METHOD FOR DISPLAYING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT, AND DEVICE AND COMPUTER PROGRAM THEREFOR

• US 20130151958A1
• Filed: 11/10/2012
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Muto, Satoshi, Yokoyama, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,114,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/273
• 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

Abstract

An electronic document includes a set of pages. A display is used that is configured to sense movement of a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen. In response to sensing movement using the display, a page corresponding to the electronic document is displayed on the screen in accordance with the sensed movement.

Claims

1. A method for displaying an electronic document that comprises a plurality of pages, comprising:

using a display configured to sense movement of a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen; and

displaying on the screen, in response to sensing movement via the display, a page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement.

2. The method of claim 1, where the sensing of movement in the vertical direction is performed by a sensor configured to detect movement in the vertical direction of an object in close proximity to the screen, where the display is equipped with the sensor, and where displaying the page on the screen comprises displaying the page corresponding to the electronic document on the screen in accordance with a moving distance of the object in the vertical direction when the object is within a detection range of the sensor.

3. The method of claim 2, where the electronic document comprising the plurality of pages comprises a single unit of display data divided into a plurality of paginated units.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

dividing the single unit of display data into a plurality of data sets on a basis of a display size of the screen in accordance with reception of an instruction to divide the single unit of display data; and

assigning page numbers to the plurality of divided data sets.

5. The method of claim 2, where displaying on the screen, in response to sensing the movement via the display, the page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement comprises fixing a display of the page corresponding to the electronic document being displayed on the screen in accordance with a sliding of the object in a predetermined direction within the detection range of the sensor.

6. The method of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, in response to sensing the movement via the display, the page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement comprises, one of:

displaying, as a transparent display on top of the fixed page display, one of;

one or more pages prior to the page number of the fixed page display;

one or more pages subsequent to the page number of the fixed page display; and

a plurality of pages including a combination of the one or more pages; and

displaying, as the transparent display, the fixed page display on top of one of;

the one or more pages prior to the page number of the fixed page display;

the one or more pages subsequent to the page number of the fixed page display; and

the plurality of pages including the combination of the one or more pages.

7. The method of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, in response to sensing the movement via the display, the page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement further comprises, after fixing the display of the page, one of:

transparently displaying a bookmarked page in the electronic document on top of the fixed page; and

transparently displaying the fixed page display on top of the bookmarked page.

8. The method of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, in response to sensing the movement via the display, the page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement further comprises, after fixing the display of the page, releasing the fixed page display.

9. The method of claim 2, where a farthest point in the detection range of the sensor in the vertical direction or a point at a predetermined distance from a surface of the screen within the detection range of the sensor in the vertical direction at which the object may be present is set as an initial page, and pages with a larger page number relative to the set initial page are displayed as the object approaches the screen.

10. The method of claim 9, where displaying on the screen, in response to sensing movement via the display, the page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement further comprises displaying pages corresponding to the electronic document to one of gradually accelerate at a constant acceleration rate and gradually decelerate at a constant deceleration rate while advancing through page numbers.

11. The method of claim 1, where the sensing of the movement in the vertical direction is performed by a sensor configured to detect movement in the vertical direction of an object in close proximity to the screen, where the display is equipped with the sensor, and where the electronic document comprises a plurality of sections, and further comprising detecting a presence of the object in a detection range of the sensor, and where displaying the page on the screen comprises displaying on the screen an initial page of a section corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with a moving distance of the object in the vertical direction when the object is within the detection range of the sensor.

12. The method of claim 11, where displaying on the screen the initial page of the section comprises displaying the initial page of the section displayed on the screen immediately before sliding of the object within the detection range of the sensor in a predetermined direction.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, after displaying the initial page of the section, displaying on the screen a page corresponding to the section in accordance with the moving distance in the vertical direction of the object.

14. The method of claim 1, where the sensing of the movement in the vertical direction is performed by a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure applied by an object in close proximity to the screen, where the display is equipped with the pressure sensor, and where displaying the page on the screen comprises displaying on the screen the corresponding page of the electronic document in accordance with the pressure of the object on the screen.

15. The method of claim 14, where, in comprising the plurality of pages, the electronic document comprises a single unit of display data divided into a plurality of paginated units.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising dividing a single unit of display data into a plurality of data sets on a basis of a display size of the screen in accordance with reception of an instruction to divide the single unit of display data, and assigning page numbers to the plurality of divided data sets.

17. A device for displaying an electronic document that comprises a plurality of pages, comprising:

a display configured to sense movement of a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen;

a memory configured to store the electronic document; and

a processor programmed to;

use the display configured to sense movement of the movable object in the vertical direction relative to the screen; and

display on the screen, in response to sensing movement via the display, a page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement.

18. A computer program product for displaying an electronic document that comprises a plurality of pages, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to;

use a display configured to sense movement of a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen; and

display on the screen, in response to sensing movement via the display, a page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensed movement.