Computer-based browsing method and computer program product for displaying information in an electronic book form

• US 6,407,757 B1
• Filed: 12/18/1997
• Issued: 06/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sino Star Global Ltd.
• Original Assignee: E-BOOK SYSTEMS PTE. LTD.
• Inventors: Ho, Seng Beng
• Primary Examiner(s): dela Torre, Crescelle N.
• Application Number:
  US08/992,793
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156-158, 345/163, 345/161, 345/901, 345/349-350, 345/123, 345/341, 345/351, 345/348, 345/339, 345/473, 345/121, 345/124, 345/125, 345/157, 345/173, 345/700-702, 345/739, 345/764, 345/775-779, 345/784-785, 345/835, 345/839, 345/856, 345/672, 345/684-685, 345/687-688, 361/681, 361/683-684, 434/317, 434/308, 707/532, 707/501, 707/512, 340/825.44, D19/26
• US Class Current: 715/776
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A computer based browsing computer program product, system and method arranges a set of information hosted on a computer into a book or a set of books, where each book includes a subset of the set of information, labels each book with a respective portion of the subset of the set of information, and selects a book from the set of books. Selecting the book from the set of books includes steps of displaying the respective portions of the books as a book document image that includes pages which correspond to the respective portions of the books, generating a command for moving through the pages, displaying an animated image of the pages of the book document being at least one of flipped, scrolled, slid and flashed images, and selecting the book when a selected one of the pages containing a selection portion of the book is earlier displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer to perform an operation for displaying a portion of a set of information stored in a computer readable memory in a book format image, said portion corresponding to browsing commands output from a user-actuated browsing device, by performing the steps of:

receiving a transducer signal from said browsing device, said transducer signal indicative of at least one of an amount of force applied by a user to a sensor on said browsing device and a position on said sensor where said force is applied;

initially displaying on a display an image of pages of a book in said book format image, respective portions of said set of information being displayed as pages of said book image that overlap previously displayed pages being displayed at the same time, and open pages of said book remain at a fixed location with respect to said display as different pages of said book image are displayed, said pages containing said portion of said set of information; and

changing said image to other pages of said book format image, said amount of force corresponding with at least one of a speed of flipping of said pages on said display and a number of pages flipped at a same time on said display, whereby said book format image displayed on said display assists said user in identifying said amount of force and said position so as to change said image and have said other pages display a predetermined different portion of said set of information.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the contents of which when executed by the computer, further performs the steps of:

receiving a state signal produced by said browsing device in response to an actuation of at least one of a set of sensors;

creating a finger-bookmark based on said state signal received in said receiving step; and

displaying on said display a finger-bookmark image on a predetermined portion of said book format image corresponding to one of said pages displayed when said at least one of a set of sensors was actuated on said browsing device.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, the contents of which when executed by the computer, further performs the step of:

removing said finger-bookmark image when a currently displayed subset of information of said set of information is closer to an end position of said set of information than a position of said finger-bookmark image.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, the contents of which when executed by the computer, further performs the steps of:

retrieving said set of information from memory; and

organizing the set of information into the book format image comprising pages of the book.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein when changing step when executed by the computer, performs the step of:

successively displaying images of said pages of said book format image being flipped at a speed corresponding to the force applied to the sensor device.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, the contents of which when executed by the computer, further performs the steps of:

receiving a state signal produced by said browsing device in response to an actuation of at least one of a set of sensors;

successively displaying images of said pages of said book format image being flipped in a first direction if said state signal indicates said device is configured to operate in a left-hand mode of operation, and in a second direction if said device is configured to operate in a right-hand mode of operation.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein when changing step when executed by the computer, performs the step of:

displaying a plurality of pages of said book format image being flipped from at least one of a right-to-left direction with respect to a horizontal position of said display and from a top-to-bottom direction.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein when changing step when executed by the computer, performs the step of:

displaying a plurality of pages of said book format image being slid across said display.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein when changing step when executed by the computer, performs the step of:

displaying a plurality of pages of said book format image being flashing onto said display.

10. The device of claim 9, where said changing step when executed by the computer, performs the steps of:

selecting between an exclusive mode of operation or an overlapping mode of operation; and

displaying a next page after a right-most displayed page of said book format image, in a currently displayed image, when in the exclusive mode, and displays at least one of a currently viewed page and a set of next pages, when in the overlapping mode.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein when changing step when executed by the computer, performs the step of:

displaying a plurality of pages of said book format image being scrolled onto said computer screen as the set of information is browsed.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 1, the contents of which when executed by the computer, further performs the steps of:

displaying an image of a thicknesses of said book format image on a top portion and on a bottom portion of said display; and

displaying said pages of said book format image as a sequentially scrolled image in an up or a down direction relative to a horizontal direction of said display.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, comprising a memory encoded with a data structure as received from a browsing device, said data structure comprising:

a header field that holds sensor state data;

a first browsing parameter field that holds a command-type value that is indicative said command-type being at least one of,

the force of said instrument on said sensor device,

the position of said instrument on said sensor device, and

the states of a subset of said state-signal generating sensors;

a second browsing parameter field that holds a value associated with the command-type held in said first browsing parameter field, comprising at least one of,

a force value indicative of the force of said instrument on said sensor device,

a position value indicative of the position of said instrument on said sensor device, and

a state value indicative of the state of a subset of said state-signal generating sensors.

14. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer to perform an operation for displaying on a display screen a portion of a set of information stored in a computer readable memory in a book image format, said portion corresponding to browsing commands output from a user-actuated browsing device, by performing the steps of:

displaying a thickness image of said book format image corresponding to an amount of said information on a left side and a right side of said book format image as displayed on a display screen, a left portion of said thickness image displayed on said left side of said screen being proportional to a first amount of the information preceding a point in said set of information currently being displayed and a right portion of said thickness image displayed on said right of side of said display screen being proportional to a second amount information following the point in said set of information currently being displayed, respective portions of said set of information being displayed as pages of said book image that overlap previously displayed pages being displayed at the same time, and open pages of said book remain at a fixed location with respect to said display screen as different pages of said book image are displayed;

displaying a finger-bookmark in a first image format on said display screen corresponding to a finger-bookmark position;

displaying a permanent bookmark in a second image format on said display screen corresponding to a permanent bookmark position;

producing a new bookmark corresponding to a currently displayed image;

displaying said new bookmark in at least one of said first image format or said second image format; and

jumping to a jump position in said set of information corresponding to a current position of an instrument on a sensor device of said computer-based information browsing device.

15. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computer to perform an operation for displaying a portion of a set of information stored in a computer readable memory in a book format image, said portion corresponding to browsing commands output from a user-actuated browsing device, by performing the steps of:

arranging a set of information hosted on a computer into a set of books;

receiving a command to create new pages of information;

receiving a command to indicate a location in a book of said set of books at which to add said new pages, said location being at least one of,

a location within an existing book, and

a location within a new book,

adding pages to the location;

receiving a command to adjust sizes of said new pages;

organizing said new pages into a plurality of flippable pages,

generating, if necessary, flipping images of some of the existing pages of said book to the location at which said new pages are to be added, and

displaying at least one of said new pages, respective portions of said set of information being displayed as pages of said book image that overlap previously displayed pages being displayed at the same time, and open pages of said book remain at a fixed location with respect to said display screen as different pages of said book image are displayed.

16. A method for displaying a computer-based set of information displayed as a book format image on a display screen comprising flipping pages of said book format image, comprising the steps of:

receiving user selection of speed of movement through said book format image, respective portions of said set of information being displayed as pages of said book image that overlap previously displayed pages being displayed at the same time, and open pages of said book remain at a fixed location with respect to said display screen as different pages of said book image are displayed;

displaying said flipping pages in a predetermined format, said predetermined format comprising at least one of,

a first format where only one flipping page being displayed at any given time, and

a second format where a plurality of flipping pages are displayed at any given time; and

selecting a number of said displayed flipping pages being dependent on the speed of movement through said book format image.