Affinity-based page navigation

• US 9,672,292 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Boulanger, Catherine N., Weiss, John G. A., Bathiche, Steven Nabil, Dietz, Paul Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHREWSBURY, NATHAN K
• Application Number:
  US13/683,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20140143707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,658 Days
• 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 16/9562 Bookmark management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser

Abstract

This document describes techniques and apparatuses enabling affinity-based page navigation. These techniques and apparatuses enable page navigation, such as page flipping, page searches, and other navigation based on affinities associated with various pages. These affinities can include a reference to a page, such as a link or quotation in a social networking service, an encyclopedia, a webpage, an article, a newspaper, or a blog. These affinities can also or instead include usage, such as how many users have read, highlighted, dog-eared, or bookmarked a page.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, based on a history of an electronic book, a page of the electronic book having an affinity;

receiving a selection to flip through multiple pages of the electronic book via a manual selector; and

responsive to the selection, presenting a flip through of the multiple pages of the electronic book in succession and at a rate, the rate slowed, paused, or stopped during presentation of the page of the electronic book having the affinity, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity at full resolution and rendering other pages of the electronic book as an approximation, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity and the other pages at a same size.

2. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the history includes references made by other users, the other users other than a user associated with an e-book-reading device on which the method is performed.

3. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 2, wherein the references of the other users include reference to the page in a social-networking service.

4. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 2, wherein the references of the other users include reference to the page in an online encyclopedia or online dictionary.

5. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 2, wherein the references of the other users includes links to the page found on the internet.

6. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the history includes usage by other users, the other users other than a user associated with an e-book-reading device on which the method is performed, the usage of the other users including a number of persons that have read, highlighted, or bookmarked the page.

7. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the history includes usage or reference of a user of an e-book-reading device on which the method is performed or that is associated with the electronic book.

8. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 7, wherein the usage or reference of the user includes a previous selection by the user to highlight, bookmark, dog-ear, or otherwise mark the page.

9. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 7, wherein the usage or reference of the user includes selection to view the page two or more times.

10. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 7, wherein the usage or reference of the user includes an immediately prior viewing of the page.

11. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 7, wherein the usage or reference of the user includes selection to view the page an amount of time significantly higher than an expected amount of time to read the page.

18. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein rendering the approximation of the other pages show the approximate location of text and whitespace.

19. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein rendering the approximation of the other pages renders pages with illustrations and foregoes rendering actual images of pages that do not include illustrations.

20. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein rendering the approximation of the other pages shows a previously prepared set of pages, the previously prepared set of pages used at random or by a closest match to an actual page of text.

12. A computing device comprising:

a display;

a manual selector;

one or more computer processors; and

computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the one or more computer processors, causing the computing device to perform operations comprising;

receiving a selection from the manual selector to open, or flip through pages of, an electronic book; and

responsive to the selection, presenting, on the display, a page of the electronic book having an affinity or a flip through of multiple pages of the electronic book, the flip through stopping, slowing, or pausing at one or more other pages of the electronic book based on affinities associated with the one or more other pages, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity at full resolution and rendering other of the multiple pages of the electronic book as an approximation, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity and the other of the multiple pages at a same size.

13. A computing device as described in claim 12, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more computer processors further perform an operation comprising determining, based on a history of the electronic book, that the page or the one or more other pages of the electronic book has the affinity or the affinities, respectively.

14. A computing device as described in claim 12, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more computer processors further perform operations comprising:

pausing the flip through responsive to a second selection, the second selection being a neutral selection; and

presenting a reverse flip through of the multiple pages on the display responsive to a third selection, the third selection being a negative selection.

15. A computing device as described in claim 12, wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more computer processors further perform an operation comprising, responsive to the selection being to open the electronic book, displaying a beginning and ending thickness of the electronic book approximating a location in the electronic book of the page having the affinity.

16. One or more computer-readable storage media having instructions thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform operations comprising:

determining, based on a highlight, a book-mark, or multiple accesses by a user associated with an electronic book of a page of the electronic book, that the page of the electronic book has an affinity;

receiving a selection to flip through multiple pages of the electronic book via a manual selector; and

responsive to the selection, presenting a flip through of the multiple pages of the electronic book in succession and at a rate, the rate slowed, paused, or stopped during presentation of the page of the electronic book having the affinity, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity at full resolution and rendering other of the multiple pages of the electronic book as an approximation, the presenting rendering the page of the electronic book having the affinity and the other of the multiple pages at a same size.

17. One or more computer-readable storage media as described in claim 16, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further perform an operation comprising determining, based on multiple highlights, multiple book-marks, or multiple other accesses of other users of a second page of the electronic book, that the second page of the electronic book has a second affinity, and wherein presenting the flip through of the multiple pages slows, pauses, or stops the presentation at the second page of the electronic book having the second affinity.