Interactive electronic book

• US 9,417,755 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2012
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amanda Meredith Havard
• Original Assignee: Amanda Meredith Havard
• Inventors: Havard, Amanda Meredith
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tuan S
• Application Number:
  US13/655,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20130104072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0291 for reading, e.g. e-books constructional details of portable computers G06F1/1613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/377 for mixing or overlaying two or more graphic patterns G09G5/02, G09G5/397 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles

Abstract

A computer-storage media having computer executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed on a computing device perform a method for providing an interactive electronic book, the method including providing a user interface for the interactive electronic book, the user interface including representations of pages to display on a display associated with the computing device, providing on one of the representations of the pages of the user interface a watermark icon of an interactive element to display on the display associated with the computing device, associating the watermark icon of interactive content with interactive content, the watermark icon being indicative of presence of the interactive content and a content type for the interactive content, and wherein the user interface further provides for accessing the interactive content by selecting the watermark icon of the interactive content and without navigating away from the pages on which the watermark icon is present.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed on a computing device perform a method for providing an interactive electronic book, the method comprising:

providing a user interface for the interactive electronic book, the user interface including representations of pages to display on a display associated with the computing device;

providing a watermark icon of a same interactive element on at least a first, a second, and a third of the representations of the pages of the user interface, wherein the first of the representations of pages comes before the second of the representations of pages and the second of the representations of pages comes before the third of the representations of pages;

associating the watermark icon of interactive content with interactive content, the watermark icon being indicative of presence of the interactive content and a content type for the interactive content, wherein the interactive content associated with the watermark icon of interactive content progressively increases from the first of the representations of pages to the second of the representations of pages to the third of the representations of pages;

wherein the user interface further provides for accessing the interactive content by selecting the watermark icon of the interactive content and without navigating away from the one of the representations of the pages on which the watermark icon is present.

2. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the step of accessing comprises displaying on the display a floating window with the interactive content.

3. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the step of accessing comprises displaying on the display a multi-layer interactive window.

4. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the step of accessing comprises displaying on the display a multi-layer multimedia floating window.

5. The one or more non-transitory computer storage media of claim 1 wherein the interactive content further provides for access to secondary levels of content.

6. The one or more non-transitory computer storage media of claim 5 wherein the secondary levels of content include one or more of external links, buy links, and social media links.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with a timeline and wherein the interactive content comprises a timeline.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with a map and wherein the interactive content comprises a map.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with at least one of history, mythology, a place, a book, and a social network.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with a sound recording and wherein the interactive content comprises a sound recording.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with history and wherein the interactive content comprises at least one of a historical map, a historical document, or a historical text.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the watermark icon comprises an image associated with mythology and wherein the interactive content comprises information associated with mythology.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the display associated with the computing device is a touch screen display.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 13 wherein the computing device is selected from a set consisting of a tablet device, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, an entertainment device, and a phone.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the interactive content comprises a progressive character profile.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-storage media of claim 1 wherein the interactive content comprises a social media interface allowing a reader to ask a question of a fictional character within the book.

17. A method of providing an electronic book for use on a computing device, the method comprising:

associating an interactive element with text within the electronic book, wherein the interactive element and associated text appear at an earlier part in the electronic book and a later part in the electronic book;

providing a user interface to a reader of the electronic book to use to access the interactive element;

wherein content of the interactive element associated with the text progressively increases from the earlier part in the electronic book to the later part in the electronic book.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the interactive element is a character profile.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the interactive element is a map.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the interactive element is a timeline.

21. A method of providing an electronic book for use on a computing device, the method comprising:

providing a user interface for the electronic book to integrate use of social media functions without leaving the electronic book;

wherein the social media functions allow for a reader of the electronic book to communicate with a fictional character of the electronic book;

associating an interactive element with text within the electronic book, wherein the interactive element and associated text appear at an earlier part in the electronic book and a later part in the electronic book;

wherein content of the interactive element associated with the text progressively increases from the earlier part in the electronic book to the later part in the electronic book.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the social media functions allow the reader to ask questions of the fictional character.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the social media functions further allow the reader to receive answers from the fictional character.

24. A method of providing an electronic book on a computing device, the method comprising:

associating an interactive element with text within the electronic book, wherein the interactive element and associated text appears at an earlier part in the electronic book and a later part in the electronic book;

providing a user interface to a reader of the electronic book using the computing device, wherein the user interface provides for (a) accessing the interactive element and wherein content of the interactive element associated with the text progressively increases from the earlier part in the electronic book to the later part in the electronic book, (b) integrating use of social media functions without leaving the electronic book, wherein the social media functions allow the reader to communicate with a fictional character of the book through a social media platform.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the user interface provides for displaying representations of pages on a display associated with the computing device.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the user interface further provides providing on one of the representation of the pages of the user interface a watermark icon of the interactive element and displaying the watermark icon on the display, the watermark icon indicative of the interactive element.