Rotary navigation of synchronized content

• US 9,927,957 B1
• Filed: 12/11/2014
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sagar, Aman, Macchione, III, Michael Angelo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dragoescu, Claudia
• Application Number:
  US14/567,800
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path

Abstract

Embodiments of this disclosure enable synchronized content items, such as an ebook and corresponding audiobook, to be navigated via a rotational interface (e.g., a “jog wheel”). Specifically, a playback device is disclosed that enables a rotational interface to be used to select locations within an audiobook or other audio content. During selection of a location, the playback device can maintain an output indicator indicating one or more words within a textual content that match the selected location within the audio content. Thus, a user is enabled to easily and intuitively select precise locations within audio content. In some embodiments, an acceleration or speed of input to the rotational interface may modify how quickly locations within the content item are traversed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store;

an audiobook version of a content item; and

an electronic book version of the content item;

a touchscreen comprising an electronic display enabling touch input to the electronic display; and

a computing device in communication with the electronic data store and touch screen, the computing device configured to;

output a first portion of audio content associated with the audiobook;

generate, for display on the touchscreen, a user interface including a first portion of text content associated with the electronic book, wherein the user interface includes an output indicator indicating text, within the text content, that corresponds to the first portion of the audio content;

receive a first touch input data associated with a first set of coordinates on the touchscreen, wherein a first coordinate of the first set of coordinates is associated with a first time at which input was received at the first coordinate;

determine, based at least in part on the first coordinate of the first set of coordinates and the first time associated with the first coordinate of the first set of coordinates, that the first touch input data corresponds to a predefined gesture associated with causing display of a rotational navigation control element;

generate, for display on the touchscreen, the rotational navigation control element;

receive a second touch input data from the touchscreen at a second set of coordinates on the touchscreen, wherein a second coordinate of the second set of coordinates is associated with a second time at which input was received at the second coordinate;

determine, based at least in part on the second coordinate of the second set of coordinates and the second time associated with the second coordinate of the second set of coordinates, that the second touch input data corresponds to a rotational input to the portion of the touchscreen displaying the rotational navigation control display element, the rotational input representing a request to move the output indicator to locate a specific word within the text content of the electronic book and further representing a request to navigate, in the audio content, to a location corresponding to the specific word within the text content;

display the output indicator at the specific word within the text content of the electronic book;

determine a time position in the audio content associated with the audiobook that corresponds to the specific word within the text content of the electronic book; and

output a second portion of the audio content from the time position.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine an angular distance represented by the second set of coordinates, wherein the angular distance is associated with a predetermined number of words within the text content, and wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the specific word within the text content of the electronic book based at least in part on incrementing a location of the output indicator by the predetermined number of words.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to display an icon on the touchscreen responsive to the predefined gesture to display the rotational navigation control element, and wherein the first touch input data is received at least in part at a coordinate on the touch screen corresponding to the icon.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to determine that the first touch input data corresponds to the predefined gesture associated with causing display of the rotational navigation control element based at least in part on identifying from the first touch input data a touch event beginning at a starting coordinate associated with an edge of the touchscreen and ending at an ending coordinate nearer to a center of the touch screen than the beginning coordinate.

5. A computer-implemented method comprising:

as implemented by one or more computing devices configured with specific computer-executable instructions,

outputting a portion of an audio content item synchronously with a portion of a textual content item;

generating, within the portion of the textual content item, an output indicator indicating a location within the portion of the textual content item that corresponds to a current output position within the portion of the audio content item;

receiving first data from an input device;

determining the first data corresponds to a predefined gesture to cause display of a rotational navigation control element on a display device;

displaying the rotational navigation control element using the display device;

receiving second data from the input device, the second data representing a rotational input associated with the rotational navigation control, the rotational input representing a request to navigate the textual content item, using the output indicator, to locate a specific word within the textual content item and further representing a request to navigate, in the audio content item, to a location corresponding to the specific word within the textual content item;

displaying the output indicator at the third location specific word within the second textual content item;

outputting a second portion of the audio content item from a location in the audio content item that corresponds to the specific word within textual content item located using the rotational input.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 further comprising outputting haptic feedback in response to displaying the output indicator at the location specific word within the second content item.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the rotational navigation control element includes a circular progress indicator reflective of progress through a predetermined portion of the audio content item, and wherein the circular progress indicator is selectable to indicate a location within the audio content item and cause output of a portion of the audio content item corresponding to the indicated location in response to selection.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 further comprising outputting an additional portion of the textual content item beginning at the specific word within textual content item.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 further comprising determining the specific word within the textual content item based at least in part on:

determining an angular distance represented by the rotational input, wherein the angular distance represented by the rotational input is associated with a predetermined distance within the audio content item;

incrementing a current output location of the audio content by the predetermined distance to result in a second location within the audio content item; and

identifying, as the specific word, a word of the textual content item that corresponds to the second location within the audio content item.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined distance corresponds to at least one of a distance within the audio content item associated with a predetermined period of time or a distance within the first content item associated with a predetermined unit of text.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined unit of text comprises at least one of a character, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter, a stanza, a section, or a heading.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the computer-implemented method is carried out by a playback device comprising at least one of a personal computing device, a personal audio player, a mobile telephone, a tablet computing device, a car stereo head unit, an in-flight entertainment system, or a wearable computing device.

13. A device comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising:

outputting a portion of an audio content item synchronously with a portion of a textual content item;

generating an output indicator within the portion of the textual content item, the output indicator identifying a location within the portion of the textual content item corresponding to the portion of the audio content item;

receiving first data from an input device;

determining that the first data corresponds to a predefined gesture to cause display of a rotational navigation control element;

displaying the rotational navigation control element;

receiving second data from the input device, where the second data represents a rotational input associated with the rotational navigation control, the rotational input representing a request to navigate the text of the textual content item, using the output indicator, to locate a specific word within the textual content item and further representing a request to navigate, in the audio content item, to a location corresponding to the specific word within the textual content item;

displaying the output indicator at the specific word within the textual content item; and

outputting a second portion of the audio content item from a location in the audio content item that corresponds to the specific word within textual content item.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the second content item comprises at least one of an electronic book, subtitles, or comments.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the rotational navigation control element is generated on a display device at a coordinate corresponding to the first data received from the input device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the rotational navigation control element is selectable to move the rotational navigation control element within a user interface.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise minimizing the rotational navigation control element in response to selection of the rotational navigation control element, wherein minimizing the rotational navigation control element includes removing one or more selectable elements of the rotational navigation control element from the user interface.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising determining the specific word within the textual content item based at least in part on:

determining an angular distance represented by the rotational input, wherein the angular distance represented by the rotational input is associated with a predetermined distance within the content item; and

incrementing, by the predetermined distance, a current output location of the audio content to a second location within the audio content item; and

identifying, as the specific word, a word of the textual content item that corresponds to the second location within the audio content item.