JP4063246B2 - Page information display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a page information display device, and more particularly to a page information display device that displays electronic information in units of pages of a predetermined size.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information necessary for work, learning, and life has been provided from information senders to receivers using books, periodicals such as newspapers and magazines. In addition, administrative and judicial information is also provided in publications and in writing.

  In recent years, the Internet (inter-network communication network) based on TCP / IP has been developed, and computers such as governments, companies, universities, and individuals have been connected to each other directly or via a telephone network. With the development of information provision via the Internet, various information is created as an ML page (for example, an HTML page or an XML page) created based on a markup language, and this page (generally called a home page) Can be viewed using a computer. In addition, a large amount of documents to be described in the ML page is created in a format such as PDF, and can be downloaded from each home page. In addition, important information is published or distributed on computer-readable media other than the Internet so that the patent publication is provided on a CD-ROM.

  Information provided in the form of browsing using a computer in this way includes data sheets of products manufactured by each company, information on new products, documents created by the government, bills being created, There is a great deal of information from a wide variety of sources, including summaries of Supreme Court cases, research results from university laboratories, detailed information on accommodations in a certain region, news and weather forecasts. These may be provided by being overlapped by other newspaper media such as newspapers, magazines, catalogs, etc., but may be provided only by the Internet or computer-readable media. In addition, when it comes to past information, it is often difficult to obtain information on a paper medium substantially.

  For this reason, as information infrastructure such as the Internet progresses around the world in the future, computerization will spread more and more between society and users between those who have a deep experience in using computers and those who have little experience in using computers. There is concern that there will be a personal disparity in the amount and quality of information that can be obtained.

  As a means for operating a computer, a graphical user interface (GUI, hereinafter referred to as a desktop metaphor) which is a metaphor for the work environment of a desk in the real world is often used. In the desktop metaphor user interface, the work environment of the desk is drawn in a cartoon, and the abstract and unclear file structure unique to the computer is associated with what exists in the work environment of the desk, such as folders and files. Therefore, even a beginner of a computer is considered to be able to operate the computer intuitively. For example, in order to delete a file, an operation such as dragging and dropping a file indicated by an icon that is a paper metaphor to the trash can is performed.

  However, even if such a desktop metaphor user interface is used, there are many people in the world who find it difficult to simply browse electronic information using a computer. That is, in the user interface of the desktop metaphor, a virtual device such as a button drawn on a computer display device, a pop-up menu, or a slide bar is operated by an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard specific to the computer, This is because the electronic information must be browsed by instructing and operating these virtual devices indirectly.

JP-A-5-165595

  As described above, the conventional example has a disadvantage that it is difficult to browse information using a computer. In other words, such a computer-specific operation system requires a lot of time to master the operation method, and thus it is difficult for anyone to easily use the electronic information held by the computer. As a result, there is a difference in the quality and quantity of information that can be acquired between individuals. In addition, if there are many people who feel that it is difficult to use computers, information providers will be unable to completely transfer electronic information by eliminating paper media for information that needs to be communicated without exception .

  For example, when a major company abolishes paper media and introduces a system that uses computers for all business communications and payments, the preparatory period is set to 2 years, and each employee uses a computer for more than 1 year. There have been reports of examples of successful company-wide digitization by using an education period to get used to. In addition, each university has been offering computer literacy classes to educate students on the basic use of computers. In general, new company training for companies and government agencies provides education on computer operation. These are taught not only for browsing information but also for inputting and transmitting information. However, it is generally difficult for people who have never used a computer to browse electronic information. Become.

  Therefore, it is desired to provide a user interface that is more intuitive and easier to operate than a desktop metaphor. In particular, an information browsing apparatus having a simple appearance and operation focusing on browsing electronic information is promising. It is.

  In order to deal with such a problem, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1 as a conventional technique of a browsing apparatus with an improved desktop metaphor. This realizes the appearance of the book on the display device, and the amount of electronic information is visualized by shifting the position of multiple units of text slightly and outputting the state where pages overlap each other to the display device. It is a technique to do. Then, the desktop metaphor is improved by adding the heading information symbolizing the set, with the content of the sentence as a set unit. However, in this conventional example, since information to be displayed increases in proportion to the increase in the number of pages, it is difficult to secure a sufficient display area, and thus the browsing area becomes small and browsing becomes difficult. There is a problem.

  In addition, CRTs and liquid crystal displays have a high resolution year by year. For example, if a resolution of about 150 dpi can be realized in A4 size, the entire newspaper can be viewed in A4 size. In other words, if the display can be made with a resolution comparable to that of a facsimile, it can be read even if a newspaper or magazine is smaller than the actual size. Since such a high-resolution display can display 1200 × 1600 dots in A4 actual size, the icon of the previous operating system has a small physical size and gives a complicated impression, which is difficult to understand. It is also assumed that it becomes a user interface.

  For this reason, it is necessary to develop a next-generation user interface that can be used intuitively even for beginners of computers. At this time, even if a high-resolution display is adopted, it is desirable that the operability does not change. That is, it is desired to develop a user interface that is easy to learn and that does not depend on resolution.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the conventional example, and in particular to provide a user interface for browsing information that is easy for everyone to understand regardless of the experience of using a computer.

Therefore, in the page information display device according to the present invention, receiving means for receiving page information having a predetermined total number of pages from the server, electronic information memory for storing page information received by the receiving means, A display unit that displays page information stored in the electronic information memory; and a display controller that controls display of the page information stored in the electronic information memory. The display controller stores the page information stored in the electronic information memory. a tagging unit that displays a tag for displaying the contents on the display unit, tagging unit tags imparting streaming during dynamic tags to impart one by one page the on every complete one by one page received page information by the reception means And a control unit.

  The display controller displays a tag for displaying the contents of the page information stored in the electronic information memory for a total page on the display unit, and reception has been completed in accordance with the progress of reception of the page information by the receiving means. A streaming dynamic tag coloring control unit that colors the tag color to a color different from the tag color that has not been received may be provided.

  The display controller displays a tag for displaying the contents of the page information stored in the electronic information memory on the display unit, and the page information of one page according to the progress of reception of the page information by the receiving means. A streaming dynamic tag length control unit may be provided that causes the tag providing unit to generate a tag having a length corresponding to the amount of information that has already been received.

  According to the present invention, since the tag addition control unit attaches a tag to the downloaded page information, the user can grasp to which page the page has been downloaded while browsing the current page.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment, page turning processing is performed for each page, and in the second embodiment, page turning processing is performed for a plurality of pages at once. In the third embodiment, a display format during page turning processing is disclosed. In the fourth embodiment, an operation using a tag is associated with an element in each of the above embodiments. Examples of cases where the page information has a plurality of article information, and where the page information is downloaded from the server will be described later as examples.

<First Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, in order to facilitate access to electronic information by enabling an intuitive operation, page turning processing is performed in accordance with an operation on an operation unit such as a touch panel. At this time, the page turning direction is determined according to the operated direction. FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a page information display method according to the first embodiment. The page information display method according to the present embodiment includes a storage unit (electronic information memory) 4 that stores electronic information having a plurality of page information in units of pages of a predetermined size, and electronic information stored in the storage unit. Information browsing including a display unit 1 that displays information in units of pages and an operation unit 1C (see FIG. 2B) that is provided in substantially the same area as the display unit and that receives operations related to browsing of page information. Use the device to display electronic information. In an example in which a touch panel is employed as the display unit 1, the display unit 1 and the operation unit 1C are integrated.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the page information display method is performed when a page is dragged on the operation unit in parallel or antiparallel to a predetermined page turning direction on the current page to be currently displayed read from the storage unit 4. A page turning operation detection step A1 for outputting a turning operation detection signal, and when a page turning operation detection signal is output in the page turning operation detection step A1, 1 is applied to the current page according to the direction of the drag operation. Next display page setting step A2 for setting the next display page, which is the page to be displayed next, the previous page before or after the page, and the next display page set in this next display page setting step is changed to the current page. The page turning processing step A3 to be displayed on the display unit 1 is provided.

  In the page turning operation detection step A1, for example, an operation exceeding a predetermined minimum operation length in the page turning direction within a predetermined allowable error region in a direction orthogonal to the page turning direction is determined as a page turning operation. A page turning operation determination step. In the next display page setting step, a page number obtained by adding or subtracting 1 to the page number of the current page according to the direction of the drag operation is set as the next display page. In the page turning processing step A3, a page turning process is performed in order to set the next display page as a new current page. That is, the next page is displayed by dragging the pointer in the page turning direction on the operation unit 1C. When the pointer is dragged in the antiparallel direction to the page turning direction, the previous page is displayed. The pointer may be a pointing device such as a mouse, or may be a user's fingertip. Further, when the page turning operation is performed using the touch panel 1, the page turning operation can be performed using a wider area as compared with the case where the area where the tag is displayed is selected.

  The page turning process is, for example, a process of deleting the current page from the display unit 1 and causing the display unit 1 to display the next display page. By performing this page turning process step by step, the current page is gradually made smaller and the next display page is gradually displayed on the display unit in order to more intuitively inform the user that the page is being turned. You may make it (refer 3rd Embodiment). At this time, the page turning operation detection step A1 includes an operation speed calculation step for calculating a page turning speed, which is a page turning operation speed, and the page turning processing step A3 is a page turning speed calculated in the operation speed calculation step. A display speed setting step of changing the display from the current page to the next display page at a display speed corresponding to the display speed may be provided. Then, the relationship between the page turning operation and the page turning process can be more clearly communicated to the user.

  2 is a block diagram showing an example of the page information display device in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 (A) is a diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG. 2 (B) is a diagram of the display controller. It is a figure which shows a detailed structure. The page information display device according to this embodiment includes an electronic information memory 4 that stores electronic information having a plurality of page information in units of pages of a predetermined size, and electronic information stored in the electronic information memory 4. A touch panel 1 that displays a page as a unit and inputs an operation related to browsing of page information, and a display controller that controls display of page information stored in the electronic information memory 4 based on the operation content input to the touch panel 1 3 is provided.

  Then, the page turning operation is detected when the display controller 3 is dragged on the touch panel 1 in parallel or antiparallel to the predetermined page turning direction 34 on the current page to be currently displayed read from the electronic information memory. A page turning operation detection unit 60 that outputs a signal, and when a page turning operation detection signal is output by the page turning operation detection unit 60, the page turning operation detection unit 60 outputs about one page from the current page according to the direction of the drag operation. The next display page setting unit 61 that sets the previous page or the next page as the next display page to be displayed next, and the next display page set by the next display page setting unit 61 is changed to the current page on the touch panel. A page turning processing unit 62 to be displayed. The processing shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the operation of the display controller 3 having these units.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a page turning operation in the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 3, page information having a one-dimensional structure (book structure) is browsed by sequentially turning pages, so even a user who is not used to operating a computer can reliably obtain necessary information. can do.

  The processing contents shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be realized by the display controller executing a page information display program. In this case, the page information display program has a command corresponding to the configuration shown in FIGS. Specifically, as a command for operating the display controller 3, the touch panel is dragged on the touch panel in parallel or antiparallel to a predetermined page turning direction on the current page to be displayed, which is read from the electronic information memory. When a page turning operation detection command for outputting a page turning operation detection signal and a page turning operation detection signal are output, the previous page of about one page before the current page is output according to the direction of the drag operation. The next display page setting command to set the page or the next page to the next display page to be displayed next, and the next display page set according to this next display page setting command is changed to the current page and displayed on the touch panel A page turning process command to be executed. When these commands are executed by the display controller 3, the configuration shown in FIG. 2B is realized, and the processing shown in FIG. 1 is executed. When the function of the page information display device is added or changed, a command corresponding to the function to be added or changed may be newly introduced.

  Such a page information display program is stored in a storage medium 17 such as a CD-ROM, read and controlled by the disk drive 16 shown in FIG. 2A, and stored in a hard disk (not shown). The page display program stored in the hard disk or the like is used by the display controller 3.

  As an example of determining whether or not the page turning operation is performed, there is a determination based on a change in the operated coordinates and a trajectory. As shown in FIG. 2A, xy coordinates are defined on the display unit (operation unit) 1, and the input coordinates (Px, Py) when the fingertip first touches the operation unit 1C are within a certain time. Measure the amount of movement when moving to the input coordinates (PX, PY). Here, the movement amount | PY-Py | in the Y-axis direction is smaller than an arbitrary size (DY), and the movement amount | PX-Px | in the X-axis direction is smaller than an arbitrary size (DX). Suppose it's big. That is, it is assumed that the operation in the page turning direction is larger than the arbitrary size (DX), while the amount of movement of the pointer in the direction orthogonal to the page turning direction is smaller than the arbitrary size (DY). If “PX-Px” is a negative value, the next display page setting unit 61 sets the page information of the next page of the current page to the next display page. If “PX-Px” is a positive value, the page before the current page is set as the next display page.

  Therefore, for example, when the pointer 2A is moved to the right side in FIG. 2 on the operation unit 1C, the next page gradually appears while the displayed page information is turned from left to right. Similarly, when the pointer 2A is moved to the left side, the previous page gradually appears while the displayed page information is turned from right to left. In this way, by displaying the page information while visually displaying the state of page turning, it is possible to realize a browsing method in which pages are browsed page by page. That is, according to this example, by detecting the operation direction of the pointer (input cursor) on the display unit 1 and the operation unit 1C, an intuitive browsing operation can be performed like a simulated operation in which a page or chapter is directly hit with a fingertip. It is.

  Further, the operation by the tag and the operation in the information browsing area may control the amount of pages that are turned according to the operation speed and pressure, the display speed at the time of continuous display, and the like. Then, subtle display control can be performed with a more intuitive operation.

Second Embodiment
In the second embodiment, a process of grasping a plurality of pages is introduced in order to improve operability while maintaining an intuitive operation. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a configuration example for performing a page gripping process according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the page information display method according to the second embodiment is such that a page grip operation is performed when a predetermined page grip operation is performed on the current page that is the current display target read from the electronic information memory 4. A page gripping operation detection step A11 for outputting a detection signal, and when the detection of the page gripping operation is started in the page gripping operation detection step A11, the display unit displays the number of all gripping pages according to the operation amount of the page gripping operation. When the page grip operation detection signal is output in the grip page number display step A12 and the page grip operation detection step A11 to be displayed, the page of the page number obtained by adding or subtracting the grip operation amount to the current page is next. Next display page setting step A13 to be set to the next display page which is the page to be displayed on, and the next display page set in this next display page setting step A13 Includes a page turning processing step A14 to be displayed on the display unit in place of the current page, the.

  For example, when the operation unit 1C is a pressure detection type, the page gripping operation detection step calculates the number of gripping pages according to the amount of pressure applied to substantially the same portion of the operation unit 1C. A number calculation step is provided. Further, instead of the pressure-based grip page calculation step, a time-based grip page number calculation step of calculating the number of grip pages according to the elapsed time of the pressing operation continued at substantially the same location of the operation unit 1C may be provided. . Therefore, in this embodiment, when turning a page of a book, a metaphor for the operation of turning pages continuously while applying force at the end of the book, and a plurality of pages according to the pressure applied on the display unit 1 Realize the "grab" process.

  In the page turning processing step A14, a plurality of pages are turned by performing a page turning operation for moving the fingertip to the left and right while holding a plurality of pages. If the user releases the touch panel without performing the page turning operation even if a plurality of pages are gripped, the gripping of the plurality of pages is canceled and the original operation state is restored.

  Various formats can be adopted for displaying the number of gripped pages. The total number of pages currently grasped may be displayed as a numerical value, or the state of grasping the page may be displayed in some form. For example, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a display example of the number of gripping pages in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a pressure circle, and FIG. 5B is a time circle. It is a figure which shows an example. In the example shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the grip page number display step shown in FIG. 4 displays grip display circles 63 and 64 defined by a radius having a size corresponding to the page grip amount on the display unit 1. The process of displaying is provided.

  By displaying the grip display circle 63 on the display unit, the number of pages gripped by the user's own operation can be intuitively grasped. In the pressure circle shown in FIG. 5A, the diameter of the circle centered on the fingertip increases or decreases depending on the magnitude of the pressure. When “depending on the size of the pressure”, not only when the diameter of the circle is proportional to the pressure, but also when the diameter of the circle is increased at an accelerated rate according to the pressure (increasing the number of gripping pages), for example. including. In the case of multi-page turning operation by pressure, the number of pages that can be grasped depends on the resolution of the pressure sensor. The maximum diameter (<∞) is set in the initial file. The radius of the pressure circle is calculated by the following formula.

(Diameter of pressure circle) = (maximum diameter) x (current pressure value) / (resolution of pressure sensor)
(Number of pages grabbed) = (diameter of pressure circle) / (discrimination threshold for user pressure)

  In order to realize a page turning operation by finger movement and a function to grasp multiple pages with pressure and time (hereinafter referred to as “multiple page turning operation”), the difference between the page turning operation and the multiple page turning operation is a system. Must be easily identifiable. In the present embodiment, in order to validate a multi-page turning operation, as shown in FIG. 5C, the fingertip is always identified by stopping for a certain period of time with the touch panel or the like. In order to clearly indicate that the multi-page turning operation is enabled, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the multi-page turning operation is enabled, a small circle of pressure is displayed on the fingertip.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, when a plurality of pages are turned using “time”, the number of grabbed pages is increased according to the length of the elapsed time. The diameter of the time circle is infinite unless the maximum diameter is set, unlike the pressure circle. In other words, if you grab multiple pages in time, you can grab as many pages as you can. Even in the case of a pressure circle, the diameter can be set to infinity, but because the resolution of the pressure sensor is limited, setting the diameter to infinity is very sensitive. The algorithm for obtaining the diameter of the time circle (corresponding to the pressure circle described above) is as follows.

(Diameter of time circle) = F (elapsed time)
(Number of pages grabbed) = (Constant) x (Time circle diameter)
F (elapsed time) means a function having time as a variable. However, increase function

  FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a page information display device. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), in the page information display device according to the second embodiment, the display controller 3 performs a predetermined page grip operation on the current page that is the current display target read from the electronic information memory 4. The page-grip operation detection unit 64 that outputs a page-grip operation detection signal when the operation is performed, and when the detection of the page-grip operation is started by the page-grip operation detection unit, the operation amount of the page-grip operation is determined. A grip page number display unit 65 for displaying the total number of grip pages on the display unit is provided. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The page grip operation detection unit 64 detects the number of page grips according to the pressure applied to the operation unit 1C and the elapsed time. Then, the grip page number display unit 65 displays the number of grip pages on the display unit 1.

  To realize the display controller 3 shown in FIG. 6, a page for which a page grip operation detection signal is output when a predetermined page grip operation is performed on the current page to be displayed, read from the electronic information memory. Grasping operation detection command and when the detection of the page gripping operation is started in response to this page gripping operation detection command, the number of gripping pages is displayed to display the total number of gripping pages according to the operation amount of the page gripping operation. It is preferable to execute a page information display program provided with a command.

  A pressure circle 63A is displayed on the display unit in FIG. Since the pressure circle 63A does not draw anything other than the arc, the lower article can be read during the operation. On the other hand, in this example, it is not possible to display the number of gripping pages that are actually gripped, and it is assumed that multiple operations are necessary to be able to grasp how much gripping is performed according to the diameter. The On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 6B, the number of grip pages is displayed numerically inside the pressure circle (or near the outer shape or the like). In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the page 4 is being gripped. If a page turning operation is performed in this state, the page before 4 pages or the page after 4 pages depends on the direction of the page turning operation. Is displayed.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying multiple wheels with the configuration shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the grip page number display step A <b> 12 includes a step of displaying multiple wheels having a plurality of circles having the same center and the number of circles corresponding to the page grip amount. In the method of displaying multiple wheels, the number of rings is increased or decreased like annual rings according to pressure. Therefore, it serves as a memory for the page that the ring has grabbed. Further, for example, by changing the color and the thickness of the line every five pages, the number of grasped pages can be easily calculated. That is, it is preferable to change the color of the ring and the thickness of the line as a memory for every five pages, just as the scale is easy to read when the ruler is 5 cm and 10 cm. In the example shown in FIG. 7B, a circle indicating that the gripping is being performed is provided on the inner peripheral portion, and the number of rings corresponding to the number of gripping pages is provided on the outer peripheral portion. The multiple wheel 63C shown in FIG. 7B displays that the second page is being gripped, and the multiple wheel 63C shown in FIG. 7C displays that the fourth page is being gripped. Further, the display of a circle indicating that the gripping is being performed may be omitted.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying a painted circle with the configuration shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the grip page number display process A12 displays a circle defined by a predetermined radius and a paint circle in which the paint in the circle is set to a paint corresponding to the page grip amount. The process to be made is provided. In the painting circle, there are various painting formats shown in FIGS. In the painting circle of each painting type, it is desirable to change the diameter according to the number of gripping pages, but the number of gripping pages may be displayed based on the color of paint and the degree of change. In this case, the diameter of the painted circle itself does not change.

  FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a painting circle for performing solid painting with a single color. If this solid color is applied, the contents of the page information of the current page cannot be read, and confusion with an operation for enlarging a part of the page information is less likely to occur. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example of a painted circle having transparency. If the painted circle is semi-transparent, you can read the article below even during multi-page turning operations.

  FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating an example of a painted circle having gradation. This display method is preferably used when the number of gripped pages is detected using pressure. In this gradation, the limit of resolution and the current operation state can be satisfactorily displayed by darkening the color at the center according to the pressure. This effect can be obtained without displaying the actual pressure distribution. In other words, if you press hard on the actual paper (corresponding to the action of pressing the paper hard when you are turning a lot of pages), the color of the central part that will be physically depressed will be darkened and darkened. By adding gradation so that the color becomes lighter from the outside to the outside, the operation state can be displayed well. If the painted circle with gradation is made semi-transparent as shown in Fig. 8 (B), it can express the feeling that the paper surface is depressed by pressure.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of displaying a painted circle with the configuration shown in FIG. In this display method, the paper surface is deformed three-dimensionally according to pressure to express a feeling that the paper surface is depressed with a finger. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the outer ring of the paint circle is drawn with a line, but this outer ring can be omitted. The expression “three-dimensionally” does not necessarily require the paper surface to be treated as three-dimensional graphics. For example, by mapping a part of the image data of the current page drawn on the basis shown in FIG. 9B to the framework shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D, a medium pressure or a large pressure In this case, the distortion may be expressed.

<Third Embodiment>
In the third embodiment, in order to facilitate understanding of the correspondence between the operation content and the processing content by displaying the response and progress process of the browsing device as a result of the operation in an easy-to-understand manner, the current page and the next display during the page turning processing are displayed. Make an effective display about the page.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of selecting a display format according to the third embodiment. Referring to FIG. 10, the page information display method is a page turning operation in which the number of pages to be grasped and the page turning direction are defined when a page turning operation for turning one page or a plurality of pages is performed on the operation unit. When a page turning operation is detected and a page turning operation detection signal is output in the page turning operation detecting step A21 for outputting a detection signal and the page turning operation detecting step A21, the current page is changed to the current page. On the other hand, the next display page setting step A22 for setting the next display page, which is the page to be displayed next, the next display page set in the next display page setting step A22. A page turning processing step for changing the current page to the current page and displaying it on the display unit.

  The page turning processing step includes a next display page reading step A23 for reading the next display page from the storage unit when the next display page is set, and a display on the display unit when the page turning operation detection signal is output. The current page data constituting the current page is deformed for each unit display time, and is read in the turning state display data generating step A24 for generating the turning state display data in which the current page is deformed, and the next display page reading step. The next display page includes a turning state display data overwriting step A25 in which the turning state display data generated in the turning state display data generation step is overwritten every unit display time until the turning state display data disappears. .

  In the present embodiment, when performing the page turning process, the current page display is deleted from the display unit 1 and the next display page appears on the display unit 1 by visually displaying that the page is currently being turned. Encourage intuitive understanding of If the page turning process can be displayed well, it is easy to learn that the page turning operation performed by the user is the correct operation. Here, the page turning operation detection step A21 detects either page turning for one page in the first embodiment or page grabbing for a plurality of pages in the second embodiment. A page turn for one page can be considered as a page grip operation for one page. In the next display page setting step A22, the next display page is specified based on the page turning direction and the number of page grips detected in the page turning operation detection step A21. The page turning process is performed by displaying the next display page in stages and erasing the current page in stages. Therefore, the deformed current page is overwritten on the next display page. Various methods can be employed for the deformation format of the current page.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a page information display device according to the third embodiment. Referring to FIG. 11, the page information display device includes an electronic information memory 4 storing electronic information having a plurality of page information in units of pages of a predetermined size, and an electronic information stored in the electronic information memory 4. A touch panel 1 that displays information in units of pages and inputs operations related to browsing of page information, and a display that controls display of page information stored in the electronic information memory based on the operation contents input to the touch panel 1 And a controller 3.

  Then, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the display controller 3 holds the number of pages and page turning when a page turning operation for turning one page or a plurality of pages on the touch panel is performed. A page turning operation detection unit 60 that outputs a page turning operation detection signal in which a direction is defined, and when the page turning operation detection signal is output when the page turning operation detection unit 60 completes the page turning operation detection signal. A next display page setting unit 61 for setting the next display page, which is a page to be displayed next, the next page to be displayed next, or the next page before or after the number of pages grasped with respect to the current page according to the page turning direction. A page turning processing unit 62 for changing the next display page set by the above to the current page and displaying it on the display unit.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the page turning processing unit 62 outputs a next display page reading function 68 for reading out the next display page from the electronic information memory when a next display page is set, and a page turning operation detection signal. When the current page data constituting the current page being displayed on the touch panel 1 is deformed for each unit display time, a turn state display data generating function 69 for generating the turn state display data obtained by deforming the current page, and the next display The turning state display data for overwriting the turning display data generated by the turning state display data generating function 69 on the next display page read by the page reading function 68 every unit display time until the turning state display data disappears. An overwriting function 70.

  In the page information display program for realizing the page turning processing unit shown in FIG. 11, the page turning processing command is a next display page reading command for reading the next display page from the electronic information memory when the next display page is set. When the page turning operation detection signal is output, the current page data constituting the current page being displayed on the display unit is deformed for each unit display time, and the turning state display data obtained by deforming the current page is generated. Unit display of page display data generated in response to the status display data generation command and the next display page read out in response to the next display page read out command until the page display status data disappears And a turnover state display data overwrite command to be overwritten every time.

  With reference to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the deformation format of the current page (display format of page turning processing) will be described. In the example shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the page turning direction is leftward in the figure, and for simplification of description, the page information has an alphabet on the entire surface, or has a triangle or a circle. FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example of an overwrite type display format. In the example shown in FIG. 12A, the turning state display data generation step A24 includes an overwriting display control step of deleting a region on the starting point side in the page turning direction every unit time. In the example shown in FIG. 12A, the right side of the current page 71 in the figure is deleted step by step to generate the turn state display data 71A. By superimposing the turning state display data 71A on the next display page 72, the turning state is displayed. In this overwriting type, the next display page is overwritten one after another from the right side of the current page.

  FIG. 12B illustrates an example of a slide-type display format. In the example shown in FIG. 12B, the turning state display data generation step A24 deletes the area on the end side in the page turning direction every unit time, and shifts the deleted area current page data to the page turning direction side. And a slide display control process. In the example shown in FIG. 12B, the left side of the current page data 71B in the figure is erased and shifted in the page turning direction by the erased amount. The shifted image data is overwritten on the next display page 72 as turning state display data 71C. In the example shown in FIG. 12B, the next display page 72 appears as the current page slides gradually in the page turning direction.

  FIG. 13A illustrates an example of a compression type display format. In the example shown in FIG. 13A, the turning state display data generation step A24 reduces the display length in the page turning direction every unit time and the current page data in the page turning direction to the reduced display length. A compression display control step for compression is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 13A, the case where the current page is lifted in the normal direction (z-axis direction) of the display unit at the end in the page turning direction (left end in the figure) is metaphorized. When the display area of the current page 71 is reduced and compressed in the page turning direction, the shape indicated by reference numeral 71D is obtained, and when further compressed, the shape indicated by reference numeral 71E is obtained. When these are overlapped on the next display page 72, the state sequentially changes from the state indicated by reference numeral 73D to the state indicated by reference numeral 73E. When θ on the xz plane shown in FIG. 13A is defined, if the current page 71 is deformed so that the changing speed (angular velocity) of θ is constant, the state where the page is being turned is dynamically changed. expressed.

  FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating an example of a 3D display format. In the example shown in FIG. 13B, the turning state display data generation step A24 includes a three-dimensional space setting step for defining a virtual space in the normal direction of the display unit, and an end point in the page turning direction as an axis. The current page rotation / deformation process for rotating and deforming the page in a virtual space, and the front and back sides of the current page virtually rotated and deformed in the current page rotation process with the normal direction of the display unit as the viewpoint A three-dimensional display control step of drawing on the two-dimensional plane data and setting the drawing data as the turn state display data. In the example shown in FIG. 13B, the state of turning the paper in the three-dimensional space is displayed in two dimensions. As an example of the current page rotation deformation, there is a shape indicated by reference numeral 71G in FIG. The back side of the current page in this case is indicated by reference numeral 71H. When the current page that has been rotated and deformed is drawn two-dimensionally and overlapped with the next display page 73F, the result is as indicated by reference numeral 73G. In this embodiment, since page information is not displayed on the back side of the page, for example, a state where the content of the current page is transparent from the back side may be drawn on the back side of the page, and the content of the next display page is reflected. Then, the reflected state may be displayed.

<Fourth embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, the tag is effectively used to display the operation state for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the relationship between the operation content and the processing content while improving the operability in the relationship with the tag. That is, in the fourth embodiment, a tag is used as a method for intuitively performing a page turning operation while indicating the total number of pages and the position of the current page. The tag display method will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 28, and then the relationship between the multi-page grip and the tag and the extension when the tag is used in the third embodiment described above will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of page information display processing according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a page information display apparatus suitable for carrying out this processing. In the present embodiment, an information browsing area 5 for displaying page information is provided on the display unit 1 shown in FIG. 15, and one and other tag display areas 6 and 7 are provided on the left and right or top and bottom of the information browsing area 5. Yes. The tag of the page displayed in the information browsing area is displayed in the tag display area on the right side, and a tag (rear page tag 9) indicating a page behind the current page with a page number larger than the current page is attached. . A tag (previous page tag 10) indicating a page before the current page is attached to the left tag display area. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the fourth page is displayed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15, the page information display device includes a storage unit (electronic information memory) 4 that stores electronic information having a plurality of page information in units of pages of a predetermined size, and the storage unit 4 A display unit (display) having an information browsing area 5 for displaying stored electronic information in units of pages and tag display areas 6 and 7 provided at both ends of the information browsing area 5 for displaying tags indicating the contents of the page. 1 and a display controller 3 that attaches a tag to the page information read from the storage unit 4 and displays it on the display unit. The display controller executes the process shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 14, the display controller first reads out the electronic information of the page designated by the page designation information (step S1). Subsequently, the height of the current page tag is determined based on the read page number of the current page (step S2, current page tag height determining step). Further, the color and shape of a tag indicating pages before and after the current page tag are set (step S3). In step S3, the current page tag is highlighted, the color or color change attached to the tag, or the tag shape change is set.

  Subsequently, in step S4, the current page to be currently displayed read from the storage unit is displayed in the information browsing area, and in step S5, the tag attached to the current page is displayed in one or the other tag display area. (Current page display process). Then, before and after the current page display process, the tag 9 attached to each page (the fifth page to the seventh page) after the current page (the fourth page in the example shown in FIG. 15) is set in one tag display area. Display (S6, rear page tag display step). In addition, before and after the current page display process, the tag attached to each page before the page number of the current page is displayed in the other tag display area (S7, previous page tag display process). In the example shown in FIG. 14, the tag content that is the content indicated by the tag is displayed on each tag (step S8). In the example shown in FIG. 15, the page number is displayed as the tag content (page number display step). In addition to the page number, a mark indicating the location of the page or characters may be used.

  Referring to FIG. 15, the display controller 3 has various functions for realizing the processing shown in FIG. Specifically, the electronic information display unit 11 that displays the page information of the current page that is the current display target read from the storage unit 4 in the information browsing area 5, and the current page tag display that is displayed in one or the other tag display area Part 12. The display controller 3 further displays a tag attached to each page after the current page at a position before the height of the current page tag in one tag display area, a rear page tag display unit 13, A previous page tag display unit 14 is provided for displaying a tag attached to each page before the page number at a position on the other side of the height of the current page in the other tag display area. In a preferred example, the display controller 3 includes a tag display form setting unit 15 that sets the form (shape and color) of each tag. Further, the current page tag display unit 12 may be provided with a current page tag height calculation function for calculating the page height of the current page based on the ratio of the page number of the current page to the total number of pages of the electronic information. good.

  The display controller 4 includes a CPU that executes a program for displaying page information and a RAM that is a main memory of the CPU. The page information display program is stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and conveyed to the page information display device. The display controller 4 reads the program by the program reading unit 16 such as a CD-ROM drive and stores it in the storage unit 4 or the like. When this page information display program is executed, the processing shown in FIG. 14 is performed.

  This page information display program displays, as an instruction to operate the display controller 4, the current page to be currently displayed read from the storage unit 4 in the information browsing area 5 and the tag attached to the current page as one or the other. A current page display command to be displayed in the tag display areas 6 and 7; a post-page tag display command for displaying a tag attached to each page after the current page before and after the current page display process in one tag display area; And a previous page tag display command for displaying a tag attached to each page before the page number of the current page before and after the current page display step in the other tag display area. Moreover, you may make it further provide the instruction | command according to each process.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the tag display areas 6 and 7 on the display 1 are composed of an information browsing area 5 and tag display areas 6 and 7 provided on the side of the information browsing area 5. For example, the electronic information display unit 11 draws the browsing information stored in the storage unit 4 in the information browsing area 5 of the display 1. Further, the tag display form setting unit 15 specifies the display form of the tag according to the setting selected in advance. Subsequently, the tag display units 12, 13, and 14 add tags 8, 9, and 10 describing the tag contents 18 such as page numbers, and the tag display areas 6, 7 in the appearance of a single tagged sheet. To draw. In order to easily distinguish the current page tag 8 added to the information browsing area 5 displayed in the information browsing area 5 from the other tags 9 and 10, for example, the font of the tag contents 18 such as the page number is emphasized. It is desirable to have an appearance such as a special color or shape such as drawing.

  The tags 8, 9, and 10 are arranged according to tag contents 18 such as page numbers. The absolute positional relationship of the information held by the computer is clearly shown by drawing the overlapping state of the tags in a comic manner so that the page arrangement order of the page information becomes clearer. For example, the tag 10 displayed in one tag display area 6 is a tag having a smaller page number than the page number of the current page, and a tag having a larger page number than the tag having a smaller page number is visually in front. Draw in an overlapping state to exist. Further, the tag displayed in the other tag display area 7 is a tag having a larger page number than the page number of the current page, and a tag having a larger page number is visually present behind a tag having a smaller page number. Draw in an overlapping state.

  Compared with the tag contents 18 such as the page number of the tags 8, 9, 10 added to the information browsing area 5, the tag having a larger tag content 18 such as the page number is displayed in one tag display area 6, and the page number is Small tags are displayed in the other tag display area 7. In addition, changing the appearance of the tags 8, 9, and 10 according to the tag page number is an effective drawing technique that clearly indicates the relative positional relationship of the browsing information.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an initial state of tag display according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a tag display example when the fourth page is displayed with the configuration illustrated in FIG. It is. Here, the information browsing area 5 and the tag display areas 6 and 7 are provided in the display unit 1. The electronic information 1 </ b> A possessed by the storage unit 4 is reconfigured as page information with the amount of information that can be displayed in the information browsing area 5 as a page unit, and is displayed in the information browsing area 5. The page information is data in units of one page having a predetermined size.

  In addition, the page information display device displays page numbers and the like in order to clearly indicate that the page information arrangement has a linear information structure, such as a book in which page information is lined up like a book. The tags 8, 9, and 10 describing the tag contents 18 are added to the end of each page, and the tags 8, 9, and 10 are arranged according to the order of the tag contents 18 such as page numbers.

  In the example shown in FIG. 16, the total number of pages of electronic information is seven, and seven tags having a length obtained by dividing the length of the tag display area 7 by the number of pages 7 are displayed. As shown in FIG. 16, if tags are overlapped, the tag length is obtained by adding the length of the overlap to the divided length. Generally, the height of the tag 8 attached to the current page is determined by changing the height or position in the tag display direction in the current page tag height determination step S2 shown in FIG. It may be determined based on the page number.

  In the example shown in FIG. 16, in the page number display step S8, the page number of the page to which the tag is attached is displayed as the tag content displayed in each tag. Accordingly, the number assigned to each tag in FIG. 16 is the page number of the electronic information. As shown in FIG. 16, even when page information is browsed using only one information browsing area 5, by displaying a tag having a page number in the tag display area, Depth etc. can be conveyed intuitively to the user. In the example in which the page numbers are written in the tags 8, 9, and 10, unlike the tag in which the heading information is written, the problem that the page numbers cannot be written in the tags 8, 9, and 10 does not occur. Of course, if there is a sufficient display area in the tag display areas 6 and 7, an icon or the like indicating the contents of these character information or page information may be added.

  Further, before and after the page number display step S8, a current page tag emphasis display step for emphasizing the display of the tag 8 of the current page may be provided. In the examples shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, bold characters are used as the font of the current page tag.

  Referring to FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the overlapping of tags will be described. First, the subsequent page tags indicated by reference numerals 9a to 9f are lower-order tags than the current page tag 8 shown in FIG. The order at this time becomes a lower hierarchy as the distance from the current page increases. Therefore, the current page tag 8 is in the highest order, and the lower order in the order of reference numerals 9a, 9b,..., 9f. The tags are overlapped in the order of 9e, 9d,..., 9a with the tag 9f at the bottom as the bottom. Then, the structure from the current page to the seventh page can be notified to the user at a glance. At this time, if there is an operation for viewing the fourth page, the vertical relationship of the overlay is not changed only by the other tag display area 7, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. As described above, the previous page tag is moved to one tag display area 6. This notifies the user of the position of the current page in the total page of electronic information quickly and accurately.

  As shown in FIG. 17, with respect to the previous page tag 10, the tag 10c indicating the previous page (third page) of the current page is the highest, and the lower page belongs as the page number decreases. Thereby, the depth of electronic information is expressed. In the end, the hierarchical relationship is positioned with the current page at the top, and the lower the page, the larger the absolute value of the page number difference from the current page. For this reason, in the tag relation definition step, the tag 8 of the current page or the tag of the page before and after the current page is set to the top, and the tag is positioned as the absolute value of the difference in the number of pages between the current page and the page to be tagged increases. . In the overlay setting step, the upper tag is superimposed on the lower tag in one or the other tag display area according to the hierarchy of each page defined in the tag relation definition step. The depth of the page is visualized on the tag display areas 6 and 7 by drawing the overlapping state of each tag in a cartoon manner so that the order of page alignment becomes clearer. As described above, in the present embodiment, the tags 8, 9, and 10 specifying the tag contents 18 such as the page number are added to the page information and displayed in the tag display areas 6 and 7, thereby using the input unit 2. The tags 8, 9, and 10 are directly designated, and page information corresponding to the tag contents 18 such as the page numbers of the tags 8, 9, and 10 is displayed in the information browsing area 5. At this time, by changing the display form of the tags 8, 9, and 10 added to the page information, it is possible to easily grasp the information amount and information structure of the computer. This is because, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, it is visually easy to compare the number of tags in one tag display area 6 and the other tag display area 7.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to detect an input operation for browsing such as turning a page in the information browsing area 5, and for example, a device that can perform a fingertip input operation such as a touch panel is used. Thus, the entire tag display areas 6 and 7 can be used as an input area to provide a user interface that allows an intuitive browsing operation by a page turning gesture operation.

  In the example of performing the processing shown in FIG. 14, a browsing area and an operation area are provided in the display area on the output device of the computer by the page tag, and the listing property of the electronic information displayed in the information browsing area is sufficiently ensured. be able to. Furthermore, by adding a tag that clearly indicates the page number to the electronic information with the amount of information that can be displayed in the information browsing area as a page unit, the electronic information can be drawn for each page by appropriately drawing the degree of overlap of each tag. It is possible to visually grasp the state of alignment. Therefore, even a user who has little experience in using a computer can easily grasp the information structure from the page order of electronic information.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily visually grasp the absolute position of the currently viewed page with respect to the amount of information held by the computer according to the order of tag alignment, and the tag It is also possible to easily grasp the relative position between a currently viewed page or chapter and an arbitrary page or chapter by the arrangement order.

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for defining terms such as “tag width” used in this specification. Usually, in English and horizontal Japanese text, the characters flow from left to right, and when you page, they move from right to left. On the other hand, if the Japanese text is written vertically, the page is turned from right to left. In addition, when the report is created on a sheet of A4 or the like and stopped at the top, the page turns from bottom to top. In this way, there is a page turning direction in books, reports, magazines, and the like. Here, the “page turning direction” indicates a certain direction as indicated by reference numeral 34, and FIG. 18 shows a case where the page is turned from right to left. The page turning direction is generally parallel (including antiparallel) or perpendicular to the direction in which characters flow. In this embodiment, a “tag display direction” is defined in a direction orthogonal to the page turning direction. Tags are displayed along the tag display direction 35. When page turning from right to left, the tag display direction is the vertical direction. When the page is turned from bottom to top, the tag display direction is the left-right direction as shown in FIG.

  Here, “tag length” refers to the distance from the start point to the end point of the tag in the tag display direction. “Tag width” refers to the length of a tag in the page turning direction. Therefore, when the tag length and the tag width are determined, the size necessary for displaying one tag is determined. In the present embodiment, the position where the tag is arranged according to various elements is variable along the tag display direction. At this time, the length from one end point in the tag display direction is referred to as “tag height” here. In the case where the tag is trapezoidal, when the angle of the trapezoid side surface is determined, the elements specifying one tag are the above-mentioned “tag length”, “tag width”, and “tag height”.

<Adjusting tag length at the start of browsing>
In the present embodiment, a method for determining the tag length at the start of browsing is disclosed. The total number of pages of the electronic information 1A or the browsing information 1B varies depending on the content. In the example shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the length obtained by dividing the length in the tag display direction by the total number of pages is displayed as the tag length. However, as the total number of pages increases, the tag length becomes insufficient with simple equal allocation. In the example shown in FIG. 19, a solution means for satisfactorily displaying tags when the total number of pages is large is shown.

  When the number of pages is so large that it is difficult to draw tags with sufficient spacing on the operation area, as shown in FIG. 20, the difference in page number between the tag attached to the viewing area and other tags Draws with the tag height proportional to the absolute value, gradually narrowing the gap between the tags to the desired page range (Semantic display). A tag exceeding an arbitrary page range is drawn in a state where the tags are closely overlapped with each other at a constant interval.

  In the semantic display, the tag length is continuously shortened for each tag. Therefore, the tag contents such as the page number are displayed well on the tag indicating the current page and its neighboring pages, and the total page number is displayed. The position of the current page relative to the page becomes clear, and an interface can be constructed in which the total number of pages can be recognized at a glance.

  As shown in FIG. 19, first, the length of the current page tag 8 attached to the current page is determined with reference to a reference tag length or the like (step S41, tag length calculation step). Subsequently, the tag length of the current page tag 8 is set to the maximum value, and the length of each tag is set to become shorter as the tag hierarchy becomes lower (step S41, semantic display setting step). If the length of the tag display area is shorter than the total number of pages, the line tag display 51A is set for a certain range (step S43, line tag display setting step). Then, the tag is displayed in a semantic manner (step S44). Depending on the content of the page information, an interval display line such as changing the thickness of the tag shape line may be inserted at regular page intervals (interval display line insertion step). Then, the tag content such as the page number is displayed on the tag capable of displaying the tag content according to the displayed tag length and the displayed font size (step S46). Further, the page information of the current page is displayed in the information browsing area.

  Referring to FIG. 20, the current page is the 28th page, and the tag length of the current page tag 8 is shortened in the order of tags 9a, 9b,. In this example, the semantic display is performed by multiplying the tag length by 0.8 for each tag from the current page tag length. The line tag display in which only the inner and lower lines of the tag shape indicated by the reference numeral 51A are overlapped is also realized by 0.8 times. If the display resolution cannot be tracked to the line interval of the tag, the tag is continuously displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 20, since the tags before and after the tag length of the current page tag 8 in the other tag display area 7 are multiplied by 0.8, the uppermost tag displayed in one tag display area The length of the tag (tag indicating page 27) is the same as that of the tag indicating page 29. In this way, the tag length of the tag one page before the current page is made shorter than the tag length of the current page, thereby emphasizing the current page tag and enriching the depth.

  The semantic display shown in FIG. 20 may always be performed regardless of the total number of pages of the page information. However, if the semantic display is performed, the tag display area cannot be effectively used when the total number of pages is small. For this reason, it is desirable to switch between the normal display shown in FIG. 16 and the semantic display shown in FIG. 20 according to the total number of pages of the page information. The display method can be switched based on the minimum reference length for the current page tag. That is, as shown in FIG. 16, when all tags are assigned for the entire length of the tag display area in the tag display direction, the semantic display is performed if the tag length per tag is less than the reference length. Is.

  FIG. 21 is a chart showing an example of the data structure of the page information display data necessary for switching the display method. As for the minimum reference length, when the physical length and resolution of the display are determined in advance, it is easy to determine the minimum reference length by the number of dots as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in order to obtain a data structure that does not depend on an actual display, the physical length of the display and the number of display dots are accepted at the time of execution, and the minimum reference length is determined by a physical length such as meters. Then, the feeling of the user who uses a different device for the page turning operation and the depth display using the tag does not change. In addition, when performing a semantic display, it is possible to express a sense of depth according to the total number of pages without necessarily providing tag display areas on the left and right sides, but to make it possible to immediately recognize the current page position. It is desirable to provide tag display areas on the left and right.

  In the example shown in FIG. 21A, the page information display data includes display dot number data in the page turning direction and tag display direction of the display unit, and total page number data of electronic information stored in the storage unit. , Dot number data per unit tag, which is the number of dots obtained by dividing the number of dots by the number of dots data by the total number of pages by the total page number data, and the tag length in the page turning direction compared to the number of dots per unit tag And a minimum reference data having a predetermined minimum reference width for the tag and a predetermined minimum reference length for the tag in the tag display area. In the example shown in FIG. 21A, the unit tag length is 80 dots which is the minimum reference length, or the larger one of the values obtained by dividing 1600 dots by the total number of pages ap. By using this data, it is possible to determine the tag length of the current page tag and switch between normal display and semantic display.

  In the example shown in FIG. 21B, the minimum reference length is 2 cm or the larger one of the values obtained by dividing the tag display area length by the total number of pages ap. The page information management unit 43 obtains the physical length per dot from the relationship between the display dot number data and the tag display area length, and can thereby obtain the number of dots of the unit tag length.

  Further, the page information display data may include tag ratio data that is referred to when the dot number data per unit tag is shorter than the minimum reference data. This tag ratio data is the ratio of the tag length that is sequentially changed from the current page of electronic information to the end page or start page with respect to the tag length based on the minimum reference data. Then, referring to this tag ratio data, the length of the tag is sequentially calculated from the higher level to the lower level, and then the tag is drawn in the tag display area while overwriting from the lower level to the higher level. When tags are superposed well and the total number of pages is large, line tags are automatically generated according to the resolution, and a consistent interface can be constructed.

  FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration for specifying the tag shape using the page information display data shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 22, the storage unit 4 storing electronic information having a plurality of page information in units of pages of a predetermined size, and displaying the electronic information stored in the storage unit 4 in units of pages. A display section (display) 49 having an information browsing area 5 to be read, and a page information display section 56 for reading out electronic information stored in the storage section 4 based on page designation information inputted externally and displaying the electronic information in the information browsing area. I have.

  The display 49 includes a tag display area 6 that is attached to the information browsing area at one or both ends in the page turning direction, which is the direction in which the page information is turned in the information browsing area 5. Furthermore, the tag display of each tag attached to each page based on the length of the tag display area in the tag display direction that is orthogonal to the page turning direction and the total number of pages ap of the electronic information stored in the storage unit 4 A tag shape calculation unit that calculates the length of the direction, and a tag display unit 55 that displays a tag in the tag display area based on the length of each tag calculated by the tag shape calculation unit.

  The tag shape calculation unit includes, for example, a tag display area width determination unit 53 that determines the width of the tag display area based on the minimum reference width of the tag and the size of the electronic information in the page turning direction. For example, the remaining length of the page turning area when the vertical length of the page information is expanded or reduced to the vertical length of the display is compared with the minimum reference width. It is preferable to change the reduction ratio. In addition, the tag shape calculation unit sets the tag length per unit tag obtained by dividing the length of the display 49 in the tag display direction by the total number of pages ap of the electronic information as the tag length of the current page, and the tag length. If it is shorter than the minimum reference length of the tag, a current page tag length setting unit 54 may be provided that sets the length of the current page tag attached to the currently displayed page to the minimum reference length. When the tag length of the current page is set as the minimum reference length, the semantic display is performed here, whereas when it is not set as the minimum reference length, the normal display is performed.

  In order to display a tag based on the minimum reference length, the minimum reference width of the tag in the page turning direction and the minimum tag in the tag display direction determined in advance based on the size of the display 49 in the storage unit 4. A tag table (or page information display data shown in FIG. 21) in which the reference length is written is stored, and the tag display section 55 has a width determined by the tag display area width determination section 53 and the current page tag. You may make it display the tag of the length set by the length setting part 54 in a tag display area.

  Similarly to the case shown in FIG. 15, in the configuration shown in FIG. 22, the operation of each unit can be realized by a CPU and a program. For example, the program for calculating the tag length using the page display information having the data structure shown in FIG. 21 is a total page of the electronic information stored in the storage unit 4 and the length of the tag display area in the tag display direction. Based on the number ap, a tag length calculation command for calculating the length of each tag attached to each page in the tag display direction, and based on the length of each tag calculated according to the tag length calculation command A tag display command for displaying the tag in the tag display area. The tag length calculation command includes a command for mutually converting the physical length and the number of dots in the example in which the minimum reference length shown in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for determining a tag width and a tag length using data having the data structure illustrated in FIG. First, physical length information in the page turning direction of the display 49 is acquired (step S51, physical length acquisition step). Subsequently, the minimum reference width of the tag at the resolution of the display unit based on the physical length information acquired in the physical length acquisition step S51 and the minimum reference width of the tag in the page turning direction determined in advance by the physical length. (Minimum tag width calculation step) and the width of the tag display area is determined based on the minimum reference width depending on the display 49 calculated in the minimum tag width calculation step S52 and the size of the electronic information ( Step S52, tag display area width determining step).

  Subsequently, physical length information in the tag display direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the page turning direction of the display unit, is acquired (step S53, physical length acquisition step). Subsequently, the minimum reference length of the tag at the resolution of the display unit based on the physical length information acquired in the physical length acquisition step S53 and the minimum reference length of the tag in the tag display direction determined in advance by the physical length (Minimum tag length calculation process), and when the tag length per unit tag obtained by dividing the length of the display part in the tag display direction by the total number of pages of electronic information is shorter than the minimum reference length, the current display The length of the current page tag attached to the page to be set is set to the minimum reference length (step S54, current page tag length setting step).

  Then, a tag having a width determined in the tag display area width determination step S52 and a length determined in the current page tag length setting step S54 is displayed in the tag display area (step S55, tag display). Process). As a result, a tag having a good shape can be displayed without depending on the resolution.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for switching between normal display and semantic display. As shown in FIG. 24, when display of page information is started, first, the total number of pages of electronic information is acquired (step S61). Then, the number of dots in the tag display direction is divided by the total number of pages to calculate the tag length per tag (step S62). Subsequently, the calculated tag length is compared with, for example, the minimum reference tag length shown in FIG. 21, and when the calculated tag length is longer, normal display is performed (step S64). On the other hand, when the calculated tag length is shorter than the minimum tag length, semantic display such as 0.8 times is performed (step S65).

  In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 22, the page information display device for selecting such a display method has a tag display area displayed in the tag display area when the total number of pages of electronic information is within a predetermined number. Select normal display to make the length constant, and if the total number of pages exceeds a predetermined number, select the semantic display that gradually reduces the tag length around the current page tag A tag display method selection unit may be provided.

<Adjusting tag length after turning the page>
Next, a specific example of how an operation is performed on the page information and the tag displayed on the display and the tag is displayed again after displaying a different page will be disclosed. Regarding how to display the tag after turning the page, it is necessary to determine how to adjust the tag height. In the example shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, normal display is performed, and the current page tag is moved from the other tag display area 6 to one tag display area 7 while keeping the height of the tag constant. In the semantic display shown in FIG. 20, it is impossible to keep moving the tag while keeping the height of the tag constant. Here, a solution to this point is disclosed.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for displaying a tag again after page turning. In the example shown in FIG. 25, first, the tag height of the current page is calculated (step S71). In the current page tag height calculation step S71, the height of the current page tag attached to the current page number to be displayed is calculated based on the ratio of the current page to the total number of pages of the electronic information. Then, if it is a normal display, the height of the tag once displayed does not change. On the other hand, in the case of the semantic display, the height of the current page tag changes according to the page number of the current page to be displayed.

  Subsequently, the current page read from the storage unit 4 is displayed in the information browsing area, and the tag attached to the current page is calculated in one or the other tag display areas 6 and 7 in the current page tag height calculation step S71. The current page tag height is displayed (step S72, current page tag display step). Before and after the current page display step S72, the tag 9 attached to each page after the current page is displayed in one tag display area 9 at a height smaller than the current page tag height (step S73, rear page tag display). Process). On the other hand, the tag attached to each page before the page number of the current page is displayed at a height higher than the current page tag in the other tag display area 10 (step S74, previous page tag display step).

  Subsequently, the page turning operation is waited (step S75). Further, when there is a page turning operation, as shown in FIG. 26, page turning animation is displayed with the tag attached to the page being turned while maintaining the tag height of the current page tag (step S76). ). Subsequently, the page after page turning is set as the current page (step S77).

  In this case, the processing after resetting the current page is different between the normal display and the semantic display. That is, if the semantic display is in progress (step S78), the tag height of the current page is calculated again based on the ratio to the total pages (step S71, the same ratio high tag redisplay step). On the other hand, if the normal display is being performed, the current page tag is displayed while maintaining the tag height given to each tag (step S72, same height tag redisplay step). Thereafter, this process is repeated.

  The page display program for realizing this process may include, for example, a tag length calculation command, a normal display command, a semantic display command, and a tag height control command. Specifically, the program includes a tag length calculation command for calculating a tag length per tag based on the total page number information of the electronic information and the length of the tag display area, and the calculated tag length is When it is longer than a predetermined tag length, a normal display command for setting the calculated tag length as a display tag length, and when the calculated tag length is shorter than a predetermined tag length Sets the predetermined tag length to the tag length of the current page tag and gradually shortens the tag length attached to the front and rear of the current page with the tag length of the current page as the highest level. When a semantic display command to set the length and a page turning operation for turning the current page displayed in the information browsing area are performed, the tags are displayed again with the height of each tag kept constant during normal display and the semantics are displayed. New during display Based on the page number of the current page displayed on including tags and height control command for calculating a tag height. The semantic display command may be activated when the normal display command cannot be executed. In addition, since information about normal display or semantic display is required by the tag height control command, a flag indicating which display method is currently displayed may be stored in the page table 41 or the like. .

  Referring to FIG. 26, when the fourth page is displayed, the current page which is the fourth page is turned and the fifth page is displayed. At this time, in order to give the user an impression similar to the impression that appears when a book or the like is hit, in the example shown in FIG. Is displayed to gradually increase. There are various patterns in this display example, but it is preferable to select according to the display processing capability of the controller to be used. For example, if the controller (CPU and operating system) has a high speed for 3D processing, the state of turning the paper may be displayed in three dimensions. Further, the state in which the page is rotated about the tag display direction of the tag display area 6 as a center axis may be displayed by changing the data being displayed according to the position in the middle of turning.

  In the example shown in FIG. 26, as indicated by reference numeral 58, the movement of the tag is made to follow the movement of the turning page. That is, in the page information display method according to the present embodiment, when an operation is applied to the tag displayed in the tag display area, the current page is moved in the page turning direction, and the page displayed by the operation of the tag is displayed in the information browsing area. The page turning process to be displayed and the tag attached to the current page when the current page is moved in this page turning process in the page turning direction between the one and the other tag display areas together with the movement of the current page. And a tag moving step for moving. Thereby, the position of the moving page becomes clear. In an example in which page turning is displayed in a three-dimensional manner, the tag shape may be changed and moved following the page. For example, when the tag width is gradually narrowed, it is possible to represent a state where the page is moved upward by rotation.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for expanding a tag during the semantic display. Here, first, the tag is displayed in a semantic manner (step S81). If there is a pointer event near the tag display area, for example, when the pointer 2A approaches the selected and displayed tag display area, the tag being displayed is specified near the coordinates where the pointer event has occurred. In the example shown in FIG. 28, for example, it is specified that the pointer indicated by reference numeral 2A has approached the tag line indicating the 48th page among the tags displayed as line tags. In this case, the tag indicating the 48th page and the lengths of three or five tags before and after the tag are reset to the length of the current page tag length and displayed (step S84, tag expanding step). At this time, the page information of the 48th page may be stored in a cache memory or the like.

  If there is no tag operation (step S85), the display of the tag is restored after a predetermined time has elapsed (step S87). On the other hand, if there is an operation with respect to the tag that is displayed in an expanded manner, processing such as page turning is performed (step S86). The program for executing the processing shown in FIG. 27 is a tag expansion command for resetting the displayed tag length based on the relationship between the tag displayed in the tag display area and the coordinates or pressure of the pointer. And a tag length return command for returning the tag length reset after a predetermined period from the time when the pointer coordinates or pressure returned to the steady state to the original length.

  The spreading process will be described again with reference to FIG. If the tag closest to the pointer 2A (the tag on page 49 in FIG. 28) is a tag that is inversely proportional to the distance h when the distance h between the tag and the input cursor is shorter than the arbitrary distance H1. As the coordinates of the input cursor approach the tag (the tag on page 49), the interval between the tags is gradually widened. When the distance between the coordinates of the fingertip and the tag (tag on page 49) is greater than a predetermined distance H2, the interval between the tags shown in FIG. This change is made to gradually return to the display state of FIG.

<Multi-page grab and tag display>
FIG. 29A illustrates an example of a tag-integrated display format. In the example shown in FIG. 29 (A), when the tag is attached to the current page in the turning state display data generation process shown in step A24 of FIG. 10, the tag part is integrated with the current page to display the turning state. A step of generating data. In the example shown in FIG. 29A, the compression type display shown in FIG. 13A is performed together with the tag 74A attached to the current page. Because of the compression type, the tag width of the tag indicated by reference numeral 74B, which has been further compressed, is narrower than the tag width of the tag indicated by reference numeral 74A.

  FIG. 29B is a diagram showing an example of a display format of a plurality of pages integrated type. In the example shown in FIG. 29B, the turning state display data generation step A24 shown in FIG. 10 is detected in the page turning operation detection step. In the case where the number of gripped pages is 2 or more, a step of delaying the deformation of each gripping page for each gripping page than the deformation of the current page is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 29B, with respect to the slide type display format shown in FIG. 12B, the current page 75A displaying “A”, the next page 75B following the current page displaying “B”, “ With respect to three consecutive pages called the next display page 75C displaying “C”, the current page 75A and the next page 75B are deformed with a time difference. As a result, the next page 75B is displayed during the page turning process, and the state of turning over a plurality of pages is more intuitively displayed to the user. As shown in FIG. 29B, when a tag is attached to each page, the tag may be moved following the page.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating an example of tag display control according to the gripping operation according to the fourth embodiment. Referring to FIG. 30, in the page information display method, a page gripping operation detection signal is output when a predetermined page gripping operation is performed on the current page to be currently displayed read from the electronic information memory 4. When the detection of the page gripping operation is started in the gripping operation detection step A31 and the page gripping operation detection step A31, the page gripping operation is performed in one tag display area displaying the tag attached to the current page. And a tag tag coloring process A42 before turning for coloring the tag of the page to be gripped that has been grabbed by a different color from the colors of the other tags. In step A42, since the tag of the page that is currently being gripped by the page gripping operation is colored, the user can confirm at a glance the effect on the number of gripped pages by the gripping operation according to the pressure and time. In particular, when the approximate position of the target page is known from the position of the page tag, more accurate operations can be easily performed by checking the presence or absence of coloring of the tag while slightly changing the pressure. be able to.

  Then, when a page grip operation detection signal is output in the page grip operation detection step A31, the next display page is a page that displays the page with the page number obtained by adding or subtracting the grip operation amount to the current page. And a page turning processing step A35 for changing the next display page set in the next display page setting step A34 to the current page and displaying it on the display unit.

  In the example shown in FIG. 30, following the page turning process A35, the page turning process is performed in the other tag display area that does not display the tag attached to the current page that has become the current page after the page turning process. A page tag coloring step A36 after grabbing for coloring the page tag color of the completed gripping target page to a color different from the colors of the other tags is provided.

  Further, not only the grasping operation in the information browsing area, but also the grasping operation may be performed on the tag. FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of performing a gripping operation on a tag. As shown in FIG. 31, a plurality of pages are gripped by applying a predetermined pressure on the tag 76 that has been pushed and spread.

  Further, a grip display circle may be displayed on the tag. In the example shown in FIGS. 32 and 33, it is explanatory drawing which illustrates the case where the coloring of the tag by the grip operation and the display of the grip display circle on the tag are used together. In the example shown in FIG. 31, only the page behind the current page or behind the tag that has been pushed open is grasped. You can grab the page. That is, the page 77 grasped in FIG. 32 is a page before the tag currently being operated. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 33, the grabbed page 77 is a page after the currently operated tag.

  FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a tag display example when a plurality of pages are collectively page-turned. In the example shown in FIG. 34, the page information display method calculates the current page tag height calculation that calculates the display height of the current page tag based on the position of the current page with respect to the total number of pages of electronic information stored in the storage unit 4. Rear page tag display format specifying step of specifying the display format of the rear page tag based on the step A41 and the tag height of the current page tag calculated in the current page tag height calculation step and the total number of pages of the rear page A42 and a previous page tag display format specifying step A43 for specifying the display format of the previous page tag based on the tag height of the current page tag and the total number of previous pages before and after the page tag display format specifying step It has.

  Each display format specifying step A42, 43 may specify the display format by the tag display method described in the fourth embodiment. That is, giving priority to the position of the current page tag height, the display format is determined according to the number of remaining pages at this position.

  Then, a page grip operation detection step A44 that outputs a page grip operation detection signal when a predetermined page grip operation is performed on the current page, and a page grip operation detection signal is output in the page grip operation detection step A44. If so, the next display page setting step A45 for setting the next display page, which is the page to be displayed next, the page with the page number obtained by adding or subtracting the grip operation amount to the current page, and this next display page setting step Page turning processing steps A46 to A49 for changing the next display page set in step 1 to the current page and displaying the page on the display unit.

  In this page turning process, first, a page turning process is started (step A46). Subsequently, display control of the page tag to be grasped is performed (step A47). The display control process of the grip target page tag includes the tag attached to the current page to be processed and the grip target page gripped by the grip operation, the previous page tag display format specifying step A42 or the rear page tag display format. Of the display formats specified in the specifying step A43, the information is displayed in the information browsing area by following the deformation or movement of the current page by the current page turning processing in the display format corresponding to the direction of the page turning processing. Subsequently, the page turning process is performed (step A48), and the display control process A47 for the target page tag is repeated until the page turning process is completed (step A49).

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 35A, when turning a plurality of pages in a state where the page tag is expanded, an instruction is made with a finger including a portion that has gripped the plurality of pages and the current page (paper surface). This is a page turning process in which the pages before the page are grouped together. At this time, in the processing example shown in FIG. 34, the tag display of the portion indicated by reference numeral 79 in FIG. 35 is drawn in the width direction of the tag in accordance with the display format in the tag display area 6 for displaying the tag of the previous page. Display in an inverted state. That is, in the state where the page turning process is started, the next display page is treated as the current page, the tag height is recalculated, and the tag is redisplayed in the tag display area on the rear page side. Then, tabs attached from the current page being moved by page turning to the last page of the target page are displayed according to the display format of the previous page, and the movement by the page turning process is followed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 35, when detection of a page gripping operation is started in the page gripping operation detection step A44 following the page gripping operation detection step A44 shown in FIG. There is a pre-grip target page tag coloring step for coloring the tag color of the target page gripped by the page grip operation in one tag display area displaying the tag to a color different from the color of the other tags. Yes. For example, when the pressure circle according to the third embodiment is displayed in the browsing area 5, it is assumed that the number of pages grasped cannot be grasped only by the pressure circle. Respond by changing.

  FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram emphasizing the tag display in the information browsing area by the processing shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 36, the grip target page tag display control step A47 is configured such that the tags attached to the current page to be turned and the grip target page gripped by the grip operation are closely spaced. A step of setting the display format at an equal interval; As shown by reference numeral 79B in FIG. 36, by setting the intervals between the tags to a close and equally spaced display format, it is possible to display a state in which a plurality of pages are turned at once, while the pages are turned well. The position of the current page can be specified immediately.

  FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of tag display after completion of page turning of a plurality of pages. In the example shown in FIG. 37, following the page turning processing step A49, the page turning processing is performed in the other tag display area not displaying the tag attached to the current page that has become the current page after the page turning processing. The page tag coloring process after turning is performed to color the page tag of the page to be gripped that has been completed in a different color from the colors of the other tags. By providing this page tag coloring process after grabbing, the position of the original page becomes clear when multiple pages are paged together, especially by storing the position visually. After turning the page by the gripping operation, it becomes easy to return to the original page.

  FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a pressure circle is displayed on the tag. FIG. 38 (A) is a diagram showing an example of the left page tag, and FIG. 38 (B) is a diagram of the right page tag. FIG. 38C is a diagram illustrating an example in which coloring of a tag and a pressure circle in the tag are used in combination. In the example shown in FIG. 38, when the detection of the page gripping operation is started in the page gripping operation detection step A44 following the page gripping operation detection step A44, the tag in which the page gripping operation is detected is displayed. A tag upper grip circle display step for displaying a circle 78 corresponding to the number of pages to be gripped by the page grip operation is provided. By displaying the grabbing circle on the tag, it is possible to visually display the difference from page turning by simple click.

  FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of changing the gripping target page according to the operation direction on the tag. FIG. 39A is a diagram showing an example of gripping the previous page, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of grasping a back page. In the example shown in FIG. 39, when the page tag is specified with the fingertip and the multi-page turning operation is enabled, it is determined whether the previous page or the rear page is grasped by moving the fingertip up or down as a “reference”. To do. By moving the range up and down within one tag, it can be distinguished from continuous page turning by dragging the tag. Then, the number of pages to be grasped is determined according to the magnitude of the pressure, and the plural pages are turned.

<Example>
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the hardware resources of the present embodiment, which is a configuration common to the following embodiments. As shown in FIG. 40, the page information display device according to the following embodiment includes an input unit 2 to which a pointer event is input, an output unit 49 that is a display 1 for displaying page information and tags, and various types of information. And a stored storage unit 4. The output unit 49 is provided with a display management unit 44 that is a display driver for controlling the output unit 49 and a primary storage unit 46 that stores image data for one screen or two screens of the display unit. Further, the input unit 2 includes a browsing operation management unit 45 that outputs a browsing operation command to a display management unit or the like based on a pointer event generated in the input unit 2, and for measuring an elapsed time during the browsing operation. A timer 48 is also provided.

  The storage unit 4 includes electronic information 1A that is page information for a plurality of pages, page information 1B in which the amount of information that can display the electronic information 1A in the information browsing area 5 is in units of pages, and the configuration of the browsing information 1B. The described page table 41 is stored. The storage unit 4 stores the electronic information 1A in a general file format such as a text format, a document format created by a word processor, an image format, an HTML format, an XML format, a PDF format, or a scanned image format. Of course, the electronic information 1A described here can be applied even when stored in a remote storage device connected by a network such as a telephone line or a LAN. In this embodiment, such electronic information 1A is converted into a linear image file by the page conversion unit 42. For example, display processing is facilitated when image data of one file per page is used. In this case, the page information is information of an image format such as a bitmap format, a TIFF format, a PICT format, a JPEG format, and a GIF format. The page table 41 includes index information in which the tag content 18 such as a page number and page information have a one-to-one correspondence. Since the page information is image information, embedding the digital watermark by passing the browsing information through the page conversion unit 42 having a copyright protection mechanism can be easily realized in the configuration of the page information display device. The page information management unit 43 manages the data structure and order of the browsing information 1B converted by the page conversion unit 42 with reference to the page table 41. In an embodiment that displays a newspaper or the like, a plurality of article information may be defined in the page information for one page.

  The page information display device according to this embodiment includes a high-speed primary storage unit 46 for display, a secondary storage unit 47 that functions as a prefetch cache for display, a predetermined page according to a currently displayed page and a browsing operation. A page information management unit 43 that reads information from the storage unit 4 and stores the information in the secondary storage unit 47 is provided. Thereby, the responsiveness with respect to browsing operation is improved.

  Conventionally, in order to digitize information printed on paper and browse it with an intuitive operation, in this embodiment, the input unit 2 simulates the sense of turning a book page with a fingertip as faithfully as possible. Use a device that allows input operations. The display 1 uses a device capable of high-definition display so that the input area of the input unit 2 covers the tag display areas 6 and 7 of the display 1. Are preferably integrated. Of course, even in the configuration of a computer as shown in FIG. 65, electronic information can be browsed sufficiently, and this does not necessarily mean that a touch panel or an output device capable of high-definition display must be used.

  FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation according to this embodiment. First, in order to know the cacheable capacity, the page information management unit 43 checks the capacity of the secondary storage unit 47 (step S21). Subsequently, the page information management unit 43 confirms the presence / absence of the electronic information 1A and the page table 41 (step S21). If the electronic information 1A exists in the storage unit 4 and the page table 41 does not exist in the storage unit 4, the page information management unit 43 causes the page conversion unit to convert the electronic information 1A into page information 1B. . In this case, the page conversion unit 42 first checks the file format of the electronic information 1A (step S22), and automatically creates page information with the amount of information that can be displayed in the information browsing area 5 as a page unit. (Step S24). Details of this conversion processing will be described later as related technology. Then, the page information management unit 43 determines the tag contents 18 such as the page number of the page information according to the order in which the page information is created, and registers the electronic information 1A as the page information in the page table 41 (step S25).

  By this step S24, a plurality of electronic information 1A having different file formats can be browsed as one book having a linear information structure. The page table 41 can be rewritten and modified within a range that does not deviate from the linear information structure that can be browsed in the present embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the browsing information to be displayed on the display 1 is stored in the primary storage unit 46 that reads and writes information most quickly. Further, the secondary storage unit 47 that reads and writes information faster than the storage unit 4 stores in advance browsing information that the user is expected to browse next. For this reason, when the page to be displayed is determined by the browsing operation (step S26), the page to be displayed is sent to the primary storage unit 46 (step S27), and the previous and subsequent pages are the secondary storage unit. 47 (step S28). This is because when the page information requested by the display management unit 44 is in the secondary storage device 47, the display information is transferred from the secondary storage device 47 to the primary storage device 46 to enable high-speed display. If the page information requested by the display management unit 44 is not in the secondary storage device 47, it is extracted from the browsing information in the storage unit 44 and stored in the primary storage device 46.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 42, the tags 8, 9, and 10 to be added to the page are drawn in the tag display area (step S31). Then, the page information stored in the primary storage unit 46 is displayed in the information browsing area 5. Subsequently, input to the input unit 3 such as a touch panel is waited (step S33).

  When a browsing operation such as a page turning operation is applied to the input unit 3, the browsing operation management unit 45 determines the content of the operation and transmits the type of browsing to the display image management unit 44 (step S34). The type of browsing is, for example, a method of browsing one page at a time, a method of switching immediately from the page being browsed to another page, a method of browsing a page of any page range Alternatively, only a desired article included in the electronic information is displayed in detail on the entire browsing area and browsed.

  When the browsing type is transmitted to the display management unit 44, page information to be displayed in the information browsing area 5 is determined from the browsing type. For example, when the browsing information displayed in the page information management unit 43 is requested to be stored in the primary storage device 46, if the browsing information stored in the primary storage device 46 is obtained from the secondary storage device 47, two In the next storage device 47, other page information that the user is expected to browse next is extracted from the storage unit 4 and stored (step S35).

  In the storage in the secondary storage unit 47, if more pages after the currently displayed page are stored, the browsing is generally performed in the direction in which the page number increases. Get higher. Further, when there is a pointer event such as tag expansion processing described later, a page that becomes the center of expansion may be prefetched and stored in the secondary storage unit 47.

  In the example described above, page information having a size for one page is the minimum unit of data. On the other hand, when displaying an entire newspaper or displaying a magazine article, each article may be displayed in an enlarged manner. This is information such as a book, and the illustrations in the book may be enlarged. For such enlargement, the page information itself is created in advance at a high resolution, the page information that is image data is magnified, or the page information is created with text or diagram vector data, These may be enlarged and displayed. When enlarging an article or the like, the length of the current page tag should be set to several times the normal length. Then, it is possible to intuitively grasp, for example, a case where an arbitrary article included in the electronic information is enlarged depending on the shape of the tag.

  When the article information is included, the page information may include the article information included in the page information and the coordinate range of the article information on the page information. If the user designates the page information with the fingertip using the operation unit (input unit) 2, the article information corresponding to the coordinate range is displayed on the display 1 if the coordinate value indicated by the fingertip is included in the coordinate range. Is displayed. Further, the coordinate range of the article information is data that does not depend on the device when defined by the ratio to the length of the page information.

  FIG. 43 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for performing enlarged display of article information according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 43, the page information display method in the present embodiment is operated when a plurality of article information constituting the current page is defined in the current page to be currently displayed read from the storage unit 4. An article information enlargement operation detection step A51 for outputting an article information enlargement operation detection signal having position information where the article information enlargement operation is performed when an article information enlargement operation is detected on the part, and this article information enlargement operation detection step When an article information enlargement operation detection signal is output in A51, an article information enlargement display step A52 for enlarging article information at the position indicated by the position information and displaying it on the display unit is provided. By enabling the enlarged display of article information, for example, when newspaper information is electronic information, browsing in a more readable state is possible. The article information expansion operation detection step A51 includes, for example, a step of outputting an article information expansion operation detection signal having the click position as position information when the operation unit 1C is clicked. That is, by clicking on the article information to be read, the article information is expanded.

  In the example shown in FIG. 43, following the article information enlargement display step A52, an article display page turning prohibition control step A53 that prohibits a normal page turning operation during enlargement display of the article information is provided. If the page turning operation is enabled during the expansion of the article information, the linear structure in this embodiment that the page information increases by one page may be destroyed, and the user may be confused. In other words, if the page information can be browsed and displayed while the article information is displayed, the information structure branches at that point, and the page information does not have a linear information structure. It becomes difficult to envision the information structure easily. For this reason, in a preferred embodiment, page turning processing during article display is prohibited. Therefore, all operations performed during article display are interpreted as operations for returning to display of page information having the article information.

  FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of performing a continuous enlargement operation by dragging a plurality of articles. In the example in which the multiple article continuous enlargement operation is performed, when the article information enlargement operation detection step A51 is dragged on the operation unit, the article information continuous enlargement operation is performed when two or more pieces of article information are included in the drag trajectory. An article information continuous enlargement operation detecting step for outputting a detection signal is provided. Then, the article information enlargement display step A52 enlarges and displays the article information individually in chronological order for each predetermined time in the dragged order when the article information continuous enlargement operation detection signal is output. It is preferable to provide a continuous enlargement display step. For example, the continuous enlargement display step may include a step of enlarging and displaying two or more pieces of article information in time series at time intervals according to the drag speed.

  As shown in FIG. 44, it is assumed that page information (fourth page) having article information 82A, 82B, 82C, and 82D is displayed as the current page. At this time, when dragging along the arrow indicated by reference numeral 82F, it is determined that the article information continuous enlargement operation is performed. In this case, in the continuous enlargement display step, article information indicated by reference numeral 82A is first displayed, and after a predetermined browsing time has elapsed, an article information reduction instruction (for example, a click on the touch panel while displaying enlarged article information) When there is, the next article information 82B is displayed, and then 82C is displayed. By enabling this article continuous enlargement operation, it is possible to continue browsing article information slowly after the operation is performed, and operability can be improved without complicating the interface.

  FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an article enlarged display accompanied with a wire frame display. In the example shown in FIG. 45, the article information enlargement display step A52 is an enlargement in which the wire frame starting from the outer periphery of the article information to be enlarged is displayed in multiple stages by changing the size until reaching the outer periphery of the display unit. A wire frame display step. When performing the wire frame display, in the example shown in FIG. 45, first, a wire frame having a size surrounding the article information is displayed. Subsequently, a plurality of wire frames are generated with the same aspect ratio between the outer periphery of the wire frame and the outer periphery of the information browsing area 5. Then, the wire frames are sequentially displayed from the wire frame surrounding the article information to the outer periphery of the information browsing area 5. By displaying this wire frame, it is possible to clarify that the article information is to be enlarged, and to visually display the position at which the article information has been enlarged to the user.

  Further, following the article information enlargement display step A52, when an enlargement completion operation for completing the enlargement of the article information is performed, the wire frame having the outer periphery of the display unit as a start area is set to the outer periphery position of the article information on the current page. A wire frame display process at the time of reduction in which the size is varied and displayed in multiple stages may be provided. Then, it is possible to satisfactorily display at which position in the page information the article information that was actually enlarged was located.

  In order to enlarge the article information more clearly, the article information may first be lifted and then enlarged. Further, instead of wire frame display, the article information itself may be drawn while being physically enlarged. FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process for enlarging article information after it has been lifted. In the example shown in FIG. 46, the article information enlargement display step includes a step of raising the display of the article selected in the current page.

  FIG. 46A is a diagram showing a state in which an article is shaded to make it rise, FIG. 46B is a diagram showing a state in which the selected article is being enlarged, and FIG. 46C is an enlargement process It is a figure which shows the state after completion. Here, the shading process 85 is realized by adding a shadow 85 to the article information 84. Further, a reduced version of the article data to be floated may be displayed over the page information. By cutting and displaying the image of the article data portion to be enlarged from the page data, the portion that has been floated when the article has been enlarged may be replaced with the article data.

  FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of tag display when article information is enlarged. In the example shown in FIG. 47, when the current page has a tag, the article information enlargement display step A52 enlarges the tag and attaches the enlarged tag to the enlarged article information. It has. In the example shown in FIG. 47, the appearance of the tag is changed to clearly indicate whether page information is displayed on the entire page or whether article information is displayed in detail. Thereby, the transition of the browsing state by browsing operation can be clearly shown to the user. For example, when the article information is enlarged and displayed, the tag 8A accompanying the page information including the article information is enlarged. In this manner, the tag is also displayed together with the article information so as to clearly indicate that the article information is being browsed in an enlarged manner.

  FIG. 48 is a chart showing an example of an article information table associating page information and article information. As a method for storing article information, high-resolution page information may be included, and a part of the page information may be enlarged by referring to the coordinate range of the article information. In this case, as shown in FIG. 48, the presence / absence and name of article information is defined for each page information, and a coordinate range is defined for each article information. By storing the article information table in the storage unit 4, the article information is expanded.

  In the second embodiment, a processing example in which a page information turning operation or the like is performed according to a pointer event will be described. In this embodiment, event-driven page turning processing is performed. Various page turning processes are realized by operations on tags and operations on page information (information browsing area).

<Page turning action by tag>
The display of tags as shown in FIG. 16 or FIG. 20 is not only an excellent interface in that the total number of pages of electronic information and the position of the current page with respect to the total number of pages can be intuitively transmitted to the user. It is also useful as a tool for displaying a page that a user wants to see among a plurality of page information defined in the above. Here, an interface that can intuitively understand the operation regardless of whether or not the computer is used is disclosed while using a tag that can be regarded as an artificial existence using an operation of turning a book page as a metaphor.

  In this embodiment, a pointer drive type interface is adopted. If the touch panel display 49 is used, the pointer is a fingertip or a pen type pointer. If a CRT or the like connected to the computer 100 is used, the pointer is operated by an arrow key of the mouse 105 or the keyboard 104 and displayed on the screen. A displayed arrow or the like becomes a pointer. In order to promote a more intuitive understanding, a touch panel type is desirable.

  In general, there are two methods for turning a page in a book: a method of reading one page at a time, a method of searching for some keywords, etc. relatively quickly, and referring to page numbers. There are a method of opening a page and a method of hitting multiple sheets at once with some effort. In addition, when turning relatively quickly, there is also a method of using the elasticity of the paper while pressing the edge of the page without displaying the entire page. In order to metaphorize these operations, various pointer events for tags are used.

  As an example of means for realizing a method of immediately switching from the page being browsed to another page for browsing, tag click is suitable. When a page of a book is turned, the end of the paper may be rubbed, but the same operation is performed by clicking a tag. By directly touching the tags 8, 9, and 10 of the page to be browsed, the page information corresponding to the tag content 18 such as the page number of the instructed tag 8, 9, 10 is visually displayed as the page turns. While displaying, desired page information is displayed in the information browsing area 5. Further, when the pointer is down in the tag and the pointer is up in the same tag, the page to which the tag is attached may be turned.

  An example of a means of realizing a method of browsing and browsing an arbitrary page range is to touch a plurality of tags attached to page information that you want to read by browsing the page continuously by touching them with your fingertip. By releasing, each browsing information is continuously displayed in the information browsing area 5 at a constant display interval according to the order of the tags touched. At this time, it is possible to measure the time until the plurality of tags are completely touched by the timer 48 and display the page information one after another at a display speed proportional to the measurement time. Actually, when the book paper is rolled up, the edges of the paper are pressed and released one after another. Similarly to this, continuous page turning is performed by holding down tags one after another.

  The pointer event driven interface will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 49 and 50. FIG. FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the second embodiment of the present invention. First, assume that the current page is being displayed (step S91). Each tag is also displayed in normal display or semantic display (step S92, tag display step). Thereafter, a pointer event is waited (step S93), and when an event occurs, page turning processing is performed according to the type of event (step S94, event-driven display control process).

  FIG. 50 shows the relationship between the pointer event and the page turning process. First, when a certain tag is dragged, the dragged page is gradually moved as shown in FIG. 26, and the next page of the tag is displayed (page turning step). At this time, the page to be moved may be moved together with the tag with the tag attached. When a certain tag is clicked, a page indicated by the clicked tag is displayed. If there is a difference between the pointer down position and the pointer up position within the same tag and the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold in the page turning direction, the next page of the tag may be displayed. good.

  When dragging between multiple tags, that is, when a pointer down occurs in one tag, and then the pointer moves in the tag display direction without any pointer up, and then pointer up in another tag, The pages indicated by the dragged tags are displayed one after another in the dragged order. When the time or pressure for pointer down exceeds a predetermined threshold in a tag or an information browsing area near the tag, it is assumed that the number of sheets corresponding to the time or pressure is grasped. May be moved at once. At this time, the tag being grasped may be dynamically moved to the vicinity of the pointer according to changes in time or pressure.

  In a page information display device that performs such page turning processing, the browsing operation management unit 45 may include an event-driven display control unit. Each process shown in FIG. 50 can also be realized by a CPU that executes a program. In this case, a program defining each process may be used as a method for each pointer event.

<Events in the information browsing area>
Referring to FIG. 50 again, when the pointer down time or pressure is equal to or greater than a certain value, the process of grasping a plurality of pages is common to both the tag and the page information. The process of turning pages by dragging in the page turning direction is a pointer event for page information. In addition, clicking on article information and dragging a plurality of articles are operations for page information.

  Dragging for page turning and dragging for continuous enlargement of articles can be determined from the drag trajectory. FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processing for selecting one of page turning and article information continuous display using a drag trajectory. In the example shown in FIG. 51, the event-driven display control unit selects a page with a smaller page number or a larger page with respect to the currently displayed page based on the pointer trajectory from the pointer down to the up. A page selection function for each direction is provided. In addition, the event-driven display control unit may be provided with a continuous article display function for continuously enlarging and displaying article information overlapping with the path based on the path of the trajectory.

  FIG. 51A is a diagram showing a trajectory with a straight line, and FIG. 51B is a diagram showing a trajectory having a curve. As shown in FIG. 51 (A), in the case of a linear trajectory 86 exceeding the predetermined region R, it can be determined that the page turning process. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 51B, in the case of a trajectory 87 having a curve, it can be determined that the article information is selected.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by specifying a tag or operating on page information, it is possible to quickly switch the display from the page being browsed to the electronic information on an arbitrary page and to browse. Therefore, the user can switch the page information with an easy operation.

  In the third embodiment, an example of processing when prefetching page information is disclosed. In general, since page information is likely to be sequentially read page by page, a plurality of pages following the current page are pre-read in advance and stored in the VRAM (primary storage unit) 46 or the cache memory (secondary storage unit) 27. It is possible to keep it. However, in the above-described embodiment and the like, since a plurality of pages are turned, measures for this case are disclosed below.

  FIG. 52 is a flowchart showing an operation example of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 52, first, the current page A is being displayed (step A56). When the page turning operation is identified (step A57), it is confirmed whether or not the multiple page turning is valid (step A58). If there are multiple pages, the pressure is measured (step A59), and the number of pages corresponding to the pressure is calculated (step A60). Then, the page C to be displayed next is determined from the current page A and the grasped page number N when the turning operation is performed at this time (step A61).

  Then, it is confirmed whether or not the VRAM has a capacity for securing the page C (step A62). If there is no capacity in the VRAM, the page B having the longest time stored in the VRAM is discarded (step A63). At this time, the number Bn of the discarded page B is stored. On the other hand, if the VRAM has a capacity for storing page C, page C is stored in VRAM (step A64).

  When a page turning operation is actually performed, page C is set as the current page (step A67), and the following processing is performed (step A68). On the other hand, when there is no page turning operation, page turning is cancelled, page C is deleted from VRAM, and page B is stored again in VRAM (step A65).

  FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state where a plurality of pages are turned together. As shown in FIG. 53, in the page information display device according to the present embodiment, the display controller 3 temporarily stores page information determined to be displayed on the touch panel of the electronic information stored in the electronic information memory 4. A cache memory (secondary storage unit) 47, a continuous page prefetch control unit 3B that pre-stores in the cache memory page information of the page number following the page number of the current page currently displayed on the touch panel, A page turning process control unit 62 that performs page turning processing by selecting one page or a plurality of pages according to an operation is provided. Then, the continuous page prefetch control unit 3B deletes page data in a plurality of pages from the cache memory 47 when a page turning operation of a plurality of pages is detected by the page turning processing control unit 62. 3D is provided.

  The continuous page prefetch control unit 3B reads a plurality of pages following the current page from the storage unit 4 and stores them in the secondary storage unit 47 in advance. On the other hand, the multiple page turning deletion function 3D deletes the page data in the plurality of pages from the cache memory 47 when the page turning processing control unit 62 detects a page turning operation for a plurality of pages. By deleting from the cache memory 47 the data skipped by turning over multiple pages, the capacity of the cache memory can be used effectively.

  In the embodiment that handles article information, the display controller 3 may include an article information prefetch control unit that stores the article information in the current page in the cache memory when the article information is included in the current page. good. FIG. 54 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which high-resolution page information is stored. In the example shown in FIG. 54, individual article data is generated from one page data. In this example, the article information prefetch control unit generates article information in advance during display of the current page and stores it in a cache memory or VRAM. FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which page information and article information are stored separately. In this case, the article information prefetch control unit reads individual article information from the storage unit 4 in advance and stores it in the VRAM 46 or the like.

  Next, a method for generating page information that can be browsed by the page information display device from the electronic information 1A stored in the storage unit 4 will be specifically described. The above-described page information display device browses a general file format distributed as electronic information such as a text format, an image format, an HTML format, an XML format, and a PDF format. Therefore, when defining a linear information structure of browsing information, it is desirable that each file format has an information structure that is considered as page unit information as in a book. However, it is assumed that the unique information structure of each file format can be understood by the page information display device. The reason is that the page information display device is not mainly intended to analyze the structure specific to each file format, and it is possible to easily analyze the information structure from the file format as a conventional technique. This is because it is common.

  Common file formats distributed as electronic information are classified into four types according to the difference in information structure. The first classification is an information structure represented by a text format. The feature is that the length of one line of text, the size and type of font are not specified, and the number of lines is not specified like a scroll having no unit of page. Therefore, in order to browse by page with the page information display device, the font size and type are defined first, and the screen image of the page can be determined by determining the amount of information that fits on one page. By saving the screen image in the storage device as browsing information, it is possible to browse on the page information display device.

  The second classification is information on image formats such as bitmap format, TIFF format, PICT format, JPEG format, and GIF format. The page information display device creates browsing information in which the image size is converted so that the entire information in the image format fits in the browsing area. Next, article information is created by dividing the information in the image format by the size of the viewing area. By registering the browsing information and the article information in the page table, it is possible to browse with the page information display device.

  The third classification is an information structure represented by the HTML format or the XML format. In order to view these file formats in the page information display device, it is necessary to create a page table corresponding to a hyperlink structure and a frame (means for displaying electronic information in each area divided into display screens). . First, a hyperlink structure conversion method in the page information display device will be described. Since a hyperlink structure can set a file on the Internet as a link destination, a linear information structure is defined by automatically following the link destination for information in any HTML format or XML format. Is meaningless because it can lead to an infinite increase in pages. Therefore, in the page information display device, in order to convert information in HTML format or XML format into a linear information structure, browsing information is created only for electronic information existing in the same domain of electronic information, If the link destination is electronic information specifying outside the same domain, the electronic information is ignored in the creation process of the linear information structure.

  The fourth classification is an information structure in PDF format (Adobe: file that can be viewed with software such as Acrobat Reader). Since the electronic information in PDF format is electronic information in units of pages, the page information display apparatus uses the page order defined in the electronic information in PDF format as it is. The browsing information is created by converting the image information of each page in the electronic information in PDF format into a size that can be displayed in the browsing area. When the electronic information in PDF format has a link structure, it is possible to browse the information structure in PDF format by ignoring all the links and securing a linear information structure.

  In general, it is desirable to convert these various types of data into image data once. Handling browsing information as image information makes it possible for a third party to easily embed a digital watermark in browsing information in addition to the fact that content cannot be easily changed by a third party. Further, it is possible to easily attach browsing information as texture information to the surface of a virtual object.

  FIG. 56 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a page information processing apparatus for converting ML data according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown in FIG. 56, the page information display device has a receiving unit 93 that receives ML data described in a markup language from a server via a communication line, and ML data received by the receiving unit 93 is predetermined. ML data converting means 94 for converting image data in units of pages of a certain size, an electronic information memory 4 for storing page information which is image data converted by the ML data converting means 94, and this electronic information memory 4 displays the page information stored in 4 and displays the page information stored in the electronic information memory on the basis of the operation content input to the touch panel 1. And a display controller 3 to be controlled.

  The ML data conversion means 94 includes a page number assigning unit 95 that converts the link structure of ML data into a one-dimensional book structure and assigns page numbers to the page information after the conversion by serial numbers. Further, the page information of the page with a page number smaller or larger than the page number that the display controller 3 currently displays the next page to be displayed on the touch panel in accordance with the locus from the pointer down to the up on the touch panel. Is provided with an event-driven display control unit 97 for selecting.

  That is, in the example shown in FIG. 56, the page data based on the markup language having the link structure which is the third data format is converted into a linear structure which can be handled in this embodiment. FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the link structure of the ML page, FIG. 57 (A) is a diagram showing an example of the link structure, and FIG. 57 (B) shows an example of changing to a book structure. FIG. When pages N2 to N7 are defined in the three layers C1, C2, and C3 from the homepage N1 that is the root, they cannot be handled as page information in this embodiment as they are.

  In this embodiment, when specific ML data is designated by a URL or the like, ML data in the domain is downloaded and then converted into a book structure. By making it within a single domain, it prevents the downloading of inexhaustible pages by hyperlinks. The page number assigning unit 95 converts the link structure of ML data into a one-dimensional book structure, and assigns page numbers to the page information after the conversion by serial numbers. Then, the ML data conversion means 94 converts the ML data having the structure shown in FIG. 57 into image data in units of pages having a predetermined size.

  The page number assigning unit 95 converts the ML data into a book structure having a linear structure. Since each page is given a page number, it is possible to perform page-by-page operations for each page, tag assignment, gripping processing for a plurality of pages, and the like.

  In the example shown in FIG. 57, the link structure 200 shown in FIG. 57 (A) is converted into the structure shown in FIG. 57 (B). Specifically, the ML pages N2, N3, and N4 linked under the ML page N1 are aligned according to the link order. Similarly, ML pages N5, N6, and N7 linked under the ML pages N2 and N3 are aligned according to the order of linking under the ML information N2 and N3 to which they are linked. By repeating this scanning, the structure shown in FIG. 57B is generated.

  Also, the ML data conversion means, for example, specifies a single tree structure in the ML data link structure 200 and searches the tree in a predetermined tracing order to convert it into a one-dimensional book structure. A structure conversion unit 96 may be provided. In the example shown in FIG. 57, the tree structure conversion unit 96 performs a depth-first search for the link structure of the ML data. Further, a breadth-first search may be performed. When depth-first search is performed, it is preferable to perform pre-order scanning (preoder) that is output from the side closer to the root of the tree.

  FIG. 58 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the link structure of the ML page. In this example, when one ML page N7 has two or more ML pages existing in the upper hierarchy C2 and links L37 and L47, the link L37 to the ML information N3 having a smaller page number of the hierarchy C2 is set. As valid, the link L47 to the page information N4 is ignored. As shown in FIG. 59, when links L23 and L67 exist in the same hierarchy C2 and C3, all these links are ignored. Further, when the HTML format file defining the frame is used as the page information, the above-described processing may be performed with the frame serving as the heading of another page as the upper layer.

  When browsing the page information while converting the ML page, the display controller 3 includes a tag adding unit 98 that attaches tags indicating the page numbers of the page information to both ends of the touch panel 1. The tag assigning unit may have a converted page tag display function for displaying a tag on the touch panel for the page numbered by the page number assigning unit. Then, the position and amount of page information that can be browsed after the conversion is completed become clear.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, information provided via the Internet can be browsed with a simple operation.

  FIG. 60 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a page information display device that controls tag display during streaming according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 60, the page information display apparatus according to the present embodiment stores the receiving means 93 that receives the page information from the server 90 via the network 91, and the page information received by the receiving means 93. An electronic information memory 4, a touch panel 1 that displays page information stored in the electronic information memory 4 and an operation related to browsing of the page information is input, and an electronic information based on an operation content input to the touch panel 1. And a display controller 3 that controls display of page information stored in the memory.

  Then, the display controller 3 operates a tag adding unit 98 that displays a tag for displaying the contents of the page information stored in the electronic information memory on the touch panel, and the tag adding unit according to the progress of reception of the page information by the receiving unit. And a streaming dynamic tag assignment control unit 99A. Since the tag addition control unit 99A attaches a tag to the downloaded page information, the user can grasp to which page the page has been downloaded while browsing the current page.

  In addition, the display controller 3 controls the dynamic tag coloring during streaming to color the tag that has been received in a different color from the tag that has not been received in accordance with the progress of reception of the page information by the receiving unit 93. In response to the progress of reception of page information by the unit 99B and the receiving means 93, the dynamic tag length during streaming that causes the tag adding unit to generate a tag having a length corresponding to the amount of information already received among the page information for one page And a control unit 99C.

  FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of display control of tags according to the amount of data already downloaded in the configuration shown in FIG. 60, and FIG. 61 (A) shows an example of displaying tags of pages that have been downloaded. FIG. 61B is a diagram showing an example in which the tag of the page being downloaded is set to a tag length corresponding to the downloaded capacity. In this embodiment, when the streaming technology is used, the operation is controlled such that the tag is not displayed in a portion where the display page is not stored locally. By not displaying the tag, the user is informed that the page cannot be viewed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 61 (A), the case where downloading up to the sixth page is completed is shown. In the example shown in FIG. 61B, the length of the tag is shortened when the download of the page data is not completed. Further, in order to indicate that the enlargement operation cannot be performed, the data being downloaded may be displayed in an interlaced manner.

  FIG. 62 is a diagram showing an example in which tag display control is performed in accordance with the amount of data already downloaded in all pages in the configuration shown in FIG. 60, and FIG. 62 (A) shows an example in which only page tags are normally displayed. FIG. 62B is a diagram showing an example in which normal display is performed for the tag length corresponding to the amount of download completed for one page. When the total number of pages to be downloaded (contents) can first be confirmed on the system side, as shown in FIG. 62A, a page tag corresponding to the total number of pages is drawn, and the page tag of the downloaded page is set. Display with numbers. For example, for page data that has not been downloaded, the page number is not displayed so as to be different from a page tag that has already been downloaded, or the page tag is displayed in a different color.

  In the example shown in FIG. 62 (B), for example, when downloading is completed by 70%, the page tag color is displayed as a bar graph by 70%, thereby visualizing the data download status by streaming. To do. As described above, a page that has not been downloaded (0%) is made compatible with the streaming technology by providing a restriction that it cannot be browsed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 62B, page 7 is being downloaded. Since the download of page 7 has been completed up to 70%, the bottom of the page tag (the shape is trapezoid) is displayed up to 70%. In other words, the download amount by streaming is clearly indicated by changing the size of the page tag according to the download amount.

  The application of this streaming technique is based on the premise that data having a linear book structure is downloaded, but it may be used for conversion of a predetermined data format as in the fourth embodiment. In this case, the tag may be displayed depending on whether or not the conversion has been completed.

  In the sixth embodiment, various operation contents are stored as a history to cover a delay in the response of the system when familiar with the operation. FIG. 63 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of handling history information according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 63 (A) is a diagram showing an example of history information storing commands for only limited operations. (B) is a figure which shows an example of the history information which memorize | stored the command about all the operations.

  As shown in FIG. 63, the operation history is described in the history information. In the example shown in FIG. 63A, since the operation history is stored as a supplementary function when the drawing method of the system cannot follow, a complicated page turning operation (direct page turning) in which the operation cannot be properly synchronized with the drawing. Operations (enlargement / reduction operations) that would not be performed if the operation or continuous page turning operation or drawing has not been completed may not be described in the history information in order to avoid the operation from diverging.

  In the example shown in FIG. 63B, all operation events are stored in the history information. Even in the case of simple page-turning operations (sequential page-turning operations), if the delay time between operation and drawing increases, it can be assumed that the operation will diverge and confuse the user. It is advisable to set a limit on the number of times to save the operation history to avoid the divergence of the operation (the user's operation image does not match the system behavior). For example, event description characters for page turning operations are sequentially described in the history file in that order from the top. Then, events are processed in order from the top, and when they are processed, the operation event is deleted from the history file. FIG. 64 is a flowchart showing an example in which an operation thread and a drawing thread are processed independently. In step A75, operation and execution are connected.

<Comparative example>
Next, advantages of the above-described embodiment and examples will be described in comparison with the conventional example. The above-described page information can be browsed by a computer as shown in FIG. 65 instead of a touch panel type special display as shown in FIG. However, the computer 100 is a machine including the display 102 and the main body 103, and it may still give an impression that it is difficult for a user group who operates a microwave oven but is not good at video reservation. In particular, the operation with the keyboard 104 and the mouse 105 is more complicated than the apparatus shown in FIG. 15 in that information is simply browsed.

  Furthermore, when browsing electronic information held by a computer, compared to browsing information using paper as a medium, an input device such as a keyboard 104 or a mouse 105 is used, which is unique to a conventional graphical user interface. It is necessary to master the operation method. For this reason, for example, the user is forced to use an operation method that is significantly different from the daily operation of turning a page like when browsing a book. In particular, a user with little experience in using a computer easily browses electronic information. It becomes difficult.

  The operation method peculiar to the conventional graphical user interface described here is an operation method for operating a virtual input device abstracted and displayed on the output device of a computer by an input cursor operated with a mouse. The virtual input device means, for example, a scroll bar 303 displayed on an output device of a computer as shown in FIG. 66, a pop-up menu 304, pages 301 and 302 by thumbnail display, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 66, depending on the size of the display and the size of the electronic information, not only one page of electronic information is displayed, but the next page is also displayed on the same screen. This is moved with the scroll bar 303, or the page is moved using thumbnails. However, the scroll bar is an artificial object that is not used for browsing an actual book. Skills are necessary until appropriate operations can be performed.

  In contrast, in the present invention, a tag is used. When a tag is attached immediately beside the information, many users recall the label attached to the book. For this reason, when the user wants to move the page, it can be sufficiently expected that the point of using the tag is transmitted to the user without requiring any teaching. Furthermore, the total amount of page information cannot be intuitively known depending on the state of the scroll bar. On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, since tags are attached to all pages, the total amount of page information can be immediately recognized. In the example in which the tags are arranged on the left and right with the current page as the center, the position of the current page with respect to the total page is much easier to understand than in the conventional example shown in FIG.

  Conventional tags used on paper and computers generally contain heading information that directly expresses the content of information described on the page, and heading information that simply symbolizes information across multiple pages. In most cases. Even if you glance at a tag in which such heading information is written, you cannot easily know how many pages to how many pages the heading information indicates. Also, since heading information is usually composed of words and sentences, it is difficult to write heading information with a long number of characters on a tag. When it is difficult to write headline information on a tag in this way, it is possible to cope with it by reducing the character size of the headline information or omitting characters that cannot be written on the tag. Even in this case, it is difficult to accurately understand the heading information. Therefore, it is assumed that the tag displayed in such a state does not necessarily play a sufficient role as a graphical user interface. On the other hand, in the embodiment according to the present invention, since the page number is adopted as the tag content, not only can the position of the page be informed at a glance but also the number is common to all countries, even if the language changes. A consistent interface.

  A sheet with a tag used in spreadsheet software (Microsoft Corporation: Excel (trademark)) is one of interfaces in which the order of tags is not clearly defined. For example, as shown in FIG. 67 (A), when the sheet 1 is opened, the sheets are arranged in the order of the sheet 1 indicated by reference numeral 311, the sheet 2 indicated by reference numeral 312, and the sheet 3 indicated by reference numeral 313. Is drawn as follows. However, when the sheet 2 is opened, as shown in FIG. 67 (B), if it is considered that the arrangement of the sheets is stacked as a physical sheet of paper, the order of the sheet 2, the sheet 1, and the sheet 3 (or , Sheet 2, sheet 3, sheet 1). Just because the sheets are arranged in order from the right cannot be denied that it is a bit unnatural to think that the order of the sheets has not changed. Some users may feel that the interface is inconsistent and tasteless.

  In other words, the conventional tag has a linear information structure according to the page order as in a book (in this example, the information structure in which the order of the sheets 1, 2, and 3 is always fixed visually). Since it is not explicitly stated, it may cause visual confusion to the user regarding the order of electronic information. Such confusion to the user regarding the recognition of the information structure is particularly harmful for the purpose of easily browsing the information.

  On the other hand, in the tag arrangement according to the present embodiment, the normal structure and the semantic display can understand the linear structure of the page information due to the overlapping state of the tag, and can the tag height be maintained even after turning the page? In addition, since consistency is ensured depending on whether the ratio is maintained, it is considered that the interface can be attached to many users.

  As described above, the present invention can be used as a user interface for browsing information that is easy for everyone to understand regardless of computer experience.

It is a flowchart which shows an example of the page information display method by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a page information display device in the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration, and FIG. 2B is a detailed configuration of a display controller. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a page turning operation in the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is a flowchart which shows the structural example which performs the page grip process by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the number of grip pages displayed in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a pressure circle, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a time circle, FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example in which a pressure / time operation is performed within a predetermined region, and FIG. 5D is a diagram illustrating a display example of a pressure circle corresponding to the operation illustrated in FIG. is there. FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an operation example of the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a page information display device, and FIG. 6B illustrates a display example of a pressure circle. FIG. 7A to 7C are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of displaying multiple wheels with the configuration illustrated in FIG. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying a painted circle with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating an example of a painted circle in which a solid color is applied, and FIG. FIG. 8C illustrates an example of a circle, and FIG. 8C illustrates an example of a painted circle having gradation. FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of displaying a painted circle with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 4, FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of a painted circle having distortion, and FIG. 9B is a reference for causing distortion. FIG. 9C is a diagram showing an example of distortion in the case of a medium pressure, and FIG. 9D is a diagram showing an example of distortion in the case of a large pressure. It is a flowchart which shows an example of 3rd Embodiment which selects a display format by this invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the page information display apparatus in 3rd Embodiment. FIGS. 12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams showing an example of a display format when turning pages in the configuration shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 12A is a diagram showing an example of an overwrite type display format, and FIG. 12B is a slide type display; It is a figure which shows an example of a format. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of a display format at the time of page turning in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 10, FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating an example of a compression type display format, and FIG. 13B is a 3D type It is a figure which shows an example of a display format. It is a flowchart which shows the structural example of one Embodiment of the page information display method by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the page information display apparatus suitable for implementation of each process shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the initial state of the display of the tag by this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a tag display at the time of displaying a 4th page with the structure shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for defining each term in 4th Embodiment etc. of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the structure of the process which performs the semantic display which changes a tag length continuously by 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which performed the semantic display with the structure shown in FIG. FIG. 21A is a diagram illustrating an example of page information display data used in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 21A is a diagram illustrating an example where the minimum reference length is defined by the number of dots, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the example when length is defined by physical length. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the page data display apparatus by 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which determines the width | variety of a tag and the length of a tag using the data of the data structure shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which switches a normal display and a semantic display. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which displays a tag again after page turning. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display at the time of page turning by the structure shown in figure. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process which spreads a tag during semantic display. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display which expanded the tag of the pointer vicinity by the expansion process shown in FIG. FIG. 29A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a page turning display format using tags, FIG. 29A is a diagram illustrating an example of a tag integrated display format, and FIG. 29B is a multiple page integrated display format. It is a figure which shows an example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the tag display control according to the grip operation in 4th Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the process shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the process which colored the tag by the process shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the coloring process of the tag in the tag display area of the reverse side corresponding to FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the tag display example in the case of carrying out a page turning process collectively in multiple pages. FIGS. 35A and 35B are explanatory diagrams showing tag display examples by the processing shown in FIG. 36A and 36B are explanatory diagrams emphasizing the tag display in the information browsing area by the processing shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a tag display after the batch page turning of several pages is completed. FIG. 38A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying a pressure circle on a tag, FIG. 38A is a diagram showing an example in the case of a left page tag, and FIG. 38B is a diagram showing an example in the case of a right page tag. FIG. 38C is a diagram showing an example in which the coloring of the tag and the pressure circle in the tag are used in combination. FIG. 39A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of changing the grip target page according to the operation direction on the tag. FIG. 39A is a diagram showing an example of gripping the previous page, and FIG. 39B is gripping the rear page. It is a figure which shows the example of a case. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a present Example. FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing a first stage of a page display processing example in the configuration shown in FIG. 40. FIG. 42 is a flowchart illustrating a subsequent stage of a page display processing example following the processing illustrated in FIG. 41. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process which performs the enlarged display of the article information by 1st Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which performs continuous expansion operation by drag | drug of several articles. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the article expansion display accompanied with a wire frame display, FIG. 45 (A) is a figure which shows the example of a display at the time of an expansion process, FIG. 45 (B) is a figure which shows an example of the expanded article information. is there. FIG. 46A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a process for enlarging article information after it has been lifted, and FIG. 46A shows a state in which the article is shaded in order to lift, and FIG. 46B is selected. FIG. 46 (C) is a diagram showing a state after the enlargement process is completed. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the tag display at the time of article information expansion. It is a chart which shows an example of the article information table which matches page information and article information. It is a flowchart which shows the process example of the 2nd Example of this invention. 50 is a chart showing a relationship between a pointer event and a page turning process in the process shown in FIG. 49. FIG. 51A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a process of selecting one of page turning and article information continuous display using a drag trajectory, FIG. 51A is a diagram illustrating a trajectory on a straight line, and FIG. 51B has a curve. It is a figure which shows a locus | trajectory. It is a flowchart which shows the example which performs the prefetch process by 3rd Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the state which turns a several page collectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which memorize | stores the page information of high resolution. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which memorize | stores page information and article information separately. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the page information processing apparatus which converts ML data by 4th Example of this invention. FIG. 57A is a diagram illustrating an example of a link structure, and FIG. 57B is a diagram illustrating an example of changing to a book structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the link structure of ML page. It is explanatory drawing which shows the further another example of the link structure of ML page. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the page information display apparatus which controls a tag display at the time of the streaming by 5th Example of this invention. FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of displaying and controlling a tag according to the amount of data already downloaded in the configuration shown in FIG. 60, and FIG. 61 (A) is a diagram showing an example of displaying a tag of a page that has been downloaded; 61 (B) is a diagram showing an example in which the tag of the page being downloaded is set to a tag length corresponding to the downloaded capacity. FIG. 62 is a diagram showing an example of performing display control of tags according to the amount of data already downloaded in all pages in the configuration shown in FIG. 60, and FIG. 62 (A) is a diagram showing an example of normally displaying only tags of pages, FIG. 62B is a diagram illustrating an example in which normal display is performed for the tag length corresponding to the amount of download completed for one page. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which handles the history information by 6th Example of this invention, FIG. 63 (A) is a figure which shows an example of the history information which memorize | stored the command only of the limited operation, FIG.63 (B) is FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the history information which memorize | stored the command about all the operations. It is a flowchart which shows the process example of the page information display control using history information. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the computer used by a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional user interface. FIG. 67A is a diagram illustrating another example of a conventional user interface. FIG. 67A illustrates a state where sheet 1 is selected, and FIG. 67B illustrates a state where sheet 2 is selected. is there.

Explanation of symbols

1 Display (display, touch panel)
1A Electronic information (or one page information)
1C Operation unit 2 Input unit (pointing device)
3 Display controller (display controller)
4 Electronic information memory (storage unit)
5 Information browsing area 6 Other tag display area 7 One tag display area 17 Storage medium storing program 34 Page turning direction 60 Page turning operation detection unit 61 Next display page setting unit 62 Page turning processing unit 64 Gripping operation detection unit 65 Grasp page number display section 68 Next display page reading function 69 Turning state display data generating function 70 Turning state display data overwriting function

Claims (4)

Receiving means for receiving page information from a server, an electronic information memory for storing page information received by the receiving means, a display unit for displaying page information stored in the electronic information memory, and the electronic information A display controller for controlling display of page information stored in the memory,
The display controller displays a tag for displaying the contents of page information stored in the electronic information memory on the display unit, and each time reception of the page information by the receiving unit is completed page by page , A page information display device, comprising: a streaming dynamic tag assignment control unit that causes a tag addition unit to assign a tag to each page.
Receiving means for receiving page information having a predetermined total number of pages from the server, electronic information memory for storing page information received by the receiving means, and page information stored in the electronic information memory are displayed. comprising a display unit for, and a display controller for controlling the display of the previous SL page information stored in the electronic information memory,
Wherein the display controller, and a tag attaching portion to which the display the total pages tags to display the contents of the stored in the electronic information memory page information on the display unit, depending on the progress of reception of the page information by the receiving means A page information display device comprising: a dynamic tag coloring control unit for streaming that colors a tag that has been received in a different color from a tag that has not been received. Receiving means for receiving page information from the server, the electronic information memory for storing page information being received by the receiving unit, a display unit for displaying the page information stored in the electronic information memory, before Symbol electronic A display controller for controlling display of page information stored in the information memory,
The display controller displays a tag for displaying the contents of the page information stored in the electronic information memory on the display unit , and one page worth according to progress of reception of the page information by the receiving unit A page information display device comprising: a streaming dynamic tag length control unit that causes the tag providing unit to generate a tag having a length corresponding to the amount of information already received in the page information.   4. The page information display device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a touch panel.

Images