Method, device, and system for providing digital manga

Abstract

A method for providing a digital comic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of: acquiring a page image from a digital comic based on a printed comic; rearranging the acquired page image along a reference direction; detecting one or more cut areas and a sequence area from the edges of the page image excluding margins for each rearranged page image; assigning sequential numbers to the detected one or more cut areas based on the reader's line of sight; adjusting the size of the detected sequence areas to match the size of the display of the user terminal; when a display transition event occurs, highlighting the cut area corresponding to the current order based on the assigned sequential numbers; and moving the position of the sequence area including the highlighted cut area so that a reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at a reference point of the display, wherein the one or more cut areas include one or more of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method, device, and system for providing digital comics, and more particularly, to a method, device, and system for providing digital comics that can effectively display digital comics obtained based on printed comics through a small display device. [Background technology]

[0002] The publishing market, which was dominated by print publications, is gradually changing to digital publications. In response to this trend, efforts are underway to convert comic books and comic magazines that were previously published in print format into digital data for further use.

[0003] An example of a method for converting printed comics into digital data is to use a scanner. By scanning each page of the printed comic with a scanner, digital data corresponding to each page of the printed comic can be obtained, and this can be appropriately processed to generate a digital comic.

[0004] However, while digital comics obtained in this manner present no problems when displayed on a digital device with a relatively large display size, such as a personal computer or an e-book reader, various problems arise when displayed on a digital device with a relatively small display size, such as a mobile phone.

[0005] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the eye flow in a digital comic book is more complex than that in a webtoon. Therefore, when a digital comic book is displayed on a small display device, readability may be reduced compared to a webtoon. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, if a digital comic book page is simply reduced to fit the size of a mobile phone display, a relatively large amount of blank space will appear on the display of the small display device. In particular, there will be more blank space at the top and bottom of the display compared to the left and right sides of the display. Also, readability decreases as the size of a digital comic book page is reduced.

[0006] To solve this problem, a method has been proposed to rearrange the cut regions of digital comics in a format similar to that of webtoons, but this method has a drawback in that the rearranged cut regions do not maintain continuity between the cut regions. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The present disclosure has been devised in response to the above-mentioned need, and the problem that the present disclosure aims to solve is to provide a method, device, and system for providing digital comics that can efficiently display digital comics based on printed comics even on small display devices and maintain continuity between cut areas.

[0008] The problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for providing a digital comic according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of: acquiring a page image from a digital comic based on a printed comic; rearranging the acquired page image along a reference direction; detecting one or more cut areas and a sequence area obtained by excluding margins from the edges of the page image for each rearranged page image; assigning sequential numbers to the detected one or more cut areas based on the reader's line of sight; adjusting the size of the detected sequence areas to match the size of a display of a user terminal; when a display transition event occurs, highlighting a cut area corresponding to a current order based on the assigned sequential numbers; and moving a position of a sequence area including the highlighted cut area so that a reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at a reference point of the display, wherein the one or more cut areas include one or more of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

[0010] Other specific details of the embodiments are contained in the detailed description and drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a digital comic based on a printed comic is displayed based on a sequence area, and the position of the sequence area is moved so that the reference point of the cut area corresponding to the current order is positioned at the reference point of the display, thereby simplifying the complex gaze flow of a printed comic to be similar to the gaze flow of a webtoon.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a digital comic is displayed based on a sequence area, and as the position of the sequence area moves, the cut area corresponding to the current order is displayed directly or relatively highlighted, thereby maintaining continuity between the cut areas, thereby increasing user satisfaction and improving user readability.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the cut area corresponding to the current order is relatively emphasized, the amount of information regarding the remaining areas excluding the cut area of ​​the current order is reduced, thereby making it possible to efficiently utilize the resources of the display device.

[0014] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a comparison of gaze flow in a digital comic obtained based on a printed comic with gaze flow in a conventional webtoon. [Diagram 2] 13 is a diagram illustrating a comparison between a page of a digital cartoon obtained based on a printed cartoon and the page of the digital cartoon reduced and displayed on a user terminal. [Figure 3a] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the terms used in this disclosure, showing an example of a page image of a digital comic. [Figure 3b] Same as above. [Figure 4] A diagram showing the configuration of a digital manga provision system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital comic book providing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a method for detecting a sequence region from a page image. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an integrated page image that constitutes a digital comic. [Figure 9] 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the combined page image shown in FIG. 8 is divided into two page images. [Figure 10] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of some page images among page images rearranged along a first direction. FIG. [Figure 11]11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an image effect for reducing the amount of information is applied to a sequence region extracted from the first page image of FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is a diagram showing the page image shown in FIG. 9 being displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 13] Same as above. [Figure 14] Same as above. [Figure 15] Same as above. [Figure 16] Same as above. [Figure 17] Same as above. [Figure 18] Same as above. [Figure 19] Same as above. [Figure 20] Same as above. [Figure 21] Same as above. [Figure 22] Same as above. [Figure 23] Same as above. [Figure 24] Same as above. [Diagram 25] Same as above. [Figure 26] Same as above. [Figure 27] Same as above. [Figure 28] Same as above. [Figure 29] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing digital comics according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, as well as the methods for achieving them, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and may be embodied in various different forms, and the embodiments are provided solely for the purpose of making the disclosure complete and fully conveying the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains, and the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims.

[0017] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in the sense commonly understood by a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless they are clearly and specifically defined.

[0018] The terms used in the present specification are for the purpose of describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In the present specification, the singular form includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. The words "comprise" and / or "comprising" used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements other than the elements mentioned.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same elements.

[0020] First, the terms used in the present disclosure will be generally described. The explanation of the terms is intended to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, unless expressly limited in the detailed description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that the terms described below are not used to limit the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure.

[0021] 3a and 3b are diagrams for explaining the terms used in this disclosure, and are diagrams showing examples of page images of a digital comic.

[0022] 3a and 3b, a page image of a digital comic includes page regions 10, 10', cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, scene regions 30, 30', sequence regions 40, 40', and speech bubble regions 50, 50'. In Figs. 3a and 3b, each region is shown exaggerated or reduced in size compared to its actual area for ease of explanation.

[0023] The page area 10, 10' means the entire area of ​​a page image of a digital comic. That is, the size of the page image can be understood to be the size of the page area 10, 10'. The page area 10, 10' can include one or more cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26.

[0024] Cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are areas corresponding to cuts in a printed comic. A cut is the most basic unit in a printed comic and the smallest unit of a story. A cut includes content. Examples of content include pictures and text. Text may be placed around a picture or inside a speech bubble placed around a picture. Cuts can generally be distinguished from one another by a frame. The shape of the frame may include one or more of a straight line, a curve, and a free curve.

[0025] According to an embodiment, the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 may include independent cut regions and non-independent cut regions.

[0026] The independent cut regions may include a cut region 20 having an outline, a cut region 26 that may be divided by cut regions 24 and 25 having outlines arranged around it, and cut regions that are connected to each other but may be divided by comic elements. Here, comic elements may be, for example, pictures, speech bubbles, and text without speech bubbles.

[0027] Examples of cut regions that are connected to each other by comic elements but can be divided are as follows. The first example is when there is an outlier between two adjacent cut regions. The presence of an outlier means that a small part of a picture (e.g., a person's hair or hands) contained in one cut region invades the adjacent cut region. In this regard, referring to 24, 25, and 26 in FIG. 3b, it can be seen that the hair of a person contained in cut region 26 invades cut regions 24 and 25 located at the top. The second example is when two adjacent cut regions are connected by a speech bubble, and the text in the speech bubble is not cut off even when the two cut regions are divided. The second example is also when two adjacent cut regions are connected by a speech bubble and there is no text in the speech bubble. The third example is when two adjacent cut regions are connected by text without a speech bubble. Specifically, this is the case when two cut regions are connected by an onomatopoeia expressed in the narrative text (for example, "clack") or an onomatopoeia expressed in the narrative text (for example, "rattagata").

[0028] Meanwhile, the cut area 20 having an outer contour line may be understood as an area divided by continuous outer contour lines in which the proportion of straight lines is equal to or greater than a reference value, an area divided by continuous outer contour lines in which the radius of curvature of the outer contour lines is less than a reference value, or an area divided by continuous outer contour lines in which the size is equal to or greater than a reference value. Alternatively, it may be considered to correspond to a cut area 20 that is an area divided by continuous outer contour lines in which the size is equal to or greater than a reference value and the proportion of straight lines constituting the outer contour lines is equal to or greater than a reference value. However, the criteria for dividing the cut area 20 having an outer contour line are not necessarily limited to the size, the proportion of straight lines constituting the outer contour lines, the radius of curvature of the outer contour lines, etc.

[0029] A cut area 26 that does not have an outline but can be divided by cut areas 24 and 25 that do have outlines can be understood as an area that includes content, excluding areas divided by continuous outlines. In the case of a cut area 26 that does not have an outline, there is often a high difference in brightness or a high difference in hue between the corresponding cut area 26 and the surroundings of the cut area 26. Therefore, a virtual outline is formed by connecting points where the difference in brightness is equal to or greater than a reference value, and a cut area 26 that does not have an outline can be detected based on the virtual outline.

[0030] Non-independent cut regions include cut regions that have cut regions inside them, and cut regions that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be separated. Here, comic elements can be, for example, pictures, speech bubbles, and text without speech bubbles.

[0031] Examples of cut regions that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided are as follows. The first example is a case where there is a picture that is arranged across two or more cut regions. For example, unlike the above-mentioned outliers (a person's hair, hands), the first example corresponds to a case where a person's body (torso, head, arms, legs) is arranged across two or more cut regions. The second example is a case where two or more adjacent cut regions are connected by one or more speech bubbles, and when the two or more cut regions are divided, the text in the speech bubbles is cut. In this regard, referring to 21, 22, and 23 in FIG. 3a, it can be seen that the three cut regions 21, 22, and 23 arranged in the upper row are connected to each other by speech bubbles, and when the cut regions 21, 22, and 23 are divided, the text in the speech bubbles is cut. The third example is a case where one of two or more adjacent cut regions is a "meaningless" cut region or a "small size" cut region, but the cut region indicates the flow of time. An example of a meaningless cut region is a cut region where only the background is arranged without a person. The fourth example is when multiple cut areas are arranged horizontally in a paragraph and there are "further divided cut areas" in the vertical direction. The fifth example is when multiple cut areas are arranged vertically in a paragraph and there are "further divided cut areas" in the horizontal direction. The sixth example is when multiple cut areas are arranged horizontally in a paragraph and there are one or more cut areas with different heights.

[0032] That is, according to the above example, non-independent cut regions may be understood to correspond to regions that include cut regions that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be separated for the sake of reader readability.

[0033] The scene areas 30 and 30' refer to areas that readers focus on among the cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 included in the page area 10. According to one embodiment, an independent cut area containing an amount of information equal to or greater than a reference value among the independent cut areas and non-independent cut areas, or a non-independent cut area containing an amount of information equal to or greater than a reference value, may be determined as a scene area. According to another embodiment, a non-independent cut area may be determined as a scene area 30 and 30' regardless of the amount of information of the independent cut area or the non-independent cut area. Figures 3a and 3b show a case where a non-independent cut area is determined as a scene area 30 and 30'.

[0034] The sequence area 40, 40' means an area including all contents in the page area 10, 10'. In other words, the sequence area 40, 40' means an area excluding the top, bottom, left and right margins from the edge of the page area 10, 10'. Therefore, the sequence area 40, 40' has a smaller size than the page area 10, 10'. For example, the outer line of the sequence area 40, 40' may be defined by an outer line that is close to the outer line of the page area 10, 10' among the outer lines constituting one or more cut areas arranged along the outer line of the page area 10, 10'. As another example, the outer line of the sequence area 40, 40' may be defined by four straight lines that pass through the points located at the top, bottom, left and right outermost points among the points constituting the contents of the page area 10, 10'.

[0035] The speech bubble area 50, 50' means an area where text or characters are arranged. In some cases, the speech bubble area 50, 50' may not have text or characters. The speech bubble area 50, 50' may be arranged inside the cut area 20 or may be arranged protruding from the outer boundary of the cut area 20. The speech bubble area 50, 50' protruding from the outer boundary of the cut area 20 may violate the outer boundary of the adjacent cut area. The speech bubble area 50, 50' does not have a fixed shape. Instead, the speech bubble area 50, 50' may have a different brightness or color compared to the surrounding area of ​​the speech bubble area 50. Therefore, the speech bubble area 50, 50' may be detected through brightness contrast or color comparison with the surrounding area. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) may be performed on the speech bubble area 50, 50'. The character data recognized in the speech bubble areas 50, 50' may be stored and managed in a separate database, not in the database in which the digital cartoon is stored.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a digital comic book providing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 4, a digital comic book providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a user terminal 100 and a digital comic book providing device 200.

[0038] The user terminal 100 provides its identification information to the digital cartoon providing device 200 and displays the digital cartoon provided by the digital cartoon providing device 200. The user terminal 100 may include a small display device such as a mobile phone. A more detailed description of the configuration of the user terminal 100 will be given later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0039] The digital comic providing device 200 acquires identification information of the user terminal 100 and setting information related to the digital comic, and processes the already stored digital comic to suit the user terminal 100 based on the acquired identification information and setting information, and provides it to the user terminal 100.

[0040] According to the embodiment, the digital comic providing device 200 may process each page image of the digital comic according to the reference area. The reference area may be set to one of a cut area, a sequence area, and a page area. As an example, the reference area may be set directly by a user. In this case, the user may be differentially provided with information regarding selectable reference areas depending on the amount of payment made by the user. As another example, the digital comic providing device 200 may automatically set the reference area in consideration of the identification information of the user terminal 100. The reference area may be set to one of a cut area, a sequence area, and a page area, but may be changed according to each stage when each page image of the digital comic is processed.

[0041] The digital comic book providing device 200 may be a server for providing digital comic books to the user terminal 100. A more detailed description of the configuration of the digital comic book providing device 200 will be given later with reference to FIG.

[0042] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 5, the user terminal 100 may include a wireless communication unit 110, an input unit 120, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, an interface unit 160, a memory 170, a control unit 180, and a power supply unit 190.

[0044] The components shown in FIG. 5 are not essential for implementing the user terminal 100, so the user terminal 100 described herein may have more or less components than those illustrated above.

[0045] More specifically, the wireless communication unit 110 among the components may include one or more components that enable wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and a wireless communication system (not shown), wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and another user terminal (not shown), or wireless communication between the user terminal 100 and an external server (not shown). Also, the wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more components that connect the user terminal 100 to one or more networks. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include at least one of a broadcast receiving unit 111, a mobile communication unit 112, a wireless Internet unit 113, a short-range communication unit 114, and a location information unit 115.

[0046] The input unit 120 may include a camera 121 or an image input unit for inputting an image signal, a microphone 122 or an audio input unit for inputting an audio signal, and a user input unit 123 for receiving information input from a user. Examples of the user input unit 123 include a touch key, a mechanical key, etc. Voice data and image data collected by the input unit 120 may be analyzed and processed according to a user's control command.

[0047] The sensing unit 140 may include one or more sensors for sensing at least one of information in the user terminal 100, information on the surrounding environment surrounding the user terminal 100, and user information. For example, the sensing unit 140 may include one or more of a proximity sensor 141, an illumination sensor 142, a touch sensor, an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gravity sensor (G-sensor), a gyroscope sensor, a motion sensor, an RGB sensor, an infrared sensor (IR sensor), a finger scan sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and an optical sensor. Information sensed by two or more of the exemplified sensors may be combined and utilized.

[0048] The output unit 150 generates an output related to vision, hearing, touch, or the like. The output unit 150 may include at least one of a display unit 151, an audio output unit 152, a haptic unit 153, and an optical output unit 154. The display unit 151 may implement a touch screen by forming an interlayer structure with a touch sensor or by being integrally formed with the touch sensor. Such a touch screen may function as a user input unit 123 that provides an input interface between the user terminal 100 and a user, and may also provide an output interface between the user terminal 100 and a user.

[0049] The interface unit 160 serves as a passageway for various kinds of external devices connected to the user terminal 100. The interface unit 160 may include one or more of a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device equipped with an identification module, an audio input / output port, a video input / output port, and an earphone port. In response to an external device being connected to the interface unit 160, the user terminal 100 may perform appropriate control associated with the connected external device.

[0050] The memory 170 also stores data supporting various functions of the user terminal 100. The memory 170 can store a number of application programs (or applications) operated by the user terminal 100, and data and commands for the operation of the user terminal 100. At least some of the application programs can be downloaded from an external server through wireless communication. At least some of the application programs can be present in the user terminal 100 from the time of release for basic functions of the user terminal 100 (e.g., incoming call function, outgoing call function, message receiving function, message sending function). Meanwhile, the application programs can be stored in the memory 170, installed in the user terminal 100, and driven by the control unit 180 to perform operations or functions of the user terminal 100.

[0051] In addition to operations related to the application programs, the control unit 180 generally controls the overall operation of the user terminal 100. The control unit 180 processes signals, data, information, etc. input or output through the above-mentioned components, or runs application programs stored in the memory 170, thereby providing or processing appropriate information or functions to a user.

[0052] 5 in order to operate the application programs stored in the memory 170. Furthermore, the controller 180 may operate at least two or more of the components included in the user terminal 100 in combination with each other in order to operate the application programs.

[0053] The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source or an internal power source under the control of the control unit 180 and supplies power to each component included in the user terminal 100. The power supply unit 190 includes a battery, which may be a built-in battery or a replaceable battery.

[0054] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a digital comic book providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 6, the digital comic book providing device 200 may include an area detecting unit 210 , a character recognizing unit 220 , an effect processing unit 230 , a control unit 240 , a database 250 , and a communication unit 260 .

[0056] The database 250 stores various data necessary to provide a digital comic service to the user terminal 100. The database 250 may include a first database 251, a second database 252, and a third database 253.

[0057] The first database 251 stores user information, which may include one or more of a user's ID, password, name, identification information of the user terminal 100, and setting information related to digital comics.

[0058] The identification information of the user terminal 100 may include one or more of the following: a serial number assigned to the device, a manufacturer of the device, and a name of the device, but is not necessarily limited to the above examples. In addition, such identification information may be collected from the user terminal 100 or may be provided directly by the user.

[0059] The setting information on the digital cartoon may include various information related to a display method of the digital cartoon, such as information on a reference area applied to the digital cartoon, the type and number of effects applied to the reference area, and a criterion for generating a display change event, but is not necessarily limited to the above examples.

[0060] A display conversion event may occur when a display conversion command is received from a user, when a reference time is reached after the reference area is displayed, or when a specific point on the reference image reaches a specific point on the display as the position of the reference area is moved according to a display conversion command. Among the above examples, a criterion for generating a display conversion event may be preset, and the set content may be configurable by a user.

[0061] The display conversion command may include a voice command and a gesture command, and the gesture command may include a single tap, a double tap, a press, a deep press, a pan, a swipe, a flick, a scroll, and a drag.

[0062] Meanwhile, the display transition event may include a page image transition event and a cut area transition event. As an example, a gesture command for generating a page image transition event and a gesture command for generating a cut area transition event may be set to be different from each other. As another example, a gesture command for generating a page image transition event and a gesture command for generating a cut area transition event may be set to be the same without being distinguished.

[0063] The second database 252 stores digital comics corresponding to printed comics. There may be various methods for acquiring a digital comic based on a printed comic. For example, a digital comic can be acquired by scanning a printed comic using a scanner or photographing the printed comic using a camera. In this case, the scanning or photographing may be performed on a reference range of the printed comic. The reference range may mean two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened, or may mean one page. By performing the scanning or photographing on the reference range, a combined page image corresponding to two consecutive pages or a page image corresponding to one page can be obtained. By repeating this process on one printed comic, a digital comic consisting of multiple combined page images or a digital comic consisting of only multiple page images can be acquired.

[0064] According to an embodiment, the digital comics stored in the second database 252 may be labeled with one or more labels.

[0065] As an example, the labels may include category labels for classifying categories of digital comics, such as category labels for age ranges, category labels for countries of publication, category labels for languages ​​of publication, category labels for genres, and category labels for subjects.

[0066] As another example, the label may include an eye flow information label that indicates a cut region where the eye flow begins in the page image.

[0067] More specifically, South Korea uses a left-hand binding method, where the book is bound on the left side. Therefore, printed comics published in South Korea have pages that are turned from right side to left side. Therefore, when a printed comic is opened, the eye moves from the left page to the right page. Also, within a page, the eye moves from the upper left side of the page to the upper right side, lower left, and lower right. Therefore, in a digital comic page image, the eye moves from the upper left side to the upper right side, lower left, and lower right.

[0068] In contrast, Japan uses a right-hand binding method, where the book is bound on the right side. Therefore, printed comics published in Japan have pages that are turned from left to right. Therefore, when a printed comic is opened, the eye starts from the right page and moves to the left page. Also, within a page, the eye starts from the top right of the page and progresses to the top left, bottom right, and bottom left. Therefore, in a digital comic page image, the eye also starts from the top right and progresses to the top left, bottom right, and bottom left.

[0069] As described above, the overall direction of gaze flow and the starting position of gaze flow differ for printed comics depending on the country the printed comics were originally published in. Therefore, if the information of the cut area where the gaze flow starts is labeled as a gaze flow information label in the digital comic, it is not necessary to perform separate image processing to detect the starting position of the gaze flow in each page image, and therefore resources required for image processing can be reduced.

[0070] Of course, a digital cartoon can be labeled with more various kinds of labels in addition to those exemplified above. Furthermore, labeling of a digital cartoon can be performed manually or automatically.

[0071] The third database 253 stores the character data recognized in the balloon region 50 of the page image. The character data stored in the third database 253 may be processed so that one or more of font, size, and effect are suitable for the user terminal 100, and then displayed through the user terminal 100. Whether or not the character data is processed may be set in advance by a user of the digital comic service or a provider of the digital comic service, and the set information may be configurable.

[0072] In the above description, the digital comic book providing device 200 includes all of the first database 251 to the third database 253, but one or more of them may be included in an external server (not shown). In this case, the digital comic book providing device 200 can communicate with the external server to obtain data required to provide the digital comic book service.

[0073] The area detection unit 210 detects areas from each page image of the digital comic. Here, the area means one or more of the page area 10, cut areas 20, 21, and 22, scene area 30, sequence area 40, and speech bubble area 50 described above.

[0074] According to an embodiment, the area detection unit 210 detects an area for one page image. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic book consisting of multiple page images, the area detection unit 210 detects an area for each page image.

[0075] According to another embodiment, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from the combined page image. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic book composed of a plurality of combined page images, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from each combined page image. In this case, the area detection unit 210 first detects two consecutive page images from the combined page image.

[0076] The detected page image may be rearranged along a reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. The first direction means a vertical direction from top to bottom. The second direction means a horizontal direction from left to right. The third direction means a horizontal direction from right to left. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic corresponding to a printed comic whose initial publishing country is the Republic of Korea, the page image detected from the merged page image may be rearranged in the second direction.

[0077] When a page image is prepared, the area detection unit 210 detects a contour line from the page image, detects a candidate area based on feature information of the detected contour line, and determines the detected candidate area as one of an independent cut area, a non-independent cut area, and a speech balloon area.

[0078] To detect independent cut regions, the region detection unit 210 may check whether there are any candidate regions that are separated by outlines among the candidate regions, compare the sizes between the candidate regions, check whether the candidate regions are connected by cartoon elements, or check whether the candidate regions connected by cartoon elements can be separated.

[0079] As an example, the area detection unit 210 detects an area divided by a continuous outline from among the candidate areas. In this case, not only the outline dividing the cut area 20 but also the outline of the content may be detected in the area divided by the continuous outline. Therefore, the area detection unit 210 detects, as the cut area 20, only an area in which the proportion of straight lines included in the outline is equal to or greater than a reference value from among the detected areas.

[0080] Thereafter, the area detection unit 210 detects as a cut area (see 26 in FIG. 3b) an area including content, excluding the detected cut area 20. In this way, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the cut area 26, the outline of which is not defined, is excluded from detection targets.

[0081] According to another embodiment, the area detection unit 210 may convert the page image into a grayscale image in order to detect the cut area 26 whose outline is not defined, and then generate a virtual outline by connecting points whose brightness difference with the surroundings is equal to or greater than a reference value, and detect the cut area 26 based on the virtual outline.

[0082] To detect the speech bubble region 50, the region detection unit 210 can compare the brightness and hue between the candidate region and the surrounding region. As a result, a candidate region having a brightness contrast with the surrounding region equal to or greater than a reference value or a color relative ratio with the surrounding region equal to or greater than a reference value is detected as the speech bubble region 50. The detected speech bubble region 50 can be subjected to optical character recognition by the character recognition unit 220, which will be described later.

[0083] To detect non-independent cut regions, the region detection unit 210 can compare positions between candidate regions, determine whether the candidate regions are connected by comic elements, or determine whether candidate regions connected by comic elements are in a state where they can be divided.

[0084] As an example, when a second cut region exists within a first cut region, the region detection section 210 detects the first cut region as a non-independent cut region.

[0085] As another example, if two or more adjacent candidate regions are connected by comic elements but cannot be separated, the region detection unit 210 detects the corresponding candidate regions as non-independent cut regions.

[0086] When the detection of the cut areas including the independent cut area 20 and / or the non-independent cut areas 21, 22, 23 is completed, the area detection unit 210 detects a scene area based on the detected cut areas. According to an embodiment, when the amount of information contained in each detected cut area is calculated, the scene area 30 may be detected as a cut area containing an amount of information equal to or greater than a reference value. This is because the scene area 30 is an area of ​​the page area 10 where a reader focuses on looking, and is therefore likely to contain a large amount of information regarding straight lines, curves, hues, etc. According to another embodiment, the scene area 30 may be determined as a non-independent cut area among the independent cut area 20 and the non-independent cut areas 21, 22, 23.

[0087] After detecting the scene area 30, the area detection unit 210 detects the sequence area 40 based on the cut areas that are arranged along the outline of the page area 10 among the detected cut areas. At this time, the sequence area 40 may be detected in various ways. The method of detecting the sequence area 40 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

[0088] The detection of cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, the detection of scene region 30, the detection of speech bubble region 50, and the detection of sequence region 40 may be performed in a predetermined order. However, the region detection is not necessarily performed in the predetermined order, and the region detection order may be changed depending on the circumstances, and detection of different regions may be performed simultaneously.

[0089] When detection of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, the scene region 30, the sequence region 40, and the speech bubble region 50 is completed, the region detection unit 210 assigns sequential numbers to the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 according to the reader's line of sight. As an example, if the country where the printed comic corresponding to the digital comic was originally published is the Republic of Korea, the reader's line of sight within the page of the printed comic starts from the upper left side of the page and moves to the upper right side, lower left side, and lower right side in that order. Therefore, the region detection unit 210 assigns sequential numbers corresponding to the line of sight in consideration of the positions of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 within the page image of the digital comic.

[0090] On the other hand, the sequential number may be newly assigned for each page image. As another example, the sequential number may be newly assigned for every two consecutive page images. As yet another example, the sequential number may be assigned for all page images included in the digital comic.

[0091] Information on the cut area located at the point where the reader's gaze flow begins among the assigned sequential numbers can be labeled in the digital comic as a gaze flow information label.

[0092] The above explanation has been given with an example of a case where sequential numbers are assigned to cut areas after all areas have been detected in a page image, but the sequential numbers may also be assigned after detection of the scene area 30 has been completed.

[0093] In the above description, the cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23 and the scene area 30 are described separately. However, this is for the convenience of description, and the scene area 30 can be understood as a cut area that matches a specific criterion among the cut areas detected from the page image. Therefore, in the following description, "sequential numbers are assigned to the cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23" can mean that sequential numbers are assigned to the cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23 and the scene area 30.

[0094] Meanwhile, in order to perform the above-mentioned operation, the region detection unit 210 may include an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model may be trained in advance using a large number of page images as training data. As a training method, supervised learning or unsupervised learning may be used. In the case of supervised learning, labeling data in which information on cut regions, speech bubble regions, scene regions, and sequence regions is labeled on a page image may be used as training data. In the case of unsupervised learning, region detection may be performed on a large number of unlabeled page images, and then the accuracy of the region detection result may be determined by a human being and fed back to the artificial intelligence model.

[0095] The character recognition unit 220 recognizes characters by performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the speech bubble region 50 detected from the page image. The recognized character data may be stored in the third database 253. The character data stored in the third database 253 may be subsequently processed into a form suitable for the user terminal 100 in terms of font, size, and effect, and then displayed through the user terminal 100. According to another embodiment, voice data corresponding to the character data may be provided to the user terminal 100.

[0096] The effect processor 230 applies image effects to one or more of the page image, the area detected from the page image, and the character data recognized from the page image. The image effects may include enlargement, reduction, position shift, appearance position, shaking, blurring, transparency adjustment, hiding process, unhiding, and overlay.

[0097] Among the exemplified effects, the "appearing position" may be associated with the rearrangement direction of the page area. As an example, if the position where the page image appears is set to the bottom side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page image may be rearranged in a first direction. As another example, if the position where the page image appears is set to the right side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page image may be rearranged in a second direction. As yet another example, if the position where the page image appears is set to the left side of the display of the user terminal 100, the page image may be rearranged in a third direction.

[0098] Although the above describes an example in which the layout direction of the page image is determined based on the setting information related to the "appearing position," the opposite is also possible. That is, if the layout direction of the page image is set to the first direction, the "appearing position" of the region may be automatically set to appear at the bottom of the display.

[0099] According to the embodiment, the exemplified image effects may be applied alone, or two or more image effects may be applied simultaneously. The number and type of effects to be applied to a specific object may be set directly by a user, or may be automatically set according to at least one of the size, width, length, and amount of information of the object to which the image effect is applied.

[0100] The control unit 240 may connect and control each component constituting the digital comic book providing device 200. As an example, the control unit 240 may rearrange page images constituting the digital comic book according to a preset direction. As another example, the control unit 240 may detect a display transition event.

[0101] The communication unit 260 performs wireless communication between the digital comic book providing device 200 and the user terminal 100 .

[0102] The digital comic book providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to Fig. 6. Some of the components illustrated in Fig. 6 may be configured to be included in the user terminal 100. For example, one or more of the area detection unit 210, the character recognition unit 220, and the effect processing unit 230 may be configured to be included in the user terminal 100.

[0103] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method for detecting a sequence region from a page image.

[0104] The left side of Fig. 7 shows a page image, and the right side of Fig. 7 shows sequence regions detected from the page image.

[0105] 7, the page image includes a first cut area to a fourth cut area. Here, it can be seen that the first cut area to the fourth cut area are arranged offset from each other. When such a page image is displayed as it is through a user terminal 100 such as a mobile phone, a relatively large amount of blank space is generated compared to the contents included in the page area 10 (i.e., the first cut area to the fourth cut area).

[0106] The digital comic providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects cut regions from a page image, and then detects sequence regions based on the detected cut regions. Various methods for detecting sequence regions will be described below.

[0107] FIG. 7A shows a case where sequence areas are detected while maintaining the existing positions of all cut areas detected from the page image.

[0108] FIG. 7B shows a case where the cut area detected from the page image is moved horizontally within the page area and aligned to the center, and then the sequence area is detected based on the outermost outline of the outlines constituting the center-aligned cut area. Here, the third cut area and the fourth cut area are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. And, "c", which is the overall horizontal length including the horizontal length of the third cut area, the horizontal length of the fourth cut area, and the cut interval between the third cut area and the fourth cut area, is longer than "d1", which is the horizontal length of the remaining cut area. Therefore, the third cut area and the fourth cut area are excluded from the horizontal movement for center alignment. And, the first cut area and the second cut area are moved horizontally so as to be located on a vertical line passing through the center of the entire area including the third and fourth cut areas.

[0109] 7C shows a state in which the first and second cut regions, which have a width shorter than that of the sequence region, are expanded to fit the sequence region in the state of FIG. 7B. In this case, the first and second cut regions are expanded in the horizontal and vertical directions at the same time, but the width of the first and second cut regions is expanded within a range that does not exceed the width of the sequence region.

[0110] Next, the overall process of providing a digital comic to the user terminal 100 will be described with reference to Figs. 8 to 28. Prior to the description, the digital comic described below will be described by taking as an example a digital comic composed of combined page images acquired from a right-bound printed comic. It is also assumed that each combined page image does not have a cut area that is located across two consecutive page images. It is also assumed that the state of the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode out of portrait mode and landscape mode.

[0111] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an integrated page image that constitutes a digital comic.

[0112] 8, the digital comic includes a first integrated page image 6 and a second integrated page image 8. The first integrated page image 6 includes a first page image 60 and a second page image 70. The second integrated page image 8 includes a third page image 80 and a fourth page image 90. In this case, the reader's line of sight progresses in the order of the first page image 60, the second page image 70, the third page image 80, and the fourth page image 90.

[0113] The area detection unit 210 detects page areas from each of the combined page images 6 and 8. At this time, the area detection unit 210 can detect two consecutive page images 60 and 70 by dividing the combined page image 6 along a virtual vertical line passing through the center point of the horizontal length of the combined page image 6. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the first combined page image 6 is divided into the first page image 60 and the second page image 70, and a state in which the second combined page image 8 is divided into the third page image 80 and the fourth page image 90.

[0114] The control unit 240 rearranges the detected page images 60, 70, 80, and 90 along a reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. FIG. 10 shows some page images 60 and 70 among the page images rearranged along the first direction. Although only the first page image 60 and the second page image 70 are shown in FIG. 10, the third page image 80 and the fourth page image 90 are arranged in order along the first direction after the second page image 70. Also, referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that "60A" and "70A" are used as reference numerals for indicating the sequence area of ​​the first page image 60 and the sequence area of ​​the second page image 70, respectively. Therefore, although not shown in FIG. 10, "80A" and "90A" may be used as reference numerals for indicating the sequence area of ​​the third page image 80 and the sequence area of ​​the fourth page image 90 in the following description and drawings.

[0115] Thereafter, the area detection unit 210 detects areas from the rearranged page images. That is, one or more of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a speech bubble area are detected from each page image. At this time, the area detection may be performed sequentially or simultaneously, and the area to be preferentially detected may change depending on the case. Referring to FIG. 10, it can be seen that four independent cut areas 61, 62, 63, and 64 and a sequence area 60A are detected in the first page image 60. And, it can be seen that one independent cut area 71, one non-independent cut area 72, and a sequence area 70A are detected in the second page image 70. The dotted line indicating the non-independent cut area 72 and the dashed line indicating the sequence area 70A in the second page image are exaggerated compared to the actually detected non-independent cut area 72 and sequence area 70A.

[0116] Meanwhile, when detecting the sequence region, the region detection unit 210 may detect the sequence region based on the method described with reference to FIG. 7. As an example, the region detection unit 210 may detect the sequence region 60A while maintaining the existing positions of all the cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 detected from the first page image 60. As another example, the region detection unit 210 may detect the sequence region 60A while aligning the positions of the cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 at the center. As yet another example, the region detection unit 210 may detect the sequence region 60A while aligning the positions of the cut regions 61, 62, 63, and 64 at the center, and the effect processing unit 230 may expand the size of some of the cut regions to fit the sequence region.

[0117] After that, the area detection unit 210 assigns sequential numbers according to the line of sight to the cut areas detected from each page image. In the case of Fig. 10, the line of sight starts from the first independent cut area 61 of the first page image 60, proceeds to the second independent cut area 62, the third independent cut area 63, and the fourth independent cut area 64, and then proceeds to the first independent cut area 71 and the first non-independent cut area 72 of the second page image 70. Therefore, the sequential numbers are assigned according to the above-mentioned order.

[0118] After that, the effects processor 230 adjusts the size of the detected sequence areas 60A, 70A to match the size of the display of the user terminal 100.

[0119] As an example, the effect processor 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the horizontal length of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the horizontal length and vertical length of the sequence area 60A, 70A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is longer than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processor 230 reduces the overall size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the horizontal length of the display. If the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is shorter than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processor 230 expands the overall size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the horizontal length of the display.

[0120] As another example, the effect processor 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the vertical length of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the horizontal length and vertical length of the sequence area 60A, 70A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is longer than the vertical length of the display, the effect processor 230 reduces the overall size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the vertical length of the display. If the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is shorter than the vertical length of the display, the effect processor 230 expands the overall size of each sequence area 60A, 70A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 60A, 70A is the same as the vertical length of the display.

[0121] For convenience of explanation, the following description will be given by way of example of a case in which the overall size of each of the sequence areas 60A, 70A is adjusted based on the horizontal length of each of the sequence areas 60A, 70A and the horizontal length of the display.

[0122] Thereafter, the effect processor 230 directly or relatively emphasizes the cut area corresponding to the current order among the cut areas in the sequence area.

[0123] Examples of methods for directly highlighting the cut area corresponding to the current order include enlarging the cut area, highlighting the outline of the cut area, highlighting the content contained in the cut area, and changing the color of the cut area.

[0124] As a method for relatively emphasizing a cut area corresponding to a current sequence, a method for reducing the amount of information of the entire sequence area and then superimposing the corresponding cut area before the amount of information reduction on the sequence area with the reduced amount of information can be exemplified. As a method for reducing the amount of information of a sequence area, a method for applying one or more image effects to the sequence area, including a blur effect, a smooth edge effect, a round corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect, can be exemplified.

[0125] Another method for relatively emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order may be to reduce the amount of information of the remaining area excluding the cut area corresponding to the current order in the sequence area. For example, by applying one or more image effects from among a blur effect, a smooth edge effect, a round corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect to the remaining area excluding the cut area corresponding to the current order in the sequence area, it is possible to obtain an effect of relatively emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order.

[0126] Another method for relatively highlighting the cut area corresponding to the current order is to hide the remaining area except the cut area corresponding to the current order in the sequence area. This method can be realized by using a clip path. Clip path is one of the attributes of CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) and is used when only a certain area of ​​the original image is to be displayed.

[0127] Meanwhile, the effect processor 230 highlights the cut area corresponding to the current order and moves the position of the sequence area so that the reference point of the cut area is located at the reference point of the display. At this time, the reference point of the cut area corresponding to the current order may be the center of the cut area. And, the reference point of the display may be the center of the display. According to an embodiment, whether to highlight only the cut area or to move the position of the sequence area as a whole while highlighting the cut area may be set in advance, and the set information may be embodied in a manner that can be changed by a user and / or a provider of the digital comic book service.

[0128] In the above description, the cut area corresponding to the current order is directly or relatively highlighted, and then the position of the sequence area is moved so that the reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at the reference point of the display. However, this is for convenience of description, and the highlighting of the cut area of ​​the current order may be performed after the positional movement of the sequence area is started first. Alternatively, the highlighting of the cut area of ​​the current order and the positional movement of the sequence area may be performed simultaneously without distinction of order.

[0129] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an image effect for reducing the amount of information is applied to a sequence region 60A extracted from the first page image 60 of FIG.

[0130] 11A is a diagram showing a sequence area 60AA to which a blur effect has been applied. It can be seen that the sequence area 60AA to which the blur effect has been applied is blurred overall compared to the sequence area 60A before the blur effect has been applied.

[0131] FIG. 11B shows a sequence area 60AB to which a smooth edge effect has been applied. It can be seen that the sequence area 60AB to which the smooth edge effect has been applied is generally blurred compared to the sequence area 60A before the smooth edge effect has been applied. In particular, it can be seen that the edge of the sequence area 60AB is more blurred compared to the center of the sequence area 60AB. In the following description, a case where the smooth edge effect has been applied to the sequence areas 60A, 70A, 80A, and 90A of the page images 60, 70, 80, and 90 shown in FIG. 9 will be described as an example. In addition, the sequence areas to which the smooth edge effect has been applied may be classified into the reference symbols "60AB", "70AB", "80AB", and "90AB", respectively.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 11, when a sequence area with a reduced amount of information is prepared, the effect processor 230 overlaps the cut area corresponding to the current order on the same cut area as the cut area corresponding to the current order among the cut areas included in the sequence area with a reduced amount of information. That is, the cut area of ​​the current order in the sequence area before the amount of information was reduced is overlapped on the cut area of ​​the current order in the sequence area with a reduced amount of information. Then, the position of the sequence area and the position of the cut area overlapped on the sequence area are moved so that the center of the cut area corresponding to the current order is located at the center of the display. For a more detailed description of this, please refer to FIG. 12 to FIG. 28.

[0133] 12 to 28 are diagrams showing the page image shown in FIG. 9 being displayed through the user terminal 100. In FIG.

[0134] 12, it can be seen that the first independent cut area 61 in the sequence area 60A before the amount of information was reduced is superimposed on the sequence area 60AB in which the amount of information has been reduced after detection from the first page image 60. It can also be seen that the sequence area 60AB is moved so that the center of the superimposed first independent cut area 61 is positioned at the center of the display.

[0135] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 12, the second independent scene area 62 in the sequence area 60A before the amount of information was reduced is newly superimposed on the sequence area 60AB, and the position of the sequence area 60AB gradually moves so that the center of the superimposed second independent scene area 62 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 14 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 13.

[0136] 13, as the position of the sequence area 60AB moves, the first independent cut area 61 overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes blurred, but the second independent cut area 62 newly overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the second independent cut area 62 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 14 is displayed.

[0137] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 14, the third independent scene area 63 in the sequence area 60A before the amount of information was reduced is newly superimposed on the sequence area 60AB, and the position of the sequence area 60AB gradually moves so that the center of the superimposed third independent scene area 63 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 16 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 15.

[0138] 15, as the position of the sequence area 60AB moves, the second independent cut area 62 overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes blurred, but the third independent cut area 63 newly overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the third independent cut area 63 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 16 is displayed.

[0139] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 16, the fourth independent scene area 64 in the sequence area 60A before the amount of information was reduced is newly superimposed on the sequence area 60AB, and the position of the sequence area 60AB gradually moves so that the center of the superimposed fourth independent scene area 64 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 18 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 17.

[0140] 17, as the position of the sequence area 60AB moves, the third independent cut area 63 overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes blurred, but the fourth independent cut area 64 newly overlapping the sequence area 60AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the fourth independent cut area 64 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 18 is displayed.

[0141] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 18, the first independent cut area 71 in the second sequence area 70A before the amount of information was reduced is overlapped on the second sequence area 70AB with the amount of information reduced, and the positions of the first sequence area 60AB and the second sequence area 70AB gradually move together so that the center of the overlapped first independent cut area 71 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 20 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 19.

[0142] 19, as the positions of the sequence regions 60AB and 70AB move together, the fourth independent cut region 64 overlapping the first sequence region 60AB gradually becomes blurred, while the first independent cut region 71 newly overlapping the second sequence region 70AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the first independent cut region 71 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 20 is displayed. Referring to FIG. 20, it can be seen that the first sequence region 60AB has completely disappeared from the screen.

[0143] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 20, the first non-independent cut region 72 in the sequence region 70A before the amount of information is reduced is overlapped on the sequence region 70AB, and the position of the sequence region 70AB gradually moves so that the center of the overlapped first non-independent cut region 72 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 22 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 21.

[0144] 21, as the position of the sequence area 70AB moves, the first independent cut area 71 overlapping the sequence area 70AB gradually becomes blurred, but the newly overlapped first non-independent cut area 72 gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the first non-independent cut area 72 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 22 is displayed.

[0145] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 22, the first non-independent cut area 81 in the third sequence area 80A before the amount of information was reduced is overlapped on the third sequence area 80AB with the amount of information reduced, and the positions of the second sequence area 70AB and the third sequence area 80AB gradually move together so that the center of the overlapped first non-independent cut area 81 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 24 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 23.

[0146] 23, as the positions of the sequence regions 70AB and 80AB move together, the first non-independent cut region 72 overlapping the second sequence region 70AB gradually becomes blurred, whereas the first non-independent cut region 81 overlapping the third sequence region 80AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the newly overlapped first non-independent cut region 81 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 24 is displayed.

[0147] When a display change event occurs in the state of Fig. 24, the first non-independent cut area 91 in the fourth sequence area 90A before the amount of information was reduced is overlapped on the fourth sequence area 90AB with the amount of information reduced, and the positions of the third sequence area 80AB and the fourth sequence area 90AB are gradually moved together so that the center of the overlapped first non-independent cut area 91 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 26 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 25.

[0148] 25, as the positions of the sequence regions 80AB and 90AB move together, the first non-independent cut region 81 overlapped with the third sequence region 80AB gradually becomes blurred, whereas the first non-independent cut region 91 overlapped with the fourth sequence region 90AB gradually becomes clearer. When the center of the newly overlapped first non-independent cut region 91 reaches the center of the display, the screen of FIG. 26 is displayed.

[0149] When a display change event occurs on the screen of Fig. 26, the second independent scene area 92 in the sequence area 90AB before the amount of information was reduced is overlapped on the sequence area 90AB, and the position of the sequence area 90AB is moved so that the center of the overlapped second independent scene area 92 is located at the center of the display. That is, the screen of Fig. 28 is displayed via the screen of Fig. 27.

[0150] FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing digital comics according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0151] When a request signal for a digital cartoon is received from the user terminal 100, the requested digital cartoon is searched for in the second database 252.

[0152] Then, page images are obtained from the searched digital comic (S510). The step S510 may include a step of obtaining a plurality of page images if the searched digital comic is a digital comic consisting of a plurality of page images, and a step of detecting two page images from each of the plurality of integrated page images if the searched digital comic is a digital comic consisting of a plurality of integrated page images.

[0153] The acquired page image is rearranged along a reference direction (S530). The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction. The first direction means a vertical direction from top to bottom. The second direction means a horizontal direction from left to right. The third direction means a horizontal direction from right to left. According to one embodiment, the reference direction may be determined based on a label labeled on the digital comic. Specifically, if a label related to the country in which the digital comic was originally published is labeled on the digital comic, the page image may be rearranged in the second or third direction based on the label. According to another embodiment, the reference direction may be preset by a user of the digital comic service or a provider of the digital comic service.

[0154] Then, one or more of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a speech bubble area are detected for each rearranged page image (S530). According to one embodiment, the step S530 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while maintaining the existing positions of all cut areas detected from the page image (see FIG. 7A). According to another embodiment, the step S530 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while the positions of the cut areas detected from the page image are center-aligned (see FIG. 7B). According to still another embodiment, the step S530 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while the positions of the cut areas detected from the page image are center-aligned, and enlarging the size of a cut area having a width shorter than the width of the sequence area to match the size of the sequence area.

[0155] Thereafter, the detected cut areas are assigned sequential numbers according to the reader's line of sight (S540).

[0156] Thereafter, the size of the sequence region is adjusted according to the size of the display of the user terminal 100 (S550). According to one embodiment, the step S550 includes a step of adjusting the size of the sequence region such that the width of the sequence region is the same as the width of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the width and height of the sequence region may be adjusted at the same ratio. According to another embodiment, the step S550 includes a step of adjusting the size of the sequence region such that the height of the sequence region is the same as the height of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the width and height of the sequence region may be adjusted at the same ratio.

[0157] Thereafter, a display conversion event occurs, and the cut area corresponding to the current order is directly or relatively emphasized (S560). Examples of a method for directly emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order include a method for enlarging the cut area, a method for emphasizing the outline of the cut area, a method for emphasizing the content included in the cut area, and a method for changing the color of the cut area. Examples of a method for relatively emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order include a method for reducing the amount of information of the sequence area and then superimposing the corresponding cut area on the sequence area with the reduced amount of information. Examples of a method for reducing the amount of information of the sequence area include a method for applying one or more image effects to the sequence area, including a blur effect, a smooth edge effect, a round corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect. Examples of another method for relatively emphasizing the cut area corresponding to the current order include a clip path.

[0158] When the cut area corresponding to the current order is directly emphasized in step S560, if the cut area is a scene area, an image effect may be additionally applied to highlight the fact that it is a scene area. For example, if the cut area corresponding to the current order is enlarged in order to directly emphasize the cut area, a swing effect may be applied to the enlarged cut area in order to emphasize that the cut area is a sequence area. As another example, if a frame of a specific color is displayed on the outline of the cut area in order to directly emphasize the cut area corresponding to the current order, a blinking effect may be applied to the displayed frame in order to emphasize that the cut area is a sequence area.

[0159] Then, the position of the sequence area is moved so that the reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at the reference point of the display (S570). According to one embodiment, the reference point of the cut area may be the center point of the cut area, and the reference point of the display may be the center point of the display. However, the reference point of the cut area and the reference point of the display may be specified differently from those illustrated. For example, the reference point of the cut area may be the center point of the right side of the outline of the cut area, and the reference point of the display may be the center point of the right side of the display.

[0160] A method for providing digital comics according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to FIG. 29. Some steps in FIG. 29 may be omitted, their order may be changed, or they may be performed simultaneously with other steps depending on the embodiment. As an example, steps S520 to S540 may be performed in the order of S530, S540, S520, or in the order of S530, S520, S540. As another example, steps S560 and S570 may be performed in a different order or simultaneously.

[0161] According to one embodiment, the execution subject of each step shown in Fig. 29 may be the digital comic book providing device 200. According to another embodiment, the execution subject of each step shown in Fig. 29 may be the user terminal 100. According to still another embodiment, the execution subject of some steps among the steps shown in Fig. 29 may be the digital comic book providing device 200, and the execution subject of the remaining steps may be the user terminal 100.

[0162] The embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. In the above description, the components constituting the user terminal 100 in FIG. 5 and the digital comic book providing device 200 in FIG. 6 may be embodied as modules. The module means software or hardware components such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the module performs a specific function. However, the module is not limited to software or hardware. The module may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and configured to execute one or more processors.

[0163] Thus, by way of example, modules include components such as software components, object oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided by the components and modules may be combined into a smaller number of components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

[0164] Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be embodied in the form of a recording medium storing instructions executable by a computer. The instructions may be stored in the form of program code, and when executed by a processor, may generate program modules to perform the operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be embodied in a computer-readable recording medium.

[0165] The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording media in which computer-readable instructions are stored, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic tape, magnetic disk, flash memory, optical data storage device, etc.

[0166] The computer-readable recording medium may also be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the term "non-transitory storage medium" simply means a tangible device that does not include a signal (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and this term does not distinguish between data that is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and data that is temporarily stored in the storage medium. For example, the "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0167] According to an embodiment, the method according to the various embodiments disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between a seller and a buyer as a commodity. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable recording medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed through an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable app) may be at least temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable recording medium such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store server, or an intermediary server.

[0168] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure can be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. [Industrial Applicability]

[0169] The above-described method, device, and system for providing digital cartoons can be applied to the field of digital cartoon services that provide digital cartoons based on printed cartoons on a display device.

Claims

1. obtaining page images from a digital comic based on a printed comic; repositioning the captured page image along a reference direction; detecting one or more cut regions for each of the relocated page images and sequence regions from an edge of the page image excluding white space; assigning a sequential number to the one or more detected cut regions according to a reader's line of sight; adjusting a size of the detected sequence region according to a size of a display of a user terminal; highlighting a cut area corresponding to a current sequence based on the assigned sequence number when a display transition event occurs; and moving a position of a sequence area including the highlighted cut area such that a reference point of the highlighted cut area is located at a reference point of the display; The one or more cut areas include one or more of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

2. The method for providing digital comics as described in claim 1, characterized in that the front and rear independent cut areas include one or more of a cut area with an outer boundary, a cut area that does not have an outer boundary but can be separated by a cut area with an outer boundary, and a cut area that is connected to each other by comic elements but can be separated.

3. The method for providing digital comics as described in claim 2, characterized in that the cut areas that can be divided include one or more of two cut areas with outliers, two cut areas connected to each other by a speech bubble but in which the text in the speech bubble is not cut when the cut area is divided, and two cut areas connected by text without a speech bubble.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-independent cut areas include one or more of a cut area having a cut area therein and a cut area that is connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided.

5. The method for providing digital comics as described in claim 4, characterized in that the cut areas that cannot be divided include one or more of two or more cut areas that are arranged across a picture, two or more cut areas that are connected to each other by a speech bubble but in which the narrative text in the speech bubble is cut if divided, two or more cut areas including a cut area for indicating the flow of time, and two or more cut areas that are divided in a paragraph in which a plurality of cut areas are arranged in a first direction in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

6. The digital comic is: The digital comic includes at least one of a first digital comic consisting of at least one page image and a second digital comic consisting of at least one integrated page image, The one or more page images are images based on one or more pages constituting the printed comic, The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more integrated page images are images based on two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of acquiring the page image includes the step of detecting two page images from the one or more integrated page images when the digital comic is the second digital comic.

8. The method for providing digital comics as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the adjusting step includes a step of adjusting the size of the detected sequence area so that the width of the detected sequence area is the same as the width of the display when the state of the user terminal is in a portrait mode, and adjusting the width and height of the detected sequence area in the same ratio.

9. The highlighting step comprises: directly highlighting a cut area corresponding to the current order; 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method of directly highlighting the cut area corresponding to the current order includes at least one of a method of enlarging the size of the cut area, a method of highlighting the outline of the cut area, a method of highlighting the content included in the cut area, and a method of changing the color of the cut area.

10. The highlighting step comprises: reducing the information content of the detected sequence region; and superimposing a cut region corresponding to the current sequence on the sequence region having the reduced amount of information; The method for reducing the amount of information in the detected sequence region includes: The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying one or more image effects to the detected sequence region, the image effects being a blur effect, a smooth edge effect, a rounded corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect.

11. The highlighting step comprises: reducing an amount of information of a remaining area of ​​the detected sequence area excluding a cut area corresponding to the current order; The method for reducing the amount of information in the detected sequence region includes: The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying one or more image effects to the remaining area, including a blur effect, a smooth edge effect, a round corner effect, a transparency effect, and a crop effect.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlighting step comprises hiding remaining areas of the detected sequence area except for a cut area corresponding to the current order.

13. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program including commands for executing each step of the method for providing a digital comic book according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. one or more processors; and one or more memories configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations; The one or more processors: Get page images from digital comics based on printed comics, repositioning the acquired page image along a reference direction; Detecting one or more cut regions for each of the rearranged page images and a sequence region from an edge of the page image excluding white space; assigning a sequential number to the one or more detected cut regions according to the reader's line of sight; Adjusting the size of the detected sequence region to fit the size of a display of a user terminal; When a display transition event occurs, highlighting a cut area corresponding to a current sequence based on the assigned sequence number; a position of a sequence region including the highlighted cut region is moved so that a reference point of the highlighted cut region is located at a reference point of the display; The one or more cut areas include at least one of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

Images