Handheld electronic book reader device having dual displays

• US 8,286,885 B1
• Filed: 06/17/2010
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zehr, Gregg, Whitehorn, Symon J.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US12/817,961
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 235/375, 455/566
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1664 Arrangements for ergonomically adjusting the disposition of keys of the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/01 Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer G06F3/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A handheld electronic book device is configured with dual displays. The device includes a first display for presenting visible representations of textual or graphic content related to the electronic book. The device also includes a second display positioned alongside the first display. The second display includes a plurality of graphic elements that correspond to portions of the first display. Also, the second display is responsive to user input to one of the graphic elements to perform an action on the content that is shown in the portion of the first display that corresponds to the one element.

Claims

1. A handheld electronic reader device comprising:

an electronic display for presenting visible representations of electronic content, wherein the electronic display has a first refresh rate;

a second display positioned substantially coplanar with the electronic display for presenting visual elements to aid in navigating the electronic content presented on the electronic display, wherein the second display has a second refresh rate that is faster than the first refresh rate; and

a mechanism for facilitating navigation of the electronic content using the visual elements in the second display.

2. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is for presenting textual content.

3. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is for presenting graphic content.

4. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the mechanism comprises at least one of a thumbwheel, a button, or a joystick.

5. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is capable of presenting a plurality of titles, and wherein the second display is capable of presenting a plurality of corresponding visual elements that enable selection of one of the titles.

6. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the electronic display is capable of presenting a plurality of menu items, and wherein the second display is capable of presenting a plurality of corresponding visual elements that enable selection of one of the menu items.

7. The handheld electronic reader device of claim 1, wherein the second display is responsive to tactile commands entered using a stylus, a finger, a scroll wheel, or a page turner.

8. A handheld electronic device comprising:

a first display for presenting visible representations of content; and

a second display of a different display type than that of the first display, wherein the second display conforms to a shape of the first display and enables a user to input commands to be performed on the content shown in the first display.

9. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first display is for presenting textual content or graphic content.

10. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first and second displays have different refresh rates.

11. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first display is substantially coplanar with the second display.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first display is above or below the second display.

13. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first display is adjacent to the second display.

14. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the first display comprises an electronic paper display and the second display comprises a display other than an electronic paper display.

15. A device comprising:

a housing;

a first display disposed in the housing to present content, the first display having a first refresh rate; and

a second display disposed in the housing above or below the first display to facilitate navigation of the content presented on the first display, the second display having a second refresh rate that is faster than the first refresh of the first display.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the second display is touch-sensitive and is responsive to touch input.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the second display is adjacent to the first display.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the second display comprises one of an organic LED display, a TFT display, or an LCD display.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the second display conforms to a shape of the first display.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the first display and the second display are implemented as a single display, with logically separate control systems for driving the first display and the second display.