Content preview for electronic devices

• US 9,389,757 B1
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chen, Eric, Cheng, Nathalie, Wanigasekera, Praneeth, Craft, Andrew, Natarajan, Mani, Bjorkegren, Michael Erik Carl, Sanchez, Edward, Samuel, Shimone, Muhunthan, Shanmugarasa, King, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Dragoescu, Claudia
• Application Number:
  US14/094,429
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0283 for data storage and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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

Techniques for previewing portions of the content item using an electronic device include displaying a first portion of the content item, receiving input from a user indicative of a desire to browse a second portion of the content item different than the first portion, and displaying a preview window illustrating the second portion of the content item in response to the input. The preview window may enable the user to simultaneously view the second portion illustrated therein as well as at least part of the first portion. In addition, a viewing position of the user may be maintained at a location of the first portion in the content item while the second portion is illustrated in the preview window. Accordingly, the user may not lose context of the first portion of the content item while the viewing the second portion.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

displaying a first page of an electronic book on a display of an electronic device;

displaying a first control on the display, the first control being operable to display, on the display, a first window and a second window, the second window including a plurality of bookmark controls;

displaying a second control on the display, wherein the second control is different from the first control, the second control being operable to display, on the display, the first window and a plurality of pages of the electronic book previously navigated to by a user of the electronic device;

receiving a first input from the user, wherein the first input comprises a selection of at least one of the first control or the second control;

displaying, in response to the first input, the first window on the display, wherein

the first window includes a second page of the electronic book, the second page comprising at least one of

a portion of the electronic book having been previously bookmarked by the user, or

a portion of the electronic book having been previously navigated to by the user from an initial page of the electronic book, the initial page being spaced from the second page by more than one page of the electronic book,

the first window being displayed such that a part of the first page is displayed on the display outside of the first window;

displaying a navigation control on the display outside of the first window, the navigation control being configured to receive an input in a linear direction;

receiving a second input from the user via the navigation control, wherein the second input comprises a contact-based gesture moving the navigation control in the linear direction;

displaying, in response to the second input, consecutive pages of the electronic book in the first window while a position of the first window on the display remains constant;

receiving a third input from the user, wherein the third input comprises a request to display one of the first page or the second page on the display without the first window; and

displaying, in response to the third input, the one of the first page or the second page on the display without the first window.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the second window on the display, the second window being displayed such that the part of the first page and a part of the first window are displayed on the display outside of the second window and the part of the first window at least partly surrounds the second window, the second window including a first bookmark control of the plurality of bookmark controls and a second bookmark control of the plurality of bookmark controls,

the first bookmark control identifying the second page displayed in the first window, and

the second bookmark control being operable to display a third page of the electronic book in the first window, wherein the third page comprises an additional portion of the electronic book having been previously bookmarked by the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a third control, different from the navigation control, on the display outside of the first window; and

displaying a fourth control on the display outside of the first widow, the fourth control being different from the third control and the navigation control, wherein

the third control is operable to display a third page of the electronic book in the first window, the third page being located at a location in the electronic book closer to an end of the electronic book than a location of the second page, the third page having been previously navigated to by the user from the initial page by more than one page of the electronic book, and

the fourth control is operable to display a fourth page of the electronic book in the first window, the fourth page being located at a location in the electronic book closer to a beginning of the electronic book than the location of the second page, the fourth page having been previously navigated to by the user from the initial page by more than one page of the electronic book.

20. The method of claim 1,

wherein the navigation control comprises a first navigation control, the method further comprising

displaying a second navigation control, on the display outside of the first window, when the first navigation control is displayed, the second navigation control being different from the first navigation control and operable to display consecutive pages of the electronic book in the first window.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the navigation control at least partly in response to receiving the first input.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation control is displayed as a slider, the method further comprising

receiving the second input via the slider.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a first identifier outside of the first window, the first identifier indicting a location of the first page in the electronic book; and

displaying a second identifier outside of the first window, the second identifier indicting a location of the second page in the electronic book.

4. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform acts comprising:

displaying a first page of an electronic book on a display of the electronic device;

receiving a first input, wherein the first input comprises a request to display a window that includes a second page of the electronic book, wherein the second page is different from the first page;

displaying the window on the display such that the first page is at least partially displayed on the display outside of the window, the second page comprising at least one of

a portion of the electronic book having been previously bookmarked, or

a portion of the electronic book having been previously navigated to from an initial page of the electronic book, the initial page of the electronic book being spaced from the second page by more than one page of the electronic book;

displaying a navigation control on the display outside of the window, the navigation control being configured to receive an input in a linear direction;

receiving a second input via the navigation control, wherein the second input comprises a contact-based gesture moving the navigation control in the linear direction;

displaying, based on the second input, consecutive pages of the electronic book within the window while a position of the window on the display remains constant;

receiving a third input; and

doing at least one of;

closing the window and displaying the first page on the display, or

closing the window and displaying the second page on the display.

5. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 4, wherein the window is a first window, the acts further comprising:

displaying a second window on the display, the second window being displayed such that part of the first page and part of the first window are displayed on the display outside of the second window, the second window including one or more controls operable to control the first window.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more controls include at least one control operable to control display of the second page, the acts further comprising:

displaying an identifier indicating the location of the second page in the electronic book.

7. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more controls include at least one control operable to control display of a third page of the electronic book,

wherein the third page is different from the first page and the second page, and

wherein the third page comprises an additional portion of the content item having been previously bookmarked, the acts further comprising:

receiving a third input via the at least one control; and

displaying, in response to the third input, the third page in the first window.

8. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 5, wherein each control of the one or more controls corresponds to a respective portion of the electronic book, the acts further comprising:

receiving a third input via at least one control of the one or more controls, the at least one control corresponding to a third page of the electronic book, and the third input comprising selection of the at least one control; and

displaying, in response to the third input, the third page of the electronic book in the first window.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more controls comprises at least one control corresponding to the first page of the electronic book, the acts further comprising:

displaying an identifier indicating the location of the first page in the electronic book.

10. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 5, wherein each control of the one or more controls corresponds to a respective portion of the electronic book, and wherein each of the respective portions includes a common context characteristic, the acts further comprising:

grouping, based on the common context characteristic, the one or more controls into at least one group.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 10, the acts further comprising displaying an identifier in the second window, the identifier being indicative of the at least one group.

12. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 4, the acts further comprising:

displaying a plurality of additional pages of the electronic book, wherein each page of the plurality of additional pages is spaced from a respective initial page of the electronic book by more than one page of the electronic book;

saving, in a memory of the electronic device, a respective location in the electronic book of each page of the plurality of additional pages; and

displaying a first identifier indicative of at least one of the respective locations.

13. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, the acts further comprising:

identifying a common context characteristic included in at least a subset of the plurality of additional pages;

identifying at least one further page of the electronic book, the at least one further page of the electronic book including the common context characteristic, and the at least one further page of the electronic book being different from the pages of the plurality of additional pages; and

displaying a second identifier indicative of the at least one further page of the electronic book.

14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 12, the acts further comprising:

identifying a common context characteristic included in the first page and at least a subset of the plurality of additional pages;

identifying at least one further page of the electronic book, the at least one further page of the electronic book including the common context characteristic, and the at least one further page of the electronic book being different from the first page and the pages of the plurality of additional pages; and

displaying a second identifier indicative of the at least one further page of the electronic book.

15. An electronic device comprising:

one or more processors;

memory;

an electronic book stored in the memory;

a display configured to display pages of the electronic book;

a module stored in the memory and executable on the one or more processors to;

display a first page of the electronic book on the display;

receive a first input, wherein the first input comprises a request to display a window that includes a second page of the electronic book, wherein the second page is different from the first page;

display the window on the display such that the first page is at least partially displayed on the display outside of the window, the second page comprising at least one of

a portion of the content item having been previously bookmarked, or

a portion of the content item having been previously navigated to from an initial page of the electronic book, the initial page of the electronic book being spaced from the second page by more than one page of the electronic book;

display a navigation control on the display outside of the window, the navigation control being configured to receive an input in a linear direction;

receive a second input via the navigation control, wherein the second input comprises a contact-based gesture moving the navigation control in the linear direction;

display, based on the second input, consecutive pages of the electronic book within the window while a position of the window on the display remains constant;

receive a third input comprising a request to display at least one of the first page or the second page on the display; and

doing at least one of;

close the window and display the first page on the display, or

close the window and display the second page on the display.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the module comprises a bookmark component, the bookmark component being executable on the one or more processors to:

display a second window on the display, the second window being displayed such that part of the first page and part of the first window are displayed on the display outside of the second window, the second window including one or more controls operable to control the first window.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein each control of the one or more controls corresponds to a respective portion of the content item electronic book, the bookmark component being further executable on the one or more processors to:

receive a fourth input via at least one control of the one or more controls, the at least one control corresponding to a third page of the electronic book having been previously bookmarked; and

display, in response to the fourth input, the third page of the electronic book in the first window.

18. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the module comprises a history component, the history component being executable on the one or more processors to:

display, on the display, a plurality of additional pages of the electronic book, wherein each page of the plurality of additional pages is spaced from a respective initial page of the electronic book by more than one page of the electronic book; and

save, in the memory of the electronic device, a respective location in the electronic book of each page of the plurality of additional pages.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the module is further executable on the one or more processors to:

display, on the display, one or more controls, wherein the one or more controls are operable to control display of the plurality of additional pages.