CN1178594A - Electronic books and a graphical user interface that provides control over them - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of providing control of an electronic book includes data from a machine-readable storage medium installed in the electronic book , and displaying a page of text represented by the machine-readable data on a display portion (168) of a touchscreen (130) integrated in the electronic book. A first portion (170), a second portion (178) and a third portion (180) of the touchscreen (130) are designated for receiving a first, second or third user-initiated event which request that a subsequent, previous or pre-marked page be displayed on the touchscreen (130), respectively. A fourth portion of the touchscreen (130) is designated for receiving a fourth user-initiated event which requests that a library screen be displayed on the touchscreen. A fifth portion of the touchsreen (130) is designated for receiving a fifth user-initiated event which requests that the page be marked.

Description

Electronic books and a graphical user interface that provides control over them

This invention relates to the following inventions, which are assigned to the same assignee as this invention:

"System and Method for Restricting Access to Library Cards," Serial No. 08/572,346, filed December 14, 1995.

"Apparatus and Method for Storing and Displaying Text," filed December 14, 1995, Serial No. 08/572,451.

"Method and Electronic Book for Creating Multiple Versions of Books," Serial No. 08/572,485, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Book Diary and Its Using Method", Serial No. 08/572,602, filed on December 14, 1995.

"Method and Apparatus for Inhibiting Operation of Electronic Devices During Aircraft Takeoff and Landing," Serial No. 08/572,603, filed December 14, 1995.

"System for Inhibiting Operation of Electronic Devices During Aircraft Takeoff and Landing," Serial No. 08/572,484, filed December 14, 1995.

"Method for Shortening Text," Serial No. 08/572,834, filed December 14, 1995.

"A Method of Replacing Names in Electronic Books," Serial No. 08/572,480, filed December 14, 1995.

"System and Method for an Electronic Book Authoring Tool," Serial No. 08/572,358, filed December 14, 1995.

"System and Method for an Automated Library with Multiple Library Cards," Serial No. 08/572,482, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Methods of Selecting a Primary Font and Primary Size for Displaying Related Text," Serial No. 08/572,407, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Graphical User Interface for Selecting Related Books to Read," Serial No. 08/572,406, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Book and Method for Storing At Least One Book in an Internal Machine-Readable Storage Medium," Serial No. 08/572,593, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Its Annotation Method", Serial No. 08/572,367, filed on December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Book and Method of Displaying the Relative Position of the Current Page of the Book", Serial No. 08/572,373, filed December 14, 1995.

"Method and System for Encoding Books for Reading Using Electronic Books," Serial No. 08/572,468, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Method of Displaying Animated Page Changes Thereof," Serial No. 08/572,405, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Methods of Controlling the Rate of Information Displayed Therein," Serial No. 08/572,372, filed December 14, 1995.

"Reusable Housekeeping Operations and Memory Cards Therefor," Serial No. 08/572,413, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Methods of Displaying At Least One Reading Standard Thereof," Serial No. 08/572,842, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Methods of Creating a Log of Their Personal Reading Activity," Serial No. 08/572,456, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books with Highlighted Features," Serial No. 08/572,469, filed December 14, 1995.

"Electronic Books and Methods of Capturing and Storing Citations Therein," Serial No. 08/572,601, filed December 14, 1995.

The subject matter of related inventions identified above is hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure.

The present invention generally relates to electronic books that have the look and feel of a real paper book and methods of providing users with control over electronic books.

Various types of handheld electronic reading devices have been proposed for electronically displaying text information read by a user. A typical handheld electronic reading device includes a display device for displaying textual information and a user interface that allows the user to view the textual information and access various features of the electronic reading device. The display device and user interface are included in a hand-held housing to facilitate carrying the electronic reading device.

Many handheld electronic devices have a user interface in the form of one or more external buttons. Press buttons in a predetermined manner, or view text messages or access various indications of the device. However, the user interfaces of many handheld electronic reading devices are implemented in such a way that they do not provide a simple, intuitive, or efficient method for viewing text or for accessing features.

US Patent 5,239,665 to Tsuchiya discloses an electronic book having six keys housed in a housing near a display device. Use these six keys to browse the book information in the storage device and utilize various characteristics of the electronic book. Each of the six keys has a location on the case that has nothing to do with its function.

The complexity of using current handheld electronic reading devices and the discomfort of handling many of these devices has led some people to prefer reading real paper books to using handheld electronic reading devices.

The invention is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, the features of the present invention will become more apparent and the present invention will be better understood by referring to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the attached picture:

Fig. 1 is the embodiment of the electronic book in closed position;

Fig. 2 is the embodiment when the electronic book of Fig. 1 is in the open position;

Fig. 3 is the block diagram of electronic book embodiment;

Figure 4 illustrates various hotspot settings used to provide users with control over e-books;

Figure 5 shows a library screen display using an e-book embodiment;

Figure 6 represents a user initiated event for opening a desired book from the library screen;

Figure 7 shows the first page of a book displayed on one embodiment of an electronic book;

Figure 8 represents the title page of a book displayed on one embodiment of an electronic book;

Figure 9 represents a font selection page displayed on an embodiment of an electronic book;

Figure 10 shows the title page of the displayed book when exiting the font selection page;

Figure 11 shows the system control page displayed in one embodiment of the electronic book;

Figure 12 shows the title page of the book displayed when exiting the system control page;

Figure 13 shows the title page of the book, where the user selects the RF link option;

Figure 14 shows the title page of a book with the pacing control option selected by the user;

Fig. 15 represents the pacing control page displayed in the electronic book embodiment;

Figure 16 shows a book title page depicting other user-initiated options;

Fig. 17 shows the page marked with a page tearing corner in one embodiment of the electronic book;

Figure 18 shows a page corner removal dialog box used in electronic book implementations;

Figure 19 shows a user selecting a portion of a text page;

Figure 20 shows an option selection dialog box used in the electronic book embodiments;

Figure 21 shows the annotation display used in the electronic book embodiments;

Figure 22 shows a tag used to indicate that a page has a note associated with the tag;

Fig. 23 shows that the user selects a setting bookmark option in the option selection dialog box;

Figure 24 represents the page of Figure 23 with a bookmark displayed thereon;

Fig. 25 is a flowchart of an event loop carried out in one embodiment of the electronic book;

Figure 26 is a flowchart of the steps performed in an embodiment of the library graphical user interface routine used in electronic books;

Figures 27 and 28 are flow charts of an embodiment of a routine for displaying pages of text in an electronic book;

Fig. 29 is a flowchart of the steps performed to display the current page in the electronic book;

Figure 30 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the annotation subroutine;

Figure 31 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the reference capture subroutine;

Figure 32 shows a flow chart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the page corner removal subroutine;

Figure 33 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the pacing control subroutine;

Figure 34 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the font selection subroutine;

Figure 35 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the system control subroutine;

The electronic book provided by the embodiment of the present invention has an intuitive graphical user interface for browsing books and controlling various functions of the electronic book. Parts of the touch screen integrated in the e-book are designed to receive user-initiated events or actions in an intuitive manner consistent with the metaphorical book to control operations on the e-book.

Figure 1 is an embodiment of an electronic book in a closed position. The electronic book has a book-shaped case 100 that has the look and feel of a real paper book. The book-shaped housing 100 has a first housing member 102 hinged to a second housing member 104 to facilitate opening and closing in a book-like manner. The first housing part is partially formed by a book-shaped front cover part 106 . In a similar manner, the second housing member 104 is partially formed by a book-shaped back cover member 108 . The front cover member 106 and the rear cover member 108 are hinged by a spine member 110 .

To better provide the look and feel of a real book, the front cover piece 106 and back cover piece 108 have the appearance of materials used in real book covers. Examples of such materials include, but are not limited to, leather, artificial leather, vinyl, and woven fibers such as cotton. The skins can either be permanently attached to the front cover member 106 and rear cover member 108, or can be in the form of a removable sleeve.

In addition to the front cover piece 106 , the first housing piece 102 is also partially defined by a sleeve 112 . Similarly, the second housing member 104 is partially defined by a sleeve 114 in addition to the rear cover member 108 . When the electronic book is in the closed position, sleeves 112 and 114 have the appearance of the edges of the pages of a real paper book. In particular, sleeves 112 and 114 define a top edge 116, a bottom edge 118, and a front edge 120 that look like the top edge, bottom edge, and front edge, respectively, of a real paper book. The top edge 116 , bottom edge 118 , and front edge 120 are recessed relative to the front cover piece 106 and the back cover piece 108 .

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the electronic book of FIG. 1 in an open position. Preferably, the first housing member 102 and the second housing member 104 are substantially symmetrical such that the front cover member 106, rear cover member 108, and spine member 110 lie substantially flat on a flat surface in the open position. The basic symmetry makes the e-book feel like a real paper book opened to its middle pages. As a result, it can be comfortably held and read in a manner consistent with a paper book.

A touch screen 130 is incorporated into the book-shaped case 100 so as to be accessible when the book-shaped case 100 is opened in a book-like manner. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the touch screen 130 is integral with the sleeve 114 of the second housing member 104 . Optionally, a second touch screen 132 can also be incorporated into the book-shaped housing. As shown, the second touch screen 132 can be integral with the sleeve 112 of the first housing member 102 .

Touch screen 130 and second touch screen 132 each include a touch sensitive window over a display device. Behind the display device may be a backlight element.

Depending on the particular mode of the electronic book, the touch screen 130 and the second touch screen 132 can provide a color display or a monochrome display. To provide their touch sensitivity, touch screen 130 and second touch screen 132 may utilize analog resistive technology known in the art. It should be noted, however, that other techniques for providing touch sensitivity may also be utilized.

Preferably, the touch screen 130 and the second touch screen 132 are capable of providing backlighting to allow the use of electronic books in poorly lit or dimly lit environments. Even better, the touch screen 130 is capable of backlighting a selected portion or subset of the entire touch screen 139 . Here, the e-book can provide a power saving mode in which only the portion of the touch screen 130 viewed by the user is backlit.

The book-shaped case includes a receiving slot 134 which actually receives a removable machine-readable storage medium 136 . Removable machine-readable storage medium 136 contains machine-readable data representing text from a book. Optionally, the machine readable data also represents graphical information within the book. It should be noted that the term "book" should be interpreted broadly to mean any written or printed article bearing textual information for personal reading. Accordingly, the term "book" shall include books, magazines, newspapers, and the like.

Textual and graphical information contained in the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 is displayed on the touch screen 130 . A second touch screen 132 may be included to display graphical information while the touch screen 130 displays text. Alternatively, touch screen 130 and second touch screen 132 can display adjacent pages of a book. Also, two books can be viewed simultaneously by using the touch screen 130 and the second touch screen 132 . The second touch screen 132 can also be used in a second level operating system, referred to herein as an advanced viewer GUI. Using a switch in the electronic book or the advanced reader GUI, the user can select the function of the second touch screen 132 .

It should be noted that there are a variety of ways to encode the textual and graphical information within the book for storage on the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 . In one embodiment, the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 contains a series of pointers to words contained in the dictionary within the electronic book. Words not included in the dictionary are provided in a custom dictionary on the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 . In this manner, the words to be presented on the touch screen 130 are selected with minimal storage requirements in the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 .

Preferably, the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 is in the form of a smart card or a PCMCIA card. Here, the receiving slot 134 is shaped to receive a smart card or PCMCIA card.

The book-shaped housing 100 also defines a power receiving port 138 and a data receiving port 140 . The power receiving port 138 receives a plug or other type of connector to provide power to the electronic book. The power supplied to the e-book via the power interface 138 can be used to directly operate the e-book or to recharge a battery inside the e-book. In one embodiment of an electronic book, spine member 110 is shaped to receive a battery pack that is rechargeable via power interface 138 . If the second touch screen 132 is not used, the sleeve 112 of the first housing member 102 can be used to store additional batteries and/or additional library cards.

Using data port 140, signals representing machine-readable data are communicated between the electronic book and external devices. For example, data port 140 may be used to receive machine-readable data signals representing text and graphics in a book from an external device for storage in an electronic book. In this manner, the data port 140 provides another means for receiving the receiving slot 134 for receiving the text and graphics of the book. Additionally, data port 140 may be utilized to transmit machine-readable data contained within an electronic book to an external device.

Preferably, the electronic book is automatically enabled (ie, automatically switched on) when the electronic book is in the open position and automatically disabled (ie, automatically switched off) when the electronic book is in the closed position. For this purpose, the electronic book may include a magnet 142 housed in one of the first housing member 102 or the second housing member, and a reed switch 144 housed in the other housing member. The magnet 142 is near the reed switch 144 when the electronic book is in the closed position. The magnetic field generated by the magnet 142 makes the reed switch 144 assume the first switch position, so that the electronic book does not work. When the electronic book is in the open position, the magnet 142 is away from the reed switch 144 . In the absence of a significant magnetic field, the reed switch 144 returns to the second switch position, allowing the electronic book to operate.

It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment, the electronic book is enabled and disabled by an external switch or button (not specifically shown), rather than by reed switch 144 .

Figure 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electronic book. An interface 150 receives the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 from the book, the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 containing machine-readable data representing text and graphics. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, interface 150 includes a PCMCIA interface that accepts a removable machine-readable storage medium in the form of a PCMCIA card. In fact, the interface 150 is adjacent to the receiving slot 134, as shown in FIG. 2 .

In general, interface 150 is preferably capable of receiving external devices other than machine-readable storage media. Furthermore, interface 150 is preferably capable of receiving multiple external devices. To this end, interface 150 may include multiple similar interfaces, such as multiple PCMCIA interfaces. Here, the electronic book can simultaneously receive two or more of a PCMCIA memory card, a PCMCIA modem, or another PCMCIA device.

A processor 152 is in communication with the interface 150 to read machine-readable data from the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 . For example, processor 152 may take the form of a microprocessor, custom integrated circuit, application specific integrated circuit, or programmable logic array. In practice, the processor 152 is contained within the book-shaped housing 100 .

Touch screen 130 communicates with processor 152 to display a page of text and/or graphics represented by machine-readable data. Also, the touch screen 130 functions as an input device to receive user-initiated events, ie, user-initiated operations, and transmit these user-initiated events or operations to the processor 152 .

An internal machine-readable storage medium 154 communicates with processor 152 to support various operating features of the electronic book. Internal machine-readable storage medium 154 may include one or more memory devices, such as random access memory, read-only memory and/or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

A computer program or other form of software or firmware is stored in the internal machine-readable storage medium 154 . The computer program directs the processor 152 to support the operational features of the electronic book. The computer program preferably includes an event loop that processes and responds to user-initiated events and actions. More specifically, received events are placed in an event queue within the internal machine-readable storage medium 154 . Processes and removes each received event from the event queue. As a result, users can initiate multiple events or operations without having to wait for previous operations to be processed.

Internal machine-readable storage medium 154 can also include a dictionary to which pointers stored in removable machine-readable storage medium 136 point. By including the dictionary in the electronic book, storing text from the book on the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 requires less storage space.

Moreover, internal machine-readable storage medium 154 can contain machine-readable data representing text and graphics from books. Here, the processor 152 reads out machine-readable data from the internal machine-readable storage medium 154, and commands the touch screen 130 to display pages of text and graphics.

Either through a data interface 156 communicating with the processor 152, and an antenna 158 and a radio frequency modem 160 communicating with the processor 152, or through an infrared transceiver 161 communicating with the processor, between the electronic book and a Signals are transmitted between external devices. Alternatively, using either a smart communication card or a PCMCIA communication card received by interface 150, communication between the electronic book and the device can be accomplished. Here, a PCMCIA modem card or a PCMCIA infrared transceiver card can be used, for example, for external communication.

Optionally, a voice synthesizer 162 is included in the electronic book to provide a dictated audio display of pages of text read from the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 or the internal machine-readable storage medium 154 . In one embodiment, processor 152 directly converts text from a book into speech signals for vocoder 162 . Optionally, control codes can be provided within the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 to allow words to be pronounced or emphasized in different ways. Also, the control code can command to speak in a male, female or child voice. The synthesized sound can be sampled (eg, using the user's voice), or can be a computer-generated sound.

Alternatively, a user voice dictionary may be provided to augment the general voice dictionary stored within the electronic book. Custom sound dictionaries can be used to select pronunciations, voices, and accents.

The voice synthesizer 162 is either permanently incorporated into the electronic book, or is a detachable accessory. For ease of access, voice synthesizer 162 may be included on a smart card or a PCMCIA card received by interface 150 . In addition, voice synthesizer 162 is capable of communicating with processor 152 via an additional interface bus 163 . In a similar manner, RF modem 160 and/or second touch screen 132 can communicate with processor 152 via additional interface bus 163 .

For each embodiment of the present invention, before describing the steps executed by each part in FIG. 3 in detail, a functional description of a specific embodiment of the electronic book will now be given. This embodiment is based on a single touch screen, touch screen 130, to display the text and graphics of the book and to allow the user to control the electronic book. However, it should be noted that the teachings herein can also be used for a dual touch screen embodiment that also includes the second touch screen 132 . Further, it should be noted that the teaching here is not limited to the use of touch screens, but can therefore be used to include any type of display device (such as, for example, a liquid crystal display or a cathode ray tube) and any type of input device (such as, for example, a series of buttons, mouse, trackball, stylus, or touch pad).

FIG. 4 shows various hotspot settings used to provide users with control over electronic books. On one display portion 168 of the touch screen 130 , a page of text represented by machine-readable data read from the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 or the internal machine-readable storage medium 154 is displayed. Graphical representations of the machine-readable data are also displayed using display portion 168 .

A first hotspot portion 170 of the touch screen 130 is designated to receive a predetermined user initiated event requiring the next page of text to be displayed on the touch screen 130 . Therefore, the first hotspot part 170 can be synonymously called a "previous page part" or a "previous page hotspot" for receiving a page-in event. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the first hotspot portion 170 includes a top border portion 172 , a side border portion 174 , and a bottom border portion 176 of the touch screen 130 . Top border portion 172 is disposed above display portion 168, side border portion 174 is disposed to the side of display portion 168, and bottom border portion 176 is disposed below display portion 168.

A second hotspot portion 178 of the touch screen 130 is designated to receive a predetermined user-initiated event requiring display of the previous page of text. Accordingly, the second hotspot portion 178 can be synonymously referred to as a “back page portion” or a “back page hotspot” for receiving page back events. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the second hot spot portion 178 is disposed on the side of the display portion 168 of the touch screen 130 and opposite the side border portion 174 .

A third hotspot portion 180 of the touch screen 130 is designated to receive a predetermined user-initiated event requiring a pre-marked page to be displayed on the touch screen 130 . In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the third hotspot portion 180 is disposed in the upper portion of the touch screen 130 and is shaped as a bookmark graphic 182 . Therefore, the third hotspot section 180 can be synonymously called a "bookmark section" or a "bookmark hotspot".

A fourth hotspot portion 184 of the touch screen 130 is designated to receive a predetermined user-initiated event to close the current book being read and request display of the library screen on the touch screen 130 . The user selects a book to read from various books in the library using the library screen. Therefore, the fourth hotspot section 184 can be synonymously referred to as a "closed book section" or "closed book hotspot" for receiving a closed book event.

A fifth hotspot portion 186 of the touch screen 130 is designated to receive a predetermined user-initiated event requiring marking of the displayed page. In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the fifth hot spot portion 186 is disposed in the upper corner of the touch screen 130 . In this embodiment, the fifth hotspot portion 186 of the touch screen 130 is used to mark pages of book corners. Therefore, the fifth hotspot portion 186 can be synonymously referred to as a “corner portion” or a “corner hotspot” for receiving a corner event.

A sixth hotspot portion 188 of the touch screen 130 is designated to provide a depth indication of how many books remain to be read. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , the sixth portion 188 is disposed above the display portion 168 . The second hotspot portion 178 is used in conjunction with the sixth portion 188 to provide a depth indication.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the display part 168, the first hot spot part 170, the second hot spot part 178, the third hot spot part 180, the fourth hot spot part 184, and the fifth hot spot part 186 do not contain each other (that is, do not overlap) the touch screen Parts of 130. However, in other embodiments of the invention, these portions may be mutually subsumable, and thus may overlap. Also, some embodiments of the present invention may employ different sizes and portions for the hot spot portions described above.

Each hotspot is preferably motion sensitive so that touch events, touch and hold events, and drag events can be detected to initiate different responses. For example, a page back event can be received with a swipe motion (ie, a short swipe) across the second hotspot portion 178 .

Figure 5 shows a library screen display using an electronic book embodiment. In a preferred embodiment, upon opening or activating the e-book, the library screen is displayed. The library screen includes a rear graphical book representation 200 with a graphical spine portion 202 . A front graphical book representation 204 is displayed in front of the rear graphical book representation 200 . The front graphical book representation 204 has a graphical spine portion 206 and a graphical front cover portion 208 . The title 210 of the book currently being read is displayed on the front graphical book representation 204 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , book title 210 is displayed on graphical spine portion 206 of front graphical book representation 204 .

Upon receipt of a user-initiated event wherein the portion of the rear graphical book representation 200 is selected, the title of another book or books in the library is displayed instead of the title on the previous graphical book representation 204 210. In the preferred embodiment, the portion of the back graphical book representation 200 selected in this user-initiated event is within the graphical spine portion 202.

From the storage media (including books) installed in the electronic book, the title of the book in the library can be obtained. In addition, titles of books can be obtained through a connection to an information service that provides books or other information in real time. Alternatively, titles and books can be accessed upon request from the World Wide Web.

The user can flip through the books in the library by repeatedly touching the spine portion 202 with his or her fingers 212 until the desired title comes into view. When the spine portion 202 is selected for the last of the plurality of books, the title of the first book is displayed. In this way, the user can scroll through the books in the library until a desired book is in front of him.

Figure 6 represents a user initiated event for opening a desired book from the library screen. Upon receiving a user initiated event in which a portion of the front graphical representation 204 is selected, the front book is opened. This user-initiated event can include, for example, the user touching the front cover portion 208 of the front graphical book representation 204 with his or her finger 212 . At the request of this user-initiated event, the book indicated by the title 214 is opened. If the book has not been read before, the book is opened to the first page. If the book has been read before, open the book to the last page read.

FIG. 7 shows the first page of a book displayed on the touch screen 130 when exiting the library screen. To display the first page of the book, either from the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 installed in the e-book, or from the internal machine-readable storage medium 154, machine-readable data representing text and graphics from the book is read. When reading the machine-readable data, a page of text and/or graphics is displayed on the touch screen 130 . As shown, the displayed text looks like a standard page in a real book.

If a user-initiated event is received when the book is on the first page, wherein the user selects the second hotspot portion 178 of the touch screen 130, the page back portion, then the title page containing the system controls is displayed.

Figure 8 shows a book title page displayed on one embodiment of an electronic book. The information displayed on the title page includes book title 220 , author information 222 , copyright information 224 , library of Congress number 226 , and publisher information 228 . Also displayed are statistical data such as the total number of pages 230 of the book, the number of pages remaining to be read 232 , and the elapsed reading time 234 .

Various control options are also displayed. These control options include, but are not limited to, pacing control options 236 , font selection options 238 , system control options 240 , self-reading options 242 , and radio frequency (RF) connection options 244 . Any of these control options can be activated through respective user-initiated events that indicate user selection of an option. As shown in FIG. 8 , the user initiates the font selection routine by touching font selection option 238 with his or her finger 212 .

Figure 9 shows a font selection page displayed on one embodiment of an electronic book. At the beginning of the font selection routine, the font selection page is displayed.

Displayed on the font selection page are options for various font/size combinations. Each option has a word form displayed in a specific font and a specific size according to the font/size combination. The user selects a desired font/size combination by viewing how the word looks in various combinations, and selecting the desired combination. For example, in FIG. 9, the user selects a desired font/size combination by selecting with his or her finger 212 a word 250 displayed in the desired font/size combination.

Fonts can be selected from internal fonts and user fonts provided on publisher-provided media. For example, a user may select a boldface font provided on media containing Shakespeare's works, rather than the default font within the electronic book (eg, Courier, Helvetica, AvantGarde).

When the desired font/size combination is selected, the e-book automatically flips back to the title page containing the system controls. Thereafter, the e-book uses the desired font/size combination as the primary font/size combination for displaying the book's text. Enlarges and darkens book titles and titles in books based on the main font/size combination. Italicizes the rest of the text according to the main font. However, the displayed body of text should never be smaller than the selected size in the main font/size combination. In some embodiments, it is preferable to display footnotes at a size smaller than the selected size.

Fig. 10 shows the title page of the book displayed when exiting the font selection page. Here, the user is shown selecting the system control option 240 by using his or her finger 212 to initiate a system control routine.

Figure 11 shows a system control page displayed in one embodiment of an electronic book. When a system control routine is executed, the system control page is displayed.

The system control page provides various display controls including contrast control 254 , tint control 256 , and color control 258 . Each of these controls provides a specific number of control values that the user can directly select. Furthermore, each control value is displayed graphically consistent with its selection. For example, contrast control 254 includes a high contrast graphical representation 262 , a medium contrast graphical representation 264 , and a low contrast graphical representation 266 . Graphical representations 262, 264, and 266 have the same graphical image but are displayed with different contrast control values. Thus, a user can visually determine a desired contrast by viewing graphical representations 262 , 264 , and 266 . In a similar manner, tint control 256 and color control 258 each display a predetermined graphic image using a discrete number of tint control values and color control values, respectively.

The graphical representation displayed in the display control is preferably not affected by the current value of the selected control value. In a preferred embodiment, the graphical representation is displayed independent of all current values. For example, low contrast representation 266 may be displayed independently of the current contrast control value, current tint control value, and current color control value. In another preferred embodiment, the graphical representations in each control display are independent of the current value of the controlled control, but dependent on the current values of the other controls. Here, for example, the display of the low contrast representation 266 is independent of the current contrast control value, but is dependent on the current hue control value and the current color control value. Using either of these two embodiments, the user can immediately determine the outcome of each control value selection before actually making the selection.

The system control page also includes a sound control 267 . The indicated sound control 267 has a discrete number of user selectable sound intensity values. In the embodiment of FIG. 11 , the sound intensity value has a unique relationship to the ear size displayed on the sound control 267 . An ear 268 with a scar through it indicates the option to turn off the sound. For purposes of illustration, FIG. 11 shows the user selecting a medium sound level by touching an ear graphic 269 . The user then returns to the system control page by touching the second hotspot portion 168 of the touch screen 130, the page back hotspot.

It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment of the electronic book, the controls on the system control page can provide control of continuous rather than discrete control values. Here, for example, ear size and volume can be increased or decreased according to finger selection movements.

Use a filled area 272 of the system control page to experiment with motions like hold events, page turn events, and mark events. Specifically, the user can point to any one of the hold selection 271 , page turn selection 272 , and mark selection 273 , and then make a motion of selection within the filled area 270 . Here, for each user, the length of hold for the flick command or the pattern of dragging the finger can be tested, for example using the filled area 270 .

Fig. 12 shows the title page of the book displayed when exiting the system control page. Here, the user is illustrated selecting the read-to-read option 244 , which activates the voice synthesizer 162 to audibly read the visual text displayed on the touch screen 130 . The audible reading of the text begins on the last page, which is displayed on the touch screen 130 . Reading speed and other controls for the self-reading routine are provided on the Pacing Controls page described below.

Figure 13 shows the title page of a book with the Open RF Connection option selected. The user selects the RF connection option 244 by touching it with his or her finger 212 . Once the RF connect option 244 is selected, the RF connect routine is executed. The RF connection routine allows the user to download the latest text to the electronic book and/or connect the electronic book to a personal computer or communication unit. The RF connection routine utilizes antenna 158 and RF modem 160 shown in FIG. 3 to communicate with a personal computer using a local area wireless link, or more generally with a radio data communication network. Utilizing a national radio data communication network, such as the Ardis network, allows individuals to receive the latest books through radio frequency links within major cities.

Figure 14 shows the title page of a book with the pacing control option selected by the user. Specifically, it is shown that the user initiates the pacing control routine by selecting with his or her finger 212 the pacing control item 236 displayed on the title page.

Figure 15 shows a pacing page displayed in one embodiment of an electronic book. Once the user selects the pacing control option 236 from the title page, the pacing control page is displayed. The pacing control page includes a display 280 of the user's current reading pace. Based on the number of pages remaining in the book given in display 282, a display 284 is also given of the estimated completion time for the book. In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the current reading pace, the number of pages remaining, and the estimated completion time are displayed in one or more sentences.

Also displayed on the pacing control page is a display 290 of a desired pace reading. A display 292 of the estimated completion time based on the desired reading pace is also given. By use of the graphical slider bar 294 by the user, the desired reading pace is controlled. Graphics switch 296 starts and stops the pacing routine that automatically paces the text pages in the book. In one embodiment, each page of text is displayed for a time commensurate with the desired reading speed controlled by the graphical slider 294 . The user returns to the title page from the pacing control page by selecting the second hotspot portion 178 of the touch screen 130, the page back portion.

Figure 16 shows a book title page depicting additional user-initiated options. By selecting the bookmark graphic 182, the user can return to the bookmarked page. The user can return to the library screen by selecting the fourth hotspot of the touch screen 130, closing the book section. The user can go to the first page of the book by selecting the first hot spot portion 170 of the touch screen 130, ie, the previous page portion.

Figure 17 shows a page marked with a page tear-off used in one embodiment of an electronic book. A user initiates a page corner removal command by performing a predetermined user-initiated event. An example of such an event includes a user touching an upper corner portion of the touch screen 130 , such as the fifth hotspot portion 186 previously defined.

If the page has no page corner markings, a brief touch of the upper corner portion 186 causes a page corner graphic 300 to be displayed in the upper corner portion. Additionally, an indication of the page that has been marked with a page corner is stored either in the removable machine-readable storage medium 136 or in the internal machine-readable storage medium 154 .

If the user touches the upper corner portion 186 of a page that has been marked with page corner removal, or if the upper corner portion 186 is held for a time greater than a predetermined threshold, the page corner removal dialog box is opened.

Figure 18 shows a page corner removal dialog box used in the eBook embodiments. A page corner removal dialog box 302 is displayed on the touch screen 130, and the page corner removal dialog box 302 displays a list 304 of all page corner removal marked pages. The user can immediately go to one of the corner marked pages on the table 304 by touching the display of the selected page number.

The page corner dialog box 302 also displays an option 306 to display markers 308 along the edges 310 of the page. Thereafter, the user can touch any one of the marks 308 to quickly move to a corresponding page of the corner marked pages. In the example shown in FIG. 18 , the page corner mark 312 corresponds to mark page 1, the page break mark 314 corresponds to mark page 35, mark 316 corresponds to mark page 94, mark 318 corresponds to mark page 111, and mark 320 corresponds to on page 120. In a preferred embodiment, the first page is always marked with page corners, so that the user can quickly return to the first page by using the marker 308 or the page corner dialog box 302.

When a user start event is received while the page corner removal dialog box 302 is displayed, the page corner removal dialog box 302 is eliminated to indicate the selected page of the book.

Figure 19 shows a user selecting a portion of a text page. A portion 330 is selected by a user-initiated event by sliding his finger 212 (or other pointer such as a stylus) from a first position 332 to a second position 334 . Depending on its selection, portions of the text are highlighted 330 in a predetermined manner. If the touch screen 130 is capable of color display, portions of the text can be highlighted 330 in color. Additionally, portions of text can be highlighted 330 using grayscale shading, inverse video, or underlining. An option selection dialog box is then displayed on the touch screen 130 to provide the user with multiple text markup options.

Figure 20 shows an option selection dialog used in the electronic book embodiments. An option selection dialog box 340 is displayed, if possible, on the touch screen 130 at a location outside the bounds of the marked text portion 330 . The option selection dialog 340 includes a plurality of text markup options including a note capture option 342 , a highlight option 344 , a reference capture option 346 , and a set bookmark option 348 .

Briefly, note capture option 342 allows the user to enter notes associated with text option 330 . The highlight option 344 leaves the highlighted text portion 330 and stores an indication of the highlighted portion so that any subsequent return to the page displays the portion 330 while highlighted. Citation capture option 346 allows a user to store text portion 330 in internal machine-readable storage medium 154 along with source data, such as a book author name or book title. Selecting the set bookmark option 348 adds a bookmark to the current page. If the page already has a bookmark, the user is provided with a number of bookmark management options similar to those used for the page corner command.

Figure 21 shows the annotation display used in the electronic book embodiments. Annotation display is provided upon request by the user to select annotation capture option 342 shown in FIG. 20 . A soft keyboard 360 is displayed on the touch screen 130 after receiving an indication that the annotation capture option 342 is selected. The soft keyboard 360 includes alphanumeric and symbol keys as well as a close key and a comment collection key.

Soft keyboard 360 receives multiple keystroke events to form a note. When a keystroke event is received, a plurality of characters corresponding thereto are displayed in a window 362 on the touch screen 130 .

The user selects the close key on the soft keyboard 360 as soon as the annotation is finished. Upon request of selecting the close key, the electronic book removes the soft keyboard 360 and window 362 from the touch screen 130 and displays a note marker icon to indicate that the page has a note associated with it.

The annotation collection key on the soft keyboard 360 commands the electronic book to transfer the annotations to an external device, such as a personal computer. The personal computer interfaces to the electronic book either wirelessly via antenna 158 and radio frequency modem 160 shown in FIG. 3, using a wired connection via data interface 156, or using an infrared connection.

Annotations can also be in the form of pixel images that overlap the text pages. Pixels can be drawn on the touch screen 130 using a pointing device. Pixels can be stored in the form of a pixel map for later viewing or converted to text at a later time using handwriting recognition methods.

As another option, an additional keyboard can be added to the e-book for entering notes and other information.

Fig. 22 shows a tag used to indicate that a page has a comment associated with the tag. After the user enters a comment and selects the close key from the soft keyboard 360 shown in FIG. 21, the page shown in FIG. 22 is formed. As shown, the page in FIG. 22 has no soft keyboard 360 and no window 362 displayed on it. However, a note marker icon 370 is displayed in the lower corner of the page. By selecting the note marker icon 370, the user can see notes associated with this page. Selecting the note marker icon 370 has the same effect as selecting the note capture option 342 shown in FIG. 20 .

Also, a comment can be indicated by underlining or highlighting the portion of text associated with the comment. By selecting a portion of the text, the annotation can be viewed in a hypertext type manner.

FIG. 23 shows that the user selects a bookmark setting option in the option selection dialog box. The user selects the set bookmark option 348 by touching the displayed text associated with the set bookmark option 348 with his or her finger 212 or other pointer. If the page already contains a bookmark, displays a bookmark management dialog similar to that used for the page corner command. Since the page shown in Figure 23 does not have a bookmark associated with it, selection of the set bookmark option 348 causes a bookmark to be added to the page. In a preferred embodiment, only one page in each book is bookmarked.

Fig. 24 shows the page of Fig. 23 with a bookmark displayed thereon. A bookmark icon 380 is displayed at the top of the page to indicate that the page is already bookmarked.

It should be noted that a user-initiated event indicating a desired selection using touch screen 130 may be generated using pointing devices other than a personal finger. For example, a stylus or similar object can be used to select a desired portion of the touch screen 130 .

It should also be noted that various types of graphical controls can be utilized to control the settings and parameters of the electronic book. These graphical controls include, but are not limited to, graphical buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, scroll bars, slider bars, pop-up menus, and dialog boxes.

Next, the steps performed by the various elements of the electronic book to provide the features and functions of the electronic book are described. These operational steps are carried out on or by means of the processor 152 shown in FIG. 3 . Processor 152 is controlled to function in accordance with the operational steps in accordance with a computer program or other form of software or firmware stored in a computer readable memory. The computer readable memory can house the processor 152 within the internal machine readable memory 154 , or within a separate machine readable storage medium in communication with the processor 152 .

It should be noted that the order in which the steps are described represents one embodiment of the present invention, and further embodiments of the present invention may perform the steps in a different order to achieve the same function.

Figure 25 is a flowchart of an event loop that occurs in one embodiment of an electronic book. As shown in block 400, a step is performed to execute the library graphical user interface routine. The library graphical user interface routine provides a virtual library to allow a user to select a book to read from among a plurality of books in the library, and/or to access the aforementioned information services or web pages. Multiple books may reside on one or more removable machine-readable storage media and/or internal machine-readable storage media.

Once a desired book is selected, an execution routine is performed, as shown in block 402, to display one or more pages of text and graphics from the desired book. The routine that displays the text page is executed until a user-initiated event is received that exits the routine. As shown in block 404, if a close book event is received, the flow of the event loop is directed to return to the step of executing the library GUI routine in block 400.

If a page-back event is received when the current page read is the first page, then a step of displaying the title page of the book is performed, as shown in block 406 . The title page provides several control options that are useful to the user. The user selects the desired control option based on a user-initiated event. Block 408 represents a step of receiving this user initiated event.

Depending on the received user initiated event, the flow of the event loop is directed to one of a plurality of routines in one step shown at block 410 . If the received event indicates that the user has selected the pacing control option, then a step of executing the pacing control routine is performed, as shown in block 412 . If the event received represents that the user has selected a font selection option, then a step of performing a font selection routine is performed, as shown in block 414 . If the received event indicates that the user has selected a system control option, then a step of executing a system control routine is performed, as shown in block 416 . If the received event indicates that the user has selected the RF connection option, then a step of performing the RF connection routine is performed, as shown in block 420 . When the pacing control routine, font selection routine, system control routine, or RF connection routine is complete, the flow of the event loop is directed to block 406 where the step of displaying the banner page is performed.

If the event received from block 408 represents that the user has selected the self-reading option, then a step is performed to perform a self-reading routine, as shown in block 422. The flow of the bootstrap event loop then returns to block 402, where a routine for displaying a text page from a book is executed. In addition to the visual display at block 402, execution of the self-reading routine at block 422 provides a spoken, audible text display.

If the event received in the step of piece 408 is a paging event, then a step of setting the current page to the first page is performed, as shown in piece 424. If the received event represents that the user has selected a bookmark displayed on the title page, then a step is performed to set the current page to the previous bookmarked page, as shown in block 426. After the current page is set in either of the steps indicated by blocks 424 and 426, the flow of the event loop is then directed back to the step of executing the routine for displaying the text page indicated by block 402.

Finally, if the event received in block 408 represents a close book event, then the flow of the event loop is directed back to block 400 for a step of executing the library graphical user interface routine.

Figure 26 is a flowchart of the steps performed in an embodiment of the library graphical user interface routine used in electronic books. These steps are performed during execution of the library graphical user interface routine shown at block 400 in FIG. 25 . The steps provide a method of selecting a book for reading in an electronic book, wherein the book is selected from a plurality of books in a library.

As shown in block 430, a step of displaying a backward graphical book representation having a graphical spine portion is performed. A step is performed, as shown in block 432, of displaying the forward graphical book representation preceding the backward graphical book representation. The forward graphic book representation has a graphic spine portion and a graphic front cover portion.

As shown in block 434, a step is performed to display the title of the first book of the plurality of books on the forward graphical book representation. The title of the first book can be displayed anywhere on the forward graphical book representation. However, in a preferred embodiment, the title of the first book is displayed on the graphic spine portion of the forward graphic book representation. FIG. 5 shows an example in which a backward graphical book representation 200 has a graphical spine portion 202, a forward graphical book representation 204 has a graphical spine portion 206 and a graphical front cover portion 208, and a book title 210 is displayed on the forward graphical book representation. 204 on.

Referring again to FIG. 26, as shown in block 436, a step of receiving a first user-initiated event is performed wherein a portion of the backward graphical book representation is selected. In a preferred embodiment, the portion of the backward graphical book representation selected at this step is within the graphical spine portion of the backward graphical book representation. Upon receiving the first user-initiated event, a step of displaying the title of the second book of the plurality of books is performed, as shown in block 440 . Preferably, the title of the second book is displayed instead of the title of the first book on the spine portion of the forward graphic book representation graphic.

As shown in block 442, a step is performed to receive a second user-initiated event wherein a forward portion of the graphical book representation is selected. In a preferred embodiment, the portion of the forward graphical book representation selected at this step is within the front cover portion of the forward graphical book representation. Receipt of the second user initiated event ends execution of the library graphical user interface routine and directs flow to a routine that displays a page of text from the second book. Here, the steps of reading out machine-readable data from a machine-readable storage medium installed in the electronic book, and displaying text represented by the machine-readable data, the machine-readable data representing text from the second book are performed.

It should be noted that the steps indicated by blocks 436 and 440 can be repeated to allow the user to transfer multiple books. When the first user initiated event is received while the last of the multiple books is being displayed, the next title displayed is the title of the first of the multiple books.

Preferably, all steps of displaying and receiving user-initiated events are performed using the touch screen 130 built into the electronic book. However, in other embodiments of the e-book, the e-book includes a series of buttons external to the touch screen 130, with which any of the user-initiated events described above can be received.

Additionally, it should be noted that more than two graphical book representations may be displayed to provide control within the library graphical user interface routine.

27 and 28 show flow diagrams of an embodiment of a routine for displaying pages of text in an electronic book. In one embodiment of the steps shown at block 402 in Figure 25, the steps shown in these flowcharts are performed.

Upon entering the routine, a step of displaying the current page of the book is performed, as shown in block 450. The current page includes: text from the current page of the book, a graphic display of the remaining pages in the book, a graphic display of bookmarks if there is one associated with the current page, a page break if the current page has page break marks corner graphics, and a comment marker icon if there is a comment associated with the current page. Optionally, the current page includes graphics from the current page of the book.

After displaying the current page, a transition step is performed, as shown in block 452, according to any user-initiated events received. If a user-initiated event selecting a portion of the text is received, a step of marking the portion of the text is performed, as shown in block 454 . The portion of the text can be marked by highlighting the portion of the text in color or gray scale, underlining the portion of the text, or displaying the portion of the text in reverse video. The user can directly select that part of the text by sliding a finger or a stylus over that part of the text. Alternatively, the portion of the text can be directly selected through a menu selection technique.

After the portion of the text has been marked, a step of displaying an option selection dialog is performed, as shown in block 456. The option selection dialog provides the user with multiple options, including an annotation capture option, a highlight option, a reference capture option, and a set bookmark option.

As represented by block 460, a step is performed to receive a user-initiated event indicating selection of one of the options. Based on this selection, a transfer step is performed, as indicated by block 462 . If the annotation capture option is selected, then a step of executing the annotation routine is performed, as shown in block 464. If the reference capture option is selected, then a step is performed to perform a reference capture routine, as shown in block 466. If the highlight option is selected, then a step is performed to perform a highlight routine, as shown in block 470. If the bookmark setting option is selected, then a step of executing the bookmark routine is performed, as shown in block 472.

Upon completion of the comment routine, reference capture routine, highlight routine, or bookmark routine, a step is performed to determine whether the pacing mode is active, as shown in block 474. If the pacing mode is inactive, then the flow of the boot routine returns to block 452, which performs a transition step based on the received user-initiated event. If the pacing mode is active, then a step of determining whether the highlight mode is active is performed, as shown in block 476. If the highlight mode is active, then a step of scrolling the highlight through the current page is performed, as shown in block 480. Scrolling highlighting through the current page allows the user to scan through the pacing of the current page. A user can activate a highlight mode to help improve his or her reading speed.

Highlights scrolling across the page can be in the form of color or grayscale highlights, underlining of text, or inverse video of text. If the touch screen 130 is capable of selectively back lighting, the highlight may be in the form of a reduced portion of the touch screen 130 being selectively back lit.

After scrolling the highlight through the current page in block 480, or if the highlight mode is inactive, then a step is made to determine whether it is time to display the next page, as shown in block 482. If the time for displaying the next page has not yet arrived, then the guided flow returns to block 452. If the time for displaying the next page has arrived, then a step of updating the current page is performed, as shown in block 484. Next, a step of displaying forward page turning with an animation theme is performed, as shown in block 486 . This step includes displaying a sequence of animated images simulating a forward page turn. The flow of the boot routine then returns to block 450 to display a new current page.

Referring to block 452, if a user-initiated event representing that the user has selected the annotation marker icon is received, then the step of executing the annotation routine indicated by block 464 is completed. Thereafter, subsequent steps proceed from the step indicated by block 474 .

With reference to the transfer step carried out in piece 452, if have received a page corner removal user initiated event, so just carry out a step of carrying out page corner removal routine, as shown in piece 490. If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected the bookmark portion of the page, then a step of executing the bookmark management routine is performed, as shown in block 491. Thereafter, starting from the step indicated by block 474, subsequent steps are performed. Similarly, if a user-initiated event is not received in block 452 , then the flow of the routine is directed to the step indicated by block 474 .

If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected the page-back portion of the page, then the flow is transferred from block 452 to a step of decrementing the current page shown in block 492 . And, carry out a step of displaying page turning back with animation theme, as shown in piece 494. This step includes displaying an animated image sequence that simulates turning a page back. The steps indicated by blocks 486 and 494 give the user the feeling or feeling that a page of information is being turned on the spot, promoting the familiar paradigm of turning pages in a standard paper book.

As shown in block 496, after the step of block 494, a step of determining whether the new current page is a title page is carried out. If the new current page is a title page, then the execution of the routine for displaying the text page in the electronic book is completed, as shown in block 500. If the new current page is any page other than the title page, then the flow of the boot routine returns to block 450, where a step of displaying the new current page is performed in block 450.

If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected the page-in portion of the page, then flow is directed from the step indicated by block 452 to a step of incrementing the current page, as shown in block 502. Also, a step of displaying forward page turning with an animation theme is performed, as shown in block 504 . The flow of the boot routine then returns to block 450 where a new, incremented current page is displayed.

Fig. 29 is a flowchart of the steps performed to display the current page in the electronic book. These steps constitute one embodiment of a method for performing the steps shown at block 450 in FIG. 26 .

As shown in block 510, a step is performed to display text from the current page of the book. Displays the text according to the main font parameter and main size parameter. If there is any highlight associated with the text portion on the current page, then a step is performed to highlight this portion of the text, as shown in block 512. If any graphics information is included in the current page, then a step of displaying the graphics information is performed, as shown in block 513.

As shown in block 514, a step is performed to graphically display the remaining pages in the book. The remaining pages in the book can be displayed in the sixth portion 188 of the touch screen 130, as shown in FIG. Using a multi-page image, a black line as a drop shadow, or a set of parallel lines, the remaining pages in the book can be graphically displayed to indicate relative depth in a given file with page numbers. When the current page is one of the front pages in the book, the drop shadow or image depth is quite dark, indicating that a substantial portion of the book remains to be read. When the current page is near the middle of the book, the drop shadow or graphic image is half deep. As the end of the book is approached, the drop shadow or graphic image depth becomes very shallow, indicating that the reader is almost finished with the book. As a result, the user can determine at a glance how many pages of the book have been read, and the relative position of those pages within the book, just like a standard paper book. As an alternative to using the top of the touch screen to graphically display the remaining pages of the book, one of the side edges and or a bottom of the touch screen 130 can be utilized to provide this graphical display.

As shown in block 516, a step is performed to determine whether the bookmark is associated with the current page. If the bookmark is relevant to the current page, then a step of displaying the bookmark graphic is performed, as shown in block 520.

As shown in block 522, a step of judging whether the current page has corner tearing marks is carried out. If the current page has a corner-removing mark, then a step of displaying a corner-removing graphic is performed, as shown in block 524.

As shown in block 526, a step is made to determine whether an annotation exists for the current page. If there is an annotation associated with the current page, then a step of displaying an annotation marker icon is performed, as shown in block 530.

Figure 30 is a flowchart of steps performed in an annotation routine embodiment. In the step indicated by block 464 in FIG. 28, this annotation routine is performed.

As shown in block 540, a step is performed to display a window of the note. As shown in block 542, a step of displaying a soft keyboard on the touch screen 130 is performed. Provides a soft keyboard to receive multiple keystrokes forming annotations.

After displaying the soft keyboard and the note window, a step of receiving a keystroke event is performed, as shown in block 544 . As shown in block 546, based on the keystroke event received in block 544, a branch operation is performed. If the keystroke event represents that the user has selected an alphanumeric key or a symbol key on the soft keyboard, then a display is performed to display the character associated with the key, as shown in block 560. The character associated with the key is displayed in the comment window. After displaying the character, the flow of the boot routine returns to block 544, where a subsequent keystroke event is received in block 544.

Referring back to the transition step represented by block 546, if the keystroke event represents that the user has selected the close key from the soft keyboard, then a step of closing the soft keyboard is performed, as shown in block 562. Also carry out a step of closing the annotation window, as shown in block 564. As shown in block 566, a step is performed to display a note marker icon on the page. Thereafter, execution of the annotation routine is completed.

Referring again to the transfer step carried out in piece 546, if the keystroke event represents that the user has selected the comment collection key, then a step is carried out to transmit this comment to the external personal computer, as shown in piece 570. After this annotation is sent to personal computer, the flow process of booting routine returns to piece 544, in piece 544, receives the following keystroke event.

Figure 31 shows a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the reference trapping subroutine. This reference capture subroutine can be performed to provide the steps shown at block 466 in FIG. 28 .

Before entering the reference capture subroutine, a user-initiated event is received in the e-book that selects a portion of the text displayed on the touch screen. After receiving the user-initiated event, display a plurality of text markup options including a quote capture option, and receive a user-initiated event indicating that the user has selected the quote capture option.

As represented by block 580, a step is performed to store reference data representing the portion of the text. Reference data is stored in internal machine-readable storage medium 154 shown in FIG. 3 .

As represented by block 582, a step is performed to store source data identifying the source of the referenced data. The source data can represent the author of the book, the title of the book, the copyright date of the book, and/or the publisher of the book. The source data is stored in the internal machine-readable storage medium from FIG. 3 .

As represented by block 584, a step is performed to maintain the reference data and source data within the internal machine-readable storage medium when the removable machine-readable storage medium is removed from the electronic book. As a result of this step, when the removable machine-readable storage medium is removed, subsequent steps can be performed based on the reference data and source data. Specifically, when the removable machine-readable storage medium is removed from the electronic book, a step of restoring reference data and source data from the internal machine-readable storage medium can be performed. Thereafter, a step of displaying the text portion of the reference data representation and the source information of the source data representation can be performed.

Figure 32 shows a flow diagram of the steps performed in one embodiment of the page corner removal subroutine. This page trimming subroutine is performed in the step represented by block 490 in FIG. 26 .

As shown in block 590, a step is performed to determine the duration of the cornered portion of the page that is kept touching the screen. A step of comparing the duration to a predetermined threshold is performed, as indicated by block 592 . The predetermined threshold is approximately one second. If the duration is less than the predetermined threshold, then a step is performed to determine whether the current page has a page corner, as shown in block 594. If the current page does not have corners, then a step is performed to store an indication that the current page has corners, as shown in block 596. Furthermore, a step of displaying a corner-cutting graphic on the upper corner of the touch screen 130 is performed, as shown in block 600 . Thereafter, the execution of the page-cutting subroutine is completed.

Referring to blocks 592 and 594, if the duration is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, or the current page has corner removal, then a step of displaying a page corner removal dialog box, as shown in block 602, is performed. Shows a list of all marked pages in the Page Corner dialog box. Also, an option is displayed along the edge of each page to represent the marks corresponding to all marked pages.

As represented by block 604, a user initiated event is received. As shown in block 606, a transition step is performed based on the received user initiated event. If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected a page number from the marked page table, then a step is performed in which the current page is set as the selected page number, as shown in block 610. If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected the marking option, then a display of markings corresponding to the page corner marking pages along the edge of the page is performed, as shown in block 612.

Figure 33 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the pacing control subroutine. In the step indicated by block 472 in FIG. 25, the pacing control subroutine is executed.

As shown in block 620, a step is performed to determine the number of pages remaining in the book. As shown in block 622, a step is performed to determine the user's current reading pace.

Based on the number of pages remaining in the book, a step of calculating one or more estimated completion times is performed, as indicated at 624 . A first estimated completion time can be calculated by dividing the number of remaining words or pages in the book by the user's current reading pace. As a result, the first estimated completion time estimates how long it would take the user to finish reading the book at his or her current reading speed. A second estimated completion time is calculated by dividing the number of words or pages remaining in the book by the desired reading pace. The second estimated completion time estimates how long it will take the user to finish reading the book at a desired reading pace.

As indicated by block 626, a step is performed to display each estimated completion time. Each estimated completion time can be displayed in a corresponding sentence as shown in FIG. 15 .

As shown at block 630, a calculation is performed to calculate the reading pace necessary to meet the predetermined reading goal. The intended reading purpose can be in the form of a duration in which the user wishes to read the remaining pages in the book. Here, the necessary reading pace is calculated by dividing the remaining number of pages in the book by the duration. A step is performed, shown at block 632, to display the reading pace necessary to meet the reading goal.

As represented by block 634, a step of displaying one or more graphical pacing controls is performed. As shown in Figure 15, one or more graphical pacing controls can include a graphical slider, such as graphical slider 294 for modifying the desired reading pace, and a graphical switch, such as for utilizing a pacing routine Graphical switch 296 for automatic pacing of program start and end text.

As represented by block 636, a user initiated event is received. As shown in block 640, if the user-initiated event indicates that the user has selected the page-back portion of the touch screen 130, then execution of the pacing control subroutine is terminated. The system control page is displayed on the touch screen 130 upon completion of the pacing control subroutine.

If the user-initiated event does not indicate that the user has selected the page-back section, then a step of updating the pacing parameters according to the user-initiated event is performed, as shown in block 642. Examples of pacing parameters include a desired reading pace and a reading goal. After updating the pacing parameters, the subroutine of the boot process goes to block 624 to recalculate the estimated completion time and necessary reading pace.

Figure 34 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the font selection subroutine. The font selection subroutine is executed in block 414 in the event loop of FIG. 25 .

As shown in block 650, a step is performed to display characters in corresponding combinations of different font styles and different sizes. More precisely, each character is displayed with a specific font and a specific size according to the combination corresponding to the character. Optionally, the step of displaying the multiple characters can include displaying the various font names for each combination. Alternatively, the step of displaying the plurality of characters can include displaying a single textual representation in corresponding combinations.

As shown in block 652, a step is performed to receive a user-initiated event indicating that the user has selected one of the plurality of words. This selection represents the font/size combination desired by the user.

As shown in block 654, a step of updating the main font parameters and a main size parameter is performed. Based on the font/size combination selected by the user, update the main font parameters and main size parameters. As shown in block 656, after receiving the user-initiated event of selecting a word, a step of automatically returning to display the title page is performed. Thereafter, a subsequent step of displaying the book text includes displaying the text in the main font at least the size of the main size.

Figure 35 is a flowchart of the steps performed in one embodiment of the system control subroutine. In a step shown by block 416 in the event loop of FIG. 25, a system control subroutine is executed.

As represented by block 660, a step is performed to display a plurality of graphical controls for setting system parameters. System parameters can include display parameters such as contrast parameters, hue parameters, and color parameters. System parameters can also include a sound parameter.

As represented by block 662, a step of receiving a user initiated event is performed. If the user-initiated event represents that the user has selected a page-back portion of the touch screen, as shown in block 664, then execution of the system control subroutine is completed. For other user-initiated events, a step of updating system parameters is performed, as shown in block 668.

Thus, the concept of an electronic book and a graphical user interface providing the user with control over it has been described, along with several embodiments including the preferred embodiment.

Since the various embodiments of the present invention specify that portions of the touch screen integrated in an electronic book receive user events to control the operation of the electronic book in a book-like manner, they are useful in facilitating the user to control the operation of the electronic book in an intuitive manner. Provides significant improvements.

In addition, various embodiments of the present invention provide portions of the touchscreen that, in a book-like fashion, allow the user to: (I) request to display subsequent pages; (II) request to display previous pages; (III) request to display pre-marked pages ; (IV) request to display the library screen; and (V) request to mark up the text page.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention disclosed can be modified in various ways and has many embodiments other than the preferred embodiment described above.

Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims (10)

1. A method for providing users with control over an electronic book, the electronic book comprising a book-shaped casing, said method comprising the steps of: Reading machine-readable data from a machine-readable storage medium installed in the electronic book, the machine-readable data representing the text in the book; display a page of text represented by machine-readable data on a display portion of a touch screen integrated with an electronic book; designating a first portion of the touch screen for receiving a first user-initiated event requesting that a subsequent page of text be displayed on the touch screen; designating a second portion of the touch screen for receiving a second user-initiated event requesting that a previous page of text be displayed on the touch screen; designating a third portion of the touch screen for receiving a third user-initiated event requesting that the pre-marked page be displayed on the touch screen; designating a fourth portion of the touch screen for receiving a fourth user-initiated event requesting that the library screen be displayed on the touch screen; and A fifth portion of the touch screen is designated for receiving a fifth user-initiated event requesting that the page be marked. 2. An electronic book, comprising: a book-shaped housing having a first housing member pivotally connected to a second housing member for opening and closing in a book-like manner; A processor housed in a book-shaped housing, the processor reads machine-readable data from a machine-readable storage medium installed in an electronic book, and the machine-readable data represents the text in the book; a touch screen in communication with the processor and housed within the book-shaped housing, the touch screen displays a page of text represented by machine-readable data on a display portion; the touch screen has: for receiving a first user-initiated event A first part for a first user-initiated event requesting that a subsequent page of text be displayed on the touchscreen; a second part for receiving a second user-initiated event requesting that a previous page of text be displayed on the touchscreen on the screen; a third portion for receiving a third user-initiated event requesting that a pre-marked page be displayed on the touch screen; a fourth portion for receiving a fourth user-initiated event for the fourth a user-initiated event requesting that the library screen be displayed on the touch screen; and, a fifth portion for receiving a fifth user-initiated event requesting that the page be marked. 3. The electronic book of claim 2, wherein the displayed portion, the first portion, the second portion, the third portion, the fourth portion, and the fifth portion are mutually exclusive portions on the touch screen. 4. The electronic book of claim 2, wherein the first portion includes a side region positioned next to the display portion. 5. The electronic book of claim 4, wherein the first portion includes a top border area located on an upper portion of the display portion and a bottom border area located on a lower portion of the display portion. 6. The electronic book of claim 4, wherein the second portion includes a side region adjacent to the display portion and opposite to said side region. 7. The electronic book of claim 2, wherein the fourth section is located next to the second section. 8. The electronic book of claim 2, wherein the third portion is located on an upper portion of the touch screen. 9. The electronic book of claim 8, wherein the third portion is shaped like a bookmark. 10. The electronic book of claim 2, wherein the fifth section is located in an upper corner of the touch screen.

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