Multi-display handheld device and supporting system

• US 20100156913A1
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pleiades Publishing Limited Incorporated
• Original Assignee: enTourage Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, David C., Giovannoni, Michael J., Kralowetz, Joseph D., Burch, John T., Zafar, Nabeel, Mostafa, Asghar D., Atkinson, Douglas A., Mannix, Brendan M., Ortega, Douglas F., Roesch, Joseph C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,866,698 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/520
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1438 using more than one graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/02 Addressing, scanning or driving the display screen or processing steps related thereto
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user

Abstract

Current approaches to paperless books use single screen laptop computers or electronic paper display (EPD)-based book readers. Laptop computers consume too much power and cannot be used for extended periods of time, such as an entire school day, without recharging its battery. EPD devices are limited in functionality due to their slow refresh rate and grey-scale only images. An embodiment of the present invention integrates bi-stable display technology and refresh display technology into a single device and manages the use of these technologies to achieve power savings while providing a rich set of display functionalities to support user interaction with content in a synergistic manner. The power savings functionality enables the device to have a battery operating life between charges of many hours of operation, such as eight hours or more, while the display functionality enables users to access, display, and interact with content in ways users have become accustomed and in ways not before possible.

Claims

1. A system for displaying content to a user, the system comprising:

a bi-stable display;

a refresh display; and

a controller operationally coupled to the displays and configured to select the bi-stable display or the refresh display via which to render an image representing content as a function of user interaction with at least one of the displays and criteria defined by operational characteristics of the displays.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller includes a bi-stable display controller and a refresh display controller and wherein each controller is configured to determine whether user interaction with its respective display is within the operational characteristics of its respective display, and, if within, to render an image responsive to the user interaction thereby, and, if not within, to cause, notify, or request the other controller to render an image on its respective display responsive to the user interaction.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to render an image responsive to the user interaction via one of the displays that is more suited to render the image than the other display based on a comparison of the criteria of the displays specific to the user interaction.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the criteria includes at least one of the following criteria:

power, refresh rate, color, image motion, speed, page refresh, resolution, content format, and media type.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller includes a bi-stable display controller and a refresh display controller and wherein each controller is configured to render an image responsive to the user interaction based on whether its respective display is more suited to render the image than the other controller'"'"'s respective display based on a comparison of the criteria of the displays specific to the user interaction.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the criteria includes at least one of the following criteria:

power, refresh rate, color, motion, speed, page refresh, resolution, content format, and media type.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller includes:

a bi-stable display controller and a refresh display controller,

wherein the bi-stable display controller is configured to cause the refresh display controller to render an image via the refresh display based on user interaction via the bi-stable display; and

wherein the refresh display controller is configured to cause the bi-stable controller to render an image via the bi-stable display based on user interaction via the refresh display.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein:

the bi-stable display controller is further configured to pass messages to the refresh display controller via an operating system to cause the refresh display controller to render images via the refresh display; and

the refresh display controller is configured to pass messages to the bi-stable display controller via an operating system to cause the bi-stable display controller to render images via the bi-stable display.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the controllers are configured to pass messages to each other responsive to user interaction, the messages including pointers to an object stored in a memory accessible to each controller, the controllers further configured to access the object in the memory using the pointers and to render at least a portion of the object via their respective displays.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the controllers are configured to pass messages to each other responsive to user interaction, the messages including content to be rendered via the other controller'"'"'s display, the controllers further configured to render at least a portion of the content via their respective displays.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to receive an indication of a user'"'"'s interaction with a representation of a respective image rendered via the bi-stable display or the refresh display and wherein the controller is still further configured to receive the user interaction via a human-to-machine interface other than through interaction with the representation of the respective image.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to render images in an orientation-selectable manner via either or both displays, wherein orientation of the rendered images is selected by the user or determined by an orientation of at least one of the displays with respect to a viewing angle of the user.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to configure at least one of the displays with multiple virtual displays with different angular viewing orientations, the controller still further configured to render an image simultaneously on each of the multiple virtual displays.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is further configured to accept user interaction simultaneously from each virtual display.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is further configured to render the image on the multiple virtual displays in a synchronous manner.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is further configured to render the image on the multiple virtual displays in an asynchronous manner.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising an interface module operationally coupled to the controller and configured to communicate with another system, wherein the controller is further configurable to have its access, via the interface module, limited to (i) data from a specified source, or (ii) functions specified by the other system.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the system further comprises a master/slave module operationally coupled to the controller, the master/slave module configured to act in a master mode or a slave mode, and further configured to:

while acting in a master mode, control a controller of another system including a master/slave module acting in a slave mode; and

while acting in a slave mode, accept commands from a controller of another system including a master/slave module acting in a master mode.

19. The systems of claim 18 wherein the master/slave module is further configured to operate in a peer-to-peer network arrangement with a master/slave module of the other system.

20. The system of claim 18 further comprising an interface module configured to communicate with a central server and operationally coupled to the controller and master/slave module, wherein i) the master/slave module, acting in a master mode, is configured to control the other system via communications with the central server, and ii) the master/slave module, acting in a slave mode, is configured to accept commands from (a) the other system acting in a master mode responsive to communications via the central server or (b) the central server itself acting in a master mode.

21. A method for displaying content to a user, the method comprising:

selecting a bi-stable display or a refresh display via which to render an image representing content as a function of user interaction with at least one of the displays and criteria defined by operational characteristics of the displays; and

rendering the image on the display selected.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein selecting the bi-stable display or the refresh display includes determining whether user interaction with a given display is within the operational characteristics of the given display, and, if within, rendering an image responsive to the user interaction thereby and, if not within, causing, notifying, or requesting the other display to render an image on its respective display responsive to the user interaction thereby.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein further comprising rendering an image responsive to the user interaction via one of the displays that is more suited to render the image than the other display based on a comparison of the criteria of the displays specific to the user interaction.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the criteria includes at least one of the following criteria:

power, refresh rate, color, image motion, speed, page refresh, resolution, content format, and media type.

25. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

rendering an image via the refresh display based on user interaction via the bi-stable display; and

rendering an image via the bi-stable display based on user interaction via the refresh display.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

passing messages from the bi-stable display to the refresh display via an operating system to cause the refresh display to render images via the refresh display; and

passing messages from the refresh display to the bi-stable display via an operating system to cause the bi-stable display to render images via the bi-stable display.

27. The method of claim 25 further comprising (i) passing messages from one display to the other display responsive to user interaction, the messages including pointers to an object stored in a memory, (ii) accessing the object in memory using the pointers, and (iii) rendering at least a portion of the object via the other display.

28. The method of claim 25 further comprising (i) passing messages from one display to the other display responsive to user interaction, the messages including content to be rendered on the other display, and (ii) rendering at least a portion of the content via the other display.

29. The method of claim 21 further comprising receiving an indication of a user'"'"'s interaction with a representation of a respective image rendered via the bi-stable display or the refresh display, and further comprising receiving the user interaction via a human-to-machine interface other than through interaction with the representation of the respective image.

30. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

rendering images in an orientation-selectable manner via either or both displays, wherein the orientation of the rendered images is selected by the user or determined by an orientation of at least one of the displays with respect to a viewing angle of the user.

31. The method of claim 21 further comprising (i) configuring at least one of the displays with multiple virtual displays with different angular viewing orientations, and (ii) rendering an image simultaneously on each of the multiple virtual displays.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising accepting user interaction simultaneously from each of the multiple virtual displays.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein rendering the image on the multiple virtual displays is performed in a synchronous manner.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein rendering the image on the multiple virtual displays is performed in an asynchronous manner.

35. The method of claim 21 wherein the bi-stable display and refresh display compose a system and further comprising enabling:

(i) access to data to be limited to data from a specified source or (ii) executions of functions to be limited to functions specified by another system.

36. The method of claim 21 wherein the bi-stable display and refresh display compose a system, and further including (i) in a master mode, controlling another system acting in a slave mode, and (ii) in a slave mode, accepting commands from another system acting in a master mode.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising operating in master or slave modes in a peer-to-peer network arrangement with the other system.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein i) controlling another system includes sending communications to the other system via communications with a central server, and ii) (a) accepting commands from another system, acting in a master mode via communications with a central server or (b) accepting commands from the central server itself acting in a master mode.

39. A computer readable medium having computer readable program codes embodied therein for displaying content to a user, the computer readable medium program codes including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

select a bi-stable display or a refresh display via which to render an image representing content as a function of user interaction with at least one of the displays and criteria defined by operational characteristics of the displays; and

render the image on the display selected.

40. An apparatus for displaying content to a user, the apparatus comprising:

means for selecting a bi-stable display or a refresh display via which to render an image representing content as a function of user interaction with at least one of the displays and criteria defined by operational characteristics of the displays; and

means for rendering the image on the display selected.