Electronic simulation of interaction with printed matter

• US 20030117425A1
• Filed: 11/06/2002
• Published: 06/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zinio LLC (Naviga Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Zinio LLC (Naviga Inc.)
• Inventors: OʼLeary, Peter, Hogsett, Gerald R. II
• Granted Patent: US 7,171,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium having computer instructions provided thereon for enabling a computer to perform a method of simulating the effect of page turning including displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, where an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the printed document, responding to user input to simulate turning the printed page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the printed page and consecutively rendering individual representations of images of the page from a set of discrete representations one at a time to simulate the page being turned.

Claims

1. A method for electronically simulating interaction with images of printed matter, comprising:

displaying a first image corresponding to a first printed page on a display; and

responding to user input to simulate turning the page to display a second image corresponding to a second printed page.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the page.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the page is part of a plurality of printed pages of a bound publication.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein user input comprises clicking on an area of the page within the display.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising selecting a display mode of the display.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a display mode comprises a single page view mode or a multiple page view mode.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the multiple page view mode is selected from the group consisting of:

a double-page mode, a double-page mode with gatefold pages, and a double-page with an insert mode.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the single page view mode is selected from the group consisting of:

a single-page mode, a single page mode with gatefold pages, and a single-page with an insert mode.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising filling an excess area of the display not containing the image of the page with a solid color.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein upon a single page view display mode being selected, the first image comprises a cover page of the bound publication and the simulation of turning the page comprises launching a right-to-left page turning animation initiated via user input, and wherein a result of the page turning displays the second image comprising an inside-front-cover page.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising sliding the second image to the left as a result of user input.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising causing a slide-to-the-right viewpoint adjustment resulting in a slide-to-the-left reveal of an image of a third page immediately following the inside-front-cover page as a result of user input.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising a slide-to-the-left viewpoint adjustment and a simultaneous right-to-left page turning animation of the image of the third page as a result of user input.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising a slide-to-the-right viewpoint adjustment and a slide-to-the-left reveal of an image of a fourth page as a result of user input.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first image comprises a cover page of the bound publication and the simulation of turning the page when in single-page display mode comprises launching a slide-to-the-left viewpoint adjustment which substantially corresponds to a slide-to-the-right reveal of an image of a back cover page.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising a slide-to-the-right viewpoint adjustment combined with a left-to-right page turning animation to reveal an image of a third page immediately preceding the image of the back cover page as a result of user input.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising a slide-to-the-left viewpoint adjustment, as a result of user input, for revealing an image of a fourth page immediately preceding the image of the third page.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising a slide-to-the-left viewpoint adjustment as a result of user input and a simultaneous left-to-right page turning animation to reveal an image of a fifth page immediately preceding the image of the fourth page.

19. The methods according to claim 10, wherein user input comprises using a mouse to click on the image of a page displayed.

20. The method of claim 3, further comprising tracking the page viewing characteristics of a user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein a finite-state machine algorithm is used to track the viewing characteristics of the user.

22. The method of claim 6, wherein the simulation of turning a page when in double-page mode comprises responding to user input by launching a right-to-left page-turning animation for revealing an image of an inside-front-cover page and an image of the first side of a page immediately following it.

23. The method of claim 6, wherein the simulated page turning when in double-page mode comprises responding to user input when displaying an image of a back cover page by launching a left-to-right page turning animation for revealing an image of an inside-back-cover page and an image of a page immediately preceding it.

24. The method of claim 6, wherein the simulation of turning a page when in double-page mode comprises responding to user input when displaying an image of an inside back cover page by launching a right-to-left page turning animation for revealing an image of a back cover page as a left-most page and an image of the front cover page as a right-most page.

25. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of turning a page when in double-page mode with an image of gatefold page obscuring a portion of an image of left-most page of the publication comprises:

responding to user input by moving the viewpoint farther away from the pages; and

launching a right-to-left page turning animation for unfolding the gatefold page and revealing a page that was obscured by the gatefold page as well as a reverse side of the gatefold page.

26. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning a page when in double-page mode with an image of a left-most unfolded gatefold page comprises:

responding to user input on the gatefold page by launching a left-to-right page turning animation that refolds the gatefold page;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages substantially fitting the gatefold page and the right-most page within the display.

27. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning a page when in double-page mode with an image of a gatefold page obscuring a portion of an image of a right-most page comprises:

responding to user input on the gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from pages; and

launching a left-to-right page turning animation for unfolding the gatefold page and simultaneously revealing a page obscured by the gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page.

28. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode with an image of an right-most unfolded gatefold page comprises:

responding to user input on the gatefold page by launching a right-to-left page turning animation that substantially refolds the gatefold; and

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages wherein the gatefold page and the left-most page are substantially fitted within the display.

29. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode where images of gatefold pages obscure portions of images of both a left-most page and a right-most page comprises:

responding to user input on the gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the pages;

launching a right-to-left page turning animation to unfold the left-most gatefold and simultaneously revealing the page obscured by the gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page;

responding to user input on the gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the pages; and

launching a left-to-right page turning animation for unfolding the right-most gatefold and simultaneously revealing a page obscured by the gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page.

30. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode with images of gatefold pages obscuring both images of a left-most page and a right-most page comprises:

responding to user input on the right-most gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the page;

launching a left-to-right page turning animation to unfold the gatefold page and simultaneously reveal the page that was obscured by the right-most gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page;

responding to user input on the left-most gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the pages; and

launching a right-to-left page turning animation to unfold the left-most gatefold and simultaneously reveal the page that was obscured by the gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page.

31. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode with images of two unfolded gatefold pages, one on the left side and one on the right side, comprises:

responding to user input on the left-most gatefold page by launching a left-to-right page turning animation to refold the left-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages;

substantially fitting the left-most gatefold page, the right-most page, and the unfolded right-most gatefold page into the display;

responding to user input on the right-most gatefold page by launching a right-to-left page turning animation to refold the right-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages; and

substantially fitting the left-most gatefold page and the right-most gatefold page into the display.

32. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode with images of two “

unfolded”

gatefold pages, one on the left side and one on the right side comprises;

responding to user input on the right-most gatefold page by launching a right-to-left page turning animation to refold the right-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages;

substantially fitting the left-most page, the right-most gatefold page, and the unfolded left-most gatefold page into the display;

responding to user input on the left-most gatefold page by launching a left-to-right page turning animation that refolds the left-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages; and

substantially fitting the left-most gatefold page and the right-most gatefold page within the display.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising user input which launches:

a left-to-right page turning animation to refold the left-most gatefold;

a right-to-left page turning animation to refold the right-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the pages; and

substantially fitting both the left-most gatefold page and the rightmost gatefold page within the display.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein upon the left-most edge of the left-most unfolded gatefold page being clicked on by a user, then subsequent to the change in viewpoint, a left-to-right page turning animation occurs which reveals two pages preceding the two gatefold pages.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein upon the right-most edge of the right-most unfolded gatefold page being clicked on by a user, then subsequent to the change in viewpoint, a right-to-left page turning animation occurs which reveals two pages following the two gatefold pages.

36. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in single-page mode where an image of a gatefold page obscures an image of a left-most page comprises:

responding to user input on the gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the pages so that two pages are viewed together in the same screen space previously allocated to one page; and

launching a right-to-left page turning animation to unfold the gatefold to reveal a page that was obscured by the gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page simultaneously.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the response to a mouse click on the left-most edge of the unfolded gatefold page comprises:

launching a left-to-right page turning simulation to refold the left-most gatefold page;

moving the viewpoint closer to the page and enable the gatefold page to substantially fill the display; and

a second left-to-right page turning animation to reveal a page previous to the gatefold page.

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein the response to a mouse click on the right-most edge of the unfolded gatefold page comprises:

launching a left-to-right page turning animation to refold the left-most gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the page to enable the gatefold page to substantially fill the display;

moving the viewpoint to the right to reveal a page immediately following the page that the gatefold page obscures or a right-most gatefold page;

moving the viewpoint farther away from the page upon the existence of a right-most gatefold; and

a left-to-right page turning animation to unfold the right-most gatefold.

39. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in single-page mode with an image of a gatefold page obscuring an image of a right-most page comprises:

responding to a mouse-click on the left-most edge of the gatefold page by moving the viewpoint farther away from the page; and

launching a left-to-right page turning animation to unfold the gatefold simultaneously revealing a page obscured by the right-most gatefold page and a reverse side of the gatefold page.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the response to a mouse click on the right-most edge of the unfolded right-most gatefold page comprises:

launching a right-to-left page turning animation to refold the rightmost gatefold;

moving the viewpoint closer to the page enabling the gatefold page to substantially fill the display; and

launching a second right-to-left page turning animation to reveal a page following the gatefold page.

41. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in single-page mode with an insert comprises responding to a click on the right-most edge of an insert by launching a right-to-left page turning animation to reveal a reverse side of the insert and subsequently rendering the left-most facing page behind the insert.

42. The method according to claim 6, wherein the simulation of the turning of a page when in double-page mode with an insert comprises responding to a click on the right-most edge of an insert by launching a right-to-left page turning animation to reveal a reverse side of the insert.

43. A method of simulating the effect of page turning comprising:

displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the printed document;

responding to user input to simulate turning the printed page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the printed page; and

consecutively rendering individual representations of images of the page from a set of discrete representations one at a time to simulate the page being turned.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein rendering each individual configuration comprises:

creating an array of X, Y and Z first coordinates representing points on a grid in a three dimensional space;

storing values in the array representing an image of the shape of the page at snapshots in time as the page is turned;

dividing the image of the page into a rectilinear grid of second coordinates of sub-images whose aspect ratios match the aspect ratios of a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said X, Y and Z coordinates, wherein upon said grid of second coordinates includes a plurality of points A in one dimension and a plurality of second points B in another dimension, and the number of rectilinear sub-images are substantially in accordance with the formula (A−

1)*(B−

1); and

texture-mapping said grid of sub-images onto a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said first coordinate points.

45. The method according to claim 44, further comprising requesting a screen render of each resulting sub-image.

46. The method according to claim 44, wherein each coordinate comprises a double-precision floating-point number.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the number of coordinates in the array of X, Y and Z coordinates determines a resolution of the page, and wherein a lower resolution is represented by fewer total points and a higher resolution is represented by more total points.

48. The method of claim 44, further comprising increasing the quantity of snapshots to provide a smoother page turning simulation.

49. The method of claim 44, further comprising decreasing the quantity of snapshots to provide a coarser page turning simulation.

50. The method of claim 43, wherein rendering each individual configuration of the page comprises:

calculating and storing a non-rational B-spline (NURB) surface to represent the page being turned, wherein first tangent vectors are defined at a spine edge to define the NURB surface at the spine, and wherein second tangent vectors are defined at an outer edge opposite the spine edge to substantially complete the NURB surface;

calculating and storing a second NURB surface, to which third tangent vectors defined at an outer edge of the turning page NURB are normal;

texture-mapping an image of the front page of the page being turned, onto a front side of the page NURB; and

texture-mapping the image of the back page of the page being turned, onto the back side of the page NURB.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the first tangent vectors defined at the spine edge of the page NURB vary throughout the page turning.

52. The method according to claim 51, wherein the variance of the first tangent vectors is broken into discrete steps.

53. The method according to claim 50, wherein the first tangent vectors defined at the spine edge vary by initially pointing in a direction of an initial lay of the page, and, substantially at completion, point in nearly an opposite direction as the page turn completes.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein the surface area of the page NURB and its edge lengths remain substantially fixed at all times.

55. The method of claim 43, wherein a stiffness of the page is simulated by restricting the numerical range of a first derivative of a spline laid along a surface of the page NURB at a given point on the surface.

56. A system for performing a method for electronically simulating interaction with images of printed matter, comprising:

displaying means for displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the page; and

responding means for responding to user input to simulate turning the page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the page.

57. A system for performing a method of simulating the effect of page turning comprising:

displaying means for displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the printed document;

responding means for responding to user input to simulate turning the printed page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the printed page; and

rendering means for consecutively rendering individual representations of images of the page from a set of discrete representations one at a time to simulate the page being turned.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the rendering means comprises:

creating means for creating an array of X, Y and Z first coordinates representing points on a grid in a three dimensional space;

storing means for storing values in the array representing an image of the shape of the page at snapshots in time as the page is turned;

dividing means for dividing the image of the page into a rectilinear grid of second coordinates of sub-images whose aspect ratios match the aspect ratio of a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said X, Y and Z coordinates, wherein upon said grid of second coordinates including a plurality of points A in one dimension and a plurality of second points B in another dimension, the number of rectilinear sub-images are substantially in accordance with the formula (A−

1)*(B−

1); and

texture-mapping means for texture mapping said grid of sub-images onto a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said first coordinate points.

59. A computer readable medium including computer instructions for enabling a computer system to perform a method for electronically simulating interaction with images of printed matter, the method comprising:

displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the page; and

responding to user input to simulate turning the page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the page.

60. A computer readable medium including computer instructions for enabling a computer to perform a method of simulating the effect of page turning, the method comprising:

displaying a first image corresponding to a first side of a printed page on a display, wherein an aspect ratio of the display is automatically adjusted to an aspect ratio of the printed document;

responding to user input to simulate turning the printed page to display a second image corresponding to a second side of the printed page; and

consecutively rendering individual representations of images of the page from a set of discrete representations one at a time to simulate the page being turned.

61. The computer readable medium of claim 60, wherein the computer instructions for performing the rendering step of the method comprises the method of:

creating an array of X, Y and Z first coordinates representing points on a grid in a three dimensional space;

storing values in the array representing an image of the shape of the page at snapshots in time as the page is turned;

dividing the image of the page into a rectilinear grid of second coordinates of sub-images whose aspect ratios match the aspect ratio of a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said X, Y and Z coordinates, wherein upon said grid of second coordinates including a plurality of points A in one dimension and a plurality of second points B in another dimension, the number of rectilinear sub-images are substantially in accordance with the formula (A−

1)*(B−

1); and

texture mapping said grid of sub-images onto a set of convex four-sided polygons bounded by said first coordinate points.