Digital manga providing method, device and system

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; detecting one or more cut areas and a sequence area obtained by excluding margins from the edges of the page image for each acquired page image; assigning an order to the detected one or more cut areas according to a reader's line of sight; adjusting a size of the detected sequence area to match the size of a display of the user terminal based on the posture of the user terminal and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area; setting a mask layer including a viewport area for displaying content of the digital comic; and displaying the cut area of ​​the current order in the size-adjusted sequence area through the viewport area, wherein the one or more cut areas include one or more of independent cut areas and non-independent cut areas.

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 line with this trend, there are ongoing attempts to convert comic books and magazines already published in print format into digital data for further use.

[0003] One 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 then be appropriately processed to generate a digital comic.

[0004] However, while digital comics acquired in this manner do not pose any particular problems when viewed on a digital device with a relatively large display size, such as a personal computer or an e-book reader, various problems arise when viewed 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 movement in a digital comic is more complicated than that in a webtoon. Therefore, when a digital comic 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 page is simply reduced in size 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 will be reduced as the size of the digital comic page is reduced.

[0006] To solve this problem, a method has been proposed in which cutting areas of digital comics are divided and rearranged in a format similar to that of webtoons. However, this method has the disadvantage that the continuity between cutting areas is not maintained due to the divided and rearranged cutting areas. In addition, this method has the limitation that it can only be used smoothly in a specific position of a small display device, for example, in portrait mode. 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 regardless of the orientation of a small display device and maintain continuity between cut areas.

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide a method, device, and system for providing digital comics that can minimize the eye movement and user actions of a user who uses digital comics.

[0009] The problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] 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; detecting one or more cut areas and a sequence area obtained by excluding margins from the edges of the page image for each acquired page image; assigning an order to the detected one or more cut areas according to a reader's line of sight; adjusting a size of the detected sequence area to match the size of a display of the user terminal based on the posture of the user terminal and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area; setting a mask layer including a viewport area for displaying content of the digital comic; and displaying the cut area of ​​the current order in the size-adjusted sequence area through the viewport area, wherein the one or more cut areas include one or more of independent cut areas and non-independent cut areas.

[0011] Other specific details of the embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the size of the sequence area is adjusted based on the posture of the user terminal, and the position of the adjusted sequence area is moved, and the cut area corresponding to the current order is relatively emphasized and displayed through the viewport area of ​​the mask layer. Therefore, the user can use the digital cartoon regardless of the posture of the user terminal. In addition, the movement of the position of the sequence area can minimize the movement of the user's line of sight, and the continuity between the cut areas can be maintained, thereby increasing the user's satisfaction. In addition, the user's line of sight can be focused on the cut area displayed through the viewport area of ​​the mask layer, thereby improving the user's readability.

[0013] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those 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]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating a comparison of eye movement in a digital comic based on a printed comic with eye movement in a conventional webtoon. [Diagram 2] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comparison between a digital comic page acquired based on a printed comic and the corresponding digital comic page reduced and displayed on a user terminal. [Figure 3a] 1 is a diagram for explaining terms used in the present disclosure. [Figure 3b] 1 is a diagram for explaining terms used in the present disclosure. [Figure 3c] 1 is a diagram for explaining terms used in the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a digital comic provision system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital comic book providing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting a sequence area in a page image. [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the size of a sequence area is adjusted according to the posture of a user terminal. [Figure 9] 11 is a diagram illustrating a method for relatively emphasizing a cut region corresponding to a current order in a sequence region whose size has been adjusted; [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when a mask layer separated from a sequence area is used. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when a mask layer separated from a sequence area is used. [Figure 12] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when a mask layer separated from a sequence area is used. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when using a mask layer integrated with a sequence area. [Figure 14] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when using a mask layer integrated with a sequence area. [Figure 15] 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of displaying a cut area of ​​a current order through a viewport area when using a mask layer integrated with a sequence area. [Figure 16] 11 is a diagram illustrating a movement range of a cutout area displayed through a viewport area; [Figure 17] This is a diagram illustrating one of two-page images that make up a digital comic. [Figure 18] 18 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the two-page image illustrated in FIG. 17 is divided into two one-page images. [Figure 19] 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the divided one-page image of FIG. 18 is rearranged along a first direction. [Figure 20] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 21] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 22] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 23]20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 24] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 25] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 26] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 27] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 28] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 29] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 30] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 31] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 32] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 33] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 34] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 35] 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 36]20 is a diagram illustrating another example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 37] 20 is a diagram illustrating another example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 38] 20 is a diagram illustrating another example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Figure 39] 20 is a diagram illustrating another example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal. [Diagram 40] 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

[0015] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and the methods for achieving them, will become clear from the detailed description of the embodiments with accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments set forth below, and may be embodied in various different forms. However, the embodiments are provided to complete the disclosure and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the invention, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims.

[0016] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in the sense commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless expressly and specifically defined.

[0017] The terms used in the present specification are intended to describe 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. The terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" used in the specification do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the components mentioned.

[0018] 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.

[0019] First, the terms used in the present disclosure will be generally described. The explanation of the terms is intended to help the understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, unless otherwise clearly 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.

[0020] A digital comic based on a printed comic can be obtained by scanning each page of the printed comic or by scanning two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened. Hereinafter, an image obtained by scanning one page of a printed comic is referred to as a "one page image." And an image obtained by scanning two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened is referred to as a "two pages image." The two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened may be arranged side by side, either vertically or horizontally.

[0021] 3a to 3c are diagrams for explaining terms used in the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3a illustrates an example of a one page image of a digital comic. FIG. 3b illustrates another example of a one page image of a digital comic. FIG. 3c illustrates an example of a two pages image.

[0022] 3a and 3b, the one-page image 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 size for ease of explanation.

[0023] The page area 10, 10' means the entire area of ​​a one-page image. That is, the size of a one-page image can be immediately understood as 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 correspond 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 can 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 can 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 plain 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 hand) 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 can also be seen as 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, "Gachanto") or an onomatopoeia expressed in the narrative text (for example, "Tobotobo").

[0028] Meanwhile, the cut area 20 having an outer contour line may be understood as an area in which the ratio of straight lines among the area divided by continuous outer contour lines is equal to or greater than a reference value, an area in which the radius of curvature of the outer contour lines is less than a reference value, or an area in which the size of the area divided by continuous outer contour lines is equal to or greater than a reference value. Alternatively, it may be considered as an area corresponding to the cut area 20 in which the size of the area divided by continuous outer contour lines is equal to or greater than a reference value and the ratio 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 ratio 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 may include cut regions that have cut regions inside, cut regions that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided, and cut regions that are not connected to each other by comic elements but are adjacent to each other and cannot be divided for the sake of reader readability. Here, comic elements may be, for example, pictures, speech bubbles, or plain 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, the first example corresponds to a case where the main part of a person, such as the torso (torso, head, arms, legs), unlike the above-mentioned outliers (person's hair, hands), 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 these two or more cut regions are divided, the text in the speech bubbles is cut off. 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 by speech bubbles, and when these cut regions 21, 22, and 23 are divided, the text in the speech bubbles is cut off. Therefore, these cut regions 21, 22, and 23 are detected as one non-independent cut region.

[0032] Examples of cut regions that are not connected to each other by comic elements but are adjacent to each other and cannot be divided for the sake of reader readability are as follows: Before describing a specific example, assume that there is a first paragraph in which three or more cut regions are arranged in a particular direction (e.g., horizontally or vertically).

[0033] The first example is when the horizontal or vertical length of two or more adjacent cut regions in the first paragraph is different from the horizontal or vertical length of the remaining cut regions, in which case the region including two or more adjacent cut regions may be detected as a non-independent cut region.

[0034] A second example is when the horizontal or vertical length of one of the cut areas in the first paragraph is different from the horizontal or vertical length of the remaining cut areas. In this case, the area including the cut area and one or more cut areas adjacent to the cut area may be detected as a non-independent cut area. In this case, the cut area may be a cut area for showing the flow of time, or may be a cut area in which only the background is arranged without people.

[0035] A third example is when the size of any one cut area in the first paragraph is less than a reference value. In this case, the area including the cut area and one or more cut areas adjacent to the cut area may be detected as a non-independent cut area. The cut area having a size less than the reference value may be a cut area for indicating the flow of time.

[0036] A fourth example is when two or more adjacent cut regions in the first paragraph do not have a speech bubble region or the amount of information is less than a reference value. In this case, the region including two or more adjacent cut regions may be detected as a non-independent cut region.

[0037] The fifth example is when the contents of two adjacent cut areas in the first paragraph are similar. For example, when comparing the contents of two adjacent cut areas, one or more of the composition, characters, and background are similar to each other, and only the facial expressions of the characters change. In this case, the area containing the two adjacent cut areas may be detected as a non-independent cut area.

[0038] In other words, according to the above examples, non-independent cut areas can be understood to correspond to areas including cut areas that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided for the sake of reader's readability, areas including cut areas that are not connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided for the sake of reader's readability, and areas including cut areas of different widths or heights among multiple cut areas arranged side by side in a particular direction.

[0039] The scene areas 30 and 30' refer to areas where readers focus 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 the non-independent cut areas may be determined as a scene area, 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. FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b illustrate a case where a non-independent cut area is determined as a scene area 30 and 30'. The criteria for determining the scene areas 30 and 30' may be preset by the provider of the digital comic service, and the set value may be embodied so as to be changeable by the user of the digital comic service.

[0040] The sequence area 40, 40' refers to an area including all contents in the page area 10, 10'. In other words, the sequence area 40, 40' refers to an area excluding the top, bottom, left and right margins at the edge of the page area 10, 10'. Therefore, the sequence area 40, 40' has a smaller size than the page area 10, 10'. The sequence area 40, 40' can be detected in various ways. For example, the outline of the sequence area 40, 40' can be defined by an outline that is closest to the outline of the page area 10, 10' among the outlines that constitute one or more cut areas arranged along the outline of the page area 10, 10'. As another example, the outline of the sequence area 40, 40' can be defined by four straight lines that pass through the points located at the top, bottom, left and right outermost points among the points that constitute the contents of the page area 10, 10'.

[0041] The speech bubble area 50, 50' refers to an area in which 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 invade the outer boundary of an adjacent cut area. The speech bubble area 50, 50' does not have a fixed shape. Instead, most of 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 based on the brightness and shade contrast or color contrast 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. According to an embodiment, a text to speech (TTS) service may be additionally provided using the stored character data.

[0042] Meanwhile, referring to Fig. 3c, it can be seen that the page area 60 corresponding to the two-page image has a different size from the page area 10 shown in Fig. 3a and the page area 10' shown in Fig. 3b. A total of eight independent cut areas 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and one sequence area 80 can be detected in the page area 60 of Fig. 3c. According to an embodiment, the page area 60 can be divided into two subpage areas based on the horizontal length. In this case, cut areas, scene areas, sequence areas, speech bubble areas, etc. can be detected from each divided subpage area.

[0043] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a digital comic book providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] The digital comic book providing device 200 acquires identification information of the user terminal 100 and setting information related to the digital comic book, processes the pre-stored digital comic book to suit the user terminal 100 based on the acquired identification information and setting information, and provides the digital comic book to the user terminal 100.

[0047] According to the embodiment, the digital comic book providing device 200 can process each one-page image by reference area. The reference area can be set as one of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a page area. As an example, the reference area can be set directly by the user. In this case, the user can be provided with information on selectable reference areas differentially depending on the amount paid by the user. As another example, the reference area can be automatically set by the digital comic book providing device 200 in consideration of the identification information of the user terminal 100. In this manner, the reference area can be set as one of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a page area, but it can also be adaptively changed according to each stage when each one-page image is processed.

[0048] The digital cartoon providing device 200 may be a server for providing digital cartoons to the user terminal 100. A more detailed description of the configuration of the digital cartoon providing device 200 will be given later with reference to FIG.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] 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, a power supply unit 190, and the like.

[0051] The components illustrated in FIG. 5 are not required to implement user terminal 100, and the user terminal 100 described herein may have more or less components than those illustrated above.

[0052] More specifically, the wireless communication unit 110 among the components may include one or more components enabling 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 connecting 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 113, a short-range communication unit 114, and a location information unit 115.

[0053] The input unit 120 may include a camera 121 or a video input unit for inputting a video 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. The voice data and image data collected by the input unit 120 may be analyzed and processed as a user control command.

[0054] The sensing unit 140 may include one or more sensors for sensing at least one of information within 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.

[0055] The output unit 150 generates an output related to vision, hearing, touch, or the like. The output unit 150 may include one or more 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 be layered with a touch sensor or may be integrally formed with the touch sensor to implement a touch screen. The 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.

[0056] 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 can perform appropriate control related to the connected external device.

[0057] Furthermore, the memory 170 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 shipment for the 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 and installed in the user terminal 100, and driven by the control unit 180 to perform the operation or function of the user terminal 100.

[0058] In addition to operations related to the application programs, the control unit 180 typically controls the overall operation of the user terminal 100. The control unit 180 processes signals, data, information, etc. input or output through the components detailed above, or runs application programs stored in the memory 170, thereby providing or processing appropriate information or functions to the user.

[0059] 5 in order to operate the application programs stored in the memory 170. Furthermore, the controller 180 can 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital comic book providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 6, the digital cartoon 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 .

[0063] The database 250 stores various data necessary for providing a digital cartoon service on the user terminal 100. The database 250 may include a first database 251, a second database 252, and a third database 253.

[0064] 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 for digital cartoons.

[0065] The identification information of the user terminal 100 may include one or more of a serial number assigned to the device, a manufacturer of the device, and a name of the device, but is not necessarily limited to the above examples. In addition, such identification information may be collected from the user terminal 100 or may be provided directly by the user.

[0066] The setting information for the digital cartoon may include various information related to the 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 switching event, but is not necessarily limited to the above examples.

[0067] There may be various criteria for the occurrence of a display switching event. As one example, a display switching event may occur when a display switching command is received from a user. As another example, a display switching event may occur when a reference time is reached after the reference area is displayed. As yet another example, a display switching event may occur when a specific point in the reference area reaches a specific point on the display as a result of the position of the reference area being moved according to a display switching command. Among the exemplified cases, the criteria for the occurrence of a display switching event may be preset, and the preset content may be embodied so as to be changeable by the user.

[0068] The display switching command may include a voice command and a gesture command. 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. The scroll may include a normal scroll, a long scroll, a snap scroll, and a parallax scroll.

[0069] Meanwhile, the display switching event may include a sequence area switching event and a cut area switching event. As an example, a gesture command for generating a sequence area switching event and a gesture command for generating a cut area switching event may be set to be different from each other. As another example, a gesture command for generating a sequence area switching event and a gesture command for generating a cut area switching event may be set to be the same without being distinguished.

[0070] 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 a printed comic using a camera. At this time, 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 scanning or photographing the reference range, a two-page image corresponding to two consecutive pages or a one-page image corresponding to one page can be obtained. By repeating this process on one printed comic, a digital comic consisting of only a plurality of two-page images or a digital comic consisting of only a plurality of one-page images can be acquired.

[0071] According to an embodiment, the digital comics stored in the second database 252 may be labeled with one or more labels.

[0072] As an example, the labels may include category labels for classifying categories of digital comics, including 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.

[0073] As another example, the label may include a line of sight information label, which indicates a cut region where the line of sight begins in a one-page image or a two-page image.

[0074] More specifically, Korea uses a left-hand binding method, where the book is bound on the left side. Therefore, printed comics published in Korea are turned from right to left. Therefore, when a printed comic is opened, the viewpoint flows from the left page to the right page. Also, within a page, the viewpoint flows from the top left to the top right, bottom left, and bottom right. Therefore, in a one-page image of a digital comic, the viewpoint flows from the top left to the top right, bottom left, and bottom right.

[0075] 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 viewpoint flows from the right page to the left page. Also, within a page, the viewpoint flows from the top right of the page and progresses in the order of top left, bottom right, and bottom left. Therefore, the viewpoint flows from the top right of the page to the top left, bottom right, and bottom left in a single-page image of a digital comic.

[0076] As mentioned above, the overall direction of gaze flow and the starting position of gaze flow differ for printed comics depending on the country in which the printed comic was first published. 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 one-page image, and therefore resources required for image processing can be reduced.

[0077] The information on the cut area where the gaze flow starts may be labeled in advance in the digital comic, or may be automatically detected based on the type of language recognized in the one-page video or two-page video, or may be automatically detected by referring to the category labels labeled in the digital comic.

[0078] In addition to the above examples, it is needless to say that various kinds of labels can be labeled to the digital comics. Furthermore, labeling of the digital comics can be performed manually or automatically.

[0079] The third database 253 stores character data recognized in the balloon region 50 of the one-page image or two-page image. The character data stored in the third database 253 may be processed in one or more of font, size, and effect to be suitable for the user terminal 100 and then displayed through the user terminal 100. Alternatively, a voice synthesis service based on the character data stored in the third database 253 may be provided to the user terminal 100. Whether or not to process the character data and / or whether or not to provide the voice synthesis service 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 embodied to be changeable.

[0080] In the above description, the digital cartoon 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 cartoon providing device 200 can communicate with the external server to obtain data required to provide the digital cartoon service.

[0081] The area detection unit 210 detects an area from a one-page image or two-page image constituting a digital comic. Here, the area means one or more of the page area 10, cut areas 20, 21, 22, and 23, scene area 30, sequence area 40, and speech bubble area 50 described above.

[0082] According to an embodiment, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from a one-page image. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic book consisting of a plurality of one-page images, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from each one-page image.

[0083] According to another embodiment, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from a two-page image. Specifically, in the case of a digital comic book composed of a plurality of two-page images, the area detection unit 210 detects an area from each of the two-page images. In this case, the area detection unit 210 may detect an area from a two-page image, or may first detect two one-page images from a two-page image and then detect an area from the detected one-page image. The latter case will be described below as an example.

[0084] The detected one-page image may be rearranged along a reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, a third direction, a fourth direction, and a fifth 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. The fourth direction means a diagonal direction, and the fifth direction means an anti-diagonal direction. More specifically, the detected one-page image in the two-page image may be rearranged in the first direction regardless of the type of digital comic (e.g., the country of first publication). As another example, in the case of a digital comic corresponding to a printed comic whose first publication country is Korea, the detected one-page image in the two-page image may be rearranged in the second direction. Conversely, in the case of a digital comic corresponding to a printed comic whose first publication country is Japan, the detected one-page image in the two-page image may be rearranged in the third direction.

[0085] When a one-page video is prepared, the region detection unit 210 detects a contour line in the one-page video, detects candidate regions based on feature information of the detected contour line, and detects independent cut regions, non-independent cut regions, and speech bubble regions from the detected candidate regions.

[0086] To detect independent cut regions, the region detection unit 210 may check whether there are candidate regions separated by outlines among the candidate regions, compare the sizes of the candidate regions, check whether the candidate regions are connected to each other by cartoon elements, and check whether the candidate regions connected to each other by cartoon elements can be separated.

[0087] As an example, the area detection unit 210 detects an area that is divided by a continuous outline from among the candidate areas. At this time, not only the outline dividing the cut area 20 but also the outline of the content may be detected in the area divided by the continuous outline. However, most cuts in printed comics have a rectangular shape. Therefore, the area detection unit 210 detects, among the detected areas, only areas where the ratio of straight lines included in the outline is equal to or greater than a reference value as cut areas 20.

[0088] Thereafter, the area detection unit 210 detects areas including content as cut areas (see 26 in FIG. 3b) 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.

[0089] According to another embodiment, the area detection unit 210 may convert the one-page image into grayscale in order to detect the cut area 26 whose outline is not defined. Then, a virtual outline is generated by connecting points whose brightness difference with the surroundings is equal to or greater than a reference value, and the cut area 26 is detected based on the virtual outline.

[0090] In order to detect the speech bubble region 50, the region detection unit 210 may 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. By using such a method of comparing brightness and hue with the surrounding region, speech bubble regions with no defined outlines, rectangular speech bubble regions 50 that may be erroneously detected as cut regions, etc. may be detected without missing any. Optical character recognition may be performed on the detected speech bubble region 50 by the character recognition unit 220, which will be described later.

[0091] To detect non-independent cut regions, the region detection unit 210 can compare the positions of the cut regions, determine whether the cut regions are connected to each other by cartoon elements, and determine whether the cut regions connected to each other by cartoon elements are in a state where they cannot be divided.

[0092] As an example, when a second cut region exists within a first cut region, the region detection unit 210 detects the first cut region as a non-independent cut region.

[0093] As another example, when two or more adjacent cut regions are connected to each other by cartoon elements but cannot be separated, the region detection unit 210 detects the corresponding cut regions as independent cut regions.

[0094] When the detection of 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, a cut area containing an amount of information equal to or greater than a reference value may be detected as a scene area 30. This is because the scene area 30 is an area on the page area 10 where a reader focuses, and is therefore likely to contain a large amount of information on lines, curves, hues, etc. According to another embodiment, a non-independent cut area may be detected as a scene area 30 from among the independent cut area 20 and the non-independent cut areas 21, 22, 23. That is, a non-independent cut area may be detected as a scene area 30 regardless of the amount of information contained in the cut area.

[0095] 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 outer edge of the page area 10 among the detected cut areas. At this time, the sequence area 40 can be detected in various ways. The method of detecting the sequence area 40 will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

[0096] The detection of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, the detection of the scene region 30, the detection of the speech bubble region 50, and the detection of the sequence region 40 may be performed sequentially in a predetermined order. However, the region detection is not necessarily performed in a predetermined order, and the order of the region detection may be changed as necessary, and different regions may be detected simultaneously. For example, in the above example, the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 are detected first, and then the sequence region 40 is detected. Conversely, the top and bottom margins and the left and right margins may be removed from a one-page image to detect the sequence region 40 first, and then the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 may be detected based on the detected sequence region 40.

[0097] When the detection of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23, the scene region 30, the sequence region 40, the speech bubble region 50, etc. is completed, the region detection unit 210 assigns the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 to an order according to the flow of the reader's gaze. For example, if the printed comic corresponding to the digital comic was originally published in Korea, the reader's gaze will start from the upper left side of the page, move to the upper right side, the lower left side, and the lower right side in that order within the page of the printed comic. Therefore, the region detection unit 210 assigns an order corresponding to the flow of the gaze, taking into account the positions of the cut regions 20, 21, 22, 23 within the one-page image.

[0098] Meanwhile, the order may be newly assigned for each one-page image. As another example, the order may be assigned for the entire one-page image included in the digital comic. If region detection is performed for a two-page image instead of a one-page image, the order may be newly assigned for each two-page image or may be assigned in order for the entire two-page image included in the digital comic.

[0099] Information about the cut area that is located at the point where the reader's gaze flow begins within the assigned sequence can be labeled in the digital comic as a gaze flow information label.

[0100] In the above explanation, an example was given of a case where a sequence is assigned to each cut area after all areas have been detected in a one-page video, but the sequence may also be assigned after detection of the scene area 30 has been completed.

[0101] In the above description, cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23 and scene area 30 are distinguished from each other. However, this is for the convenience of description, and scene area 30 can be understood as a cut area that meets a specific criterion among cut areas detected in a one-page image. Therefore, in the following description, "assigning an order to cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23" can mean that an order is assigned to cut areas 20, 21, 22, 23 and scene area 30.

[0102] In the above description, when the one-page image is rearranged along the reference direction, the area detection and the order assignment are performed for each rearranged one-page image. Alternatively, the area detection and the order assignment may be performed preferentially for each one-page image, and the one-page image or the sequence area detected in the one-page image may be rearranged. In this case, the one-page image or the sequence area detected in the one-page image may be rearranged in a line along the reference direction, or may be rearranged radially according to a predetermined standard. Specifically, the sequence area may be radially arranged based on the position where the first cut area starts to be displayed in the sequence area (hereinafter, referred to as the "display start position"). For example, in FIG. 3a, if the display start position of the non-independent cut areas 21, 22, and 23 is the top side, the sequence area 40 is arranged on the lower side based on the display. If the display start position of the non-independent cut areas 21, 22, and 23 is the right side, the sequence area 40 is arranged on the left side based on the display.

[0103] Meanwhile, in order to perform the above-mentioned operations, the region detection unit 210 may include an artificial intelligence model. The artificial intelligence model may be trained in advance using a large amount of one-page or two-page images as training data. As a learning method, supervised learning or unsupervised learning may be used. In the case of supervised learning, labeling data in which information on cut regions, speech bubble regions, scene regions, and sequence regions is labeled in a one-page or two-page image may be used as training data. In the case of unsupervised learning, region detection may be performed on a large amount of one-page or two-page images without labels, and then the accuracy of the region detection result may be determined by a human being and fed back to the artificial intelligence model.

[0104] The character recognition unit 220 recognizes characters by performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the balloon area 50 detected in the one-page image. The recognized character data may be stored in a third database 253. The character data stored in the third database 253 may be processed to have one or more of future fonts, sizes, and effects adapted to the user terminal 100, 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.

[0105] The effect processor 230 applies image effects to one or more of the one-page image, the area detected in the one-page image, and the text data recognized in the one-page image. Examples of image effects include zooming in, zooming out, moving the position on the display, shaking, blurring, adjusting transparency, hiding, canceling hiding, and overlay.

[0106] Among the exemplified effects, the "position appearing on the display" may be related to the rearrangement direction of the page area. As one example, if the position where the one-page image appears on the display is set to "the bottom of the display", the one-page image may be rearranged in a first direction. As another example, if the position where the one-page image appears on the display is set to "the right side of the display", the one-page image may be rearranged in a second direction. As yet another example, if the position where the one-page image appears on the display is set to "the left side of the display", the one-page image may be rearranged in a third direction.

[0107] In the above, the case where the layout direction of the one-page image is determined based on the setting information related to the "position appearing on the display" has been exemplified, but the opposite is also possible. That is, if the layout direction of the one-page image is set to the first direction, the "position appearing on the display" can be automatically set to the "bottom end of the display."

[0108] Meanwhile, according to the embodiment, the exemplified visual effects may be applied alone, or two or more visual 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 visual effect is applied. Alternatively, the effects may be applied differentially according to the level of the amount paid by the user.

[0109] The control unit 240 can connect and control each component constituting the digital comic book providing device 200. For example, the control unit 240 can rearrange page images constituting the digital comic book according to a preset direction.

[0110] The communication unit 260 performs wireless communication between the digital cartoon providing device 200 and the user terminal 100 .

[0111] The digital comic book providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to FIG. 6. In the description with reference to FIG. 6, the digital comic book providing device 200 is a server for providing digital comic books to the user terminal 100. However, 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, the effect processing unit 230, and the control unit 240 may be embodied as an application. The application is installed in the user terminal 100 and can perform the above-mentioned functions while communicating with the digital comic book providing device 200.

[0112] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method for detecting a sequence area in a one-page image.

[0113] The left side of Fig. 7 shows a one-page image, and the right side of Fig. 7 shows sequence regions detected in the one-page image.

[0114] 7, the one-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 so as to cross each other. When such a one-page image is displayed as is through a user terminal 100 such as a mobile phone, a relatively large amount of blank space is generated compared to the content included in the page area 10 (i.e., the first cut area to the fourth cut area).

[0115] The digital comic providing device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure detects cut areas in a one-page image, and then detects sequence areas based on the detected cut areas. Various methods for detecting sequence areas will be described below.

[0116] FIG. 7A illustrates a case where sequence regions are detected while maintaining the existing positions of all cut regions detected in a one-page image.

[0117] FIG. 7B illustrates a case where the cut area detected in the one-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 contour line among the contour lines 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. The overall horizontal length "c" 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 the horizontal length "d1" of the remaining cut areas. Therefore, the third cut area and the fourth cut area are excluded from the horizontal movement for center alignment. Then, 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.

[0118] 7C shows the state in which the first and second cut regions, which have a shorter horizontal length than the sequence region in the state of (B), are expanded to fit the sequence region. At this time, the first and second cut regions are expanded in the horizontal and vertical directions at the same time, and the horizontal lengths of the first and second cut regions are expanded within a range that does not exceed the horizontal length of the sequence region.

[0119] In the description with reference to FIG. 7, a case has been described in which a sequence area is detected based on a cut area detected in a one-page image. However, the detection of a cut area does not necessarily have to precede the detection of a cut area. For example, a margin may be removed from a one-page image, and the area from which the margin has been removed may be determined as a sequence area. After the sequence area is determined in this manner, a cut area, a scene area, and a speech bubble area may be detected.

[0120] The size of the sequence area detected by the above-mentioned method may be adjusted based on the orientation of the user terminal 100 and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area. The orientation of the user terminal 100 may be one of a portrait mode and a landscape mode. The size adjustment criterion for the sequence area may be one of the horizontal length of the sequence area and the vertical length of the sequence area. The size adjustment criterion for the sequence area may be preset by a provider of the digital comic service, and the set value may be changed by a user of the digital comic service. In this case, the range of the change may be applied differentially depending on the amount paid by the user.

[0121] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the size of a sequence area is adjusted according to the posture of the user terminal 100. As shown in FIG.

[0122] FIG. 8(A) shows how, when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the horizontal length of the sequence area, the overall size of the sequence area is adjusted so that the horizontal length of the sequence area matches the horizontal length of the display.

[0123] (B) of Figure 8 shows that when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the vertical length of the sequence area, the overall size of the sequence area is adjusted so that the vertical length of the sequence area matches the vertical length of the display.

[0124] (C) of Figure 8 shows that when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in landscape mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the horizontal length of the sequence area, the overall size of the sequence area is adjusted so that the horizontal length of the sequence area matches the horizontal length of the display.

[0125] In the sequence area whose size has been adjusted in this way, the cut area corresponding to the current order can be emphasized relatively to the remaining areas. For a more detailed description of this, please refer to FIG.

[0126] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method for relatively emphasizing a cut region corresponding to a current order in a sequence region whose size has been adjusted.

[0127] Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown a sequence area 400 and a mask layer 300 overlaid on the sequence area 400 .

[0128] The mask layer 300 includes a viewport area 310 for displaying the cut regions of the current sequence. The viewport area 310 can have attributes such as position, shape, size, transparency, color, and crop.

[0129] According to one embodiment, among the exemplified attributes, the transparency of the viewport area 310 may be set to be different from that of the remaining areas. For example, the transparency of the viewport area 310 may be set to 100%, and the transparency of the remaining areas may be set to 0%. Here, 100% transparency means a completely transparent state, and 0% transparency means a completely opaque state. By setting the transparency of the viewport area 310 to the highest level, an effect can be obtained in which the cutout area displayed through the viewport area 310 is relatively emphasized compared to the remaining areas.

[0130] According to another embodiment, among the exemplified attributes, a value for a crop attribute for the viewport region 310 may be set to be different from a value for a crop attribute for the remaining regions. For example, a value for a crop attribute for the viewport region 310 may be set to "1," and a value for a crop attribute for the remaining regions may be set to "0." Here, a value of "1" for a crop attribute means that the corresponding region may be truncated.

[0131] The viewport area 310 may have an initial position, an initial shape, and an initial size. The initial position may be, for example, a position where the center point of the viewport area 310 coincides with the center point of the display. The initial shape may be a rectangle. The initial size may be smaller than the size of the display.

[0132] According to an embodiment related to changing the attributes of the viewport region 310, the position of the viewport region 310 is fixed, but the shape and size of the viewport region 310 can be freely changed. In this case, the overall position of the sequence region 400 can be moved so that the cut area corresponding to the current sequence corresponds to the position of the viewport region 310. At the same time as the position of the sequence region 400 is moved, the shape and size of the viewport region 310 can be gradually changed so that it corresponds to the shape and size of the cut area corresponding to the current sequence. In other words, it can be understood that a morph animation is applied to the viewport region 310. The change in the viewport region 310 can be implemented through one of morphing, clip path transition, and crop.

[0133] FIG. 10 shows a state in which the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are changed to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current sequence. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show how the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are gradually changed to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area corresponding to the next sequence as the position of the sequence area 400 moves. Referring to FIG. 10, the shape of the viewport area 310 is rectangular. In comparison, referring to FIG. 11, it can be seen that the horizontal length of the viewport area 310 has become a little longer. And referring to FIG. 12, it can be seen that the shape of the viewport area 310 has been transformed into a square.

[0134] According to an embodiment, the processes of Figures 10 to 12 may be performed without inputting a display switching command. Specifically, the processes of Figures 10 to 12 may be performed within a reference time. The reference time may be set by a provider of the digital comic service, and the set value may be changed by a user of the digital comic service. The reference time required to switch from a cutting area in a current order to a cutting area in a next order may be assigned the same reference time for each cutting area, or may be set to be different from each other.

[0135] 12, the attributes of the modified viewport area 310 and the position of the cut area displayed through the modified viewport area 310 may be maintained for a reference time. The reference time may be set by a digital comic service provider, and the set value may be embodied so as to be changeable by a user of the digital comic service. Alternatively, the reference time may be adaptively set in proportion to the amount of information of the cut area displayed through the viewport area 310. And, one or more image effects including shaking, enlargement, reduction, ratio change, distortion, color change, and background change may be applied to the cut area displayed through the viewport area 310 for the reference time.

[0136] According to another embodiment, the processes of FIGS. 10 to 12 may be performed by inputting a display switching command. Specifically, the processes of FIGS. 10 to 12 may be performed based on at least one of an input speed and an input amount of the display switching command. For example, if the display switching command is scrolling, the faster the scroll input speed is, the faster the position movement of the sequence area and the attribute change of the viewport area may be performed. As another example, the greater the scroll input amount is, the faster the position movement of the sequence area and the attribute change of the viewport area may be performed. Here, the scroll input amount may refer to the scroll input distance. As yet another example, the movement distance of the sequence area may be determined in proportion to the scroll input amount.

[0137] When the display switching command is scrolling, the amount of scrolling input may be set for the digital comic, each page image of the digital comic, or each cut region of each page image. Specifically, the amount of scrolling input may be set for the digital comic, and the amount of scrolling input may be assigned to each page image within the set input amount. Then, the amount of scrolling input may be assigned to the cut region of each page image within the amount of scrolling input assigned to each page image. The amount of input of the display switching command that may be assigned to the digital comic, each page image, or each cut region may be determined according to the amount of information of the digital comic, the amount of information of each page image, or the amount of information of each cut region. The amount of remaining scrolling for each cut region and the amount of remaining scrolling for each page image may be displayed through a separate icon, etc.

[0138] According to another embodiment related to the attribute change of the viewport area 310, the position, shape and size of the viewport area 310 may be freely changed. In this case, the position, shape and size of the viewport area 310 may be gradually changed to correspond to the position, shape and size of the cut area corresponding to the current sequence. More specifically, as the position of the viewport area 310 starts to move toward the first position of the display where the cut area corresponding to the current sequence is displayed, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 may be gradually changed to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current sequence. After the cut area is displayed through the viewport area whose shape and size have been changed, the position of the viewport area 31 may be moved together with the overall position of the sequence area being moved along the reference direction so that the cut area moves from the first position to the second position. The above process may be performed within a reference time without input of a display switching command, or may be performed in proportion to a detected display switching command, for example, an input speed or input amount of scrolling.

[0139] Fig. 13 shows a state in which the position, shape and size of the viewport area 310 are changed to correspond to the position, shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current order that appears at the bottom left of the screen. Fig. 14 and Fig. 15 show how the position of the sequence area 400 and the position of the viewport area 310 move simultaneously along a diagonal direction. As shown in Fig. 15, when the display of the cut area of ​​the current order is completed, the cut area of ​​the next order appears at the bottom left of the screen, and the position, shape and size of the viewport area 310 are also gradually changed.

[0140] According to another embodiment, the position, shape, and size of the viewport area 310 can be freely changed, but the shape and size of the viewport area 310 can be gradually changed several times. Specifically, it is assumed that the cut areas of the current order have a size that cannot be displayed at once on the display. In this case, as the position of the viewport area 310 starts to move toward the first position of the display where the cut areas of the current order start to be displayed, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 can be primarily changed to correspond to the shape and size of a part of the cut area that starts to appear at the first position. As a result, a part of the cut area is displayed through the primarily changed viewport area 310. Thereafter, when the overall position of the sequence area is moved along the reference direction so that the cut area moves from the first position to the second position, the position of the viewport area 310 also moves, and as the remaining part of the cut area is displayed, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 can also be secondarily changed. The above process may be performed within a reference time without input of a display switching command, or may be performed in proportion to a detected display switching command, for example, an input speed or input amount of scrolling. The drawings corresponding to the above-mentioned process are shown in FIG. 36 to FIG. 39, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0141] FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the movement range of the cutout area displayed through the viewport area 310. As shown in FIG.

[0142] Referring to FIG. 16, there is illustrated a reference line that may be set on a display.

[0143] First, the horizontal reference lines include a horizontal centerline 80 passing through the center point 70 of the display, an upper horizontal reference line 81 located a certain distance above the horizontal centerline 80, and a lower horizontal reference line 82 located a certain distance below the horizontal centerline 80.

[0144] The horizontal center line 80 is a reference line along which the center point of the cutting area in the current order may be moved. For example, if the horizontal length of the cutting area is longer than a reference value or longer than the horizontal length of the display, the center point of the cutting area may be moved along the horizontal center line 80. The upper horizontal reference line 81 is a reference line along which the movement of the cutting area due to a cutting area switching event may be started when an edge or point of the cutting area in the current order is located. The lower horizontal reference line 82 is a reference line along which the movement of the cutting area due to a cutting area switching event may be ended when an edge or point of the cutting area in the current order is located. Here, a scroll input may be given as an example of a cutting area switching event.

[0145] The vertical reference lines include a vertical centerline 90 passing through the center point 70 of the display, a right vertical reference line 91 located a fixed distance to the right of the vertical centerline 90, and a left vertical reference line 92 located a fixed distance to the left of the vertical centerline 90.

[0146] The vertical center line 90 is a reference line along which the center point of the cutting area in the current order may be moved. For example, if the vertical length of a cutting area is longer than a reference value or longer than the vertical length of the display, the center point of the cutting area may be moved along the vertical center line 90. The right vertical reference line 91 is a reference line along which the movement of the cutting area due to a cutting area switching event may be started when an edge or point of the cutting area in the current order is located. The left vertical reference line 92 is a reference line along which the movement of the cutting area due to a cutting area switching event may be ended when an edge or point of the cutting area in the current order is located.

[0147] The interval between the horizontal reference lines 81, 82 and the interval between the vertical reference lines 91, 92 may be set to a fixed value or may be adaptively set according to the orientation of the user terminal 100. That is, the interval between the reference lines may be set differently when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode and when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in landscape mode. Alternatively, since the size of the display differs depending on the type of user terminal 100, the interval between the reference lines may be set larger for a larger display.

[0148] In the above description, the horizontal reference lines 81, 82 and the vertical reference lines 91, 92 are lines on which the movement of the cutting area can start or end. However, the roles of the horizontal reference lines 81, 82 and the vertical reference lines 91, 92 are not limited to those illustrated. The horizontal reference lines 81, 82 and the vertical reference lines 91, 92 may be lines on which the center point of the cutting area is moved.

[0149] 16 illustrates a case where the horizontal center line and the horizontal reference line are separated and the vertical center line and the vertical reference line are separated, but the horizontal center line and the horizontal reference line may be integrated into one, and the vertical center line and the vertical reference line may be integrated into one. Also, although not illustrated in FIG 16, a diagonal center line and an anti-diagonal center line passing through the center point 70 may be additionally set.

[0150] Next, a general process of providing a digital comic to the user terminal 100 will be described with reference to Figures 17 to 40. Prior to the description, the digital comic described below will be described as a digital comic consisting of two-page images acquired from a right-bound printed comic. It is also assumed that each of the two-page images does not have a cut area that is arranged across two consecutive one-page images.

[0151] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating one of two-page images that make up a digital comic.

[0152] The area detection unit 210 detects one-page images 510, 520 from a two-page image 500. In this case, the area detection unit 210 can detect the one-page images 510, 520 by dividing the two-page image 500 along an imaginary vertical line passing through the center point of the horizontal length of the two-page image 500. FIG. 18 shows two one-page images 510, 520 detected from the two-page image 500.

[0153] The controller 240 rearranges the detected one-page images 510 and 520 along a reference direction. The reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, a third direction, a fourth direction, and a fifth direction. FIG 19 shows a state where the one-page images 510 and 520 are arranged along the first direction.

[0154] Then, the area detection unit 210 detects areas from the rearranged one-page images. That is, at least one of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a speech bubble area is detected from each one-page image. At this time, the area detection may be performed sequentially or simultaneously, and the area to be detected preferentially may change depending on the case. Referring to FIG. 19, it can be seen that only one independent cut area is detected from the first one-page image 510, and the detected independent cut area is a sequence area 510A. And, it can be seen that a total of six independent cut areas 521, 522, 523, 524, 525 and one non-independent cut area 526, 527 are detected from the second one-page image 520. The two cut areas 526, 527 located at the lower left of the second one-page image 520 are adjacent to each other in a paragraph in which the three or more cut areas 524, 525, 526, 527 are arranged, and have a different horizontal length from the remaining cut areas 524, 525. Therefore, these two cut regions 526, 527 can be detected as one non-independent cut region for the sake of reader readability.

[0155] Then, the area detection unit 210 assigns an order according to the line of sight to the cut areas detected in each one-page image 510, 520. In the case of Fig. 19, the line of sight starts from the sequence area 510A of the first one-page image 510, and proceeds to the first independent cut area 521, the second independent cut area 522, the third independent cut area 523, the fourth independent cut area 524, the fifth independent cut area 525, and the first non-independent cut areas 526 and 527 of the second one-page image 520. Therefore, the order is assigned according to the above-mentioned sequence.

[0156] Thereafter, the effect processor 230 adjusts the sizes of the detected sequence areas 510A and 520A based on the orientation of the user terminal 100 and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence areas.

[0157] As an example, when the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the horizontal length of the sequence area, the effect processor 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the horizontal length of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the horizontal and vertical lengths of the sequence areas 510A, 520A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is longer than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processor 230 reduces the overall size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the horizontal length of the display. If the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is shorter than the horizontal length of the display, the effect processing unit 230 expands the overall size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the horizontal length of the display.

[0158] As another example, when the user terminal 100 is in portrait mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the vertical length of the sequence area, the effect processor 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the vertical length of the display of the user terminal 100. At this time, the horizontal and vertical lengths of the sequence areas 510A, 520A are adjusted at the same ratio. More specifically, if the vertical length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is longer than the vertical length of the display, the effect processor 230 reduces the overall size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the vertical length of the display. If the vertical length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is shorter than the vertical length of the display, the effect processing unit 230 enlarges the overall size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the vertical length of each sequence area 510A, 520A is the same as the vertical length of the display.

[0159] As another example, when the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in landscape mode and the size adjustment criterion for the sequence area is the horizontal length of the sequence area, the effect processor 230 adjusts the size of each sequence area 510A, 520A so that the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A 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 each sequence area 510A, 520A are adjusted at the same ratio.

[0160] For ease of explanation, the following description will be given taking as an example a case in which the orientation of the user terminal 100 is in landscape mode and the overall size of each sequence area 510A, 520A is adjusted based on the horizontal length of each sequence area 510A, 520A.

[0161] Then, the effect processor 230 sets a mask layer 300 including a viewport area 310. The mask layer 300 hides areas in the sequence area except for the cut area corresponding to the current order, so that the cut area corresponding to the current order is relatively emphasized. The mask layer 300 can be implemented using, for example, a clip path. A 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.

[0162] When the mask layer 300 is set, the effect processor 230 changes the attributes of the viewport area 310 by moving one or more positions of the sequence area and the mask layer 300 so that the cut areas in the current order are displayed through the viewport area 310 of the mask layer 300. Examples of the attributes of the viewport area 310 include position, shape, size, transparency, and color. However, the attributes of the viewport area 310 are not limited to those exemplified.

[0163] According to one embodiment, the effect processor 230 may move the overall position of the sequence area so that the cut area corresponding to the current order is located in the viewport area 310 while fixing the positions of the mask layer 300 and the viewport area 310. At the same time, the effect processor 230 may change the shape and size of the viewport area 310 so as to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area in the current order. Related screens will be described later with reference to Figures 20 to 37.

[0164] According to another embodiment, the effect processor 230 may move the position of the viewport area 310 toward a first position on the display where the cut areas corresponding to the current sequence are displayed, and gradually change the shape and size of the viewport area 310 to correspond to the shape and size of the cut areas displayed at the first position. Then, the position of the viewport area 310 may be moved together with the overall position of the sequence area until the position of the cut area reaches a second position from the first position.

[0165] According to another embodiment, the effect processor 230 may move the position of the viewport area 310 toward a first position on the display where the cut areas corresponding to the current sequence start to be displayed, and may change the shape and size of the viewport area 310 primarily to correspond to the shape and size of a part of the cut area that starts to appear at the first position. In addition, the effect processor 230 may move the viewport area 310 together with the overall position of the sequence area until the cut areas of the current sequence reach a second position from a first position, and may secondarily change the shape and size of the viewport area 310 as the remaining parts of the cut areas are displayed. Screens related to this will be described later with reference to Figures 38 to 40.

[0166] 20 to 37 are diagrams illustrating an example of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal.

[0167] Referring to FIG. 20, the sequence area 510A of the first one-page image 510 starts with the top end of the sequence area 510A being displayed from the bottom end of the display. Then, it moves upward along the vertical direction. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 21, the size of the viewport area 310 also gradually expands in the upward direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 22, the viewport area 310 has a shape that crosses the center of the display in the vertical direction. In this state, the sequence area 510A continues to move upward along the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24. This is because the vertical length of the sequence area 510A is longer than the vertical length of the display. Then, when a specific point of the sequence area 510A reaches a specific point of the display, the display of the sequence area 510A may be completed.

[0168] As shown in FIG. 24, when the display of the sequence area 510A is completed, the position of the sequence area 520A is moved so that the center point of the next cut area, i.e., the first independent cut area 521 detected in the second one-page image 520, is located at the center point of the display. At the same time, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are gradually changed to correspond to the shape and size of the first independent cut area 521. That is, the screen of FIG. 25 is displayed. Comparing FIG. 25 with FIG. 24, it can be seen that the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are being changed. Also, since the position of the sequence area 520A is being moved, it can be seen that a part of the fourth independent cut area 524 and a part of the fifth independent cut area 525 are displayed through the viewport area 310. When the change in the shape and size of the viewport area 310 and the movement of the sequence area 520A are completed, a screen as shown in FIG. 26 is displayed. The screen of FIG. 26 may be maintained for a reference time.

[0169] When the screen of Fig. 26 is displayed and a reference time has elapsed, the position of the sequence area 520A is moved so that the center point of the second independent cut area 522 is located at the center point of the display. At this time, since the horizontal and vertical lengths of the second independent cut area 522 are similar to the horizontal and vertical lengths of the previously displayed first independent cut area 521, only the position of the sequence area 520A can be moved without changing the shape and size of the viewport area 310. That is, the screen of Fig. 27 is displayed. The screen of Fig. 27 can be maintained for the reference time.

[0170] When the screen of FIG. 27 is displayed and a reference time has elapsed, the position of sequence area 520A is moved so that the center point of third independent cut area 523 is located at the center point of the display. At the same time, the shape and size of viewport area 310 are gradually changed to correspond to the shape and size of third independent cut area 523. That is, the screen of FIG. 28 is displayed. Comparing FIG. 28 with FIG. 27, it can be seen that the shape and size of viewport area 310 is in a state of being changed. When the change in the shape and size of viewport area 310 and the movement of sequence area 520A are completed, the screen of FIG. 29 is displayed. The screen of FIG. 29 may be maintained for the reference time.

[0171] When the screen of FIG. 29 is displayed and a reference time has elapsed, the position of the sequence area 520A is moved so that the center point of the fourth independent cut area 524 is located at the center point of the display. At the same time, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are gradually changed to correspond to the shape and size of the fourth independent cut area 524. That is, the screen of FIG. 30 is displayed. Comparing FIG. 30 with FIG. 29, it can be seen that the size of the viewport area 310 is expanded compared to before. Also, since the position of the sequence area 520A is in a moving state, it can be seen that a part of the fourth independent cut area 524 and a part of the fifth independent cut area 525 are displayed through the viewport area 310. When the change in the shape and size of the viewport area 310 and the movement of the sequence area 520A are completed, the screen of FIG. 31 is displayed. The screen of FIG. 31 may be maintained for a reference time.

[0172] When the screen of FIG. 31 is displayed and a reference time has elapsed, the sequence area 520A is moved vertically so that the center point of the fifth independent cut area 525 is located at the center point of the display. At the same time, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are changed to correspond to the shape and size of the fifth independent cut area 525. That is, the screen of FIG. 32 is displayed. Comparing FIG. 32 with FIG. 31, it can be seen that the vertical length of the viewport area 310 is expanded compared to before. When the change in the shape and size of the viewport area 310 and the movement of the sequence area 520A are completed, the screen of FIG. 33 is displayed. The screen of FIG. 33 may be maintained for the reference time.

[0173] When a reference time has elapsed since the screen of FIG. 33 is displayed, the sequence area 520A is moved in the vertical direction so that the center points of the first non-independent cut areas 526, 527 are located at the center point of the display. At the same time, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are changed to correspond to the shape and size of the first non-independent cut areas 526, 527. At this time, since the horizontal length of the first non-independent cut areas 526, 527 is the same as the horizontal length of the fifth independent cut area 525, only the vertical length of the viewport area 310 can be changed while the horizontal length is maintained. That is, the screen of FIG. 34 is displayed. Comparing FIG. 34 with FIG. 33, it can be seen that the horizontal length of the viewport area 310 is the same as before, but the vertical length is reduced compared to before. Also, since the position of the sequence area 520A is in a moving state, it can be seen that a part of the fifth independent cut area 525 and a part of the first non-independent cut areas 526, 527 are both displayed. When the change in shape and size of viewport area 310 and the movement of sequence area 520A are completed, the screen of Fig. 35 is displayed. Comparing Fig. 35 with Fig. 34, it can be seen that the horizontal length of viewport area 310 is the same as before, but the vertical length has been further reduced compared to before. The screen of Fig. 35 can be maintained for a reference time.

[0174] 36 to 39 are diagrams illustrating other examples of how the rearranged one-page image of FIG. 19 is displayed through a user terminal.

[0175] The screen of FIG. 36 can be compared with the screen of FIG. 21. In the case of FIG. 21, the sequence area 510A of the first one-page image 510 starts to appear from the bottom edge of the display with the sequence area 510A being positioned at the center of the display. In comparison, in the screen of FIG. 36, the sequence area 510A starts to appear from the bottom edge of the display with the sequence area 510A being positioned to the left of the display. Then, the sequence area 510A is moved along the vertical direction. As the position of the sequence area 510A moves, the shape and size of the viewport area 310 are also gradually changed. Then, when a specific part of the sequence area 510A reaches a specific part of the display, the positions of the sequence area 510A and the viewport area 310 are simultaneously moved in a diagonal direction. For example, when the top side of the sequence area 510A reaches the upper horizontal reference line 81 of the display, the positions of the sequence area 510A and the viewport area 310 start to move in a diagonal direction at the same time. With reference to FIG. 37 to FIG. 39, it can be seen that the position of the sequence area 510A is moved along a diagonal direction. Thereafter, when a particular portion of sequence region 510A reaches a particular portion of the display, the diagonal movement of sequence region 510A and viewport region 310 may be terminated. For example, when the bottom edge of sequence region 510A reaches bottom horizontal reference line 82 of the display, the movement of sequence region 510A and viewport region 310 may be terminated.

[0176] 36 to 39, it has been described that as the overall position of the sequence region 510A moves, the position of the viewport region 310 also moves. Depending on an implementation method, the overall position of the mask layer 300 may move in accordance with the overall movement of the sequence region 510A, with the position of the viewport region 310 being fixed within the mask layer 300.

[0177] FIG. 40 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing digital comics according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0178] First, a page image is acquired from the digital comic (S610). The page image acquired in step S610 may be one of a one-page image, a two-page image, and a one-page image acquired from the two-page image. If the searched digital comic is composed of a plurality of one-page images, a plurality of one-page images are acquired in step S610. If the searched digital comic is composed of a plurality of two-page images, a plurality of two-page images are acquired in step S610. If a plurality of two-page images are acquired, an operation of detecting two one-page images from each of the plurality of two-page images may be additionally performed.

[0179] The acquired page images are rearranged (S620). The page images may be arranged in a line or radially along the reference direction. Here, the reference direction may be one of a first direction, a second direction, a third direction, a fourth direction, and a fifth 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. The fourth direction means a diagonal direction, and the fifth direction means an anti-diagonal direction. According to one embodiment, the reference direction may be determined based on a label labeled on the digital comic. Specifically, if a label for the original publishing country of the digital comic is labeled on the digital comic, the page images 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.

[0180] 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 (S630). According to one embodiment, step S630 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while maintaining the existing positions of all cut areas detected in the page image (see FIG. 7A). According to another embodiment, step S630 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while the positions of the cut areas detected in the page image are center-aligned (see FIG. 7B). According to yet another embodiment, step S630 may include a step of detecting a sequence area of ​​the page image while the positions of the cut areas detected in the page image are center-aligned, and enlarging a size of a cut area having a width shorter than a width of the sequence area to match the size of the sequence area.

[0181] The detected cut regions are then assigned an order according to the reader's line of sight (S640). The order may be assigned in various ways. As one example, a person may directly assign an order to the detected cut regions. As another example, the order may be automatically assigned based on the position of the detected cut regions. As yet another example, the order may be assigned based on the prediction of a neural network model that has learned the line of sight movement of a user reading content similar to a digital comic.

[0182] Thereafter, the size of the sequence area is adjusted to fit the display size of the user terminal 100 based on the orientation of the user terminal 100 and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area (S660). Step S660 may be implemented in various ways depending on whether a display orientation is set for the digital comic. Here, the display orientation means an orientation required for displaying the digital comic on the user terminal 100. The display orientation may be set to one of a portrait mode and a landscape mode. When the display orientation is set to the portrait mode, it means that the orientation of the user terminal 100 is changed to the portrait mode before displaying the page image of the corresponding digital comic. When the display orientation is set to the landscape mode, it means that the orientation of the user terminal 100 is changed to the landscape mode before displaying the page image of the corresponding digital comic. The display orientation may be set by a digital comic service provider.

[0183] According to one embodiment, step S660 includes a step of comparing the display posture with the current posture of the user terminal 100 if there is a display posture set in the digital cartoon; generating a message requesting the user terminal 100 to change its posture if the current posture of the user terminal 100 differs from the display posture; and, when the posture of the user terminal 100 is changed according to the message, adjusting the size of the sequence area according to the display size in the changed posture, based on a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area.

[0184] According to another embodiment, step S660 includes a step of adjusting the size of the sequence area according to the display size in the current position of the user terminal 100 if there is no display position set in the digital cartoon, and adjusting the size based on a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area.

[0185] As a result of performing step S660, the size of the sequence region is adjusted as shown in FIG.

[0186] Then, a mask layer 300 including a viewport region 310 is set (S670). The step S670 includes the steps of generating a mask layer 300 including a viewport region 310 based on the initial attributes, and overlaying the generated mask layer 300 on the sequence region.

[0187] Thereafter, when a display switching event occurs, the position of the sequence area is moved so that the cut area in the current order in the sequence area is displayed through the viewport area 310 of the mask layer 300, and the attributes of the viewport area 310 are changed (S680). Examples of the attributes of the viewport area 310 include position, shape, size, transparency, and color.

[0188] According to one embodiment, step S680 may include a step of fixing the position of the viewport area 310 at a reference position, and a step of gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area 310 to correspond to the shape and size of the cut areas of the current order while gradually moving the overall position of the sequence area so that the cut areas corresponding to the current order are located in the viewport area 310.

[0189] Here, the attributes of the modified viewport area 310 and the position of the cut area displayed through the modified viewport area 310 may be maintained for a reference time. As one example, the reference time may be set by a provider of the digital cartoon service and may be embodied so as to be changeable by a user of the digital cartoon service. As another example, the reference time may be determined in proportion to the amount of information of the cut area displayed through the viewport area 310.

[0190] Also, during the reference time, a visual effect may be additionally applied to the cut area displayed through the viewport area 310. The visual effect may include one or more of the following: the cut area is enlarged, the cut area is enlarged and then reduced to its original size, the cut area is enlarged and then reduced to its original size repeatedly, the cut area is switched from black and white to color, an edge of the cut area is generated, an edge of the cut area is emphasized, an object in the cut area is shaken, the object is enlarged and then reduced to its original size, and the object in the cut area is enlarged and then reduced to its original size repeatedly. Here, the object may include one or more of a picture, a speech bubble area, and a plain text without a speech bubble.

[0191] According to another embodiment, step S680 may include a step of moving the position of the viewport area 310 toward a first position on the display where the cut areas of the current order begin to be displayed when the cut areas of the current order are in a state where they can be displayed at once on the display, a step of gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area 310 to correspond to the shape and size of the cut areas of the current order as the position of the viewport area 310 is moved, and a step of gradually moving the overall position of the sequence area and moving the position of the primarily changed viewport area 310 together so that the cut areas displayed through the primarily changed viewport area 310 move from the first position to the second position.

[0192] According to yet another embodiment, step S680 may include, when the cut areas of the current order cannot be displayed all at once on the display, a step of moving the position of the viewport area 310 toward a first position on the display where the cut areas of the current order begin to be displayed, a step of gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area 310 as the position of the viewport area 310 is moved to correspond to the shape and size of the cut areas that have begun to be displayed at the first position, and a step of gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area as the overall position of the sequence area is moved so that the cut areas move from the first position to the second position to correspond to the shape and size of the cut areas of the current order being moved.

[0193] Meanwhile, if the cut area in the current sequence is a scene area in step S680, a video effect may be applied to highlight the scene area. As a result, the scene area may be shaken, the scene area may be switched from black and white to color, a border may be generated in the scene area, the border of the scene area may be emphasized, or some cartoon elements in the scene area may be changed. For example, a speech bubble in the scene area may be shaken or enlarged.

[0194] The method for providing digital comics according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to Fig. 40. Some steps in Fig. 40 may be omitted, their order may be changed, or they may be performed simultaneously with other steps depending on the embodiment.

[0195] Also, in the description with reference to FIG. 40, when a two-page image is acquired from a digital comic, two one-page images may be preferentially detected from the two-page image. However, according to another embodiment, the step of detecting a one-page image from a two-page image may be omitted, and one or more of a cut area, a scene area, a sequence area, and a speech bubble area may be detected from the two-page image itself. When area detection is performed from a two-page image in this manner, the cut areas arranged across two pages are more likely to be detected as independent cut areas than when area detection is performed from a one-page image. As a result, the cut areas arranged across two pages may be displayed consecutively, improving the reader's readability and satisfaction.

[0196] 40 may be performed at different times. For example, when a request signal for requesting a digital cartoon is received by the digital cartoon providing device 200, steps S610 to S640 may be performed in advance, and when a request signal for requesting a digital cartoon is received by the digital cartoon providing device 200, steps S660 to S680 may be performed.

[0197] According to one embodiment, the subject performing each step illustrated in Fig. 40 may be the digital cartoon providing device 200. According to another embodiment, the subject performing each step illustrated in Fig. 40 may be the user terminal 100. According to yet another embodiment, the subject performing some of the steps illustrated in Fig. 40 may be the digital cartoon providing device 200, and the subject performing the remaining steps may be the user terminal 100.

[0198] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. In the above description, components constituting the user terminal 100 of FIG. 5 and the digital comic book providing device 200 of FIG. 6 may be embodied as modules. The module refers to software or hardware components such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an on-demand semiconductor (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), and the module performs a certain 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.

[0199] 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, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided for in the components and modules may be combined into fewer components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

[0200] 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, which, 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.

[0201] The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording media in which instructions that can be decoded by a computer are stored, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic tape, magnetic disk, flash memory, optical data storage device, etc.

[0202] 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 being stored semi-permanently in the storage medium and data being stored temporarily. For example, the "non-transitory storage medium" may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

[0203] According to an embodiment, the methods according to the various embodiments disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between sellers and buyers 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), directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones), or 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 the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store server, or an intermediary server.

[0204] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the attached drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure can be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical concept or essential features of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. [Industrial Applicability]

[0205] 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; detecting one or more cut regions and sequence regions from an edge of the page image excluding a margin for each of the acquired page images; assigning an order to the one or more detected cut regions along a line of sight of a reader; adjusting a size of the detected sequence area according to a posture of the user terminal and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area to match a size of a display of the user terminal; setting a mask layer that includes a viewport area for displaying content of the digital comic; and displaying a cut region of a current order in the adjusted-size sequence region through the viewport region; A method for providing digital comics, wherein the one or more cut areas include one or more of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

2. The acquired page image is one of a one-page image constituting the digital comic, a two-page image constituting the digital comic, and the one-page image detected from each of the two-page images; The two-page image is:

2. The method for providing digital comics according to claim 1, wherein the digital comics correspond to two consecutive pages that are visible when the printed comic is opened.

3. The method further includes rearranging the page images in a line along a reference direction, The reference direction is 2. The digital comic provision method of claim 1, including a first direction being a vertical direction from top to bottom, a second direction being a horizontal direction from left to right, a third direction being a horizontal direction from right to left, a fourth direction being a diagonal direction, and a fifth direction being an anti-diagonal direction.

4. and further comprising: rearranging the page image radially based on a display start position of the page image; The digital comic providing method according to claim 1 , wherein the display start position of the page image is determined based on a result of comparing a size of the first cut area of ​​the page image with a size of the display.

5. The orientation of the user terminal is one of a portrait mode and a landscape mode, The method of claim 1 , wherein the size adjustment criterion for the sequence region is one of a horizontal length of the sequence region and a vertical length of the sequence region.

6. The adjusting step includes: comparing the current posture of the user terminal with a display posture set for the digital cartoon when the current posture of the user terminal and the display posture are present; generating a message requesting a change in the attitude of the user terminal if the current attitude of the user terminal is different from the displayed attitude; and 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of adjusting a size of the detected sequence area according to the size of the display in the changed posture when the posture of the user terminal is changed by the message, and adjusting the size according to the confirmed size adjustment criterion.

7. The adjusting step includes:

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of adjusting a size of the detected sequence area according to a size of the display in the current posture of the user terminal and a confirmed size according to the adjustment criterion when there is no display posture set for the digital cartoon and the current posture of the user terminal.

8. The displaying step includes: The method for providing digital comics according to claim 1, further comprising changing an attribute of the viewport area while moving a position of the sequence area so that the cut area of ​​the current order is displayed through the viewport area in the adjusted size of the sequence area.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the attributes include one or more of a position, a shape, a size, a transparency, a color, and a crop.

10. The step of changing the attribute of the viewport area while moving the position of the sequence area includes: fixing the position of the viewport region to a reference position; and The method for providing digital comics according to claim 9, further comprising a step of gradually changing a shape and size of the viewport area to correspond to a shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current order while gradually moving an overall position of the sequence area so that the cut area of ​​the current order is located in the fixed viewport area.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising maintaining attributes of the viewport area whose shape and size have been changed and the position of the cut area displayed through the viewport area for a reference time.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reference time is determined based on an amount of information of the cut area displayed through the viewport area.

13. applying a visual effect to the cut area displayed through the viewport area; The visual effects are The cut area is wobbled.

11. The method for providing digital comics as claimed in claim 10, comprising one or more of the following: enlarging the cut area; enlarging the cut area and then reducing it to its original size; repeating the process of enlarging the cut area and then reducing it to its original size; switching the cut area from black and white to color; generating edges of the cut area; emphasizing edges of the cut area; shaking objects within the cut area; enlarging objects within the cut area; enlarging objects within the cut area and then reducing it to its original size; and repeating the process of enlarging objects within the cut area and then reducing them to their original size.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the visual effect is applied when the cut area displayed through the viewport area is a scene area that meets a pre-specified criterion.

15. The step of changing the attribute of the viewport area while moving the position of the sequence area includes: moving the position of the viewport area towards a first location on the display where the currently ordered cut region begins to be displayed; While moving the position of the viewport area, gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area to correspond to the shape and size of the cutting area of ​​the current sequence; and 10. The method for providing a digital comic book according to claim 9, further comprising the step of gradually moving an overall position of the sequence area so that the cut area of ​​the current order displayed through the viewport area where the modification has been completed moves from the first position to a second position, while also moving the position of the viewport area where the modification has been completed.

16. The step of changing the attribute of the viewport area while moving the position of the sequence area includes: moving the position of the viewport area towards a first location on the display where the currently ordered cut region begins to be displayed; gradually changing the shape and size of the viewport area to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current order when the cut area is first displayed at the first position while moving the position of the viewport area; and 10. The method for providing digital comics as claimed in claim 9, further comprising the step of gradually moving an overall position of the sequence area so that the cut area of ​​the current order that has begun to be displayed through the primarily changed viewport area moves from the first position to a second position, while gradually changing a shape and size of the viewport area to correspond to the shape and size of the cut area of ​​the current order that is being moved.

17. The digital comic providing method according to claim 1 , wherein the position movement of the sequence area and the attribute change of the viewport area are performed within a reference time.

18. the position of the sequence area is moved and the attributes of the viewport area are changed based on a display switching command; The display switching command includes at least one of a voice command and a gesture command, The gesture command includes one or more of a single tap, a double tap, a press, a deep press, a pan, a swipe, a flick, a scroll, and a drag; The method of claim 1, wherein the scrolling includes at least one of normal scrolling, long scrolling, snap scrolling, and parallax scrolling.

19. The digital comic providing method according to claim 18 , wherein the positional movement of the sequence area and the attribute change of the viewport area are performed in proportion to at least one of an input speed and an input amount of the display switching command.

20. The independent cut area is The method for providing digital comics according to claim 1, comprising one or more of cut areas having an outline, cut areas not having an outline but which may be separated by cut areas having an outline, and cut areas which are connected to each other by comic elements but may be divided.

21. The cut area that can be divided is: The method for providing digital comics according to claim 20, comprising one or more of two cut areas having outliers, two cut areas connected by a speech bubble but in which the text in the speech bubble is not cut off when the cut area is divided, and two cut areas connected by text without a speech bubble.

22. The non-independent cut region is The method for providing digital comics according to claim 1, comprising one or more of cut areas having cut areas therein, cut areas that are connected to each other by comic elements but cannot be divided, and cut areas that are not connected to each other by the comic elements but are arranged adjacent to each other and cannot be divided for the reader's readability.

23. The cut regions that are connected to each other by the cartoon elements but cannot be divided are The cut area includes at least one of two or more cut areas that are straddled by pictures, and two or more cut areas that are connected by a speech bubble but are separated when the speech bubble is separated by a text within the speech bubble; The cut area that cannot be divided for the reader's readability is In a first paragraph in which three or more cut areas are arranged in a specific direction, if the horizontal or vertical length of two or more adjacent cut areas is different from the horizontal or vertical length of the remaining cut areas, In the first paragraph, if the horizontal or vertical length of any one of the cut areas is different from the horizontal or vertical length of the remaining cut areas, If the size of any one of the cut regions in the first paragraph is less than a reference value, In the first paragraph, if there is no balloon area in two or more adjacent cut areas, or if the amount of information is less than a reference value, The method of claim 22, further comprising: when the contents of two adjacent cut regions in the first paragraph are similar to each other.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program including instructions for performing each step of the method for providing a digital comic book according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. one or more processors; and one or more memories configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform tasks; The one or more processors: Acquire page images from digital comics based on printed comics, Detecting one or more cut regions and sequence regions from an edge of the page image excluding a margin for each of the acquired page images; assigning an order to the one or more detected cut regions along the line of sight of the reader; adjusting a size of the detected sequence area according to a posture of the user terminal and a size adjustment criterion for the sequence area to match a display size of the user terminal; setting a mask layer that includes a viewport area in which content of the digital comic is to be displayed; The cut area of ​​the current order in the adjusted size sequence area is displayed through the viewport area; The one or more cut areas include one or more of an independent cut area and a non-independent cut area.

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