Method for flipping pages via electromechanical information browsing device

• US 20060050054A1
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Published: 03/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sino Star Global Ltd.
• Original Assignee: E-BOOK SYSTEMS PTE. LTD.
• Inventors: Liang, Chee Cheng J., Ho, Seng Beng, Austin, Jason Bradley
• Granted Patent: US 7,342,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display

Abstract

A method for flipping pages of an electronic book via an electromechanical information browsing device that controls page flipping actions of information displayed as an e-book on a display device. The browsing device includes a controller that provides tactile feedback so as to lessen the user-interface differences between conventional books and e-books. Sensors and control mechanisms in the controller generate a series of electrical signals that are interpreted by the computer that displays the e-book to control various browsing operations, such as flipping pages, controlling a rate of page flipping, jumping to pre-set locations in the e-book, etc.

Claims

1. A method for flipping pages of an electronic book hosted on a computer-readable medium for presentation on a display, comprising steps of:

creating at least one of a set of complex page flipping commands with a mechanical browser;

transmitting the at least one of a set of page flipping commands from the mechanical browser to a computer that is configured to read data from said computer-readable medium; and

displaying a result from the at least one of a set of page flipping commands on the display computer.

2. The method for flipping pages of claim 1, wherein:

the mechanical browser comprises

a body having a sensor,

a browsing control device coupled to the sensor and configured to generate a control signal with a first direction component when a force is applied to the sensor in a first direction and a second direction component when the force is applied to the sensor in a second direction, and

an output port configured to output the control signal to a processor that controls which portion of said set of information is presented on a display.