advance by using a large amount of page images as training data. As a learning method, supervised learning or unsupervised learning may be used. In the case of supervised learning, labeling data in which page images are labeled with information about a cut area, a speech bubble area, a scene area, and a sequence area may be used as learning data. In the case of unsupervised learning, region detection can be performed on a large number of unlabeled page images, and then a human judges the accuracy of the region detection result and feeds back to the artificial intelligence model.

The text recognition unit 220 recognizes text by performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the speech bubble area 50 detected in the page image. Recognized text data may be stored in the third database 253 . The text data stored in the third database 253 may be later displayed through the user terminal 100 after at least one of font, size, and effect is processed into a form suitable for the user terminal 100 . According to another embodiment, voice data corresponding to text data may be provided to the user terminal 100 .

The effect processor 230 applies an image effect to one or more of the page image, a region detected from the page image, and text data recognized from the page image. Examples of video effects include enlargement, reduction, position movement, appearing position, shaking, blurring, transparency adjustment, hiding, unhiding, and overlay.

Among the exemplified effects, 'position to appear' may be associated with a rearrangement direction of page areas. For example, if the position at which the page images appear is set to the lower side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page images may be rearranged in the first direction. As another example, if the position at which the page images appear is set to the right side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page images may be rearranged in the second direction. As another example, if the position where the page images appear is set to the left side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page images may be rearranged in the third direction.

In the foregoing, the case where the arrangement direction of the page images is determined based on the setting information related to the 'appearing position' has been described as an example, but the opposite is also possible. That is, if the arrangement direction of the page images is set to the first direction, the 'appearing position' of the area may be automatically set to appear at the bottom of the display.

According to an embodiment, the illustrated video effects may be applied alone or two or more video effects may be simultaneously applied. The number and type of effects to be applied to a specific object may be directly set by the user, or may be automatically set according to at least one of the size, width, length, and amount of information of the object to which the video effect is applied.

The control unit 240 may connect and control each component constituting the digital cartoon providing device 200 . For example, the controller 240 may rearrange the page images constituting the digital cartoon according to a preset direction. As another example, the controller 240 may detect a display change event.

The communication unit 260 performs wireless communication between the digital cartoon providing device 200 and the user terminal 100 .

In the above, the digital cartoon providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described with reference to FIG. 6 . Some of the components shown in FIG. 6 may be configured to be included in the user terminal 100 . For example, one or more of the area detection unit 210 , the text recognition unit 220 , and the effect processing unit 230 may be included in the user terminal 100 .

7 is a diagram for explaining methods of detecting a sequence region from a page image.

Shown on the left of FIG. 7 is a page image. Also, shown on the right side of FIG. 7 are sequence regions detected in the page image.

Referring to FIG. 7 , a page image includes a first to fourth cut area. Here, it can be seen that the first to fourth cut regions are displaced from each other. When such a page image is displayed as it is through the user terminal 100 such as a mobile phone, a relatively large margin compared to the contents included in the page area 10 (ie, the first to fourth cut areas) this happens

The apparatus 200 for providing digital cartoons according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects cut regions in a page image and then detects sequence regions based on the detected cut regions. Hereinafter, various methods of detecting a sequence region will be described.

FIG. 7(A) shows a case in which a sequence region is detected while maintaining the existing positions of all cut regions detected in the page image.

7(B) shows a sequence area based on the outermost outlines among the outlines constituting the center-aligned cut regions after centering them by horizontally moving the cut regions detected in the page image within the page region. The case where this is detected is shown. Here, the third cut region and the fourth cut region are arranged side by side with each other in the horizontal direction. In addition, 'c', which is the total horizontal length including the horizontal length of the third cut region, the horizontal length of the fourth cut region, and the cut gap between the third and fourth cut regions, is 'd1', which is the horizontal length of the remaining cut regions. ' is longer than Accordingly, the third cut area and the fourth cut area are excluded from horizontal movement for center alignment. The first cut region and the second cut region are horizontally moved so as to be located on a vertical line passing through the center of the entire region including the third region and the fourth cut region.

7(C) shows a state in which the first cut region and the second cut region having a horizontal length shorter than the horizontal length of the sequence region are enlarged to match the sequence region in the state of (B). At this time, the first cut region and the second cut region are simultaneously enlarged in the horizontal and vertical directions, within a range where the horizontal length of the first cut region and the horizontal length of the second cut region do not exceed the horizontal length of the sequence region. expands from

Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 28 , the overall process of providing digital cartoons to the user terminal 100 will be described. Prior to the description, a case in which a digital cartoon to be described below is a digital cartoon composed of integrated page images obtained from a stamp-type printed cartoon will be described as an example. Also, it is assumed that each integrated page image does not have a cut region disposed across two consecutive page images. Also, it is assumed that the posture of the user terminal 100 is a portrait mode among portrait mode and landscape mode.

8 is a diagram illustrating integrated page images constituting a digital cartoon.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the digital cartoon includes a first integrated page image 6 and a second integrated page image 8 . The first combined page image 6 includes a first page image 60 and a second page image 70 . The second integrated page image 8 includes a third page image 80 and a fourth page image 90 . At this time, the flow of the reader's gaze proceeds in the order of the first page 60, the second page 70, the third page 80, and the fourth page 90.

The region detection unit 210 detects page regions in each integrated page image 6 and 8 . In this case, the region detector 210 may detect two consecutive page images 60 and 70 by dividing the combined page image 6 along a virtual vertical line passing through the center point of the horizontal length of the combined page image 6. there is. 9 shows a state in which a first integrated page image 6 is divided into a first page area 60 and a second page area 70, and a second combined page image 8 is divided into a third page image 80 and The image divided into the fourth page image 90 is shown.

The controller 240 rearranges the detected page images 60, 70, 80, and 90 along the reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. 10 shows some page images 60 and 70 among page images rearranged along the first direction. Although only the first page image 60 and the second page image 70 are shown in FIG. 10, the third page image 80 and the fourth page image 90 follow the second page image 70. They are arranged sequentially along one direction. Also, referring to FIG. 10 , it can be seen that '60A' and '70A' are used as reference numerals to indicate the sequence area of the first page image 60 and the sequence area of the second page image 70, respectively. there is. Accordingly, although not shown in FIG. 10 , reference numerals for referring to the sequence area of the third page image 80 and the sequence area of the fourth page image 90 in the following description and drawings are '80A' and '80A'. '90A' may be used.

After that, the region detection unit 210 detects regions of the rearranged page images. That is, at least one of a cut region, a scene region, a sequence region, and a speech bubble region is detected in each page image. In this case, region detection may be performed sequentially or concurrently, and a preferentially detected region may vary depending on the case. Referring to FIG. 10 , it can be seen that four independent cut regions 61 , 62 , 63 , and 64 and a sequence region 60A are detected in the first page image 60 . In addition, it can be seen that one independent cut region 71, one non-independent cut region 72, and a sequence region 70A are detected in the second page image 70. In the second page image, the dotted line representing the non-independent cut region 72 and the one-dot chain line representing the sequence region 70A are exaggerated compared to the actually detected non-independent cut region 72 and sequence region 70A.

Meanwhile, when detecting a sequence area, the area detector 210 may detect the sequence area based on the methods described with reference to FIG. 7 . For example, the region detector 210 may detect the sequence region 60A while maintaining the original positions of all cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 detected in the first page image 60. . As another example, the region detector 210 may detect the sequence region 60A in a state in which the positions of the cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 are centered. As another example, the region detection unit 210 detects the sequence region 60A with the positions of the cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 centered, and the effect processing unit 230 determines the size of some of the cut regions. can be enlarged to fit the sequence area.

Thereafter, the region detection unit 210 assigns a sequential number according to the line of sight to the cut region detected in each page image. In the case of FIG. 10 , the line of sight starts from the first independent cut region 61 of the first page image 60, the second independent cut region 62, the third independent cut region 63, and the fourth independent cut. After proceeding to the area 64 , it proceeds to the first independent cut area 71 and the first non-independent cut area 72 of the second page image 70 . Accordingly, sequential numbers are assigned according to the above-mentioned order.

Then, the effect processing unit 230 adjusts the size of the detected sequence regions 60A and 70A according to the display size of the user terminal 100 .

For example, the effect processing unit 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 60A or 70A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A or 70A is equal to the horizontal length of the display of the user terminal 100 . At this time, the horizontal and vertical lengths of the sequence regions 60A and 70A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the horizontal length of each of the sequence regions 60A and 70A is longer than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processor 230 adjusts the horizontal length of each sequence region 60A and 70A to be equal to the horizontal length of the display. The overall size of the sequence regions 60A and 70A is reduced. If the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A or 70A is shorter than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processor 230 sets each sequence area ( 60A, 70A) enlarge the overall size.

As another example, the effect processing unit 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 60A or 70A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 60A or 70A is equal to the vertical length of the display of the user terminal 100 . At this time, the horizontal and vertical lengths of the sequence regions 60A and 70A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is longer than the vertical length of the display, the effect processing unit 230 adjusts the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A to be equal to the vertical length of the display. The overall size of the sequence regions 60A and 70A is reduced. If the vertical length of each sequence area 60A or 70A is shorter than the vertical length of the display, the effect processing unit 230 sets each sequence area to have the same vertical length as the vertical length of the display. 60A, 70A) enlarge the overall size.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a case in which the overall size of each sequence region 60A or 70A is adjusted based on the horizontal length of each sequence region 60A or 70A and the horizontal length of the display will be described as an example.

Thereafter, the effect processing unit 230 directly or relatively emphasizes the cut region corresponding to the current sequence among the cut regions in the sequence region.

Methods for directly emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order include enlarging the cut area, emphasizing the outline of the cut area, emphasizing content included in the cut area, and changing the color of the cut area. method can be cited as an example.

As a method of relatively emphasizing the cut region corresponding to the current sequence, a method of reducing the amount of information in the entire sequence region and then overlapping the corresponding cut region before the reduced amount of information with the sequence region having the decreased amount of information may be exemplified. As a method for reducing the amount of information in the sequence area, a method of applying one or more video effects selected from among a blur effect, a soft edge effect, a rounded corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect to the sequence area may be exemplified.

As another method of relatively emphasizing the cut region corresponding to the current order, a method of reducing the amount of information in the sequence region excluding the cut region corresponding to the current order may be exemplified. For example, by applying one or more video effects from blur effect, soft edge effect, rounded corner effect, transparency effect, and crop effect to the rest of the sequence area except for the cut area corresponding to the current sequence, corresponding to the current sequence. It is possible to obtain the effect of relatively emphasizing the cut area.

Another method of relatively emphasizing the cut region corresponding to the current order may include, for example, a method of covering regions other than the cut region corresponding to the current order in the sequence region. This method can be implemented using clip-path. Clip path is one of the properties of CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) and is used when only a certain area of the original image is to be displayed.

Meanwhile, the effect processing unit 230 moves the position of the sequence area so that the reference point of the corresponding cut area is located at the reference point of the display while emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current sequence. In this case, the reference point of the cut region corresponding to the current order may be the center of the corresponding cut region. Also, the reference point of the display may be the center of the display. According to the embodiment, whether to emphasize only the cut region or move the position of the sequence region as a whole while emphasizing the cut region may be set in advance, and the set information may be changed by a user and/or provider of a digital cartoon service. can be implemented to make it possible.

In the above description, after directly or relatively highlighting the cut region corresponding to the current sequence, the position of the sequence region is moved so that the reference point of the highlighted cut region is located at the reference point of the display. However, this is for convenience of explanation, and after the position movement of the sequence region starts, emphasis on the cut region in the current sequence may be made. Alternatively, the emphasis on the cut region in the current order and the positional movement of the sequence region may be simultaneously performed without distinguishing the order.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating images in which an image effect for reducing the amount of information is applied to the sequence area 60A extracted from the first page image 60 of FIG. 10 .

11(A) shows a sequence area 60AA to which a blur effect is applied. It can be seen that the sequence area 60AA to which the blur effect is applied is generally blurred compared to the sequence area 60A before the blur effect is applied.

11(B) shows a sequence area 60AB to which a soft edge effect is applied. It can be seen that the sequence area 60AB to which the soft edge effect is applied is generally blurred compared to the sequence area 60A before the soft edge effect is applied. In particular, it can be seen that the edge of the sequence area 60AB is more blurred than the center of the sequence area 60AB. In the following description, a case in which a soft edge effect is applied to sequence areas 60A, 70A, 80A, and 90A of each page area 60, 70, 80, and 90 shown in FIG. 9 will be described as an example. In addition, the sequence areas to which the soft edge effect is applied may be distinguished by reference numerals '60AB', '70AB', '80AB', and '90AB', respectively.

As shown in FIG. 11, when a sequence area with a reduced amount of information is prepared, the effect processing unit 230 is currently in the same cut area as the cut area corresponding to the current sequence among cut areas included in the sequence area with a reduced amount of information. Overlap the cut regions corresponding to the order. That is, the cut region in the current order in the sequence region before the amount of information is reduced is overlaid with the cut region in the current order in the sequence region in which the amount of information is reduced. Then, the position of the sequence area and the position of the cut area overlapping the sequence area are moved so that the center of the cut area corresponding to the current order is positioned at the center of the display. For a more detailed description of this, reference will be made to FIGS. 12 to 28 .

12 to 28 are diagrams illustrating how the page images shown in FIG. 9 are displayed through the user terminal 100 .

Referring to FIG. 12, the first independent cut region 61 in the sequence region 60A before the amount of information is reduced overlaps the sequence region 60AB in which the amount of information is reduced after being detected in the first page image 60. it can be seen that there is Also, it can be seen that the sequence area 60AB is moved so that the center of the overlapping first independent cut area 61 is positioned at the center of the display.

When a display switching event occurs in the state of FIG. 12 , the second independent cut region 62 in the sequence region 60A before the amount of information is reduced is newly overlapped in the sequence region 60AB, and the overlapped second independent cut region ( The position of the sequence area 60AB is gradually moved so that the center of 62) is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 14 is displayed through the screen of FIG. 13 .

Referring to FIG. 13 , as the position of the sequence area 60AB is moved, the first independent cut area 61 overlapping the sequence area 60AB is gradually blurred, but the first independent cut area 61 newly overlaps the sequence area 60AB. It can be seen that the two independent cut regions 62 become increasingly clear. When the center of the second independent cut region 62 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 14 is displayed.

When a display switching event occurs in the state of FIG. 14 , the third independent cut region 63 in the sequence region 60A before the amount of information is reduced is newly overlapped in the sequence region 60AB, and the overlapped third independent cut region ( 63) is gradually moved so that the center of the sequence area 60AB is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 16 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 15 .

Referring to FIG. 15 , as the position of the sequence region 60AB is moved, the second independent cut region 62 overlapping the sequence region 60AB is gradually blurred, but the second independent cut region 62 newly overlaps the sequence region 60AB. It can be seen that the 3 independent cut regions 63 gradually become clear. When the center of the third independent cut region 63 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 16 is displayed.

When a display switching event occurs in the state of FIG. 16 , the fourth independent cut region 64 in the sequence region 60A before the amount of information is reduced is newly overlapped in the sequence region 60AB, and the overlapped fourth independent cut region ( The position of the sequence area 60AB is gradually moved so that the center of 64) is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 18 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 17 .

Referring to FIG. 17 , as the position of the sequence area 60AB is moved, the third independent cut area 63 overlapping the sequence area 60AB is gradually blurred, but the second area newly overlapped with the sequence area 60AB. It can be seen that the 4 independent cut regions 64 gradually become clearer. When the center of the fourth independent cut region 64 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 18 is displayed.

When a display switching event occurs in the state of FIG. 18 , the first independent cut area 71 in the second sequence area 70A before the amount of information is reduced overlaps the second sequence area 70AB in which the amount of information is reduced, and the overlapping occurs. The positions of the first sequence area 60AB and the second sequence area 70AB are gradually moved together so that the center of the first independent cut area 71 is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 20 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 19 .

Referring to FIG. 19 , as the positions of the sequence regions 60AB and 70AB are moved together, the fourth independent cut region 64 overlapping the first sequence region 60AB is gradually blurred, but instead the second sequence region It can be seen that the first independent cut region 71 newly overlapped on 70AB becomes gradually clearer. When the center of the first independent cut region 71 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 20 is displayed. Referring to FIG. 20 , it can be seen that the first sequence area 60AB has completely disappeared from the screen.

When a display switching event occurs in the state of FIG. 20 , the first non-independent cut area 72 in the sequence area 70A before the amount of information is reduced is overlapped in the sequence area 70AB, and the overlapped first non-independent cut area 72 is overlapped. The position of the sequence area 70AB is gradually moved so that the center of 72 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 22 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 21 .

Referring to FIG. 21 , as the position of the sequence region 70AB is moved, the first independent cut region 71 overlapping the sequence region 70AB is gradually blurred, but the newly overlapped first non-independent cut region ( 72) becomes increasingly clear. When the center of the first non-independent cut region 72 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 22 is displayed.

In the state of FIG. 22, when a display switching event occurs, the first non-independent cut area 81 in the third sequence area 80A before the amount of information is reduced overlaps the third sequence area 80AB in which the amount of information is reduced, The positions of the second sequence area 70AB and the third sequence area 80AB are gradually moved together so that the center of the overlapping first non-independent cut area 81 is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 24 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 23 .

Referring to FIG. 23 , as the positions of the sequence regions 70AB and 80AB are moved together, the first non-independent cut region 72 overlapping the second sequence region 70AB gradually blurs, instead of the third sequence region 70AB. It can be seen that the first non-independent cut region 81 overlapping the region 80AB gradually becomes clear. When the center of the newly overlapped first non-independent cut region 81 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 24 is displayed.

In the state of FIG. 24, when a display switching event occurs, the first non-independent cut area 91 in the fourth sequence area 90A before the information amount is reduced overlaps the fourth sequence area 90AB in which the amount of information is reduced, The positions of the third sequence area 80AB and the fourth sequence area 90AB are gradually moved together so that the center of the overlapping first non-independent cut area 91 is positioned at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 26 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 25 .

Referring to FIG. 25 , as the positions of the sequence regions 80AB and 90AB are moved together, the first non-independent cut region 81 overlapping the third sequence region 80AB is gradually blurred, but instead of the fourth sequence region It can be seen that the first non-independent cut region 91 overlapping the region 90AB gradually becomes clear. When the center of the newly overlapped first non-independent cut region 91 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 26 is displayed.

When a display switching event occurs on the screen of FIG. 26 , the second independent cut region 92 in the sequence region 90AB before the amount of information is reduced overlaps the sequence region 90AB, and the overlapped second independent cut region 92 The position of the sequence area 90AB is moved so that the center of ) is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of FIG. 28 is displayed via the screen of FIG. 27 .

29 is a flowchart illustrating a digital cartoon providing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

When a request signal requesting a digital cartoon is received from the user terminal 100 , the requested digital cartoon is searched in the second database 252 .

Then, a page image is obtained from the searched digital cartoon (S510). Step S510 includes obtaining a plurality of page images when the searched digital cartoon is a digital cartoon composed of a plurality of page images; A step of detecting two page images may be included.

The acquired page images are rearranged along the reference direction (S530). The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. The first direction means a vertical direction from top to bottom. The second direction means a horizontal direction from left to right. The third direction means a horizontal direction from right to left. According to an embodiment, the reference direction may be determined based on a label labeled on the digital cartoon. Specifically, if a label for a country of first publication of the digital cartoon is labeled on the digital cartoon, the page images may be rearranged in the second direction or the third direction based on the corresponding label. According to another embodiment, the reference direction may be set in advance by a digital cartoon service user or a digital cartoon service provider.

Thereafter, at least one of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a speech bubble area is detected for each of the rearranged page images (S530). According to an embodiment, the step S530 may include a step of detecting a sequence region of a corresponding page image in a state where the existing positions of all cut regions detected in the page image are maintained (see (A) of FIG. 7 ). . According to another embodiment, the step S530 may include detecting a sequence region of the corresponding page image in a state in which cut regions detected in the page image are aligned in the center (refer to (B) of FIG. 7 ). According to another embodiment, in step S530, a sequence region of the corresponding page image is detected in a state where the positions of the cut regions detected in the page image are centered, and cut regions having a horizontal length shorter than the horizontal length of the sequence region are detected. A step of expanding the size to match the size of the sequence area may be included.

Thereafter, sequential numbers according to the flow of the reader's gaze are assigned to the detected cut regions (S540).

After that, the size of the sequence areas is adjusted according to the size of the display of the user terminal 100 (S550). According to an embodiment, the step S550 includes adjusting the size of the sequence area so that the horizontal length of the sequence area is equal to the horizontal length of the display of the user terminal 100 . In this case, the horizontal length and the vertical length of the sequence area may be adjusted at the same ratio. According to another embodiment, the step S550 includes adjusting the size of the sequence area so that the vertical length of the sequence area is equal to the vertical length of the display of the user terminal 100 . In this case, the horizontal length and the vertical length of the sequence area may be adjusted at the same ratio.

Then, as a display switching event occurs, the cut region corresponding to the current order is directly or relatively emphasized (S560). Methods for directly emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order include enlarging the cut area, emphasizing the outline of the cut area, emphasizing content included in the cut area, and changing the color of the cut area. can be cited as an example. As a method of relatively emphasizing a cut region corresponding to the current order, a method of reducing the amount of information in a sequence region and then overlapping the corresponding cut region with the sequence region having a reduced information amount may be exemplified. As a method of reducing the amount of information in the sequence area, a method of applying one or more video effects selected from among blur effect, soft edge effect, rounded corner effect, transparency effect, and cropping effect to the sequence area may be exemplified. Another method of relatively emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order is clip-path.

In step S560, when the cut region corresponding to the current order is directly emphasized, if the corresponding cut region is a scene region, a video effect for emphasizing that it is a scene region may be additionally applied. For example, if a corresponding cut region is enlarged to directly emphasize a cut region corresponding to the current sequence, a shaking effect may be added to the enlarged cut region to emphasize that the corresponding cut region is a sequence region. As another example, if a border of a specific color is displayed on the outline of the cut area corresponding to the current order to directly emphasize the cut area, a blinking effect may be added to the displayed border to emphasize that the corresponding cut area is a sequence area. .

Thereafter, the location of the sequence area is moved so that the reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at the reference point of the display (S570). According to an embodiment, the reference point of the cut area may be the center point of the cut area, and the reference point of the display may be the center point of the display. However, the reference point of the cut area and the reference point of the display may be designated differently from those illustrated. For example, the reference point of the cut area may be the center point of the right side of the outline of the cut area, and the reference point of the display may be the center point of the right side of the display.

In the above, with reference to FIG. 29 , a digital cartoon providing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. In FIG. 29 , some steps may be omitted, their order may be changed, or other steps may be performed at the same time according to embodiments. For example, steps S520 to S540 may proceed in the order of S530, S540, and S520, or may proceed in the order of S530, S520, and S540. As another example, the order of steps S560 and S570 may be reversed or may be performed simultaneously.

According to one embodiment, the performer of each step shown in FIG. 29 may be the digital cartoon providing device 200 . According to another embodiment, the user terminal 100 may perform each of the steps shown in FIG. 29 . According to another embodiment, the performer of some of the steps shown in FIG. 29 may be the digital cartoon providing apparatus 200, and the performer of the remaining steps may be the user terminal 100.

In the above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. In the above description, components constituting the user terminal 100 of FIG. 5 and the digital cartoon providing device 200 of FIG. 6 may be implemented as a module. A module means a hardware component such as software or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the module performs certain roles. However, a module is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A module may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute one or more processors.

Thus, as an example, a module includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines. fields, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Functionality provided in components and modules may be combined into fewer components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of a recording medium storing instructions executable by a computer. Instructions may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by a processor, create program modules to perform operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium.

Computer-readable recording media include all types of recording media in which instructions that can be decoded by a computer are stored. For example, there may be read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic tape, magnetic disk, flash memory, optical data storage, and the like.

Also, the computer-readable recording medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-temporary storage medium' only means that it is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and this term refers to the case where data is stored semi-permanently in the storage medium and temporary It does not discriminate if it is saved as . For example, a 'non-temporary storage medium' may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be included and provided in a computer program product. Computer program products may be traded between sellers and buyers as commodities. A computer program product is distributed in the form of a machine-readable recording medium (eg compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or through an application store (eg Play Store™) or on two user devices (eg eg between smartphones) or distributed online (eg downloaded or uploaded). In the case of online distribution, at least a part of a computer program product (eg, a downloadable app) is stored at least temporarily in a device-readable recording medium such as a manufacturer's server, an application store server, or a relay server's memory. It can be stored or created temporarily.

Embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described with reference to the above and accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will be able to understand that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not limiting.

The digital cartoon providing method, apparatus, and system as described above can be applied to a digital cartoon service field that provides digital cartoons based on printed cartoons to a display device.

Claims (14)

1. obtaining page images from digital comics based on printed comics;

   rearranging the acquired page images along a reference direction;

   detecting at least one cut region for each of the rearranged page images and a sequence region excluding a blank space at an edge of the page image;

   allocating sequential numbers to the one or more detected cut regions according to the flow of the reader's gaze;

   adjusting the size of the detected sequence region according to the size of a display of a user terminal;

   emphasizing a cut region corresponding to a current sequence based on the assigned sequence number when a display switching event occurs; and

   Moving a position of a sequence region including the highlighted cut region so that a reference point of the highlighted cut region is located at a reference point of the display;

   The one or more cut regions include at least one of an independent cut region and a non-independent cut region.

   How to deliver digital comics.
2. According to claim 1,

   The independent cut region is

   Including at least one of a cut area with an outline, a cut area without an outline but that can be distinguished by cut areas with outlines, and cut areas that are connected to each other by cartoon elements but can be divided,

   How to deliver digital comics.
3. According to claim 2,

   The cut regions that can be divided,

   Including at least one of two cut areas with outliers, two cut areas connected to each other by a speech bubble but not cutting fingerprints in the speech bubble even when divided, and two cut areas connected by a fingerprint without a speech bubble,

   How to deliver digital comics.
4. According to claim 1,

   The non-independent cut region is

   Including one or more of a cut area having a cut area therein, and cut areas connected to each other by cartoon elements but cannot be divided,

   How to deliver digital comics.
5. According to claim 4,

   The indivisible cut regions,

   Two or more cut areas in which pictures are placed across, two or more cut areas connected to each other by a speech bubble, but in which fingerprints in the speech bubble are cut when divided, and a cut area for showing the passage of time. Including one or more of two or more cut regions divided in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction within a paragraph in which a plurality of cut regions are arranged in a first direction,

   How to deliver digital comics.
6. According to claim 1,

   The digital cartoon

   At least one of a first digital cartoon consisting only of one or more page images and a second digital cartoon consisting only of one or more integrated page images;

   The one or more page images are images based on one or more pages constituting the printed cartoon,

   The one or more integrated page images are images based on two consecutive pages displayed when the printed cartoon is opened.

   How to deliver digital comics.
7. According to claim 6,

   Obtaining the page image,

   When the digital cartoon is the second digital cartoon, detecting two page images from the one or more integrated page images.

   How to deliver digital comics.
8. According to claim 1,

   The adjusting step is

   When the posture of the user terminal is in the portrait mode, the size of the detected sequence region is adjusted such that the horizontal length of the detected sequence region is equal to the horizontal length of the display, and the horizontal and vertical lengths of the detected sequence region are adjusted. Including the step of adjusting in the same ratio,

   How to deliver digital comics.
9. According to claim 1,

   The step highlighted above is

   Directly emphasizing a cut region corresponding to the current order,

   The method of directly emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order includes a method of enlarging the size of the cut area, a method of emphasizing the outline of the cut area, a method of emphasizing content included in the cut area, and a method of emphasizing the content included in the cut area. Including one or more of the methods of changing the color of

   How to deliver digital comics.
10. According to claim 1,

    The step highlighted above is

    reducing the information amount of the detected sequence area; and

    overlapping a cut region corresponding to the current sequence to a sequence region having a reduced amount of information;

    A method for reducing the information amount of the detected sequence region

    Including a method of applying one or more image effects from among a blur effect, a soft edge effect, a rounded corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect to the detected sequence region,

    How to deliver digital comics.
11. According to claim 1,

    The step highlighted above is

    and reducing the amount of information in a region other than a cut region corresponding to the current sequence in the detected sequence region,

    A method for reducing the information amount of the detected sequence region

    Including a method of applying one or more image effects from among a blur effect, a soft edge effect, a rounded corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect to the remaining area,

    How to deliver digital comics.
12. According to claim 1,

    The step highlighted above is

    Including the step of covering regions other than the cut region corresponding to the current sequence in the detected sequence region,

    How to deliver digital comics.
13. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program including instructions for performing each step according to the digital cartoon providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is recorded.
14. one or more processors; and

    one or more memories configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform tasks;

    The one or more processors,

    Obtaining page images from digital comics based on printed comics;

    rearrange the acquired page images along a reference direction;

    detecting at least one cut region for each of the rearranged page images and a sequence region excluding blanks from edges of the page image;

    Allocating sequential numbers according to the flow of the reader's gaze to the one or more detected cut regions;

    Adjusting the size of the detected sequence region according to the size of the display of the user terminal;

    When a display switching event occurs, a cut region corresponding to the current sequence is highlighted based on the allocated sequence number;

    It is configured to move a position of a sequence region including the highlighted cut region such that a reference point of the highlighted cut region is located at a reference point of the display;

    The one or more cut regions include at least one of an independent cut region and a non-independent cut region.

    Digital comic delivery device.

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