Electronic Book Contextual Menu Systems and Methods

• US 20120221972A1
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Patterson, James, Moody, Nathan, Dougall, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,543,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• 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 an input recognition subsystem configured to provide a contextual menu in response to a held point of contact on a screen of the electronic book reader, wherein the contextual menu is responsive to a location and duration of the point of contact on the screen of the reader.

2. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein events occurring prior to the point of contact being created are used to determine what options are displayed in the contextual menu.

3. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein material displayed on the screen at the point of contact is used to determine what options are displayed in the contextual menu.

4. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein the input recognition subsystem is further configured to provide an animation that begins when the point of contact is created, and wherein creation of the contextual menu is cancelled in response to the point of contact being broken before the animation completes.

5. The electronic book reader of claim 1, wherein the input recognition subsystem is further configured to provide user selection of contextual menu options responsive to a second held point of contact.

6. The electronic book reader of claim 5, wherein the input recognition subsystem is further configured to provide an animation that begins when the second point of contact is created, and wherein selection of an option is cancelled in response to the second point of contact being broken before the animation completes.

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

displaying the electronic book on a screen;

providing a contextual menu in response to a held point of contact on the screen; and

determining options presented in the contextual menu responsive to a location and duration of the held point of contact on the screen.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the options are further determined by events occurring prior to the point of contact being created.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the options are further determined by material displayed on the screen at the point of contact.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing an animation that begins when the held point of contact is created, and wherein creation of the contextual menu is cancelled in response to the held point of contact being broken before the animation completes.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising selecting contextual menu options responsive to a second held point of contact.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing an animation that begins when the second held point of contact is created, wherein selection of an option is cancelled in response to the second point of contact being broken before the animation completes.

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

instructions to display the electronic book on a screen;

instructions to provide a contextual menu in response to a held point of contact on the screen; and

instructions to determine options presented in the contextual menu responsive to a location and duration of the held point of contact on the screen.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the options are further determined by events occurring prior to the point of contact being created.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the options are further determined by material displayed on the screen at the point of contact.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising instructions to provide an animation that begins when the held point of contact is created, and wherein creation of the contextual menu is cancelled in response to the held point of contact being broken before the animation completes.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising instructions to select contextual menu options responsive to a second held point of contact.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, further comprising instructions to provide an animation that begins when the second held point of contact is created, wherein selection of an option is cancelled in response to the second point of contact being broken before the animation completes.