Viewable information creating system, digital content creating system, digital content distribution system, and digital content creating program

• US 20020054035A1
• Filed: 09/06/2001
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Nitta, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 6,920,617 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A digital content distribution system is provided which is suitable for outputting digital content in a layout that is easy to view for a user.

A content distribution terminal 100 creates digital content by determining an output layout for the digital content, based on other-user-unique information and other-user-designated information in a user information record DB 40, and distributes the created digital content based on a distribution address for the user information used for the creation. In the determination of the output layout, when the number of characters of character information forming one article in the digital content is greater than the number of storable characters in a character information frame, the part of the character information which is greater than the number of the storable characters is stored in another character information frame, and guidance information for referring to the excess part is stored in the character information frame in which the part of the character information which is less than the number of the storable characters is stored.

Claims

1. A system for creating viewable information capable of being viewed, comprising:

user information storage means for storing user information on each user;

the viewable information being created by determining, based on the user information in the user information storage means, an output layout for the viewable information.

2. A system for creating digital content, comprising:

user information storage means for storing user information on each user; and

content creating means for creating the digital content by determining, based on the user information in the user information storage means, an output layout for the digital content.

3. A digital content creating system according to claim 2, wherein:

said content creating means creates the digital content by disposing, in an output area, a character information frame for storing character information, and storing, in the character information frame, character information included in the digital content; and

when the number of characters of character information that forms one document in the digital content is greater than the number of storable characters in the character information frame, said content creating seals stores, in another character information frame, the part of the character information which is greater than the number of the storable characters, and stores, in the character information frame in which part of the character information which is less than the number of the storable characters is stored, guidance information for referring to the excess part.

4. A digital content creating system according to claim 2, wherein:

said content creating means creates the digital content by disposing, in an output area, a character information frame for storing character information, and storing, in the character information frame, character information included in the digital content; and

when the number of characters of character information forming one document in the digital content is greater than the number of storable characters in the character information frame, said content creating means deletes the part of the character information which is greater than the number of the storable characters, and stores, in the character information frame in which the part of the character information which is less than the number of the storable characters is stored, guidance information indicating that the excess part has been deleted.

5. A digital content creating system according to claim 2, further comprising abbreviation storage means in which each abbreviation obtained by omitting part of a word form is stored so as to be associated with a word or sentence comprising the word form, wherein:

said content creating means creates the digital content by disposing, in an output area, a character information frame for storing character information, and storing, in the character information frame, character information included in the digital content; and

when the number of characters of character information that forms one document in the digital content is greater than the number of storable characters in the character information frame, said content creating means converts each word or sentence which is included in the character information into an abbreviation by referring to the abbreviation storage means, and stores, in the character information frame, the character information obtained after the conversion.

6. A digital content creating system according to claim 2, wherein:

said content creating means creates the digital content by arranging, in an output area, images which are included in a character information frame for storing character information and in the digital content so that the images cannot overlap mutually, and storing, in the character information frame, the character information which is included in the digital content; and

when the number of characters of character information forming one document in the digital content is greater than the number of storable characters in the character information frame, said content creating means expands the area of the character information frame beyond a range in which the character information frame does not overlap with the images so that the character information can be stored in the character information frame.

7. A digital content creating system according to claim 6, wherein, when the character information frame overlaps with the images as a result of the expansion of the character information frames said content creating means determines, based on the color of the overlapping part of the images, the color of characters in the overlapping part of the character information frame.

8. A digital content creating system according to claim 2, wherein the processes set forth in claims 3 to 6 of said content creating means are selectively executed by the user.

9. A digital content creating system according to any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein:

said content creating means creates the digital content by disposing, in an output area, a character information frame for storing character information, and storing, in the character information frame, character information included in the digital content; and

when the number of characters of character information forming one document in the digital content is less than the number of storable characters in the character information frame, said content creating means reduces the character information frame, and arranges other digital content, an advertisement, and other information in a free area of the output area which is formed by the reduction.

10. A digital content creating system according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein, based on the number of images included in the digital content or the amount of character information included in the digital content, the output layout for the digital content is determined by said content creating means.

11. A digital content creating system according to claim 10, wherein, based on the aspect ratio of the images included in the digital content, the output layout for the digital content is determined by said content creating means.

12. A digital content creating system according to any one of claims 2 to 11, wherein:

the user information includes content information the distribution of which is desired by the user; and

based on the content information in the user information storage means, the output layout for the digital content is determined by said content creating means.

13. A digital content distribution system for distributing the digital content by using a digital content creating system as set forth in any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein:

the user information includes an address to which the digital content is distributed; and

the digital content distribution system comprises content distribution means for, based on the address for the user information which is used for the creation by said content creating means, distributing the digital content created by said content creating means.

14. A program for creating digital content, that causes a computer comprising user information storage means for storing user information on each user to execute processing implemented as content creating means which creates digital content by determining, based on the user information in the user information storage means, an output layout for the digital content.