Tool set for navigating through an electronic book

• US 6,243,071 B1
• Filed: 11/03/1993
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Dunham, David R., Shwarts, Scott L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chauhan, Ulka J.
• Application Number:
  US08/147,143
• Time in Patent Office: 2,771 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155-161, 395/600, 395/650, 345/179, 345/117-120, 345/326, 345/347, 345/350, 345/146, 382/11, 382/12, 382/13, 382/14
• US Class Current: 715/823
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for controlling a screen display of an electronic book. The contents of the book are displayed on a screen of the computer system as pages with which the user interacts by a pointer such as a pen or stylus. The navigational tool set performs various functions including one or more of the following: (1) creating page displays for content of the book, (2) providing a navigation interface for identifying material in the book and moving to desired locations, (3) finding character strings located within the book, and (4) accepting handwritten information on pages of the book. The electronic book includes a “bookmark” button which when selected displays a bookmark icon and inserts a bookmark in the book at the page that is currently displayed. Thereafter the user can close the book or move to another page and automatically return to the marked page by selecting the bookmark icon. The user can also move to other pages by scrolling with scroll keys or other navigational devices such as tables of contents browsers and menu pages which are provided on the computer system.

Claims

1. A method of controlling the display of an electronic book on a display screen of a hand-held stylus-based computer having a processor connected to the display screen, a memory connected to the processor, one or more buttons, and a stylus, the method comprising:

opening a book package which contains the electronic book and which resides, at least in part, in the memory of the computer;

displaying a view of a current page of the electronic book on the display screen, the view including at least one navigation button;

displaying a navigation dialog box on the display screen when the navigation button is selected by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the navigation dialog box having at least a bookmark button and a return to menu button;

placing a bookmark at a preselected page when the bookmark button is selected by interaction of the stylus with the display screen; and

displaying a menu page in the electronic book when the return to menu button is selected by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the menu page listing one or more destinations within the electronic book which can be reached by selecting a corresponding destination from the menu page.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of displaying on the display screen a view of a destination page when a destination is selected from the destinations included in the menu page.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic book contains a plurality of menu pages which are provided by an author of the electronic book throughout its content and the nearest menu page preceding the current page is displayed when the return to menu button is selected.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the book package includes a book title and an ISBN.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of displaying a view of the current page includes a step of creating paragraph views of text content records at predefined coordinates on the display screen and creating picture views of graphics content records at predefined coordinates on the display screen.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the text and graphics content records are objects.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising a step of creating a template specifying a live action for the display screen.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the navigation dialog box includes a button which, when selected, displays a page appearing immediately before the current page.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of displaying handwritten notes on the current page when a mark-up button is selected.

10. A method according to claim 9 further comprising a step of removing said displayed handwritten notes from the display screen in response to a subsequent selection of the mark-up button after the step for displaying the handwritten notes.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of displaying a page number dialog box by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, and thereafter displaying a page having a page number which was hand-written in said page number dialog box by interaction of the stylus with the display screen.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the display screen is sensitive to the position of the stylus.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein a representation of the bookmark is provided in the navigation dialog box when the bookmark button is selected.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the representation of the bookmark is a miniature image of the preselected page on which the bookmark has been inserted.

15. A method of apprising a user of his or her relative current location in an electronic book and of controlling the screen display of the electronic book on a hand-held stylus-based computer having a processor, a display screen connected to the processor, a memory connected to the processor, a stylus, and one or more buttons including a browser button and a scroll button, the method comprising:

displaying a view of a current page of the book on the display screen;

displaying a browser on the display screen when the browser button is selected by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the browser listing a plurality of subjects contained in the book, the browser also indicating in which of said subjects the current page resides; and

updating the current page displayed when a new subject is selected from the browser by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the current page being the first page on which said new subject appears.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the display screen is sensitive to the position of the stylus.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the new subject is selected from the browser by scrolling through the subjects with a scroll button.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the new subject is selected from the browser by pointing to the new subject with the stylus.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising a step of displaying handwritten notes on the current page when a mark-up button is selected.

20. A method according to claim 15 wherein the current subject is indicated to the user by a “

you are here”

pointer image generated on the display screen and directed toward the current subject.

21. A stylus-based hand-held computer system allowing a user to access an electronic book, the computer system comprising:

processing means;

memory means coupled to said processing means;

display means coupled to said processing means, the display means being sensitive to the position of a stylus;

contents of the electronic book residing, at least in part, in the memory means, the contents being organized into a plurality of pages;

means for specifying one of said plurality of pages as a current page, the current page being displayed on the display means;

means for marking one or more of the pages in the book by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, those pages that have been marked having associated bookmark buttons displayed in a navigation dialog box appearing on the display means when a navigation button is selected;

navigation means for changing the current page to a marked page displaying it when a bookmark button associated with the marked page is selected from the navigation dialog box by interaction of the stylus with the display screen; and

wherein the bookmark buttons are represented in the navigation dialog box as miniature copies of the pages with which they are associated.

22. A stylus-based hand-held computer system allowing a user to access an electronic book, the computer system comprising:

processing means;

memory means coupled to said processing means;

display means coupled to said processing means, the display means being sensitive to the position of a stylus;

contents of the electronic book residing, at least in part, in the memory means, the contents being organized into a plurality of pages;

means for specifying one of said plurality of pages as a current page, the current page being displayed on the display means;

means for marking one or more of the pages in the book by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, those pages that have been marked having associated bookmark buttons displayed in a navigation dialog box appearing on the display means when a navigation button is selected;

navigation means for changing the current page to a marked page displaying it when a bookmark button associated with the marked page is selected from the navigation dialog box by interaction of the stylus with the display screen; and

wherein the navigation dialog box includes a button which when selected changes the current page to the page that had most recently been displayed before the current page.

23. A stylus-based hand-held computer system allowing a user to access an electronic book, the computer system comprising:

processing means;

memory means coupled to said processing means;

display means coupled to said processing means, the display means being sensitive to the position of a stylus;

contents of the electronic book residing, at least in part, in the memory means, the contents being organized into a plurality of pages;

means for specifying one of said plurality of pages as a current page, the current page being displayed on the display means;

means for marking one or more of the pages in the book by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, those pages that have been marked having associated bookmark buttons displayed in a navigation dialog box appearing on the display means when a navigation button is selected;

navigation means for changing the current page to a marked page displaying it when a bookmark button associated with the marked page is selected from the navigation dialog box by interaction of the stylus with the display screen; and

wherein the contents of the electronic book include one or more menu pages which provide navigational assistance within the electronic book, the menu page immediately preceding the current page becoming the current page when a menu page button in the navigation dialog box is selected, and wherein each menu page lists one or more destinations within the electronic book which can be reached by selecting a corresponding destination from the menu page.