Electromechanical information browsing device

• US 7,333,088 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2005
• Issued: 02/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sino Star Global Ltd.
• Original Assignee: E-BOOK SYSTEMS PTE. LTD.
• Inventors: Boon, Suan Zin, Ho, Seng Beng, Liang, Chee Cheng J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Osorio, Ricardo
• Application Number:
  US11/259,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20060038778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/163, 345/173, 345167-169, 345/184, 345/901
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display

Abstract

An electromechanical information browsing device that controls page flipping actions of information displayed as an e-book on a display device. The browsing device includes a controller that provides tactile feedback so as to lessen the user-interface differences between conventional books and e-books. Sensors and control mechanisms in the controller generate a series of electrical signals that are interpreted by the computer that displays the e-book to control various browsing operations, such as flipping pages, controlling a rate of page flipping, jumping to pre-set locations in the e-book, etc.

Claims

1. A mechanical browsing module for controlling a display of a set of information to be browsed, comprising:

a body having a sensor;

a browsing control device coupled to the sensor and configured to generate a control signal with a first direction component when a force is applied to the sensor in a first direction and a second direction component when the force is applied to the sensor in a second direction; and

an output port configured to output the control signal to a processor that controls which portion of said set of information is presented on a display, wherein

said browsing control device comprises

a plurality of springs configured to provide at least one of a force feedback and a frictional feedback as a reaction to said force, and

a moveable control platform linked to a potentiometer, wherein said moveable control platform is configured to move in a first direction and a second direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

2. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein

the potentiometer is configured to provide a horizontal position of the platform.

3. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, further comprising a second potentiometer configured to provide a vertical position of the platform.

4. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein:

said browsing control device is further configured to generate the control signal with a rotational component when the force is applied to the roller in a rotational direction.

5. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein:

said browsing control device is further configured to generate the control signal with a translational component when the force is applied to the platform in a translational direction.

6. The mechanical browsing module of claim 5, wherein

said control signal is formatted so as to be recognized by said processor as a request to generate at least one of the complex flipping commands.

7. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein

said browsing control device is configured to generate the control signal with one of n different signal settings when said force is applied with a corresponding one of n different magnitudes, wherein n is an integer greater than 1.

8. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein

said plurality of springs is configured to provide n different discrete amounts of resistance that correspond with n different magnitudes, wherein n is an integer greater than 1.

9. The mechanical browsing module of claim 1, wherein the browsing control device is configured to have at least two resistance regions.

10. A mechanical browsing module for controlling a display of a set of information to be browsed, comprising:

a body having a sensor;

a browsing control device coupled to the sensor and configured to generate a control signal with a first direction component when a force is applied to the sensor in a first direction and a second direction component when the force is applied to the sensor in a second direction; and

an output port configured to output the control signal to a processor that controls which portion of said set of information is presented on a display,

wherein the browsing control device includes an input device that is configured to move in three-dimensions in order to receive commands to control at least one of a set of complex page flipping commands on the display, wherein

the set of complex page flipping commands comprises at least one of

a select-to-jump-to-a-specified-point command,

a launch-a-single-flipping-page command,

a launch-multiple-flipping pages-at-a-specific-interval command,

a reverse-direction-of-a-single-last-trailing-page command,

a reverse-direction-of-multiple-last-trailing-pages command,

a reverse-direction-of-a-selected-group-of-flipping-pages command,

a freeze-one-or-more-flipping-pages-in-midflip command

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-pages-all-flip-in-a-same-direction command,

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-some-pages-continue-to-flip-in-a-direction-prior-to-freezing,

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-some-pages-flip-to-a-left-side-and-some-pages-flip-to-a-right-side command,

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-let-subgroups-of-pages-flip-in-different-directions command,

a jump-and-make-a-thick-collection-of-pages-flip-together command,

a launch-flipping-pages-while-a-thick-collection-of-pages-is-flipping command,

a launch-at-least-one-other-thick-collections-of-pages-while-other-pages-are-flipping command,

a move-a-held-single-page-in-a-selected-direction-at-a-selected-speed command,

a move-a-held-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in-a-selected-direction-and-at-a-selected-speed command,

a move-at-least-one-of-a-held-pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-a-selected-direction-and-at-a-selected-speed command,

a hold-more-than-one-page command,

a hold-a-single-page-in-mid-flip-and-collect-other-pages-that-flip-onto-the-single-page-in-mid-flip command,

a hold-a-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-collect-other-pages-that-flip-onto-the-single-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip command,

a hold-at-least-one-of-a-single-page-and-two-thick-collections-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-execute-at-least-one-of-the-set-of-page-flipping-commands-between-the-at-least-one-of-a-single-page-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-a-thickness-of-a-side-of-a-book-command,

a hold-at-least-one-of-two-pages-and-two-thick-collections-of-pages-in-mid-flip-and-execute-at-least-one-of-the-set-of-page-flipping-commands-between-the-at-least-one-of-two-pages-and-a-thick-collection-of-pages-in-mid-flip command,

a launch-multiple-flipping-pages-at-a-specific-interval command,

an unfreeze-frozen-pages-and-some-pages-flip-to-a-left-side-and-some-to-a-right-side-of-book command,

a select-to-hold-a-page command,

a jump-to-a-specified-point-in-a-document-command,

a select-to-hold-a-thick-collection-of-pages command,

a select-to-hold-at-least-one-of-at-least-two-pages-and-at-least-two-thick-collections-of-pages command,

a hold a single thick collection of pages in mid-flip while releasing one or more pages from the collection command, and

a select a desired split point on a held single thick collection of pages in mid-flip and split the collection of pages into two separate collections of pages.

11. A mechanical browsing module for controlling a display of a set of information to be browsed, comprising:

a body having a sensor;

a browsing control device coupled to the sensor and configured to generate a control signal with a first direction component when a force is applied to the sensor in a first direction and a second direction component when the force is applied to the sensor in a second direction; and

an output port configured to output the control signal to a processor that controls which portion of said set of information is presented on a display, wherein

said browsing control device comprises

a plurality of springs configured to provide at least one of a force feedback and a frictional feedback as a reaction to said force,

a moveable control platform mechanically linked to a potentiometer and at least some of the plurality of springs, and

a roller or rocker connected to the moveable control platform.

12. The mechanical browsing module of claim 11, wherein

the roller is configured to rotate around a central axis of the roller, and

the browsing control device includes is a rotary potentiometer configured to measure an angular position of the roller.

13. The mechanical browsing module of claim 11, further comprising:

a roller spring connected to the roller and configured to provide a mechanically resistive rotating force when the roller is rotated in a positive angular direction, and to return the roller to a neutral angular position.

14. The mechanical browsing module of claim 11, wherein

the roller comprises a grooved roller surface and a tab configured to prevent the roller from rotating in a negative angular direction beyond the angular neutral position.