Electronic Book Navigation Systems and Methods

• US 20120221968A1
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Patterson, James, Moody, Nathan, Dougall, Scott
• Application Number:
  US13/182,773
• Publication Number:
  US 20120221968A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/60 Rotation of whole images or parts thereof

Abstract

An electronic book system provides interfaces particularly suited to students'"'"' use of textbooks. A finger press on a touch screen produces a contextual menu with user choices that relate to where the finger was pressed or what the user was recently doing with the book. A student provisionally navigates through a book by a specific gesture which, when it stops, returns the user to the previous position in the book. Annotations are displayed and hidden using specific gestures and through selective movement of the reader as sensed by its accelerometer.

Claims

1. An electronic book reader, comprising a navigation subsystem configured to provisionally change display of an electronic book from a first portion to a second portion responsive to a first user input, from the second portion back to the first portion responsive to a second user input, and to make the change non-provisional responsive to a third user input.

2. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein the first user input includes the user touching a screen of the reader at a first set of contact points, the second user input includes the user changing to a second set of contact points, and the third user input includes the user changing to a third set of contact points.

3. The electronic book reader of claim 2, wherein the second set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

4. The electronic book reader of claim 2, wherein the third set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

5. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein the first user input includes a first user gesture, the second user input includes a second user gesture, and the third user input includes a third user gesture.

6. The electronic book reader of claim 5, wherein the second user gesture corresponds to a release from the first user gesture.

7. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein the first user input includes touching a screen of the electronic book reader with at least a first point of contact and a second point of contact, the second user input includes breaking the first point of contact, and the third user input includes breaking the second point of contact.

8. A computer implemented method of using an electronic book, comprising:

provisionally changing a display of an electronic book from a first portion to a second portion responsive to a first user input;

returning the display to the first portion responsive to a second user input; and

making the changing of the display non-provisional responsive to a third user input.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first user input includes the user touching a screen of an electronic book reader at a first set of contact points, the second user input includes the user changing to a second set of contact points, and the third user input includes the user changing to a third set of contact points.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the third set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first user input includes a first user gesture, the second user input includes a second user gesture, and the third user input includes a third user gesture.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second user gesture corresponds to a release from the first user gesture.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the first user input includes touching a screen of the electronic book reader with at least a first point of contact and a second point of contact, the second user input includes breaking the first point of contact, and the third user input includes breaking the second point of contact.

15. A computer program product that comprises a non-transient computer readable storage medium containing executable computer program instructions for using an electronic book, comprising:

instructions to provisionally change a display of an electronic book from a first portion to a second portion responsive to a first user input;

instructions to return the display to the first portion responsive to a second user input; and

instructions to make the change of the display non-provisional responsive to a third user input.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the first user input includes the user touching a screen of an electronic book reader at a first set of contact points, the second user input includes the user changing to a second set of contact points, and the third user input includes the user changing to a third set of contact points.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the second set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the third set of contact points is a subset of the first set of contact points.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the first user input includes a first user gesture, the second user input includes a second user gesture, and the third user input includes a third user gesture.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the second user gesture corresponds to a release from the first user gesture.

21. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the first user input includes touching a screen of the electronic book reader with at least a first point of contact and a second point of contact, the second user input includes breaking the first point of contact, and the third user input includes breaking the second point of contact.

22. An electronic book reader, comprising a navigation subsystem configured to provide user controls to create, manage and use bookmarks, said user controls comprising:

a user control to add a bookmark on a currently viewable page;

a first graphical representation, representing an entire electronic book, including the position of all existing bookmarks relative to the beginning and the end of the electronic book, as well as the currently viewable page;

a control to navigate to a second page indicated by an existing bookmark; and

a second graphical indication, indicating whether the currently viewable page is bookmarked.

23. The electronic book reader of claim 22, wherein the first graphical representation also displays positions of chapter breaks within the electronic book.

24. A computer implemented method of creating, managing and using bookmarks in an electronic book, comprising:

providing a user control to add a bookmark on a currently viewable page;

providing a first graphical representation, representing an entire electronic book, including the position of all existing bookmarks relative to the beginning and the end of the electronic book, as well as the currently viewable page;

providing a user control to navigate to a second page indicated by an existing bookmark; and

providing a second graphical indication, indicating whether the currently viewable page is bookmarked.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first graphical representation also displays positions of chapter breaks within the electronic book.

26. A computer program product that comprises a non-transient computer readable storage medium containing computer executable instructions for creating, managing and using bookmarks in an electronic book, comprising:

instructions to provide a user control to add a bookmark on a currently viewable page;

instructions to provide a graphical representation of an entire electronic book, including the position of all existing bookmarks relative to the beginning and the end of the electronic book, as well as the currently viewable page;

instructions to provide a user control to navigate to a second page indicated by an existing bookmark; and

instructions to provide a second graphical indication, indicating whether the currently viewable page is bookmarked.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the first graphical representation also displays positions of chapter breaks within the electronic book.