Patent Application
20120227002
The advent of e-publications and e-reader devices has allowed for the convenient distribution and access of literature in electronic format. For example, publishers are able to disseminate e-publications without the overhead costs typically associated with producing and distributing printed publications. Similarly, users are able to conveniently store, access, and/or transport vast libraries of publications by way of a single e-reader device that can fit in the user's bag or pocket.
In some instances, e-reader devices present one or more user interfaces to facilitate a user's access to and/or experience of one or more e-publications. Unfortunately, however, traditional e-reader interfaces can be rigid and unintuitive as well as lack options for customization or personalization. For example, many traditional e-reader interfaces have a grid-like format that limits what is displayed, how it is displayed, where it is displayed, and how e- publication content is discovered, navigated, and accessed by a user. As a result, the process of browsing traditional e-reader interfaces and accessing corresponding e-publication content may seem constricted, unintuitive, and otherwise unappealing for users.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings, identical or similar reference numbers may designate identical or similar elements.
Exemplary methods and systems for managing an e-reader interface are disclosed herein. As described in more detail below, in an exemplary method, an e-reader interface management system may direct an e-reader device to display a plurality of graphical objects representative of a plurality of segments of an e-publication, detect a user interaction with a graphical object within the plurality of graphical objects and representative of a segment within the plurality of segments, and direct the e-reader device to remove at least one other graphical object within the graphical objects from the display of the graphical objects, wherein the at least one other graphical object is representative of at least one other segment within the plurality of segments that is unrelated to the segment. In an additional or alternative exemplary method, an e-reader interface management system may direct an e-reader device to display a plurality of graphical objects representative of a plurality of segments of an e-publication, detect a user interaction with a graphical object within the plurality of graphical objects and representative of a segment within the plurality of segments, and direct the e-reader device to further display one or more additional graphical objects representative of one or more additional segments of the e-publication that are related to the segment. Additional exemplary methods and/or systems are also disclosed herein.
As will be explained in more detail below, the exemplary methods and systems disclosed herein may provide, manage, and/or control one or more e-reader interfaces. For example, the methods and systems disclosed herein may be configured to provide and manage an e-reader interface configured to facilitate the browsing, discovery, and/or access of e-publication content in an intuitive and/or appealing manner. Accordingly, the methods and systems disclosed herein may enhance a user's experience of a corresponding e-publication. Additional benefits and/or advantages will be apparent from the details disclosed herein.
As used herein, the term “e-reader interface” may refer generally to any user interface configured to allow a user to browse, discover, access, and/or experience e-publication content by way of an e-reader device. In some examples, an e-reader interface may be displayed by an e-reader device (e.g., on a display screen associated with the e-reader device).
As used herein, the terms “e-reader device” and “e-reader” may refer to any suitable computing device configured to access, read, and/or display an e-publication for experiencing (e.g., reading, viewing, etc.) by a user. In some examples, an e-reader may include a computing device (e.g., a mobile phone device, a tablet computer, a personal-digital assistant device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a personal computer, etc.) implementing one or more software applications that allow the computing device to access, read, and/or display e-publications. In additional or alternative examples, an e-reader may be a “dedicated e-reader” (e.g., a Kindle, a Nook, etc.) that is configured to be used primarily as an e-reader device.
As used herein, the term “e-publication” may refer to any publication published in electronic/digital form. For example, an e-publication may include the electronic form of a magazine (e.g., an e-magazine), a book (e.g., an e-Book), a newspaper, any other suitable publication, and/or any portion thereof. An e-publication may include text, one or more images (e.g., photographs, illustrations, graphs, tables, etc.), and/or any other suitable e-publication content. In some examples, an e-publication may be the digital equivalent of a corresponding printed publication. An e-publication may be published in accordance with any suitable e-publication formats and/or technologies. In some examples, an e-publication may be published in accordance with a proprietary e-publication format (e.g., in accordance with one or more digital rights management technologies).
In some examples, an e-publication may include one or more segments. As used herein, the terms “segment” and “e-publication segment” may refer to any distinct portion of an e-publication. For example, an e-publication segment may include a chapter from an e-Book, an article from an e-magazine, and/or any other suitable segment of a corresponding e-publication.
As used herein, the term “graphical object” refers to one or more images (e.g., photographs, illustrations, etc.), text (e.g., one or more words, characters, numbers, symbols, etc.), one or more graphics, animation content (e.g., Flash content), and/or any other suitable graphical content that may be included (e.g., displayed) within an e-reader interface and that may be representative of an e-publication, a segment of an e-publication, a category of e-publication content, an image from an e-publication, and/or any other suitable content associated with an e-publication. In some examples, a graphical object may include a thumbnail image, a title, an author, a number (e.g., a corresponding chapter or page number), and/or any other suitable content associated with a corresponding e-publication and/or e-publication segment. In some examples, as will be explained in more detail below, the shape, organization, design, movement, and/or appearance of a group of graphical objects may graphically simulate (e.g., may be visually similar to) a wind chime wherein each graphical object in the group simulates an element of the wind chime (or simply “wind chime element).
As used herein, the term “user interaction” may refer to any suitable user interaction associated with an e-reader device, an e-reader interface, and/or an e-publication. In some examples, a user interaction may be provided by way of an input device (e.g., a touch screen, an input button, a remote control device, a keypad, a mouse device, etc.). For example, a user interaction may include a touch gesture provided by way of a touch screen associated with an e-reader device. Additionally or alternatively, each specific user interaction may be associated with a corresponding command, request, action, and/or operation. Accordingly, a user may selectively utilize one or more specific user interactions to provide one or more corresponding requests and/or initiate one or more corresponding actions.
Exemplary systems and methods will now be described in reference to the drawings.
System 100 may include, but is not limited to, a display facility 102, a detection facility 104, an interface management facility 106 (or simply “management facility 106”), and a storage facility 108, which may be in communication with one another using any suitable communication technologies. It will be recognized that although facilities 102-108 are shown to be separate facilities in
As will be described in more detail below, display facility 102 may be configured to direct an e-reader to display (e.g., by way of a display screen associated with the e-reader) a plurality of graphical objects representative of a plurality of corresponding segments of an e-publication. For example, display facility 102 may be configured to direct an e-reader to display a group of graphical objects each representative of an article, an advertisement, an image, or any other suitable content or segment of an e-magazine. As will be explained in more detail below, in some examples, a user may interact with one or more of the graphical objects to access and/or experience one or more corresponding e-publications.
In some examples, as will be described below, a group of graphical objects may be visually similar to a wind chime and each individual graphical object may be visually similar to an individual wind chime element. For example, the shape, organization, movement, and/or appearance of one or more graphical objects may be configured to simulate the shape, organization, movement, and/or appearance of a wind chime, as will be explained in more detail below.
Detection facility 104 may be configured to detect one or more user interactions in any suitable manner. For example, detection facility 104 may be configured to detect a user's interaction with an e-reader, an e-reader interface, one or more graphical objects (e.g., displayed within an e-reader interface), one or more e-publications and/or segments thereof (e.g., a user's viewing and/or reading of a particular e-magazine and/or corresponding article), and/or an input device (e.g., a touch screen and/or one or more input buttons associated with an e-reader). The detected user interaction may be any suitable user interaction, such as disclosed herein.
Management facility 106 may be configured to provide, manage, govern, and/or otherwise control one or more e-reader interfaces. For example, management facility 106 may be configured to provide and/or manage an e-reader interface to be displayed by an e-reader device and configured to facilitate the discovery and/or access of e-publication content. In some examples, management facility 106 may be configured to dynamically adjust an e-reader interface in response to one or more user interactions detected by detection facility 104. To illustrate, in response to a detected user interaction, management facility 106 may be configured to direct a corresponding e-reader device to remove one or more graphical objects from the e-reader interface, display one or more additional graphical objects within the e-reader interface, reposition a graphical object within the e-reader interface, rearrange one or more graphical objects within the e-reader interface, and/or adjust the e-reader interface in any other suitable manner. In additional or alternative examples, management facility 106 may be configured to direct an e-reader device to emit one or more sounds in accordance with a detected user interaction. Management facility 106 may be additionally or alternative configured to manage an e-reader interface in any other suitable manner.
Storage facility 108 may be configured to maintain e-publication data 110 representative of one or more e-publications and/or corresponding content and information. For example, e-publication data 110 may include data representative of an e-publication itself, data representative of content associated with an e-publication, data representative of a user's interactions with an e-publication, data representative of information associated with an e-publication, and/or any other suitable data associated with an e-publication. Storage facility 108 may be further configured to maintain graphical object data 112 representative of one or more graphical objects displayed by display facility 102. Storage facility 108 may be configured to maintain additional or alternative data as may serve a particular implementation.
Management subsystem 202 and e-reader device 204 may communicate using any communication platforms and technologies suitable for transporting data and/or communication signals, including known communication technologies, devices, media, and protocols supportive of remote data communications, examples of which include, but are not limited to, data transmission media, communications devices, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Internet Protocol (“IP”), File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), Telnet, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (“HTTPS”), Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”), Simple Object Access Protocol (“SOAP”), Extensible Mark-up Language (“XML”) and variations thereof, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (“SMTP”), Real-Time Transport Protocol (“RTP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”) technologies, Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) technologies, Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”) technologies, Short Message Service (“SMS”), Multimedia Message Service (“MMS”), radio frequency (“RF”) signaling technologies, Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) technologies, wireless communication technologies, in-band and out-of-band signaling technologies, and other suitable communications networks and technologies.
In certain embodiments, management subsystem 202 and e-reader device 204 may communicate via a network 208, which may include one or more networks, including, but not limited to, wireless networks (Wi-Fi networks), wireless communication networks (e.g., 3G and 4G networks), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks), closed media networks, open media networks, closed communication networks, open communication networks, satellite networks, navigation networks, broadband networks, narrowband networks, voice communication networks (e.g., Vol P networks), the Internet, local area networks, and any other networks capable of carrying data and/or communications signals between management subsystem 202 and e-reader device 204. Communications between management subsystem 202 and e-reader device 204 may be transported using any one of the above-listed networks, or any combination or sub-combination of the above-listed networks.
While
As mentioned and as shown in
In certain embodiments, system 100 may be implemented entirely by or within management subsystem 202 or e-reader device 204. In other embodiments, components of system 100 may be distributed across management subsystem 202 and e-reader device 204. In some examples, e-reader device 204 may include a client (e.g., a client application) implementing one or more of the facilities of system 100.
Management subsystem 202 may be implemented by one or more computing devices. For example, management subsystem 202 may be implemented by one or more server devices. Additionally or alternatively, e-reader device 204 may be implemented by any suitable e-reader device, such as disclosed herein.
To illustrate,
E-reader device 300 is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not limiting. In additional or alternative examples, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented by and/or performed in accordance with any other suitable e-reader device, as may serve a particular implementation.
In step 402, an e-reader device is directed to display a plurality of graphical objects representative of a plurality of segments of an e-publication. For example, display facility 102 may be configured to direct an e-reader device (e.g., e-reader device 300) to display any suitable graphical objects representative of any suitable e-publication segments, such as disclosed herein.
In step 404, a user interaction with a graphical object within the plurality of graphical objects and representative of a segment within the plurality of segments is detected. For example, detection facility 104 may be configured to detect the user interaction with the graphical object in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 406, in response to the user interaction, the e-reader device is directed to remove at least one other graphical object within the graphical objects from the display and/or display one or more additional graphical objects. In some examples, the at least one other graphical object removed from the display may be representative of at least one other segment within the plurality of segments that is unrelated to the segment. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more additional graphical objects added to the display may be representative of one or more additional segments of the e-publication that are related to the segment. Management facility 106 may be configured to direct the e-reader device to remove the at least one other graphical object from the display and/or display the one or more additional graphical objects in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
To illustrate the foregoing steps of method 400,
In some examples, each of graphical objects 504 may be representative of a corresponding e-publication segment and each of graphical objects 508 may be representative of a particular e-publication and/or any other suitable group or category of e-publication segments. For example, each of graphical objects 508 may be representative of a corresponding e-magazine and graphical objects 504 may be representative of segments (e.g., articles, advertisements, etc.) corresponding to a selected/highlighted graphical object 508. Accordingly and to illustrate, a user may select a particular graphical object 508 (e.g., graphical object 508-1) within second viewing pane 506, after which graphical objects 504 representative of corresponding e-publication segments may be displayed within first viewing pane 502. The user may then interact with graphical objects 504 to access e-publication segments corresponding to graphical object 508-1, discover additional e-publication segments, filter out one or more e-publication segments, rearrange a sequential order of the corresponding e-publication segments, and/or perform any other suitable operation associated with the corresponding e-publication segments, as will be explained in more detail below. In additional or alternative examples, each of graphical objects 504 and 508 may include any suitable text (e.g., a title, a description, an author, a rating, etc.), images (e.g., a thumbnail image, an illustration, etc.), graphics, and/or any other suitable content associated with and/or identifying a corresponding e-publication and/or e-publication segment. It will be assumed in the examples provided herein that graphical objects 504 represent e-publication segments corresponding to graphical object 508-1. Hence, graphical object 508-1 is shown in
As further shown in
In some examples, a user may interact with a particular graphical object displayed within interface 500 to filter out unrelated graphical objects and/or discover additional related graphical objects. As used herein, the term “related graphical objects” may refer to two or more graphical objects that are representative of e-publication segments that share one or more common attributes. For example, two related graphical objects may be representative of two e-publication segments that are associated with a common author, a common publisher, a common photographer, a common topic, a common theme, a common genre, a common rating, and/or any other suitable common attribute or characteristic. Conversely, the term “unrelated graphical objects” may refer to two or more graphical objects that are representative of e-publication segments that do not share any common attributes or characteristics.
To illustrate the foregoing,
In response to the detected user interaction, management facility 106 may be configured to dynamically adjust interface 500 in accordance with the corresponding request. For example, management facility 106 may be configured to determine which of graphical objects 504 are related to graphical object 504-4 and then direct the e-reader device to remove any unrelated graphical objects from interface 500. To illustrate, graphical object 504-4 may be related to (e.g., share one or more common attributes with) graphical object 504-2, but may be unrelated to graphical objects 504-1, 504-3, and 504-5. Accordingly, as shown in
Additionally or alternatively, management facility 106 may be configured to direct the e-reader device to display one or more additional related graphical objects within interface 500. To illustrate, as shown in
For example, interface 500 may be configured to allow a user to manually remove one or more graphical objects. To illustrate,
In some examples, interface 500 may be additionally or alternatively configured to allow a user to rearrange and/or reposition one or more graphical objects within interface 500. To illustrate, as shown in
In some examples, management facility 106 may be additionally or alternatively configured to adjust a user's experience of an e-publication in accordance with the removal, repositioning, and/or rearrangement of one or more graphical objects within interface 500. For example, management facility 106 may be configured to remove (e.g., temporarily or permanently) one or more e-publication segments from an e-publication in response to a removal of one or more corresponding graphical objects 504 from interface 500, alter a sequential order of one or more e-publication segments within an e-publication in response to a repositioning and/or rearrangement of one or more corresponding graphical objects 504 within interface 500, and/or modify the e-publication in any other suitable manner in accordance with a user's interaction with interface 500. Accordingly, a user may utilize interface 500 and/or graphical objects 504 to selectively customize and/or personalize the user's experience of the corresponding e-publication.
In additional or alternative examples, management facility 106 may be configured to direct an e-reader device to emit one or more sounds in response to and/or in accordance with a user interaction. To illustrate, as shown in
Additionally or alternatively, management facility 106 may be configured to direct an e-reader device to emit one or more sounds in accordance with a user's interaction with an e-publication. To illustrate,
As further shown in
To illustrate, as shown in
In additional or alternative examples, interface 500 may be configured to include one or more navigation options to allow a user to navigate within the article and/or a corresponding e-publication. For example, as shown in
In certain implementations, interface 500 may display a page number 1402 configured to facilitate a user's navigation within the article/e-magazine. To illustrate, user 600 may touch and hold one of options 1400 until page number 1402 displays a desired page of the article/e-magazine, after which user 600 may release the option and the e-reader device may display the corresponding page of the article/e-magazine within interface 500. In additional or alternative examples, interface 500 may include any other suitable options configured to facilitate a user's interaction with, navigation of, and/or experience with e-publication content.
In some examples, a user may select an image displayed within interface 500 to further experience and/or interact with the selected image. To illustrate,
In some examples, management facility 106 may be configured to dynamically include one or more advertisements in an e-reader interface. To illustrate,
In step 1702, an interface management system directs an e-reader device to display a plurality of wind chime elements representative of a plurality of segments of an e-publication. For example, display facility 102 may be configured to direct an e-reader device to display the wind chime elements in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 1704, the interface management system detects a user interaction with at least one wind chime element within the plurality of wind chime elements and representative of at least one segment within the plurality of segments. For example, detection facility 104 may be configured to detect the user interaction with the at least one wind chime element in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 1706, the interface management system directs the e-reader device to adjust the display of the wind chime elements in accordance with the detected user-interaction. For example, management facility 106 may be configured to adjust the display of the wind chime elements in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 1802, an interface management system directs an e-reader device to display a plurality of wind chime elements representative of a plurality of segments of an e-publication. For example, display facility 102 may be configured to direct an e-reader device to display the wind chime elements in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 1804, the interface management system detects a user selection of a wind chime element within the plurality of wind chime elements and representative of a segment within the plurality of segments. For example, detection facility 104 may be configured to detect the user interaction with the wind chime element in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In step 1806, the interface management system directs the e-reader device to at least partially display the segment of the e-publication. For example, management facility 106 may be configured to direct the e-reader device to display at least a portion of the segment in any suitable manner, such as disclosed herein.
In certain embodiments, one or more of the processes described herein may be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or more computing devices. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, (e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions may be stored and/or transmitted using any of a variety of known computer-readable media.
A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readable medium) includes any non-transitory medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include, for example, dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), which typically constitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other tangible medium from which a computer can read.
Communication interface 1902 may be configured to communicate with one or more computing devices. Examples of communication interface 1902 include, without limitation, a wired network interface (such as a network interface card), a wireless network interface (such as a wireless network interface card), a modem, and any other suitable interface. In at least one embodiment, communication interface 1902 may provide a direct connection between system 100 and one or more provisioning systems via a direct link to a network, such as the Internet. Communication interface 1902 may additionally or alternatively provide such a connection through, for example, a local area network (such as an Ethernet network), a personal area network, a telephone or cable network, a satellite data connection, a dedicated URL, or any other suitable connection. Communication interface 1902 may be configured to interface with any suitable communication media, protocols, and formats, including any of those mentioned above.
Processor 1904 generally represents any type or form of processing unit capable of processing data or interpreting, executing, and/or directing execution of one or more of the instructions, processes, and/or operations described herein. Processor 1904 may direct execution of operations in accordance with one or more applications 1912 or other computer-executable instructions such as may be stored in storage device 1906 or another computer-readable medium.
Storage device 1906 may include one or more data storage media, devices, or configurations and may employ any type, form, and combination of data storage media and/or device. For example, storage device 1906 may include, but is not limited to, a hard drive, network drive, flash drive, magnetic disc, optical disc, random access memory (“RAM”), dynamic RAM (“DRAM”), other non-volatile and/or volatile data storage units, or a combination or sub-combination thereof. Electronic data, including data described herein, may be temporarily and/or permanently stored in storage device 1906. For example, data representative of one or more executable applications 1912 (which may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the software applications described herein) configured to direct processor 1904 to perform any of the operations described herein may be stored within storage device 1906. In some examples, data may be arranged in one or more databases residing within storage device 1906.
I/O module 1906 may be configured to receive user input and provide user output and may include any hardware, firmware, software, or combination thereof supportive of input and output capabilities. For example, I/O module 1906 may include hardware and/or software for capturing user input, including, but not limited to, a keyboard or keypad, a touch screen component (e.g., touch screen display), a receiver (e.g., an RF or infrared receiver), and/or one or more input buttons.
I/O module 1906 may include one or more devices for presenting output to a user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display (e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., display drivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. In certain embodiments, I/O module 1906 is configured to provide graphical data to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may be representative of one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any other graphical content as may serve a particular implementation.
In some examples, any of the facilities described herein may be implemented by or within one or more components of computing device 1900. For example, one or more applications 1912 residing within storage device 1906 may be configured to direct processor 1904 to perform one or more processes or functions associated with display facility 102, detection facility 104, and/or management facility 106. Likewise, storage facility 108 may be implemented by or within storage device 1906.
In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. For example, certain features of one embodiment described herein may be combined with or substituted for features of another embodiment described herein. The description and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
