JP7663050B2 - Comic display device, program, and comic display method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a comic display device, a program, and a method for displaying comics.

In recent years, electronic books, which are digital versions of paper books, have become increasingly popular. Electronic books are used by downloading software called apps onto multi-function devices such as smartphones, or by using dedicated electronic book devices. Recently, technology has been developed that displays the text information of electronic books in association with images (see Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 5695769

On the other hand, there are also books such as comics that are provided with fixed images and text information. Comics have also been made into e-books, but they can only be provided in limited ways, such as showing the entire page or divided into frames.

The objective of this disclosure is to provide a comic display device, program, and comic display method that can present comics in a rich manner.

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides:
a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
a display control unit that controls display of the background image, the speech bubble, and the text acquired from the data storage unit,
The display control unit is
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed so as to be superimposed on the associated background image;
The comic display device provides a comic display device that, when a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is being displayed, displays the text within the associated speech bubble.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The display control unit is
When the speech bubbles are displayed, all speech bubbles corresponding to the background image of the target page may be displayed together.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The display control unit is
When displaying the speech bubbles, each speech bubble may be displayed one by one.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The display control unit is
When displaying the speech bubbles, all speech bubbles of the target page may be displayed together.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The display control unit is
The text may be displayed in sequence, character by character, in the corresponding speech bubble.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The display control unit is
The text may be displayed at a set size regardless of the size of the background image.

In addition, in the comic display device of the present disclosure,
The data storage unit stores audio associated with the text,
The comic display device may further include an audio control unit that controls the output of the audio in accordance with the timing of displaying the text by the display control unit.

In addition, in this disclosure,
Computer,
a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
a program that functions as a display control unit that controls display of the background image, the speech bubble, and the text acquired from the data storage unit,
The display control unit is
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the associated background image;
The present invention provides a program for displaying the text in the associated speech bubble when a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is being displayed.

In addition, in this disclosure,
A method for displaying comics by a computer, comprising the steps of:
the computer has a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
The computer includes:
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the associated background image;
The comic display method includes displaying the text in the associated speech bubble when a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is being displayed.

This disclosure makes it possible to present comics in a richer way.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a comic display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a comic display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is a diagram showing an example of background image information stored in a data storage unit 101. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of speech bubble information stored in a data storage unit 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of text information stored in a data storage unit 101. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of voice information stored in a data storage unit 101. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a first display pattern. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the first display pattern. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second display pattern. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the second display pattern. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a third display pattern. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the third display pattern.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1. Device configuration
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a comic display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The comic display device 100 is realized, for example, by a smartphone, which is a multifunctional portable terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, the comic display device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 100b as a main memory, a non-volatile storage device 100c (e.g., a hard disk, a flash memory, etc.) for storing programs and data executed by the CPU, an instruction input unit 100d such as a keyboard or a touch panel, a data input/output I/F (interface) 100e for data communication with an external device (data storage medium, etc.), a display device (liquid crystal display, etc.) 100f, a communication unit 100g for network communication with other computers via a network, a photographing device 100h for photographing images, a short-range wireless communication unit 100i for direct wireless communication with other terminals without going through a network, and an audio input/output unit 100j such as a microphone or speaker, which are connected to each other via a bus. The communication method used by the short-range wireless communication unit 100i is not particularly limited as long as it is a format for performing wireless communication over a relatively short distance, and various known methods such as Bluetooth and wireless LAN can be used.

The comic display device 100 can be anything other than a smartphone, such as a notebook PC or tablet, as long as it is equipped with a CPU calculation processing unit and has information processing and network communication functions. It may also be realized by a dedicated device specialized for comic display functions.

Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the comic display device 100. In the hardware configuration shown in Figure 1, the CPU 100a loads a program stored in the storage device 100c into the RAM 100b and executes it, enabling the comic display device 100 to make each unit shown in Figure 2 function. As shown in Figure 2, the comic display device 100 has a data storage unit 101, a display control unit 102, and an audio control unit 103.

The data storage unit 101 is a storage unit that stores data to be displayed or output as audio. As described below, data such as background images, speech bubbles, text, and audio data to be displayed and audio data to be output as audio are stored. Figures 3 to 6 are diagrams showing examples of information stored in the data storage unit 101. The data storage unit 101 stores data such as background images, speech bubbles, text, and audio data, as well as information related to each data.

A background image is an image that forms the background of each frame of a comic. It is an image of a frame excluding speech bubbles and text, and includes people. A speech bubble is a blank area placed in the background image, in which text that is the dialogue of a character is placed. Audio is audio data that conveys the same meaning as the text. The background images, speech bubbles, and text stored in the data storage unit 101 can be those submitted when creating a booklet-type comic, which is a paper medium.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of background image information stored in data storage unit 101. As shown in Figure 3, background image information is information in which background images are recorded in association with an image ID, corresponding page, appearance order, and intra-page coordinates. The image ID is identification information that identifies a background image, and is capable of identifying one background image on all pages. The corresponding page is the page on which the image appears. The appearance order indicates the order in which the background image appears on the page. A smaller number means an earlier appearance, and images are usually arranged from top to bottom on the page. The intra-page coordinates are the arrangement position of the background image when the page surface is expressed as a two-dimensional coordinate system.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of speech bubble information stored in data storage unit 101. As shown in Figure 4, speech bubble information is information in which speech bubbles are recorded in association with a speech bubble ID, corresponding page, corresponding image, order of appearance in the image, and coordinates in the image. The speech bubble ID is identification information that identifies the speech bubble, and is capable of identifying one speech bubble on all pages. The corresponding page is the page on which the speech bubble appears. The corresponding image indicates the background image in which the speech bubble is placed, and the image ID of that background image is recorded. The order of appearance in the image indicates the order in which the speech bubble appears in the background image that is the corresponding image. The smaller the number, the earlier the appearance. The coordinates in the image are the position of the speech bubble when the surface of the background image is expressed as two-dimensional coordinates.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of text information stored in the data storage unit 101. As shown in Fig. 5, the text information is information in which text is recorded in association with a text ID, a corresponding page, a corresponding speech bubble, and a character size. The text ID is identification information for identifying the text, and is capable of identifying one speech bubble on all pages. The corresponding page is the page on which the text appears. The corresponding speech bubble indicates the speech bubble in which the text is placed, and the speech bubble ID of the speech bubble is recorded. Since speech bubbles and text basically correspond one-to-one, in the example of Fig. 5, the speech bubble ID and the text ID match except for the first alphabet. The character size indicates the size at which the text is displayed. It may be set to a specific numerical value, or may be set to a free size. In the case of a free size, the text is displayed at a size that matches the size of the speech bubble.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of audio information stored in the data storage unit 101. As shown in Figure 6, the audio information is information in which audio is recorded in association with an audio ID, a corresponding page, and a corresponding text. The audio ID is identification information that identifies the audio, and is capable of identifying one audio across all pages. The corresponding page is the page on which the audio appears. The corresponding text indicates text with the same meaning as the audio, and the text ID of that text is recorded. Since text and audio also basically correspond one-to-one, in the example of Figure 6, the text ID and audio ID match except for the first alphabet.

The display control unit 102 is a means for controlling the display of data to be displayed and output, stored in the data storage unit 101, and outputting the data on the display device 100f. The audio control unit 103 is a means for controlling the output of data to be output as audio, stored in the data storage unit 101, and outputting the audio from the audio input/output unit 100j.

The comic display device 100 loads a program stored in the storage device 100c into the RAM 100b, and the CPU 100a executes it, issuing commands to other components, thereby realizing the functions of the data storage unit 101, the display control unit 102, and the audio control unit 103. The storage device 100c also serves as a data storage area for the data storage unit 101. When using a portable terminal such as a smartphone, the comic display device 100 is realized by accessing an app distribution server on the Internet and downloading a dedicated program called an app. When the dedicated program is started in the comic display device 100, the functions of the data storage unit 101, the display control unit 102, and the audio control unit 103 are realized.

2. Processing Operation
<2.1. First display pattern>
Next, the processing operation of the comic display device according to this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 will be described together with the comic display method according to this embodiment. The comic display device according to this embodiment can realize various display patterns. In this embodiment, three representative display patterns will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the first display pattern. FIGS. 7(a) to 7(d) show the state of a page displayed on the screen. Of these, FIG. 7(d) shows the final display state of the page, which is the same as the content printed on the booklet comic. That is, in FIG. 7(d), three frames are displayed, and the background image, speech bubble, and text constituting each frame are all displayed. In the example of FIG. 7, one page contains three background images G001 to G003, three speech bubbles F001 to F003, and three pieces of text T001 to T003.

The comic display device according to this embodiment performs display in stages before reaching the final display state as shown in FIG. 7(d). By performing display in stages, it is possible to make it easier for the reader to be interested in the content without getting bored. In the first display pattern shown in FIG. 7, first, all background images included in the page are displayed together. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(a), all background images G001 to G003 are displayed simultaneously. Next, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a speech bubble F001 corresponding to the first background image G001 is displayed. At this point, the speech bubble F001 is empty. Next, as shown in FIG. 7(c), text is displayed in the empty speech bubble F001. At the same time, or in parallel, speech bubbles F002 and F003 corresponding to the first image G002 among the images in which no speech bubbles are displayed are displayed together. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(d), text is displayed in the empty speech bubbles F002 and F003.

In the first display pattern, all background images are displayed together at first (Fig. 7(a)), and then speech bubbles are displayed for the first background image (Fig. 7(b)). After that, text is displayed in the currently displayed speech bubble, and a speech bubble is displayed for the next background image (Fig. 7(c)). This process is repeated until all speech bubbles and text are finally displayed (Fig. 7(d)). In this way, by first displaying only the background image, the user can appreciate the background image itself for one page of story. Then, text corresponding to the dialogue is displayed in sequence, allowing the user to enjoy the background images and story in stages. In particular, in the first display pattern, only the speech bubbles are displayed before the corresponding text, allowing the user to know that the characters will be saying something and have the fun of imagining what they are talking about.

In the comic display device, the background images, speech bubbles, text, and audio to be displayed are managed on a page-by-page basis. The display control process and audio control process for each page are performed in the same way for each page. When the user issues an instruction to launch the app and select a title, the display control unit 102 first starts managing the pages in ascending order. If the pages are in the order P1, P2, P3, page P1 is the first to be processed. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the first display pattern. The process in Figure 8 is a process corresponding to one page. When the processing of one page is completed, the same process is repeated according to the flowchart in Figure 8.

First, in the comic display device, the display control unit 102 acquires the background image of the page to be processed from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired background image is displayed on the display device 100f (step S1). Specifically, the data storage unit 101 is referenced by the page ID of the page to be processed to acquire the corresponding background image. In the comic display device of this embodiment, in order to take advantage of the characteristics of comics, which are originally in book form, an image is basically displayed within one page.

For example, if the page ID of the page to be processed is P1, by referring to the background image information shown in FIG. 3, three background images G001, G002, and G003 with a page ID of P1 are identified. Then, the display control unit 102 acquires the background images G001, G002, and G003, and displays them simultaneously on the display device 100f.

Figure 7 (a) shows the state in which only the background image is displayed in step S1. As shown in Figure 7 (a), when a new page is displayed, all images contained in that page are displayed simultaneously. At this time, the display control unit 102 acquires the appearance order and in-page coordinates corresponding to the background image ID stored in the data storage unit 101. Then, based on the in-page coordinates, each background image is arranged on the page. As a result of arranging the background images based on the in-page coordinates, for example, as shown in Figure 7 (a), three background images G001, G002, and G003 included in the page are displayed in predetermined positions.

When displaying background images, the display control unit 102 arranges them according to the in-page coordinates of each background image. Therefore, the background images are displayed on the screen in the same format as the published format of a booklet comic. With the background images displayed, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S2). A trigger is a predetermined event that triggers other events. Such triggers can be set in various forms. For example, the trigger may be a point in time when a predetermined time (e.g., 2 seconds) has passed since the previous background image was displayed, or the user taps the screen. After the background image is displayed, no speech bubbles are displayed until a trigger occurs, and only the background image is displayed. Therefore, during this time, the comic image itself can be viewed without being obstructed by speech bubbles.

Then, when a trigger occurs in step S2 (step S2: YES), the display control unit 102 acquires a speech bubble from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired speech bubble is displayed on the display device 100f (step S3). The speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the background image. The display timing of the speech bubble can be set in various ways. For example, all the speech bubbles on the page may be displayed simultaneously, or may be displayed one by one starting from the first background image. Also, all the speech bubbles may be displayed simultaneously for each background image. In the first display pattern, all the speech bubbles are displayed simultaneously for each background image. In this case, the display control unit 102 first refers to the speech bubble information in G001, which is the first background image among the displayed background images, and acquires the corresponding speech bubble F001. Since there is only one speech bubble, F001, that corresponds to G001, which is the first background image, the display control unit 102 displays the speech bubble F001 at a predetermined position in the background image G001. The specified position within the background image G001 is identified by the in-image coordinates of the speech bubble information.

For example, after all background images are displayed as shown in FIG. 7(a), only speech bubble F001 corresponding to image G001 is displayed as shown in FIG. 7(b). At this time, speech bubble F001 contains no text and is displayed empty. In addition, speech bubbles in other background images are not displayed.

With the speech bubble displayed on the first background image, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S4: YES). Various types of triggers can be set for step S4. For example, the trigger may be the point at which a predetermined time (e.g., 2 seconds) has elapsed since the previous background image was displayed, or the user tapping the screen. The trigger for step S4 may be the same as the trigger for step S2, or it may be different. If it is the same as the trigger for step S2, the display of speech bubbles and text will change at the same timing for the entire page. If the trigger is the passage of time, the elapsed time may be different between step S2 and step S4.

When a trigger occurs in step S4 (step S4: YES), text display and voice output are performed (step S5). Specifically, first, the display control unit 102 acquires text from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired text is displayed on the display device 100f. The display position of the text is set to within the corresponding speech bubble. As a result, the text is displayed within the corresponding speech bubble. The timing of displaying the text can be set in various ways, as with the timing of displaying the speech bubble. For example, the text may be displayed simultaneously with the display of the speech bubble, or the text may be displayed at a timing from the next time onward after only the speech bubble is displayed. When multiple speech bubbles are displayed on one background image, the text may be displayed simultaneously for the speech bubbles in one background image, or the text may be displayed in order for each speech bubble. In addition, the corresponding text may be displayed collectively in one speech bubble, or may be displayed one character at a time in order. When the text is displayed one character at a time in order, it is displayed in a manner called a flow display.

In this embodiment, multiple speech bubbles corresponding to one background image are displayed at the same time, and after the speech bubbles are displayed, the text is displayed all at once at the next timing. For example, when speech bubble F001 is displayed in an empty state, the display control unit 102 refers to the text information in the empty speech bubble F001 being displayed and obtains the corresponding text T001. Basically, speech bubbles and text correspond one-to-one, so the display control unit 102 displays the text T001 at a predetermined position in the speech bubble F001. The predetermined position in the speech bubble F001 is specified by a predetermined arrangement rule. For example, the text is displayed according to an arrangement rule such as center alignment, top-bottom alignment, or left-right alignment. In this embodiment, the display control unit 102 controls to display the text at a set size regardless of the size of the background image. Specifically, the text is displayed at the character size set in the text information shown in FIG. 5. For example, by setting a size that is easy to read for each user, the user can always read the text in an optimal state.

The display control unit 102 manages the currently displayed page, background image, and speech bubble. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when speech bubble F001 is displayed on background image G001 and no text is displayed in speech bubble F001, the display control unit 102 displays background image G001 and speech bubble F001, and is aware that text T001 corresponding to speech bubble F001 is not displayed. Therefore, in a case such as that shown in FIG. 7(b), the display control unit 102 displays text T001 in speech bubble F001 in step S5.

In step S5, the audio control unit 103 controls the output of audio in accordance with the timing at which the display control unit 102 controls the display of the text. Specifically, at the same time that the display control unit 102 acquires the text from the data storage unit 101, the audio control unit 103 references the audio information using the text ID of that text and acquires the corresponding audio. The audio is then output from the audio input/output unit 100j. When displaying text, the display control unit 102 may display all characters at once, but when outputting audio, it is preferable to display one character at a time in accordance with the output timing of the audio control unit 103. Note that the audio control unit 103 is not a required component. Therefore, the comic display device may only display without outputting audio.

Then, the display control unit 102 displays a speech bubble on the first background image among the background images that do not display a speech bubble (step S6). As described above, the display control unit 102 manages the currently displayed page, background image, and speech bubbles. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when no speech bubbles are displayed on background image G002, the display control unit 102 displays background image G002 and is aware that speech bubbles F002 and F003 corresponding to background image G002 are not displayed. Therefore, in the case shown in FIG. 7(b), the display control unit 102 displays speech bubbles F002 and F003 in step S6.

The text display process in step S5 and the speech bubble display process in step S6 are performed consecutively as computational processes by the computer. Therefore, to a user looking at the screen, it appears as if the screen shown in FIG. 7(b) has instantly switched to the screen shown in FIG. 7(c). Note that the text display process in step S5 and the speech bubble display process in step S6 may be performed simultaneously or in parallel.

After the processing of steps S5 and S6 is completed, the display control unit 102 determines whether all text display has been completed for the page being processed (step S7). As described above, the display control unit 102 manages the page being displayed, the background image, and the speech bubbles. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether all text display has been completed for the page being displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(c), when the speech bubbles F002 and F003 are displayed in an empty state, the display control unit 102 displays the speech bubbles F002 and F003, and knows that the text T002 and T003 corresponding to the speech bubbles F002 and F003 have not been displayed. Therefore, it is determined that all text display has not been completed, and the process returns to step S4. Then, after continuing the screen display as shown in FIG. 7(c), when the next trigger occurs (step S4: YES), the text T002 and T003 are displayed in the speech bubbles F002 and F003 (step S5). Furthermore, the speech bubble information is referenced in the next background image G003, but since there is no speech bubble that corresponds to background image G003, no new speech bubble is displayed in step S6.

Then, in step S7, the display control unit 102 again determines whether or not all text display has been completed. In the example of FIG. 7(d), texts T002 and T003 are being displayed. At this point, the display control unit 102 knows that texts T002 and T003 are being displayed. Then, when the text information in the data storage unit 101 is referenced for the page P1 being processed, there are only three pieces of text up to T003. Therefore, the display control unit 102 determines that all text display for the page P1 being processed has been completed (step S7: YES). This ends the processing for the target page.

When the process of the flowchart in FIG. 8 is completed for a certain page, the state is one in which all the text is displayed, as shown in FIG. 7(d). As described above, this is the same as the state of a page in a booklet. In the comic display device according to this embodiment, the display is fixed in this state. Then, when the user swipes the screen, the display control unit 102 processes the next page and executes the process shown in FIG. 8 for the page to be processed. Note that the process of moving to the next page may be other than an operation such as a swipe by the user. For example, after all the text is displayed, the next page may be moved to after a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed. After the process of the page P1 to be processed is completed, if an operation such as a swipe is performed, the display control unit 102 continues to process the next page P2. Then, the process shown in FIG. 8 is executed for the page P2. Therefore, in step S1, the display control unit 102 displays all the background images of page P2. In this case, for the user looking at the screen, the state in which all the text is displayed, as shown in FIG. 7(d), is switched to a state in which only the background image of the next page is displayed.

It is also possible to interrupt the process in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 and forcibly terminate the comic display process by operating an end button that is displayed separately on the screen. If a forced termination is not performed, the process shown in FIG. 8 is executed repeatedly the same number of times as the number of pages, until the text of the last page is displayed. When processing of the last page is finished, the comic display process ends.

In the first display pattern, in step S5, the audio control unit 103 acquires audio from the data storage unit 101 and controls to output the audio from the audio input/output unit 100j. In step S5, the audio stored in the data storage unit 101 in advance is output, but the text may be automatically read out and output as audio. In this case, the audio control unit 103 can be realized by storing a known audio reading program in the storage device 100c and having the CPU 100a read and execute it. By executing the audio reading program, the text can be converted into audio. In step S5, the audio control unit 103 converts the text acquired by the display control unit 102 from the data storage unit 101 into audio and outputs it from the audio input/output unit 100j. In this way, the audio is output in accordance with the display of the comic, thereby fulfilling the function of an audiobook. Note that the audio control unit 103 is not a required component. Therefore, the comic display device may only display without outputting audio.

<2.2. Second display pattern>
Next, the second display pattern will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the second display pattern. FIGS. 9(a) to 9(e) show the state of the page displayed on the screen by the second display pattern. Among them, FIG. 9(e) shows the final display state of the page, which is the same as the content printed on the booklet of the comic. Therefore, FIG. 9(e) is the same as FIG. 7(d). In FIG. 9(e) as well, three frames are displayed, and the background image, speech bubble, and text constituting each frame are all displayed. In the example of FIG. 9 as well, one page contains three background images G001 to G003, three speech bubbles F001 to F003, and three texts T001 to T003.

In the second display pattern, the comic display device according to this embodiment also performs display in stages before reaching the final display state shown in FIG. 9(e). By performing display in stages, it is possible to make it easier for the reader to be interested in the content without getting bored. In the second display pattern shown in FIG. 9, first, all images included in the page are displayed at once. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9(a), all background images G001 to G003 are displayed simultaneously. Up to this point, it is the same as the first display pattern. Therefore, FIG. 9(a) is the same as FIG. 7(a). Next, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the speech bubble F001 corresponding to the first background image G001 is displayed. In the second display pattern, even if multiple speech bubbles correspond to one background image, they are displayed one by one. Since there is only one speech bubble, F001, corresponding to background image G001, as a result, FIG. 9(b) is the same as FIG. 7(b).

At this point, speech bubble F001 is empty. Next, as shown in FIG. 9(c), text is displayed in the empty speech bubble F001. At the same time, or in parallel, only one speech bubble F002 is displayed, which corresponds to the first background image G002 among the images in which no speech bubbles are displayed. There are two speech bubbles, F002 and F003, which correspond to background image G002, but in the second display pattern, only one speech bubble is displayed at a time. For this reason, fewer speech bubbles are displayed in background image G002 in FIG. 9(c) compared to FIG. 7(c).

Next, as shown in FIG. 9(d), text is displayed in an empty speech bubble F002. At the same time, or in parallel, only one speech bubble F003 is displayed, corresponding to the first background image G002 among the images in which no speech bubbles are displayed. In FIG. 9(d), text is displayed in speech bubble F002, and speech bubble F003 is empty. Even within the same background image G002, there will be a mixture of speech bubbles with and without text displayed. In this way, in the second display pattern, speech bubbles and text are displayed at different times for one background image, making it possible to clearly recognize the order of the conversation. Thereafter, text is displayed in empty speech bubble F003, as shown in FIG. 9(e).

In the second display pattern, all background images are displayed together at first (Fig. 9(a)), and then one speech bubble is displayed for the first image (Fig. 9(b)). After that, text is displayed in the currently displayed speech bubble, and speech bubbles are displayed one by one for the next images (Figs. 9(c)(d)), and this process is repeated. In this way, all speech bubbles and text are eventually displayed (Fig. 9(e)). In this way, by first displaying only the background image, the image itself of one page's worth of story can be appreciated. Then, the text equivalent to the dialogue is displayed in sequence, allowing the image and story to be enjoyed in stages. In particular, in the second display pattern, speech bubbles and text are displayed one by one, making the order of the conversation clear.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the second display pattern. Like Fig. 8, Fig. 10 shows the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to each page. When the user issues an instruction to launch the app and select a title, the display control unit 102 first starts managing the pages in ascending order. If the pages are in the order P1, P2, P3, page P1 is the first to be processed.

In the comic display device, the display control unit 102 acquires the background image of the page to be processed from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired background image is displayed on the display device 100f (step S11). Step S11 is the same process as step S1 in the first display pattern.

For example, if the page number of the page to be processed is P1, as shown in FIG. 5, three background images G001, G002, and G003, whose page numbers correspond to page number P1, are identified. In this case, the display control unit 102 acquires background images G001, G002, and G003, and displays them simultaneously on the display device 100f.

Figure 9(a) shows the state in which only the background image is displayed in step S11. As shown in Figure 9(a), when a new page is displayed, all images contained in that page are displayed simultaneously. At this time, the display control unit 102 acquires the appearance order and in-page coordinates corresponding to the background image ID stored in the data storage unit 101. Then, based on the in-page coordinates, each background image is arranged on the page. As a result of arranging the background images based on the in-page coordinates, for example, as shown in Figure 9(a), three background images G001, G002, and G003 included in the page are displayed in predetermined positions.

When displaying background images, the display control unit 102 arranges them according to the position coordinates of each background image. Therefore, the background images are displayed on the screen in a format similar to that of a printed comic book. With the background images displayed, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S12). As with the first display pattern, various types of triggers can be set.

Then, when a trigger occurs in step S12 (step S12: YES), the display control unit 102 acquires one speech bubble from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired one speech bubble is displayed on the display device 100f (step S13). The speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the background image. The display timing of the speech bubbles can be set in various ways. For example, all the speech bubbles on the page may be displayed simultaneously, or they may be displayed one by one starting from the first background image. Also, all the speech bubbles may be displayed simultaneously for each background image. In the second display pattern, the speech bubbles are displayed one by one. In this case, the display control unit 102 first refers to the speech bubble information in G001, which is the first image among the displayed images, and acquires the corresponding speech bubble F001. Since there is only one speech bubble, F001, that corresponds to G001, which is the first background image, the display control unit 102 displays the speech bubble F001 at a predetermined position in the image G001. A specific position within the background image G001 is specified by the in-image coordinates of the speech bubble information. Even if there are multiple speech bubbles corresponding to the background image G001, only the first one will be displayed.

For example, after all background images are displayed as shown in FIG. 9(a), only speech bubble F001 corresponding to image G001 is displayed as shown in FIG. 9(b). At this time, speech bubble F001 contains no text and is displayed empty. In addition, speech bubbles in other background images are not displayed.

With one speech bubble displayed on the first background image, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S14: YES). As with the first display pattern, various types of triggers can be set for step S14. If the trigger is the passage of time, the elapsed time may be different between step S12 and step S14.

If a trigger occurs in step S14 (step S14: YES), the display control unit 102 acquires text from the data storage unit 101. The acquired text is then displayed on the display device 100f (step S15). The display position of the text is set within the corresponding speech bubble. As a result, the text is displayed within the corresponding speech bubble. The display timing of the text can be set in various ways, similar to the display timing of the speech bubble and the timing in the first display pattern.

In the second display pattern, speech bubbles corresponding to the background image are displayed one by one, and after the speech bubbles are displayed, the text is displayed all at once at the next timing. For example, when speech bubble F001 is displayed empty, the display control unit 102 references the text information in the empty speech bubble F001 being displayed and obtains the corresponding text T001. Since speech bubbles and text basically correspond one-to-one, the display control unit 102 displays the text T001 at a specified position within speech bubble F001. The specified position within speech bubble F001 is specified by a specified arrangement rule. For example, the text is displayed according to an arrangement rule such as center alignment, top-bottom alignment, or left-right alignment.

The display control unit 102 manages the currently displayed page, background image, and speech bubble. For example, as shown in FIG. 9(b), when speech bubble F001 is displayed on background image G001 and no text is displayed in speech bubble F001, the display control unit 102 displays background image G001 and speech bubble F001, and is aware that text T001 corresponding to speech bubble F001 is not displayed. Therefore, in a case such as that shown in FIG. 9(b), the display control unit 102 displays text T001 in speech bubble F001 in step S15.

In step S15, similarly to the first display pattern, the audio control unit 103 controls the output of audio in accordance with the timing at which the display control unit 102 controls the display of the text. Specifically, at the same time that the display control unit 102 acquires the text from the data storage unit 101, the audio control unit 103 references the audio information using the text ID of the text and acquires the corresponding audio. The audio is then output from the audio input/output unit 100j. When displaying text, the display control unit 102 may display all characters at once, but when outputting audio, it is preferable to display one character at a time in accordance with the output timing of the audio control unit 103. Note that the audio control unit 103 is not a required component in the second display pattern either. Therefore, the comic display device may only display without outputting audio.

Then, the display control unit 102 displays a speech bubble on the first background image among the background images that do not display a speech bubble (step S16). As described above, the display control unit 102 manages the displayed page, background image, and speech bubble. For example, as shown in FIG. 9B, in a state in which no speech bubble is displayed on the background image G002, the display control unit 102 displays the background image G002 and knows that the speech bubbles F002 and F003 corresponding to the background image G002 are not displayed. In the case of the second display pattern, only the one of the speech bubbles F002 and F003, which has a higher priority, is displayed first. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 9B, the display control unit 102 displays only the speech bubble F002 in step S16. Note that here, F002, which has a lower speech bubble ID number, is selected as the one with the higher priority. The priority may be separately determined for each background image.

The text display process in step S15 and the speech bubble display process in step S16 are performed consecutively as computational processes of the computer. Therefore, to a user looking at the screen, it appears as if the screen shown in FIG. 9(b) has instantly switched to the screen shown in FIG. 9(c). Note that the text display process in step S15 and the speech bubble display process in step S16 may be performed simultaneously or in parallel.

After the processing of steps S15 and S16 is completed, the display control unit 102 determines whether all text display has been completed for the page being processed (step S17). As described above, the display control unit 102 manages the page, background image, and speech bubble being displayed. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether all text display has been completed for the page being displayed. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 9(c), the display control unit 102 displays speech bubble F002, knows that speech bubble F003 is not displayed, and knows that text T002 and T003 corresponding to speech bubbles F002 and F003 are not displayed. Therefore, it determines that all text display has not been completed, and returns to step S14. Then, after continuing the screen display as shown in FIG. 9(c), if the next trigger occurs (step S14: YES), text T002 is displayed in speech bubble F002 (step S15). Furthermore, the display control unit 102 refers to the speech bubble information and acquires the undisplayed speech bubble F003. Then, it displays speech bubble F003. This will result in the screen appearing as shown in Figure 9(d).

After the processing of steps S15 and S16 is completed, the display control unit 102 again determines whether all text display has been completed for the page being processed (step S17). As described above, the display control unit 102 manages the page, background image, and speech bubble being displayed. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether all text display has been completed for the page being displayed. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 9(d), the display control unit 102 displays speech bubbles F002 and F003 and text T002, and knows that text T003 has not been displayed. Therefore, it determines that all text display has not been completed, and returns to step S14. Then, after continuing the screen display as shown in FIG. 9(d), if the next trigger occurs (step S14: YES), text T003 is displayed in speech bubble F003 (step S15). Furthermore, the speech bubble information is referred to in the next background image G003, but since there is no speech bubble corresponding to the background image G003, no new speech bubble is displayed in step S16. As a result, the screen will display something like the one shown in Figure 9(e).

Then, in step S17, the display control unit 102 again determines whether or not all text display has been completed. In the example of FIG. 9(e), text T003 is being displayed. At this point, the display control unit 102 knows that text T003 is being displayed. Then, when the text information in the data storage unit 101 is referenced for the page P1 being processed, there are only three pieces of text up to T003. Therefore, the display control unit 102 determines that all text display for the page P1 being processed has been completed (step S17: YES). This ends the processing for the target page.

When the processing of the flowchart in FIG. 10 is completed for a certain page, all of the text is displayed as shown in FIG. 9(e). As in the case of the first display pattern, the processing of the next page will be transitioned to by an operation such as a swipe or the passage of time. After the processing of the page P1 to be processed is completed, if an operation such as a swipe is performed, the display control unit 102 continues to process the next page P2. Then, the processing shown in FIG. 10 is performed for page P2. Therefore, in step S11, the display control unit 102 displays all of the background image of page P2. In this case, for the user viewing the screen, the state in which all of the text is displayed as shown in FIG. 9(e) will be switched to a state in which only the background image of the next page is displayed.

In the second display pattern, in step S15, the audio control unit 103 acquires audio from the data storage unit 101 and controls to output the audio from the audio input/output unit 100j. In step S15, the audio stored in the data storage unit 101 in advance is output, but the text may be automatically read out and output as audio. In this case, the audio control unit 103 can be realized by storing a known audio reading program in a storage device and having the CPU read and execute it. By executing the audio reading program, the text can be converted into audio. In step S15, the audio control unit 103 converts the text acquired by the display control unit 102 from the data storage unit 101 into audio and outputs it from the audio input/output unit 100j. Note that the audio control unit 103 is not a required component. Therefore, the comic display device may only display without outputting audio.

<2.3. Third display pattern>
Next, the third display pattern will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the third display pattern. FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c) show the state of the page displayed on the screen by the third display pattern in chronological order. Among them, FIG. 11(c) shows the final display state of the page, which is the same as the content printed on the booklet comic. Therefore, FIG. 11(c) is the same as FIG. 7(d) and FIG. 9(e). In FIG. 11(c) as well, three frames are displayed, and the background image, speech bubble, and text constituting each frame are all displayed. In the example of FIG. 11 as well, one page contains three background images G001 to G003, three speech bubbles F001 to F003, and three texts T001 to T003.

In the third display pattern, the comic display device according to this embodiment also displays in stages before reaching the final display state shown in FIG. 11(c). By displaying in stages, it is possible to make it easier for the reader to become interested in the content without getting bored. In the third display pattern shown in FIG. 11, first, all images included in the page are displayed at once. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11(a), all background images G001 to G003 are displayed at the same time. Up to this point, it is the same as the first display pattern and the second display pattern. Therefore, FIG. 11(a) is the same as FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 9(a). Next, as shown in FIG. 11(b), all speech bubbles F001 to F003 corresponding to the page are displayed. In the third display pattern, all speech bubbles are displayed at once, regardless of the number of background images and the number of speech bubbles. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11(b), all speech bubbles are displayed on the screen in an empty state.

At this point, speech bubbles F001 to F003 are all empty. Next, as shown in FIG. 11(c), text is displayed in the empty speech bubbles F001 to F003. In this way, in the third display pattern, after all background images are displayed for one page, the speech bubbles are displayed all at once, allowing the user to appreciate the background images themselves and to efficiently progress through the comic.

In the third display pattern, first all background images are displayed all at once (Fig. 11(a)), and then all speech bubbles are displayed all at once (Fig. 11(b)). After that, text is displayed in the displayed speech bubbles (Fig. 11(c)). In this way, all speech bubbles and text are finally displayed (Fig. 11(c)). In this way, by first displaying only the background images, the image of one page's worth of story can be appreciated. Then, by displaying the speech bubbles all at once, it becomes possible to efficiently proceed through the comic.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to the third display pattern. Like Figs. 8 and 10, Fig. 12 shows the processing operation of the comic display device corresponding to each page. When the user issues an instruction to launch the app and select a title, the display control unit 102 first starts managing the pages in ascending order. If the pages are in the order P1, P2, P3, page P1 is the first to be processed.

In the comic display device, the display control unit 102 acquires the background image of the page to be processed from the data storage unit 101. Then, the acquired background image is displayed on the display device 100f (step S21). Step S21 is the same process as step S1 in the first display pattern and step S11 in the second display pattern.

For example, if the page number of the page to be processed is P1, as shown in FIG. 5, three background images G001, G002, and G003, whose page numbers correspond to page number P1, are identified. In this case, the display control unit 102 acquires background images G001, G002, and G003, and displays them simultaneously on the display device 100f.

Figure 11 (a) shows the state in which only the background image is displayed in step S21. As shown in Figure 11 (a), when a new page is displayed, all images contained in that page are displayed simultaneously. At this time, the display control unit 102 acquires the appearance order and in-page coordinates corresponding to the background image ID stored in the data storage unit 101. Then, based on the in-page coordinates, each background image is arranged on the page. As a result of arranging the background images based on the in-page coordinates, for example, as shown in Figure 11 (a), three background images G001, G002, and G003 included in the page are displayed in predetermined positions.

When displaying background images, the display control unit 102 arranges them according to the position coordinates of each background image. Therefore, the background images are displayed on the screen in a format similar to that of a printed comic book. With the background images displayed, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S22). As with the first and second display patterns, various types of triggers can be set.

Then, when a trigger occurs in step S22 (step S22: YES), the display control unit 102 acquires all the speech bubbles of the target page from the data storage unit 101. Then, all the acquired speech bubbles are displayed on the display device 100f (step S23). The speech bubbles are displayed superimposed on the background image. The display timing of the speech bubbles can be set in various ways. For example, all the speech bubbles of the page may be displayed simultaneously, or may be displayed one by one from the first background image. Also, all the speech bubbles may be displayed simultaneously for each background image. In the third display pattern, all the speech bubbles of the page are displayed. In this case, the display control unit 102 refers to the speech bubble information by the page ID and acquires all the corresponding speech bubbles. Since there are three speech bubbles F001 to F003 corresponding to page P1, the display control unit 102 displays the speech bubbles F001 to F003 at predetermined positions in the corresponding background images G001 and G002. The specified position within the background images G001 and G002 is identified by the image coordinates of the speech bubble information.

For example, after all the background images are displayed as shown in FIG. 11(a), all the speech bubbles are displayed as shown in FIG. 11(b). At this time, speech bubbles F001 to F003 contain no text and are displayed empty.

With all the speech bubbles displayed on the background image, the display control unit 102 waits until the next trigger occurs (step S24: YES). As with the first and second display patterns, various types of triggers can be set for step S24. If the trigger is the passage of time, the elapsed time may be different between step S22 and step S24.

If a trigger occurs in step S24 (step S24: YES), the display control unit 102 acquires text from the data storage unit 101. The acquired text is then displayed on the display device 100f (step S25). The display position of the text is set to within the corresponding speech bubble. As a result, the text is displayed within the corresponding speech bubble. The display timing of the text can be set in various ways, similar to the display timing of the speech bubble and the timing in the first and second display patterns.

In the third display pattern, speech bubbles corresponding to the background image are displayed together, and after the speech bubbles are displayed, the text is displayed together at the following timing. For example, when speech bubbles F001 to F003 are displayed empty, the display control unit 102 references the text information in each of the empty speech bubbles F001 to F003 being displayed, and obtains the corresponding text T001 to T003. Since speech bubbles and text basically correspond one-to-one, the display control unit 102 displays the text T001 to T003 at a predetermined position within the speech bubbles F001 to F003. The predetermined position within the speech bubbles F001 to F003 is specified by a predetermined arrangement rule. For example, the text is displayed according to an arrangement rule such as center alignment, top-bottom alignment, or left-right alignment.

The display control unit 102 manages the currently displayed page, background image, and speech bubbles. For example, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when speech bubbles F001 to F003 are displayed in background images G001 and G002 and no text is displayed in speech bubbles F001 to F003, the display control unit 102 displays speech bubbles F001 to F003 and is aware that the text T001 to T003 corresponding to speech bubbles F001 to F003 has not been displayed. Therefore, in a case like that shown in FIG. 11(b), the display control unit 102 displays the text T001 to T003 in speech bubbles F001 to F003 in step S25. As a result, the display shown in FIG. 11(c) is displayed on the screen.

In the third display pattern, multiple pieces of text are displayed simultaneously. Therefore, it is not suitable to output audio in accordance with the text. For this reason, audio is not output in the third display pattern. In the third display pattern, all text is displayed in step S25, and processing of that page ends there.

When the processing of the flowchart in FIG. 12 is completed for a certain page, all of the text is displayed as shown in FIG. 11(c). As with the first and second display patterns, the processing of the next page will proceed as a result of an operation such as a swipe or the passage of time. After the processing of the page P1 to be processed is completed, if an operation such as a swipe is performed, the display control unit 102 continues to process the next page P2. Then, the processing shown in FIG. 12 is performed for page P2. Therefore, in step S21, the display control unit 102 displays all of the background image of page P2. In this case, for the user viewing the screen, the state will change from one in which all of the text is displayed as shown in FIG. 11(c) to one in which only the background image of the next page is displayed.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, although three preferred display patterns have been described in this embodiment, various display patterns other than the above three display patterns can be realized. For example, in the above embodiment, the speech bubble and the text are treated as separate entities, but the speech bubble and the text may be treated as fixed entities. In this case, an empty speech bubble will never be displayed, and whenever a speech bubble is displayed, the text is always displayed as well.

In addition, in the first to third display patterns, the background image and the speech bubble are treated as separate entities, but it is also possible to display a background image with a speech bubble (but no text) from the beginning, and then display the text in the speech bubble later.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the background images are displayed all at once on a page basis, but it is also possible to display the background images one by one, regardless of page units.

The speech bubbles and text may also be variably resized in response to the user's zooming in and out using a touch panel. The user's zooming in and out using a touch panel can be achieved using basic functions provided on a smartphone or other device used as a comic display device.

The background image may also be automatically colored. When performing automatic coloring, the display control unit 102 performs automatic coloring on the background image after the background image is displayed and before the speech bubble is displayed. A known technique may be used for automatic coloring.

Text may also be combined with translations into multiple languages. In this case, the text is changed to the translated version. If audio is included, the audio remains in Japanese (unchanged), and only the text in the speech bubble is changed to the translated version. In the case of automated audio, the original text is used as the text to be read by the automated audio.

The comic display device may be provided with means for realizing the various aspects described above. For example, the first to third display patterns, the presence or absence of audio output, the change of triggers, etc. may be set to be changeable by user operation.

100: Comic display device 101: Data storage unit 102: Display control unit 103: Audio control unit

Claims (9)

a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
a display control unit that controls display of the background image, the speech bubble, and the text acquired from the data storage unit,
The display control unit is
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed so as to be superimposed on the associated background image;
A comic display device that displays the text in the associated speech bubble when a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is displayed. The display control unit is
The comic display device according to claim 1 , wherein when displaying the speech bubbles, all speech bubbles corresponding to the background image of a target page are displayed together. The display control unit is
The comic display device according to claim 1 , wherein when displaying the speech bubbles, each speech bubble is displayed one by one. The display control unit is
The comic display device according to claim 1 , wherein when displaying the speech bubbles, all speech bubbles of a target page are displayed together. The display control unit is
The comic display device according to claim 1 , wherein the text is displayed in the corresponding speech bubble one character at a time in sequence. The display control unit is
The comic display device according to claim 1 , wherein control is performed to display the text at a set size regardless of the size of the background image. The data storage unit stores audio associated with the text,
The comic display device according to claim 1 , further comprising an audio control unit that controls output of the audio in accordance with a timing of displaying the text by the display control unit. Computer,
a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
a program that functions as a display control unit that controls display of the background image, the speech bubble, and the text acquired from the data storage unit,
The display control unit is
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the associated background image;
When a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is being displayed, the program displays the text in the associated speech bubble. A method for displaying comics by a computer, comprising the steps of:
the computer has a data storage unit that stores a background image associated with a page, a speech bubble associated with the background image, and text associated with the speech bubble;
The computer includes:
Display all background images for each page at once;
When a predetermined trigger occurs in a state in which only the background image is displayed, the speech bubble is displayed superimposed on the associated background image;
A comic display method, comprising: displaying the text in the associated speech bubble when a predetermined trigger occurs while the speech bubble is being displayed.