Enhancing Touch and Feel on the Internet

• US 20090055290A1
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scott C Harris
• Original Assignee: Scott C Harris
• Inventors: Harris, Scott C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,738,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

A system for enabling touch and feel over the internet provides a three-dimensional representation of a good being sold, that three-dimensional representation being viewable from a number of different directions. In one embodiment, the good being sold is in a package and the package is displayed from the number of different directions. Another embodiment has the good being a book, and the inside and outside covers of the book are displayed and specified pages of the book can be displayed. The user can read from either the label or the covers just like as if the were actually handling the good.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing an electronic version of a book;

enabling a prospective purchaser to read only a portion of the book prior to purchase of the book;

displaying to a user, a book reading fee, that is charged for allowing the user to read the entire book; and

allowing the user to read the whole book only after obtaining said book reading fee from said user.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the book can be read in multiple sessions after paying said book reading fee.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said allowing comprises allowing the user to download the book after paying said book reading fee.

4. A method as in claim 1, further comprising providing a bookmark function which marks a location of reading and enables navigating back to said location of reading at a later time.

5. A method as in claim 1, further comprising enabling navigation to a specified page in the book.

6. A method comprising:

allowing the user to read only a portion of a book electronically on a electronic book reading computer;

accepting a fee from the user to read the entire book electronically on the electronic book reading computer; and

responsive to said accepting said fee, allowing the user to read the entire book electronically, wherein said allowing comprises allowing the user to read only a portion of the book electronically.

7. A method as in claim 6, further comprising enabling download of the electronic book.

8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the electronic book is encrypted.

9. A method as in claim 8, further comprising, responsive to said accepting a fee, decrypting said electronic book to allow it to be read.

10. A method as in claim 7, wherein said download is enabled only after paying said fee.

11. A method as in claim 6, further comprising a bookmark function, which allows marking a last-place of reading.

12. A method as in claim 6, further comprising a navigation function that allows navigation to a specified page in the book.

13. A method, comprising:

providing a locked electronic copy of a book to a user, which lock electronic copy can be viewed on a book reading computer, but which when provided, is locked against reading and cannot be read on said book reading computer;

accepting a fee from a user to read the entire book electronically; and

responsive to said accepting a fee, unlocking said electronic copy.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein said locked electronic copy is encrypted, and responsive to said accepting said fee, providing a decryption code that allows reading the book.

15. A method as in claim 13, further comprising responsive to accepting said fee, providing a code to the user that allows the electronic copy to be read.

16. A method as in claim 15, wherein said providing comprises enabling download of the electronic copy of the book.

17. A method as in claim 16 wherein said providing a code comprises providing a decryption code.