WRITABLE ELECTRONIC BOOK

• US 20090000830A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Hye Joo, Hwangbo, Hyung Ho, Kim, Jung Hoom, Kwon, Soon Joo, Kim, Hyun Ki, Kim, Seog Guen
• Application Number:
  US12/147,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20090000830A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 178/18.30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1649 the additional display being independently orientable, e.g. for presenting information to a second user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1654 the display being detachable, e.g. for remote use
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1683 for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0283 for data storage and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display

Abstract

A writable electronic book, including a binder body, a plurality of electronic paper modules, each representing a single sheet of paper detachably coupled to the binder body, to display content, and a write panel that is included in at least one of the electronic paper modules and that overlaps at least part of a display area of the at least one of the electronic paper modules, to receive manipulation information and write information of a user via a digital pen. The write information inputted through the write panel is added to the content and is stored.

Claims

1. A writable electronic book comprising:

a binder body;

a plurality of electronic paper modules, each representing a single sheet of paper detachably coupled to the binder body, to display content;

a write panel that is included in at least one of the electronic paper modules and that overlaps at least part of a display area of the at least one of the electronic paper modules, to receive manipulation information and write information from a user via a digital pen;

wherein the write information inputted through the write panel is added to the content and is stored.

2. The writable electronic book according to claim 1, wherein the write information is stored in relation to information of a currently displayed page on the at least one of the electronic paper modules.

3. The writable electronic book according to claim 1, wherein the write panel is a transparent paper type that is attachable and detachable separately from the electronic paper modules.

4. The writable electronic book according to claim 3, wherein each of the electronic paper modules comprises:

a memory to store the content;

a body interface to input data to the electronic paper module and output data to the binder body;

a controller to generate display data by reading the content stored in the memory according to a manipulation command inputted from the body interface and to store write information inputted from the body interface in a corresponding region of the memory; and

an electronic paper display to display the display data generated from the controller.

5. The writable electronic book according to claim 4, wherein the binder body comprises:

a fixing unit to attach and detach the electronic paper modules to and from the binder body;

a plurality of paper interfaces to input data to, and output data from, the electronic paper modules;

a panel interface to receive data from the write panel; and

a body controller to output, through a corresponding one of the paper interfaces write information inputted through the panel interface to be recorded in a corresponding region of the electronic paper module.

6. The writable electronic book according to claim 5, wherein the write panel comprises:

a pen detector to detect movement of a digital pen;

a write panel controller to generate write data from the movement detected by the pen detector;

a write panel memory to store a control program and temporal data; and

a write panel interface to output the write data to the binder body.

7. The writable electronic book according to claim 6, wherein the body interface, the panel interface, and the write panel interface are operated by wireless bus interfaces.

8. The writable electronic book according to claim 3, wherein each of the electronic paper modules comprises:

a memory to store the content;

a panel interface to receive data from the write panel;

a controller to generate display data by reading the content stored in the memory according to a manipulation command inputted from the panel interface and to store write information inputted from the panel interface in a corresponding region of the memory; and

an electronic paper display to display the display data generated from the controller.

9. The writable electronic book according to claim 8, wherein the transparent write panel comprises:

a pen detector to detect movement of the digital pen;

a write panel controller to generate write data from the movement detected by the pen detector;

a write panel memory to store a control program and temporal data; and

a paper interface to output the write data to the electronic paper modules.

10. The writable electronic book according to claim 9, wherein the paper interface and the panel interface are both a contactless near-field communication interface.

11. The writable electronic book according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of transparent write panels are fixedly coupled to the electronic paper modules.

12. The writable electronic book according to claim 1, wherein the binder body comprises:

a fixing unit to detachably couple the electronic paper module to the binder body;

a memory to store the content;

a paper interface to input data to, and output data from, the electronic paper module;

a panel interface to receive data from the write panel; and

a controller to output, through the paper interface, write information inputted through the panel interface and including a write processor to store the write information in relation to currently displayed information in the memory.

13. The writable electronic book according to claim 12, wherein the controller of the binder body further includes a content receiver to receive content information from a host computer through a network and to store the content information in the memory.

14. The writable electronic book according to claim 1, wherein the binder body further includes a pen container in which the digital pen is stored.

15. The writable electronic book according to claim 14, wherein:

the digital pen includes an external memory; and

the binder body includes a connector connected to the external memory of the digital pen.

16. The writable electronic book according to claim 14, wherein the digital pen further includes a radio frequency identification (RF-ID) reader.

17. An electronic book comprising:

a binder body;

at least one electronic paper module detachably coupled to the binder body to display content to a user; and

at least one write panel arranged so as to overlap at least a portion of a corresponding one of the at least one electronic paper module, to receive input from the user.

18. The electronic book of claim 17, wherein each of the at least one write panel is integrated with the corresponding one of the at least one electronic paper module.

19. The electronic book of claim 17, wherein the at least one write panel comprises one write panel detachably coupled to one of the at least one electronic paper module.

20. The electronic book of claim 17, further comprising:

a cable to couple the at least one electronic paper module to the binder body and to couple the at least one write panel to the binder body; and

wherein the at least one write panel communicates with the corresponding one of the at least one electronic paper module via the cable and the binder body.

21. The electronic book of claim 17, wherein:

each of the at least one electronic paper module comprises a panel interface to communicate with a corresponding one of the at least one write panel without communicating via the binder body; and

each of the at least one write panel comprises a paper interface to communicate with the corresponding one of the at least one electronic paper module without communicating via the binder body.

22. The electronic book of claim 17, wherein the binder body comprises:

a fixing unit to which each of the at least one electronic paper module is detachably coupled;

a paper interface to communicate with the at least one electronic paper module;

a panel interface to communicate with the at least one write panel; and

a controller to control the at least one electronic paper module and the at least one write panel via the paper interface and the panel interface, respectively.

23. The electronic book of claim 22, wherein the binder body further comprises:

a network communication unit to communicate with a network.

24. The electronic book of claim 23, wherein:

the binder body receives an update to the at least one electronic paper module via the network communication unit; and

the controller updates the at least one electronic paper module based on the update, via the paper interface.