JP2015041131A - Bookmark sharing system, computer program, and bookmark sharing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bookmark sharing system that, when a user has read a book on a paper medium until some midpoint thereof and continues reading the book on an electronic book, allows the user to reflect a point that the user was reading at that time on the electronic book with a simple procedure.SOLUTION: A user uses a user device to take an image of a page of a book on a paper medium that the user is reading, the page being desired by the user to provide a bar code relating to a book identification code and a bookmark. Recognizing the image of image data thus obtained identifies the book and a point in the book to provide a bookmark to an applicable point in data of an electronic book corresponding to the book. This allows the user to continue reading the book on the paper medium on the electronic book.

Description

  The present invention relates to means for a case where a user who possesses both a paper-based book and an electronic book reads a paper-based book halfway and reads the rest of the book with an electronic book, and reads the paper without burdening the user. The present invention relates to a bookmark sharing system, a computer program, and a bookmark sharing method for providing a page of an electronic book following a user device (user terminal) by registering a book page of a medium.

  In recent years, with the spread of the Internet, electronic books that digitize characters and images on the Internet and provide books such as novels as electronic data have become widespread. As an example, these electronic books are distributed as electronic data to a user who purchased the electronic book by an electronic book commercial transaction system using a communication network. The user downloads the electronic data of the distributed electronic book to a browsing device owned by the user, displays the electronic data on the screen of the browsing device, and browses the electronic book.

  On the other hand, as in the past, there are many users who love reading paper-based books. This is because some users inevitably purchase paper-based books to some extent, such as comic magazines and fashion magazines that are easier to read if they have a certain edition size, and monthly magazines that you want to subscribe and keep in your own bookshelf For example, you might start reading an electronic book at first, but gradually become interested in the content and purchase paper-based books.

  By the way, while reading a paper-based book at home, there are cases where the user wants to read a continuation with an electronic book for reasons such as commuting, going to school, or going out. This is because a paper-based book is too large or heavier than a user device (user terminal) that displays an electronic book, and thus the user tends to hesitate to carry the paper-based book.

  However, in order to reflect on the electronic book the information on how far the book has been read, it is necessary to manually input the title of the book that has been read on the user device (user terminal). It was necessary to search for the corresponding electronic book. However, for comics and other books that are separated in electronic books, it is not possible to know what volume the electronic book read in the electronic book, and the titles of the electronic books are slightly different. In some cases, it is not always easy to search. In addition, it is necessary to enter the page number of the book in the paper medium, but the page number may be different between the paper book and the e-book. It took a lot of load to input from the user device (user terminal).

  In Patent Literature 1, contents are displayed according to information indicating operating environments in a plurality of terminal devices, and the server device accumulates history information indicating a presentation history for each user, so that seamless contents spanning the plurality of terminal devices. An information presentation apparatus method that enables the use of is shown.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, an annotation device that associates an annotation with an object based on either a text technology or a graphic technology is presented, and these annotation devices share an annotation database on a network. It describes how to synchronize objects.

JP 2008-20709 A JP 2001-209659 A

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the operating environment of each of the plurality of terminal devices (what screen display each device performs) is known, each device regardless of volume or page separation. Since it is possible to know which part of the electronic book is being read at that time, when the bookmark is attached, the part can be shared by the respective devices. Further, by associating electronic book data with a page in a paper book, it is possible to calculate what page is being read in the paper book at that time. However, with this method, when reading a paper-based book and moving to an electronic book, it is impossible to electronically notify the position at which the book was read at the time. And had to manually enter the page.

Patent Document 2 shows a system in which an annotation device shares an annotation attached to a specific place of an object. The annotation device associates an annotation with an identifier (unique address, position information, etc.) that uniquely identifies the object, and registers it in an annotation database on the network. The annotation device can refer to the annotation already attached to the object using the annotation database by using the identifier of the object as a key. The object to be annotated may be an electronic document or paper (in the case of paper, a unique identifier indicating what kind of paper is given).

  According to this method, if you are reading a paper book and moving to an electronic book, register an identifier and an annotation that can identify the page (page) of the paper book in the network annotation database. By searching the annotation database separately using this identifier as a key when moving to an electronic book, it is possible to know from where the electronic book should be read. However, even in this method, since the identifier is input, for example, it is necessary to manually input the title and page of the book, so the load on the user is not reduced.

In the present invention, when a user reads a book on paper medium halfway and reads a continuation with an electronic book, the user reads the book title and page by a simple procedure at that time without manually inputting the title and page of the book. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bookmark sharing system, a computer program, and a bookmark sharing method that can reflect an existing part in an electronic book.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first invention of the present application relates to a book and a book from image data obtained by photographing a barcode relating to a book identification code of a book on a paper medium and a book page with a user device. Is a bookmark sharing system that specifies the position of the electronic book and assigns a bookmark to a corresponding portion of the data of the electronic book corresponding to the book, wherein the user uses the camera of the user device to record the barcode related to the book identification code of the book on the paper medium A barcode analysis means for obtaining a book identification code by decoding the code from the image data of the barcode, and sending a product information acquisition request designating the book identification code to an electronic bookstore server, The product identifier and the book information of the book are acquired and displayed on the display unit of the user device to allow the user to check the book information. Means, electronic book download means for downloading electronic book data of the book to a storage unit of the user device, and a user photographs a page of a book on a paper medium by a camera of the user device, and image data of the page of the book A page sharing means for identifying the position of the image data in the electronic book data by comparing the electronic book data with the electronic book data, and adding a bookmark to the corresponding portion of the electronic book data. It is. By doing so, it is possible to add a bookmark to a corresponding portion of the electronic book data by simply photographing with a user device without manually inputting the title or page of the book at a specific position of the book on the paper medium.

  In the second invention of the present application, the page specifying means requests an electronic book viewer program that performs processing related to electronic commerce of electronic books and reading of books to obtain thumbnail image data of pages of all books of the electronic books. The bookmark sharing according to the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the thumbnail image data is acquired, and the page data is identified by comparing the image data of the page of the book with the acquired thumbnail image data by image pattern matching. System. By doing so, the page can be specified from the image data.

  According to a third aspect of the present application, the paper surface specifying means calculates the similarity by comparing the image data of the book page with the obtained thumbnail image data by image pattern matching, and the similarity is a predetermined threshold value. The bookmark sharing system according to the second invention is characterized in that the user specifies a page when it is determined that the value is higher than. By doing so, the page can be specified more accurately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present application, the page specifying means converts the image data of the book page into character string data by performing optical character recognition processing, and compares the character string data with the character string data in the electronic book data. The bookmark sharing system according to the first invention is characterized in that the page is specified. By doing so, it is possible to specify a page even from image data having many character portions and high similarity to other image data.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present application, when the user captures a page of a book on a paper medium with the camera of the user device, the paper surface specifying unit has the same aspect ratio as the page of the book on the finder of the camera of the user device. The bookmark sharing system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a frame is displayed. In this way, when photographing a book page, it is possible to suppress the inclination and variation in size of the photographing object, and to obtain image data normalized to some extent.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present application, the electronic book downloading means inquires of an electronic book viewer program that performs processing related to electronic commerce and reading of an electronic book whether or not the user has purchased the electronic book. For example, the bookmark sharing system according to any one of the first to fifth inventions for downloading electronic book data to a storage unit of a user device. By doing so, when the electronic book has been purchased but not downloaded to the storage unit of the user device, the electronic book data of the electronic book can be downloaded.

  In the seventh invention of the present application, the electronic book downloading means inquires of an electronic book viewer program for performing processing related to electronic commerce and reading of an electronic book, whether or not the user has purchased the electronic book. For example, the product information acquisition request designating the book identification code is transmitted to the server of the electronic bookstore, the product page of the book is acquired and displayed on the display unit of the user device. A bookmark sharing system according to any one of the inventions. Thus, when the electronic book has not been purchased, the purchase of the electronic book can be prompted.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present application, the electronic book download means causes a computer device used by a user to operate as a user device used in the bookmark sharing system according to any one of the first to seventh aspects. Is a computer program that describes This is an independent description of the computer program of the user device constituting the bookmark sharing system.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a position in a book and a book is specified from image data obtained by photographing a barcode relating to a book identification code of a book on a paper medium and a book page with a user device, and the book A method of adding a bookmark to a corresponding portion of the data of an electronic book corresponding to the user, the user taking a barcode image related to the book identification code of the book on the paper medium with the camera of the user device, and A step of obtaining a book identification code by decoding a code from image data, and sending a product information acquisition request designating the book identification code to a server of an electronic bookstore, and acquiring and using the product identifier and book information of the book Displaying the book information on the display unit of the user device and allowing the user to check the book information, and downloading the electronic book data of the book to the storage unit of the user device. The position of the image data in the electronic book data by photographing the book page of the paper medium with the camera of the user device and collating the image data of the book page with the electronic book data. A bookmark sharing method, comprising: specifying a bookmark to a corresponding portion of the electronic book data. By doing so, the user can add a bookmark to the corresponding part of the electronic book data simply by photographing the barcode related to the book code of the book on the paper medium and the page of the book with the user device.

  According to the present invention, when a user is reading a book on paper medium halfway and reading a continuation with an electronic book, the user reads the barcode attached to the book and the page of the book that has been read to the user device (user terminal). ), It is possible to reflect the part that was being read at that time in the electronic book.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the outline | summary of the user apparatus (user terminal) 100 in this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the hardware of the user apparatus (user terminal) 100 in this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the flow of processing of this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the barcode analysis means 130 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows imaging | photography of the barcode of the book in this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the merchandise information acquisition means 140 of this embodiment. It is an example of the confirmation screen of merchandise information in this embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the electronic book download means 150 of this embodiment. It is a block diagram for explaining a part of the electronic book download means 150 of the present embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the paper surface specification means 160 of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the imaging | photography method of the book of the paper medium in this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing matching between a captured image and a thumbnail image in the present embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining another aspect of the paper surface specification means 160 of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the flow of processing in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the present embodiment. A user device (user terminal) 100 exchanges information with electronic commerce such as information acquisition of electronic books, purchase of electronic books, and acquisition of electronic book data with the bookstore site server 200 via the network 500. While performing transmission / reception, the display for browsing electronic book data is performed.

  Although the network 500 is shown in a simplified manner, it is a combination of a plurality of networks via a gateway such as the Internet, and is composed of a LAN (Local Area Network), a telephone line, a mobile communication network, and the like. This is to enable transmission / reception between the person device (user terminal) 100 and the bookstore site server 200.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the bookstore site server 200 functions as an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) server. Accordingly, the user device (user terminal) 100 includes a web browser that can display and reply to an HTML document, and uses the WWW (World Wide Web) with the bookstore site server 200 via a network such as the Internet. You can browse web pages, conduct electronic commerce, download purchased books, and display paper.

  Here, main devices of the present embodiment will be described. First, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the user device (user terminal) 100. The user device (user terminal) 100 is a computer that performs electronic commerce related to an electronic book with the bookstore site server 200 and performs display for browsing electronic book data, and performs processing according to the present embodiment. An e-book viewer program (to be referred to as a bookmark-sharing application hereinafter) and an e-book viewer program that performs processing related to downloading of book data from e-commerce of e-books and display of paper, mainly with the bookstore site server 200 (Hereinafter referred to as an electronic book application) 190. The electronic book application 190 stores download data of the electronic book and stores a bookmark assigned to the electronic book in the bookmark storage unit. Also, a barcode analysis unit 130 that allows a user to photograph a barcode of a paper medium book and analyzes the barcode information, and obtains product information from the bookstore site server 200 using the analyzed barcode information as a key. Means 140, electronic device downloading means 150 for confirming whether or not a desired electronic book has been downloaded to the user device (user terminal) 100 and prompting the user to download the electronic book if not downloaded, and causing the user to photograph the paper surface of the paper medium. The page specifying means 160 for specifying the page and notifying the electronic book application 190 of the specified page and adding a bookmark, the transmission / reception means 110 for transmitting and receiving data between the bookstore site server 200 and the electronic book application 190, and these Control means 120 for integrated control of each means is provided. To have. Further, the bookstore site server 200 includes a book database that stores book information of books handled by the bookstore.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the user device (user terminal) 100. The user device (user terminal) 100 is a computer system as hardware. A user device (user terminal) 100 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a peripheral device I / F unit 103, an input unit 104, a display unit 105, and a communication unit 106, which are connected via a bus 109. . Note that the hardware configuration in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and various configurations can be adopted depending on purposes.

  The control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The CPU calls a program stored in the storage unit 102, ROM, recording medium or the like to a work memory area on the RAM, executes it, drives and controls each device connected via the bus 109, and performs processing performed by the computer. Realize. The ROM is a nonvolatile memory, and permanently stores a boot program for the user device (user terminal) 100, a program such as BIOS, data, and the like. The RAM is a volatile memory, and temporarily stores a program, data, and the like loaded from the storage unit 102, ROM, recording medium, and the like, and includes a work area used by the control unit 101 for performing various processes.

  The storage unit 102 is an HDD (hard disk drive), and stores a program executed by the control unit 101, data necessary for program execution, an OS (operating system), and the like. As for the program, a control program corresponding to an OS (operating system), a program code that functions as bar code analysis means 130, a program code that functions as product information acquisition means 140, a program code that functions as electronic book download means 150, and a page A bookmark sharing application that is a set of program codes functioning as the specifying unit 160 is stored. These program codes are read by the control unit 101 as necessary, transferred to the RAM, and read and executed by the CPU to function as various means.

  The peripheral device I / F unit 103 is a port for connecting a peripheral device to the user apparatus (user terminal) 100, and the computer is connected to the peripheral device such as the camera 111 via the peripheral device I / F unit 103. Send and receive data.

  The input unit 104 inputs data and includes an input device such as a keyboard. An operation instruction, an operation instruction, data input, and the like can be performed on the user apparatus (user terminal) 100 via the input unit 104. The display unit 105 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel.

  The communication unit 106 includes a communication control device, a communication port, and the like, and is a wired or wireless communication interface that mediates communication between the user device (user terminal) 100 and the network 500. Controls communication with other computers. The bus 109 is a path that mediates transmission / reception of control signals, data signals, and the like between the devices.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the bookmark sharing application in the present embodiment. The user device (user terminal) 100 activates the bookmark sharing application, specifies how far the paper book that has been read so far, and the electronic book equivalent to the book on the paper medium. Add a bookmark to the location. First, in order to identify the book that is currently being read, the barcode analyzing means 130 is activated (S10), and the user is prompted to input the book identification code of the book that is currently being read (barcode shooting). The book identification code is a code assigned to one book, generally called an ISBN code, and the barcode analysis means uses the photographed barcode image data as a book identification code (hereinafter referred to as an ISBN code). To extract. Next, the product information acquisition means 140 is activated (S20), and the product information of this book is inquired to the bookstore site server 200 of the electronic bookstore by using the ISBN code extracted via the Internet as a key, and the product identifier (hereinafter referred to as product ID). And product information are acquired and displayed on the screen of the user device (user terminal) 100.

  Subsequently, the electronic book download means 150 is activated (S30), the electronic book application 190 is inquired to check whether or not the electronic book data of the book has been downloaded, and if it has been downloaded, the process is handed over to the paper surface identification means 160. Here, if not downloaded, but not downloaded but purchased, a screen for prompting download is displayed on the user device (user terminal) 100, and the processing is handed over to the page specifying means 160 as soon as it is downloaded. It may be. If the electronic book has not been purchased, a product page on the bookstore site may be displayed to encourage purchase. Finally, when the page specifying means 160 is activated (S40), the user takes a picture of the page that is currently being read with the user device (user terminal) 100. The paper surface specifying unit 160 acquires a thumbnail image from the electronic book application 190 and specifies a page that has been read by performing pattern matching with the captured paper surface data. When this page information is sent to the electronic book application 190, the electronic book application 190 stores the page information in the bookmark storage unit.

  With regard to the processing flow of the bookmark sharing application in the present embodiment, each means described above will be described in detail. In addition, when the bookmark sharing application is operating, the electronic book application 190 is activated in principle, and the user is logged into the bookstore site (the user and the user device (user terminal via the electronic book application 190)). ) 100 is associated and authenticated from the bookstore site.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the barcode analyzing means 130 in detail. First, the user captures a barcode of a book (S101). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), a bar code indicating an ISBN code is usually printed on the back cover or the like on the book, but this bar code portion (shown in a circle in FIG. 6 (a)). Part) is photographed with a camera (for example, shown in FIG. 6B) of the user apparatus (user terminal) 100. The bar code analyzing means analyzes the image data including the bar code photographed here (decodes the image data into a code) (S102 in FIG. 5), extracts the ISBN code, and stores it in the storage unit 102 (S103). ). Various methods have been disclosed for barcode recognition (decoding method). In this embodiment, a barcode recognition application or the like provided in the user apparatus (user terminal) 100 is used.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the product information acquisition unit 140. The product information acquisition means 140 acquires product information using the previously stored ISBN code as a key (S201). Specifically, the ISBN code data is transmitted to the bookstore site server 200 of the electronic bookstore through the network 500 through the transmission / reception means 110 of the user device (user terminal) 100, and the product of the book corresponding to the code Request information provision (product information acquisition request). In response to this request, the bookstore site server 200 refers to the book database and supplies the book product ID and the book information such as the title, author, publisher, and book size specified by the ISBN code via the network 500 to the user device. A response is made to the (user terminal) 100 (S202). There may be a plurality of returned product IDs and book information. When the user apparatus (user terminal) 100 receives this reply through the transmission / reception means 110, it passes the book ID and product information to the product information acquisition means 140 via the control means 120. The merchandise information acquisition unit 140 displays the received merchandise information such as the title, author, publisher, and size on the display unit 105 of the user device (user terminal) 100 (S203). The user confirms the product information and confirms whether the recognized book is correct.

  FIG. 8 is an example of a confirmation screen for the displayed product information. From this display, the user presses the “OK” button if the correct book is recognized, and the “Return” button if it is different. When the “return” button is pressed, the process may be started again from the reading of the barcode.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the electronic book download means 150. Since the user desires to read the corresponding book on the user device (user terminal) 100, the electronic book data corresponding to the book should be downloaded to the user device (user terminal) 100. Therefore, when a book on paper is specified by the previous product information acquisition unit 140 for confirmation, first, the electronic book application 190 is inquired whether the book has been downloaded using the product ID of the book as a key (S301). . Subsequently, the electronic book application 190 refers to the stored download data, the book is registered in the purchased book list, and the book data is currently downloaded to the user device (user terminal) 100. If so, it returns that the book has been downloaded (S302). If this response is “downloaded”, since the book data has already been downloaded to the user device (user terminal) 100, the process is passed to the page identification means 160 (S303). Here, the purchased book list is one of the tables included in the download data held by the electronic book application 190, and is a list (table) in which electronic books purchased by the user are registered. Information about whether data is downloaded to the user device (user terminal) 100 is also held.

  If the book is not “downloaded”, the electronic book application 190 may be inquired whether the book is registered in the purchased book list (S304). When the book is registered in the purchased book list, the electronic book application 190 replies that it is “registered in the purchased book list” (S305). At this time, since the book has been purchased but the book data has not been downloaded, the user is prompted to download the book data (S306). If the book is not registered in the purchased book list, the book has not been purchased, and the product page of the book is fetched from the bookstore site server 200 via the network 500, and the display unit 105 of the user device (user terminal) 100 is retrieved. May be displayed to prompt purchase (S307).

  FIG. 10 shows the flow of processing for prompting the user to download book data when the book has been purchased but the book data has not been downloaded. First, the electronic book download means 150 displays a message prompting download (S311). Subsequently, the electronic book application 190 is requested to display a purchased book list for downloading (S312). Upon receiving this request, the electronic book application 190 provides a purchased book list (S313). The electronic book download unit 150 displays the purchased book list from the electronic book application 190 on the display unit 105 of the user device (user terminal) 100 and waits for a download request from the user. If a download request is made by the user (S314), the electronic book application 190 instructs the bookstore site server 200 to download the requested book (S315). The bookstore site server 200 transmits the book data to the user device (user terminal) 100 according to the instruction of the electronic book application 190 (S316). In this way, when the download of the book data is completed, the process is passed to the paper surface specifying means 160. If the download has not been completed, the user may be prompted to download the book data again (S317).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the paper surface specifying unit 160. As described above, at this point, for the electronic book to be bookmarked, the identification of the book, acquisition of the book information, and downloading of the book data to the user device (user terminal) 100 are completed. Here, the paper surface specifying unit 160 performs processing for specifying a page to which a bookmark should be added. In the example of this embodiment, the page is specified by pattern matching.

  First, the user takes a picture of a page of a book including a page to which a bookmark is to be added (S401). Here, an example of taking a spread page of a book is given. Specifically, the entire spread sheet of the book as shown in FIG. 12A is photographed with a camera (for example, shown in FIG. 12B) of the user device (user terminal) 100. When photographing, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), there is a concern that the accuracy of pattern matching will be lowered if the photograph is taken from an oblique direction. For example, as shown in FIG. In this case, the aspect ratio is calculated from the size of the book information, and the frame of the shape is displayed on the viewfinder (see the dotted frame in FIGS. 12C and 12D), as shown in FIG. It is preferable to photograph the facing paper so as to match this frame. At this time, it may be possible to select whether to shoot a single page or a spread page. The image data of the photographed paper is reduced to a predetermined thumbnail size and stored (S402 in FIG. 11). If the image data is a spread page at this time, the image data may be divided and stored in units of pages.

  Here, the paper surface specifying unit 160 requests the electronic book application 190 for a list of thumbnail images together with the product ID (S403). The book data stores display page image data and thumbnail image data in addition to component data such as book text data and drawing data. In response to this request, the electronic book application 190 provides a list of thumbnail images that lists all thumbnail image data (S404). When acquiring the list of thumbnail images, the page specifying unit 160 compares all of these images (all thumbnail images) with the image of the page of the book reduced to the previous thumbnail size by pattern matching (S405). If the page is significantly specified by pattern matching, the product ID and information on the specified page are transmitted to the electronic book application 190 (S406). The electronic book application 190 receives this data and stores it in the bookmark storage unit (S407).

  If the book page is not significantly identified by the pattern matching, the user may be requested to start again from the re-photographing of the book surface (S408).

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining matching between a captured image and a thumbnail image. As described above, the photographed image (a) is reduced to a predetermined thumbnail size (b). This thumbnail image (b) is checked against a list of thumbnail images. Thumbnail images (c), (d), and (e) are examples of listed thumbnail images.

  In pattern matching, various methods have already been released. In this embodiment, assuming that image normalization (correction of angle and enlargement / reduction) has already been completed to some extent at the time of shooting, the images are divided into small grids and the local features of both images are compared. A method or a method of template matching using several small sections in an image as a template can be considered, but in this embodiment, since the images are compared with each other, any known method is used. However, it is considered that the load of computing power is acceptable. In addition, the page with the highest similarity (for example, (c) in FIG. 13) determined by these pattern matchings may be specified as a matching page, or the similarity is indexed and the similarity is equal to or higher than an appropriate threshold. Images having a degree (for example, (c) and (d) in FIG. 13) may be extracted and displayed to allow the user to select matching images. In the pattern matching of the present embodiment, comparison may be performed in units of pages, or comparison may be performed by combining data as spread pages. Improvement of pattern matching accuracy can be expected by comparing a wider range such as a spread page.

  Since the above-described pattern matching method is a selection method based on image similarity, it is suitable for image books (fixed type) electronic books such as comics and magazines. On the other hand, in an electronic book that is often reflowed, such as a book mainly composed of text, a method of specifying the paper surface by a different method can be considered.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining another aspect of the sheet surface specifying means 160. Similar to the first aspect of the paper surface specifying means 160 described above, the user takes a picture of the paper surface of the book including the page to which a bookmark is to be added. Also at this time, it is preferable to photograph the paper surface of the book so as to match the frame displayed on the viewfinder (S411). Since most of the photographed image data of the paper is considered to be a character image, the outer peripheral portion is trimmed leaving only a rectangular region where characters other than the text of the text are supposed to be described (S412). For this, the image data of the photographed paper surface may be divided with a predetermined grid, and the accuracy may be such that it is determined whether or not the character area is based on the density of the small sections.

  Next, an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process is performed on the image data of the selected rectangular area (S413). Various methods for OCR have already been disclosed, and software having a function of outputting character string data by inputting image data obtained by photographing a character string is commercially available (for example, Google Drive (trademark)). Some software is free of charge, etc.), so it is possible to incorporate such software. The character string data recognized here and the character string data of the downloaded electronic book are subjected to data matching, and the page determined to have the highest similarity is specified as the matched page (S414), and the product ID The information of the page specified as is transmitted to the electronic book application 190 (S415). The electronic book application 190 receives this data and stores it in the bookmark storage unit (S416). In addition, if the book page is not significantly specified by the data matching, the user may be requested to start again from the re-photographing of the book surface (S417).

  This method based on character string data matching is suitable for electronic books whose main subject is text, and it is possible to specify page pages even for reflow-type paper whose screen display format changes depending on the reader device of the electronic book. It is.

  According to the embodiments described so far, it is possible to add bookmark information indicating how far the book has been read to the electronic book data just by photographing the book and the page that has been read about the book on the paper medium that has been read halfway. it can. Thus, when reading an electronic book using the user device (user terminal) 100, a bookmark sharing system, a computer program, and a bookmark sharing method that can easily read a continuation without searching for a reading position are provided.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to omit the electronic book download means on the assumption that the electronic book data of the book is downloaded to the storage unit of the user device. In this case, if the electronic book data is not downloaded to the storage unit of the user device, the process is stopped, and the user separately performs a procedure related to data download.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims. For example, data acquisition from a bookstore site server can be performed in the same manner even when using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) instead of HTTP. Moreover, even if it is a stationary terminal such as a personal computer as the user apparatus (user terminal), the present invention can be similarly implemented.

100 User device (user terminal)
110 transmission / reception means 120 control means 130 bar code analysis means 140 product information acquisition means 150 electronic book download means 160 paper surface specification means 190 electronic book viewer program (electronic book application)
200 bookstore site server 500 network

Claims (9)

The position of the book and the book is specified from the image data obtained by photographing the barcode relating to the book identification code of the book on the paper medium and the book page with the user device, and the data of the electronic book corresponding to the book A bookmark sharing system that assigns bookmarks to relevant locations in
A barcode analyzing unit that obtains a book identification code by photographing a barcode image related to a book identification code of a paper medium book by a camera of a user device and decoding the code from the image data of the barcode;
A product information acquisition request designating the book identification code is transmitted to a server of an electronic bookstore, the product identifier and book information of the book are acquired, displayed on the display unit of the user device, and the user is allowed to confirm the book information. Information acquisition means;
Electronic book download means for downloading electronic book data of the book to the storage unit of the user device;
A user photographs a page of a book on a paper medium with a camera of a user device, specifies the position of the image data in the electronic book data by collating image data of the page of the book with the electronic book data, and electronic A bookmark sharing system, comprising: a sheet surface specifying unit for adding a bookmark to a corresponding portion of book data.   The paper surface specifying unit requests the electronic book viewer program that performs processing related to electronic commerce and reading of an electronic book to acquire thumbnail image data of all book pages of the electronic book, and acquires the thumbnail image data. 2. The bookmark sharing system according to claim 1, wherein the page is identified by comparing image data of the page of the book with the acquired thumbnail image data by pattern matching of images.   The page specifying means calculates the similarity by comparing the image data of the book page with the acquired thumbnail image data and image pattern matching, and the similarity is determined to be higher than a predetermined threshold value. The bookmark sharing system according to claim 2, wherein a user specifies a page when the page is identified.   The paper surface specifying means converts the image data of the book page into character string data by performing optical character recognition processing, and compares the character string data in the electronic book data with character string matching to specify the page. The bookmark sharing system according to claim 1, wherein:   The paper surface specifying means displays a frame having the same aspect ratio as the page of the book on the finder of the camera of the user device when the user takes a page of the book of the paper medium with the camera of the user device. The bookmark sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   The electronic book download means inquires of an electronic book viewer program that performs processing related to electronic commerce and reading of an electronic book to determine whether the user has purchased the electronic book, and if it has been purchased, a storage unit of a user device The bookmark sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein electronic book data is downloaded to a computer.   The electronic book download means inquires of an electronic book viewer program that performs processing related to electronic commerce and reading of an electronic book whether or not the user has purchased the electronic book, and specifies the book identification code if not purchased. 7. The product information acquisition request sent to the electronic bookstore server, the product page of the book is acquired and displayed on the display unit of the user device. Bookmark sharing system described in.   8. The computer program in which the electronic book download means describes a command for operating a computer device used by a user as a user device used in the bookmark sharing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. . The position of the book and the book is specified from the image data obtained by photographing the barcode relating to the book identification code of the book on the paper medium and the book page with the user device, and the data of the electronic book corresponding to the book This is a method of adding a bookmark to the corresponding part of
A user obtains a book identification code by photographing a barcode image related to a book identification code of a book on a paper medium with a camera of a user device, and decoding the code from the image data of the barcode;
A step of transmitting a product information acquisition request designating the book identification code to a server of an electronic bookstore, acquiring the product identifier and book information of the book, displaying them on a display unit of a user device, and allowing the user to confirm the book information When,
Downloading electronic book data of the book to the storage unit of the user device;
A user photographs a page of a book on a paper medium with a camera of a user device, specifies the position of the image data in the electronic book data by collating image data of the page of the book with the electronic book data, and electronic A bookmark sharing method comprising the steps of: adding a bookmark to a corresponding portion of book data.

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