Page manipulation facility

• US 6,046,743 A
• Filed: 11/22/1996
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Stenton, Stuart Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): dela Torre, Crescelle N.
• Application Number:
  US08/737,473
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 345/350, 345/348, 345/349, 345/339, 345/351, 345/326, 345/340
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

The present invention relates to devices for displaying pages of electronically stored data, particularly handheld, pen-based devices. Each of the pages has a region for displaying a title. Users can move or copy displayed pages by pressing an off-screen button which causes the display to animate to show movement of the page so that the title of the page is shown skewed. When the user has selected a destination for the page, the buttton is again pressed to cause the page to be replaced in the selected destination. This invention provides a naturalistic way for users to move and copy pages in a personal information device and is particularly effective for maintaining two contexts on a small screen.

Claims

1. A device for storing electronic information in the form of electronic documents, each document comprising one or more pages of information, each page of information having a region for displaying a title, the device comprising:

a screen for displaying a page of an electronic document; and

a user control input facility for designating on the screen a displayed page for manipulation to change either the document of which the designated page is a part or another document, wherein upon designation of a page, the designated page display is moved across the screen so that at least a part of the region for displaying a title of the designated page is displayed until a particular manipulation of the designated page is selected, and wherein a further page may be displayed without being substantially obscured by the designated page.

2. A device according to claim 1 comprising means for a user to move and copy pages.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said part of the region for displaying a title of the page is displayed at the bottom of the display screen.

4. A device according to claim 2 wherein said user control input facility includes a device having a bistable action for initiating and completing page manipulation.

5. A device according to claim 1 further comprising means for communicating with other systems and means for a user to transmit pages.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein said part of the region for displaying a title of the page is displayed at the bottom of the display screen.

7. A device according to claim 5 wherein said user control input facility includes a device having a bistable action for initiating and completing page manipulation.

8. A device according to claim 1 wherein said part of the region for displaying a title of the page is displayed at the bottom of the display screen.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein said user control input facility includes a device having a bistable action for initiating and completing page manipulation.

10. A device according to claim 1 wherein said user control input facility includes a device having a bistable action for initiating and completing page manipulation.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein the movement of the designated page across the screen is animated.

12. A device according to claim 1, wherein the part of the title region of the page is displayed in a skewed manner.

13. A method for storing electronic information in the form of electronic documents, each document comprising one or more pages of information, each page of information having a region for displaying a title, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a page of an electronic document on a screen; and

sensing the designation of a displayed page for manipulation, wherein on designation of a page, a designated page is moved across the screen so that at least a part of the region for displaying a title is displayed until a particular manipulation of the designated page is selected, and wherein a further page may be displayed without being substantially obscured by the designated page.