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System and method for the delivery of electronic books

  • US 7,020,663 B2
  • Filed: 02/08/2002
  • Issued: 03/28/2006
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2001
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A computer-readable-medium-electronic-book assembly, comprising:

  • a) a portable physical container for housing a computer readable medium;

    b) a pre-recorded audio narration file of substantially an entire book stored on a single computer readable medium;

    c) an electronic text file of substantially the entire book stored on said computer readable medium;

    d) a synchronization file linking time signatures of the pre-recorded audio narration with locations in the electronic text stored on said computer readable medium;

    e) a reader program adapted to cause a computer to display text of the book, to play the pre-recorded audio narration of the book, and to allow a user to link there-between as desired using the linking file stored on said computer readable medium;

    f) an automatic installation program to automatically install the reader software upon placement of the computer readable medium within a computer stored on said computer readable medium;

    g) said container housing said computer readable medium, said container having a picture that is visible from a front surface thereof that is substantially the same as that on a hard-cover copy of the book, and having a spine from which is visible a title of the book and/or the author'"'"'s name;

    h) wherein said pre-recorded audio narration has a recorded audio narration of an actual human voice;

    i) wherein said reader program is configured such that when the pre-recorded audio narration is played, a corresponding page of text is concurrently displayed in a fixed non-scrolling condition;

    j) wherein said reader program is configured such that when the pre-recorded audio narration of the book is played and said corresponding page of text is concurrently displayed in said fixed non-scrolling condition, a corresponding segment of the text for which the pre-recorded audio narration is concurrently played is highlighted in such a manner that the highlighting moves downward along the corresponding fixed non-scrolling page of text as the audio narration of an actual human voice is played;

    k) wherein said reader program is configured such that upon the pre-recorded audio narration of the book and the highlighting reaching at or near a last line of text displayed, the display is changed such that a subsequent page of text will be displayed and the highlighted text will commence proximate an upper portion of the subsequent page of newly displayed text;

    l) wherein said reader program is configured such that a two-page display of text can be presented with two pages in a side-by-side relationship, and wherein when the pre-recorded audio narration of the book is played, a corresponding segment of the text for which the pre-recorded audio narration is concurrently played is highlighted in such a manner that the highlighting moves downward along the corresponding page of text as the audio narration is played first from a top to a bottom of the left-side page and then from a top to a bottom of the right-side page, and wherein the two-page display is then changed such that a new two-page display of text is presented;

    m) wherein said reader program is configured to present said two-page display in a manner to be similar to an open book with a gutter graphically displayed in a middle between said two pages to simulate a physical book;

    n) wherein said reader software is adapted to concurrently display an image of a book with two peripheral side edge region (310A and 310C) located on left and right sides of the book substantially parallel to said gutter to further simulate side edges of pages in a physical book;

    o) wherein said computer readable medium is a single CD;

    p) wherein said reader program is adapted to create a personal file that contains personal information related to a user;

    g) wherein said personal file includes information related to bookmarks;

    r) wherein said reader software is adapted to enable the personal file to be saved to a digital data storage device;

    s) wherein said reader software is adapted to create a library of electronic books, wherein said library includes electronic books stored on a particular computer or electronic books that are not stored on the computer but that may be accessible to a user.

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