EP2250547A1

EP2250547A1 - Device and method for animating a graphic digital document

Info

Publication number: EP2250547A1
Application number: EP09710786A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alex Racic
Original assignee: BOOKRIX GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: BOOKRIX GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2008-02-11
Filing date: 2009-02-06
Publication date: 2010-11-17
Also published as: WO2009101033A1; BRPI0913672A2; JP2011511991A; KR20100130186A; DE102008008730B4; US20110090258A1; CN101971131A; DE102008008730A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for the automated animation of a sequence of computer graphics that form pages of a digital document, the memory for said device having a layout data set with opposing layout regions and foreground and background planes, to which computer graphics are assigned in a specific manner and the processing unit for said device being designed to reduce the display width of the second computer graphic in stages to provide the layout data set for the display, to assign the first computer graphic to the background plane of the first layout region, to assign a display width of approximately zero to the first computer graphic that is assigned to the foreground plane of the first layout region and to increase the display width of the third computer graphic in stages to provide the layout data set for the display. The invention also relates to an associated method, to a device and method for providing the layout data set for the display, to an assembly, a computer programme product and a data structure product for said animation.

Description

Description:

Apparatus and method for animating a graphic digital document

Technical area

The invention relates to a device for the automated animation of a sequence of computer graphics, which form pages of a digital document, with a processing unit and a memory, as well as a method, a device and a method for providing a

Layout data set, an arrangement, a computer program product and a data structure product therefor.

Background of the invention

For viewing digital documents (electronic documents) such as e-books, prior art display devices and methods are known which are intended to facilitate the reading of the electronic document. In this case, it is particularly desirable to automatically prepare and display the document contents in such a way that they are easily accessible to the viewer and approximate the representation of the familiar representation, for example in a bound book.

From the German translation DE 695 21 575 T2 of the European patent EP 0 701 220 B1 a method for displaying an electronic document is known, which makes it possible to follow a content flow when reading the digital document independently of the actual document layout, the order of which is linked by links paragraphs or sections contained in the document have been explicitly defined. This makes it possible to represent the red thread of a contextual relationship by the display device contiguous even if the content flow of an article spans more than one page.

It may be necessary not only to scroll on one page, but also to switch between the pages, which in particular causes a certain resource requirement if the pages to be displayed are formed by computer graphics (text graphics) and are not character-coded.

In order to present such a change in an appealing manner, DE 102 07 115 A1 discloses a device for electronically turning pages of a digital document, which provides the user with the haptic interaction via a special operating device and the visual impression of turning over conventional () Paper) supplies. The handling of the operating device controls directly the graphically displayed animation of turning pages by direction of movement and speed. In order to enhance the visual impression, it is proposed to represent the individual digital pages as a sequence of superimposed individual pages.

In this solution, however, there is typically a high demand for storage and computing capacity, as a large number of digital book pages must be kept for quick access and these must be quickly implemented according to the user inputs quickly into corresponding graphics of the page turning. The requirement of quick accessibility also means that the digital document must be largely completely present in the display device, and thus, if the digital document is provided by a network, communication resources are more heavily used.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method which automatically animates a sequence of computer graphics forming pages of a digital document to provide the visual effect of turning over, thereby improving resource efficiency by addressing the need reduced memory and communication resources compared to the known from the prior art solutions and an apparatus and method for providing a layout record, an arrangement, a computer program product, and a data structure product therefor.

Overview of the invention

This object is achieved by the subject-matter of claims 1, 16, 25, 34, 40, 41, 42 and 43.

The invention of claim 1 teaches an apparatus for automated animation of a sequence of computer graphics forming pages of a digital document comprising a processing unit and a memory, characterized in that

the memory has a layout data record, and in the layout data record a first layout area with a background plane and a foreground level and a second layout area opposite the first layout area with a background plane and a foreground plane are created;

the layout data set is associated with first, second, third and fourth computer graphics, wherein the first and second computer graphics form the open front sides of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling;

the first computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, and the third computer graphic has a display width of - A - is assigned approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphic is assigned to the background level of the second layout area;

the processing unit is adapted to reduce the display width of the second computer graphics step by step while providing the layout data record for presentation;

the processing unit is configured to associate the first computer graphics with the background plane of the first layout area;

the processing unit is designed to assign a presentation width of approximately zero to the first computer graphic assigned to the foreground plane of the first layout area;

the processing unit is designed to incrementally increase the display width of the third computer graphic in the layout data record while providing the layout data record for display.

By using a layout record, an appropriate, structured database is provided to form the data base for the automatic creation of the scrolling graphic animation. This layout data set allows easy handling of the data contained therein, and allows to assign automatically evaluable formatting properties to this data in the computerized representation.

By associating with this data set a selection of four computer graphics, each forming one page from a sequence of pages of a digital document, the page graphics data necessary to represent a typical digital page turning operation is provided. Thus, the amount of data accessible at the same time for a fluently animated page turning is reduced to a minimum by the layout data record and its associated graphics, and thus the memory and communication requirements for the display of a double page and the animated turning to the following double page are significantly reduced. The first and second computer graphics form the open front pages of a double-sided digital document, and the third and fourth computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after an animated page forwarding process. By the layout data set with the graphics associated with the invention, the double page of first and second graphics can be displayed immediately, and it can be performed virtually instantaneous animated turning.

Since the presentation time of a double page is typically higher than the access to a layout data structure designed according to the invention and the associated computer graphics, the presentation can be animated

Turning over, as well as the presentation of the flip-flopped pages with only small demands on memory and data provision or communication resources done without delay.

According to the invention, in the layout data structure, two opposing layout areas with background and foreground levels are modeled, and the four computer graphics are assigned to the levels of the background and foreground levels of the layout areas, for example by referencing the graphics in correspondingly attributed fields of the data set, enabling the animation process in a manner that is particularly resource-saving and can be implemented with practically widespread graphical presentation programs.

The fact that the device is designed to gradually reduce the display width of the second computer graphic in the foreground plane in the second layout area, so that the graphics are correspondingly compressed, and thereby the graphic initially concealed in the background plane while retaining its full display width (ie without animation-related compression) is gradually made apparent, it is possible to animate the flipping of the right side of an open double page in the process of forward scrolling.

By the processing unit is further formed, now in the first layout area, the first computer graphics then the background level so that when the background is displayed, only the first graphic will appear, while the first graphic in the foreground area will have a rendering width of approximately zero, it will be possible to prepare the process of scrolling the virtual page moved by the previous page.

This is achieved particularly resource-efficiently by the present invention by merely changing an assignment that can be implemented, for example, by a corresponding reference instead of time-consuming data copy operations, and instead of frequently repeated allocation and release of storage space, only the presentation width is changed, for which again only one appropriate assignment is required.

A representation width of approximately zero in each context of the facts presented in this document means a range of presentation that can not or almost no longer be perceived by a user viewing the presentation, such as any

Display width of less than ten, five, two pixels, or one pixel, especially zero pixels, or less than ten, five, two, or one percent of the normal graphics width.

In embodiments in which the layout areas in the layout data set are modeled side by side so that a left and right sides are formed around a virtual vertical binding edge, the display width corresponds to the horizontal width of the graphic. In embodiments in which the layout areas in the layout record are modeled one over the other such that an upper and lower side is formed around a virtual horizontal binding edge, the presentation width corresponds to the vertical width (the vertical extent, i.e. height) of the graphic.

Since the processing unit is designed to gradually increase the display width of the third computer graphic in the foreground level in the first layout area of approximately zero on the basis of the prepared layout data record, thereby correspondingly reducing the compression of the graphics, and in the background level initially fully displayed graphics while retaining their full display width (that is, without animation-related compression) is gradually hidden, it is possible to animate the Zublättern.

By making the device capable of stepping the display width to provide the layout record for display, a rendering unit or rendering component of the device accesses the layout record and automatically evaluates it to provide a corresponding visual representation on a screen produce.

By associating such a formed layout data set, which manages a small number of necessary computer graphics animation, in a manner optimized for the animation steps provided by the apparatus, with the present, specifically designed animation functionality, not only can a digital document save resources Reading is provided, but it is also produced without significant additional technical resources, the visual effect of a flip. By performing the animation operations essentially on the one hand on the basis of assignments to the foreground and background areas, and on the other hand on changes of assigned display widths in the layout data record, a particularly computation and memory-efficient method is provided which dispenses as far as possible with application-specific memory operations and application-specific transformation of a mass of graphics data.

The proposed solution allows to be implemented on widely used presentation devices, such as WWW browsers, without imposing any extra extra effort on a user. Thus, a WWW browser, which calls a corresponding WWW page, be populated with the layout data structure in the form of an HTML page and associated graphics, and the browser can in the same way with suitable for the execution of the animation process scripting programs, such as JavaScript to be set up. Further embodiments of the invention according to claim 1 can be realized according to the dependent claims appended to this claim.

The invention can be further developed, for example, in that the processing unit is designed to change the step size in the course of the stepwise decreasing of the display width of the second computer graphics. This can speed up or retard the page turning and change the number of representations used for the rewrite animation.

In particular, the processing unit can be designed, for example, to increase the step size as the display width of the second computer graphic decreases.

Alternatively or simultaneously, the device may be configured to vary the time interval between two successive steps of gradually reducing the display width of the second computer graphic. In this way, the flip animation can be accelerated without reducing the animation quality. Thus, processing unit can be formed to reduce the time interval with decreasing display width.

In embodiments of the invention, the layout data set may be designed so that the computer graphics associated with the first layout area are aligned with the second layout area, and / or the computer graphics associated with the second layout area are aligned with the first layout area. This creates an alignment of the graphics in the visual representation following the layout data set, which corresponds to the layout of the pages expected for a double-sided document. Furthermore, it is achieved that the alignment is ensured even when increasing or decreasing the width of the display, so that becoming broader always from the direction of the opposite side or the opposite to the layout area, and a narrowing always becomes toward the opposite side or the opposite layout area.

The layout data set may be formed such that the first layout area and the second layout area form an interface.

Embodiments may be designed such that

a fifth and sixth computer graphics are associated with the layout record, the fifth and sixth computer graphics forming the open front pages of the document after scrolling backward;

- The fifth computer graphic to the background level of the first

Assigned layout area, the sixth computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area and the sixth computer graphics is associated with a representation width of approximately zero;

- The processing unit is adapted to reduce the display width of the first computer graphics step by step, providing the layout data set for display;

the processing unit is configured to associate the second computer graphic with the background plane of the second layout area;

- The processing unit is adapted to allocate the representation of the second layout area associated with the second computer graphic graphic representation width of approximately zero;

the processing unit is adapted to incrementally increase the display width of the sixth computer graphics while providing the layout data set for display.

This makes it possible in a corresponding manner to animate also backward scrolling. In that with the fifth and sixth graphics, the pages appearing after the backward scrolling in addition to the after forward appearing pages are available, starting from a double page to be displayed, an immediate forward or backward scrolling can be animated without additional data being required.

When the layout data set is formed at least in part using a Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), a practically suitable markup language is used to implement the layout data set, which is supported by a large number of systems ,

In HTML implementations, but also in other layout definition formats, the layout record may include a table element having at least a first and at least a second column, the first column comprising the first layout area and the second column the second layout area. Table elements are commonly available formatting elements and are suitable for defining the layout area.

Correspondingly, for vertical page arrangements, the layout record may comprise a table element having at least a first and at least one second line, wherein the first line comprises the first layout area and the second line comprises the second layout area.

In this case, the table element can be designed to reference at least one background graphic element and at least one foreground graphic element, the background graphic element comprising the background plane and the foreground graphic element comprising the foreground plane. By creating a reference in the table element, an assignment of a graphic can be realized with little effort.

In embodiments, the processing unit may be configured to execute a scripting language program (eg, JavaScript) to allocate and / or progressively reduce and / or increase the presentation width. In this case, format attributes stored in the layout data record can be changed. The invention according to claim 16 provides a method for the automated animation of a sequence of pages of a digital document forming computer graphics, for a device according to claim 1 or its further developments, characterized in that

it has the following steps:

Selecting a layout data record, wherein in the layout data record a first layout area with a background level and a foreground level and a second layout area opposite the first layout area with a background level and a foreground level are created,

and further wherein the layout data set is associated with first, second, third and fourth computer graphics, wherein the first and second computer graphics form the open front sides of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth

Computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling,

and further wherein the first computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third one

Computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphic is assigned a display width of approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphic is assigned to the background level of the second layout area;

- Gradually reducing the display width of the second computer graphics;

Associating the first computer graphics with the background plane of the first layout area; Set the display width of the first computer graphics associated with the foreground plane of the first layout area to approximately zero;

Gradually increasing the display width of the third computer graphics,

wherein gradually reducing the display width of the second

Computer graphics and the gradual increase in the display width of the third computer graphics to provide the layout data set for display.

Thereby, a method for the operation of the device according to claim 1 and its developments is given, which realizes the above-mentioned advantageous effects by the device corresponding technical features.

Embodiments of the invention according to claim 16 can be realized according to the dependent claims appended to this claim, and according to the other developments and embodiments of all devices and methods according to the invention.

The invention according to claim 25 teaches a device for providing a layout data set for a device according to one of claims 1 to 15, comprising a processing unit and a memory, characterized in that

the processing unit is adapted to select first, second, third and fourth computer graphics, wherein the first and second computer graphics form the open front sides of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth

Computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling; the processing unit is designed to generate a layout data record in the memory and to create in the layout data record a first layout area with a background plane and a foreground plane and a second layout area opposite the first layout area with a background plane and a foreground plane;

the processing unit is designed to assign the first computer graphics to the foreground level of the first layout area, to associate the second computer graphics with the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphics to the foreground level of the first layout

Assign layout area and the third computer graphics to assign a display width of approximately zero, and assign the fourth computer graphics to the background level of the second layout area.

Thereby, a device is provided which generates layout data structure and sets up so that it can be readily used for the animation device and the animation method. In this case, the device for providing a layout data record can be integrated into an animation device, wherein all the functionality can be combined in a common processing unit and a shared memory, or the device can be implemented as a server, which can be accessed by the animation device via a network from a client is formed, is queried.

Embodiments of the invention according to claim 25 can be realized according to the dependent claims appended to this claim, as well as according to the other developments and embodiments of all devices and methods according to the invention.

The invention according to claim 34, a method for a device according to claim 25 or its further developments, for providing a Layout data set, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

Selecting a first, second, third, and fourth computer graphics, the first and second computer graphics forming the open front sides of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling;

Generating a layout data record in memory and creating a first layout area having a background plane and a foreground plane and a second one opposite the first layout area

Layout area with a background level and a foreground level in the layout record;

Associating the first computer graphics with the foreground level of the first layout area;

Assigning the second computer graphics to the foreground level of the second layout area;

Assigning the third computer graphics to the foreground plane of the first layout area and setting the display width of the third computer graphics to approximately zero;

- Assigning the fourth computer graphics to the background level of the second layout area.

Thereby, a method for the operation of the device according to claim 25 and its developments is given, which realizes the above-mentioned advantageous effects by the device corresponding technical features. Embodiments of the invention according to claim 34 can be realized according to the subclaims referring back to this claim, as well as according to the other developments and embodiments of all devices and methods according to the invention.

The invention of claim 40 provides an arrangement for automated animation of a sequence of pages of digital document-forming computer graphics comprising apparatus according to claim 1 or any of its further developments and apparatus according to claim 25 or any of its further developments. In a similar way, the

An animation method according to claim 16 or one of its further developments and the provisioning method according to claim 34 or one of its further developments can be combined into a method.

The invention of claim 41 provides on a computer readable

Storage medium stored computer program product which contains computer-readable program means for performing the steps of the method according to the invention by a computer. The invention of claim 42 accordingly provides a computer program product embodied in a digital carrier wave. The digital carrier wave may be realized by a wireless or wired electrical or optical signal, or by any forms of embodying the information-carrying bits in a medium. Both computer program products serve to carry out the method when the program product runs on a computer.

The computer program product may be similarly stored on a magnetic or optical medium, such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, floppy or hard disk, or in a semiconductor device, such as a memory device or memory portion of a processor. The invention of claim 43 is a data structure product stored on a computer-readable storage medium and / or embodied in a digital carrier wave for a device according to claim 1 or any of its further developments, with a layout data set,

- where in the layout record a first layout area with a

A background level and a foreground level and a first layout area opposite second layout area is created with a background level and a foreground level,

and further wherein the layout data set is associated with first, second, third and fourth computer graphics, the first and second computer graphics

Computer graphics form the open front pages of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling,

In addition, wherein the first computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphic is assigned a display width of approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphics to

Background level of the second layout area is assigned.

The data structure product inherently has the technical features and features of the devices or methods according to the invention. As explained above, the layout data set formed in this specific manner allows the animation to be performed by the subsequently performed steps of (re) assigning graphics and changing the display width stepwise. The data structure product may be contained on a computer-readable storage medium for reading into the memory of a computer. Embodiments of the invention according to claim 43 can be realized according to the subclaims referring back to this claim, as well as according to the remaining developments and embodiments of the devices and methods according to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be explained below by way of example with reference to several figures. Show it:

1 is a schematic overview of an embodiment of an apparatus for animating the flipping of computer graphics

Pages of a digital document,

Fig. 2 is a schematic overview of an embodiment of a

Layout record provisioning device as a server and a device for animating computer graphics pages as a client,

3 shows a schematic overview of an embodiment of the method for providing the layout data record,

4 shows a schematic overview of a first part of an embodiment of the animation method,

5 shows a schematic overview of a second part of an embodiment of the animation method,

6 shows a schematic overview of a third part of an embodiment of the animation method,

7 shows a schematic overview of a fourth part of an embodiment of the animation method,

8 is an exploded view of the modeled in one embodiment layout areas with horizontal side arrangement, 9 shows an exploded view of the layout areas with vertical side arrangement modeled in one exemplary embodiment,

10 is an illustration of the assignment of the computer graphics in the representation of FIG. 8,

11 is a schematic representation of the visual impression prior to the animation of the page flip forward;

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of the visual impression between two steps of the animation of paging forward; FIG.

13 is a schematic representation of the visual impression after the animation of the page flip forward;

14 is a schematic representation of the visual impression between two steps of the scrolling forward animation;

15 is a schematic representation of the visual impression after the animation of the scrolling forward,

FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of the visual impression between two steps of the reverse page flip animation. FIG.

17 is a schematic representation of the visual impression after the animation of the page flip-up,

Fig. 18 is a schematic representation of the visual impression between two steps of the animation of Zublätterns backward and

Fig. 19 is a schematic representation of the visual impression after the animation of Zublätterns backwards. Detailed description

Figure 1 shows a schematic overview of an embodiment of an apparatus for animating the Umblättems of computer graphics pages of a digital document.

The animation device 1 comprises a processing unit 110, a data communication unit 112, a memory 114 and a display unit 140 which are interconnected by suitable communication means for data exchange, such as a bus.

The processing unit 110 comprises one or more processors or CPUs which are designed to provide the functionalities required for the animation and data preparation and to perform the animation and data processing. The processing unit may have been designed for this purpose by program-setting a universal processor and / or graphics processor, or it may additionally be partially or completely formed by specific application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

The data communication unit 112 comprises a communication interface for transporting data over a wireless or wired network, such as the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN) with the necessary processor and memory means. Functions of the data communication unit 112 may be realized by the processing unit 110. In the present case, the data communication unit 112 comprises a WWW client which is set up to retrieve data from a WWW server via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The data communication unit may also include a removable media drive or docking device.

The memory 114 may be wholly or partially made up of Random Access Memory (RAM, SDRAM), hard disk memories, solid state drives or Mixed forms thereof may be formed. The memory contains a layout data record 116.

The layout record 116 is a data-filled data structure that defines the arrangement of graphical elements on a page or screen surface, as well as assigns additional formatting and / or registration information or other information to the graphical elements. In this case, graphic elements can be structural elements of the page which are not themselves displayed, such as object frames, tables, planes and the like, or also display elements that visually appear in themselves, such as computer graphics and text paragraphs. The data structure in the present case is equipped with semantic means, such as provided data fields or key expressions, e.g. Tags to assign a specific format to the graphic elements. In the present layout data set, the graphic elements described below are concretely defined in this way and assigned a specific formatting.

The layout record may thus be a file with standard generalized markup language (SGML) expressions, e.g. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), or a subset of SGML, e.g. Extensible Markup Language (XML). Further, the layout data set may be implemented using a vector-based page description language, such as PostScript (PS) or Portable Document Format (PDF), embedded in the corresponding tag elements (for tables, frames, or other structures). In embodiments, the layout record may also be a dynamic storage model in the device that is evaluated by evaluating a file, e.g. in one of the aforementioned formats was won. For example, from an HTML or XML file, a corresponding Document Object Model (DOM) may have been obtained as a dynamic storage model.

In the layout data record 116, a table element 118 is created (for example by means of the <TABLE> expression in HTML), the table element being created in such a way that It defines a first layout area 120 and a second layout area 130, with the first and second layout areas facing each other. This can be done by an upper (120) and a lower (130) table line (eg <tr> in HTML) in the case of a vertical page turning (ie a page turning horizontally oriented binding), or a horizontal page turning (by one page) vertically oriented linkage for page orientation) by a left (120) and a right (130) column (eg, <td> in HTML). In this case, row or column 120 is defined as having a background 122 (eg, background value of the <tr> or <td> expression) to which a computer graphic is assigned by a reference indication, and a foreground 124 (eg, indications in the <tr></tr> or <td></td> expression, or the <td></td> expression in html included in the <tr></tr> expression, that multiple computer graphics passes through Reference can be assigned.

The layout data set can be received via the data communication unit 112.

Information on the specific assignment of the computer graphics to the foreground and background areas 122 and 124 or 132 and 134 of the layout areas 120 and 130 as well as the concrete assignment of further formatting attributes in the layout data record 116 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and following.

The rendering engine 140 is configured to render from the layout record (as a SGML / XML / HTML file, as a PDF / PS file, or as a dynamic memory model, eg, DOM) generated therefrom a graphical representation of the layout of graphic elements as defined by the layout record to create. The presentation unit may also include the necessary display and display control means, such as the display, graphics card and drivers. The presentation unit can have a WWW browser whose functions can also be implemented at least partially by the processing unit 110 set up by the program. In this way, the device 1 is configured to process the formatted, graphic-formatted and attribute-based graphic elements modeled in the layout data set 116 into an animation. The specific operation of the components will be described in more detail with reference to the method and FIGS. 3 to 7.

Additionally, the processing unit 110 may be configured to select the six computer graphics to be animated and to generate a layout data set 116 in the memory 114, as shown below for the providing device 2 in FIG. 2 and in the method of FIG. 3. In such a stand-alone implementation, the computer graphics could be received via the data communication unit.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic overview of an embodiment in an arrangement with a server 2 and a client 3.

In one embodiment, the server 2 can be used as a device for

Layout record provision and the client 3 be designed as a device for animation of computer graphics pages.

The device for providing the layout data set 2 comprises a processing unit 210, a data communication unit 212 and a memory 214, which correspond in type to the devices of the same type in FIG. 1. The processing unit 210 is configured to select the six computer graphics to be animated and to generate a layout record 116 in the memory 214 corresponding to the associated assignments, formatting, and attributes, as illustrated below for the method of FIG.

The data communication unit 212 can be formed by a web server or an FTP server, which can be realized at least partially also by program-technical means of the processing unit 210, and the layout data record 116 for retrieval via a network provides. The layout data set 116 and the elements 118 to 134 contained therein correspond to those described in FIG.

The device for providing the layout data set 2 is connected via the web server 212 and a network to the data communication unit 312, here a web client, the animation device 3. Through the web client 312, the animation device 3 may retrieve a layout record 116 from the delivery device 2.

The animation device 3 further comprises a processing unit 310, a memory 314, and a display unit 340, which correspond in type to the units of the same type of the other devices, in particular those shown in FIG. The processing unit 310 is configured to process the rendered, attributed and attributed graphical elements modeled in the layout data set 116 into an animation as described in greater detail with reference to the method and FIGS. 3-7.

In an embodiment variant not shown in detail in FIG. 2, the server 2 can also be embodied as a device for providing layout data and animation, wherein the functions and methods are correspondingly combined in server 2 and via the web server 212 the individual, already animated computer (partial) graphics of the sequence of movement phases are transmitted to the Web client of the Client Client 3 on demand. In this case, the graphics are then displayed visually in client 3 via the presentation unit 340.

In such a server-side animation, the animation can be implemented by server-side scripts such as PERL or PHP. Client-side animation can be implemented through client-side scripts such as ECMAScript or JavaScript.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic overview of an exemplary embodiment of the method for providing the layout data record, which in one Provision device 2 of FIG. 2, or a stand-alone solution in a variant of FIG. 1 is performed by the processing unit.

At step 1000, the processing unit first selects six computer graphics (51-56 in Fig. 10), each computer graphic forming one page of a digital document, and the computer graphics 51-56 being ordered in a sequence corresponding to the page sequence of a double-sided digital document ,

In step 1010, the processing unit then creates a layout data structure and places therein two opposite layout areas by generating a table structure with two columns. In this case, a foreground and a background layer are defined in each layout area.

The layout data structure is schematically illustrated on the implementation side with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 have been shown.

For the sake of understanding and better intuition,

The respective associated visual result in FIGS. 8 and following is shown below for the method steps.

8 shows schematically as an exploded view the visual result of the graphic elements defined by the layout data structure. The two layout regions realized by adjacent table columns 20 and 30 each have a background plane 22 or 32 and a respective foreground plane 24 and 34, respectively. In an actual view, the foreground levels are exactly above the background levels. Fig. 9 shows an alternative in which the opposite layout areas 20 and 30 are realized by stacked table lines.

In the following, the method and the visual intermediate and final results for adjacent layout areas will be described, wherein the turning over in the horizontal direction, ie a vertical binding takes place. The display width of the graphics therefore extends in the horizontal direction. In embodiments where the layout areas lie one above the other, the turning is done in the vertical direction, ie a horizontally extending bond. The display width of the graphics extends in such embodiments in the vertical direction. For example, instead of a WIDTH HTML attribute, a HEIGHT attribute occurs accordingly.

Referring again to FIG. 3 and FIG. 10, FIG

Processing unit in step 1020, the first graphic 53 of the foreground level 24 of the left table column. The first graphic forms (here and also in the other graphics without restriction of generality) the left side of the opposite, open pages of the double-sided document. This is assigned its full display width, i. a

Display width equal to the full width of the layout area, so that the computer graphic initially appears as the left open page.

In step 1030, the processing unit allocates the second graph 54 to the foreground plane 34 of the right-hand column of the table, the second graph 54 here representing the right-hand side of the opposite open-ended sides of the double-sided document. From this, their full display width is assigned, so that the computer graphics is initially displayed as a right open page.

In step 1040, the processing unit also assigns the third graph 55 to the foreground plane 24 of the left column of the table such that it is positioned adjacent to the already associated graph 53. The third graphic is the left side of the opposite open pages of the double-sided document after the forward page animation has been performed. This is initially assigned a display width of approximately zero, so that the computer graphics initially not or practically not visible comes to the presentation.

In step 1050, the processing unit assigns the fourth graphic 56 to the background plane 32 of the right table column and a full display width. The fourth graph is the right side of the opposite open sides of the double-sided document, after the animation of forward scrolling has been performed. This graphic is initially substantially covered by the second graphic 54 shown in the foreground, so that it is not visible or only in marginal areas.

Until then, the layout record is already laid out and the computer graphics are assigned and arranged by format information contained in the layout record such that forward scrolling as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be described in more detail.

However, since in the present embodiment also a backward scrolling is to be made possible without having to reload data for this purpose, in step 1060 the processing unit allocates the fifth graphic 51 to the background plane 22 of the left table column with full display width. The fifth graph is the left side of the opposite open pages of the double-sided document after the backward page animation has been performed. Initially, this graphic is essentially covered by the first graphic 53 shown in the foreground so that it does not become visible or only in marginal areas.

In step 1070, the processing unit also assigns the sixth graph 52 to the foreground plane 34 of the right-hand column of the table such that it is positioned adjacent the already associated graph 54, such that it is between the graph 54 and the bound edge of the double-sided document towards the inside, is arranged. The third graphic is the right side of the opposite open pages of the double-sided document after the backward page animation has been performed. This is initially assigned a display width of approximately zero, so that the computer graphics initially not or practically not visible comes to the presentation.

In step 1080, the graphic elements managed in the layout record are assigned further formatting attributes by the processing unit. This will be the computer graphics in the layout record

Allocated alignment attributes so that the computer graphics in the left Column always right-aligned and the computer graphics in the right column always aligned left-aligned. With the binding running horizontally, alignment attributes are assigned to the computer graphics in the layout record, so the computer graphics in the top line are always down and the computer graphics in the bottom line are always up.

In step 1090, the layout data set thus prepared in the memory, possibly together with the computer graphics referenced by it, is made available for further processing. You can use interprocess communication resources (for stand-alone solutions, or for server-side animation) or a Web or FTP server (if deployed on a server and animation on a client).

4 shows a schematic overview of a first part of an embodiment of the animation method.

In step 2000, the processing unit selects the layout data set created according to the method described with reference to FIG. 3.

In the manner not described in detail here, the presentation unit has shown the page basic representation according to the layout data record and the associated computer graphics as shown in FIG. 11. Due to the formatting set in the layout data set, the two foreground levels 24 and 34 of the table columns 20 and 30 are visible, and therein each set to full display width b computer graphics 53 and 54. As a result, the two initially opened document pages are displayed.

In step 2010, the processing unit evaluates a leaf-over command generated by user interaction or programming. If, as a result of the evaluation, the case that a command for scrolling forward has been made is detected, the processing means starts up Step 2020, when scrolling backward at step 2200, which will be explained later with reference to FIG.

In step 2020, the processing unit first sets an increment for the animation, which will occur in several graphical steps, or phases. This determines how large the visually perceived progress of each animation phase of page turning is by setting the width difference that occurs in each step of stepping the display width. Alternatively or simultaneously, a delay step can also take place, the duration of which can be set here. In the course of the iteration of steps 2020 to 2050, the step size and the delay time can be adapted, for example to adapt to technically determined hardware limitations or to achieve a dynamic page-through effect.

In step 2030, the processing unit now reduces the display width of the computer graphics 54 by the amount of the step size to a reduced display width a.

Now, if the processing means provides the changed layout data set for rendering to the rendering unit in step 2040, the rendering engine displays the second computer graphics (as shown in FIG. 12) with the reduced rendering width a under a corresponding compression of the graphic contents, which is the appearance of a tilted rendering Page corresponds. At the same time, the (non-compressed) fourth computer graphics 56 arranged in the background plane 32 with their full width become visible as far as the foreground graphics no longer obscure the background.

If it is determined in step 2050 that the display width a of the compressed second computer graphics 54 is not yet zero, the method is iterated from step 2020 until the display width a is approximately zero, ie until the second computer graphics 54 is no longer visible and the fourth Computer graphics 56 in the background 32 is completely visible. The state then represented by the layout data set is shown in FIG. Thus, when the right side flipping process is completed, the process of flattening is started from step 2100, which is shown in more detail in FIG.

In step 2100, the processing unit for this purpose, the first computer graphics 53 already assigned to the left foreground 24 to the left

Background 22, while maintaining the full display width d, such that the first computer graphics 53 now takes the place of the fifth computer graphics 51 in the left background 22.

Then, in step 2110, the processing unit assigns a rendering width of approximately zero to the first computer graphics 53 associated with the left foreground 24 so that a corresponding rendering and rendering initially produce the same graphical representation as in FIG. 13, but the left foreground 24 is the left Background 22 is visible.

In step 2120, step 2020 then determines the

Processing unit one step or a step delay.

In step 2130, the processing unit now increments the display width associated with the third graph 55 in the left foreground 24, initially from approximately zero, to an intermediate value a. From the difference between the full display width b of the computer graphics and the current display width a, this results again in a compression of the computer graphics contents of the graph 55. The graphics 55 in the background 22, which are increasingly covered by the graphics 55 in the left foreground 24, remain unimpaired.

In step 2140, the processing means accordingly provides the changed layout record for rendering to the presentation unit.

If it is determined in step 2150 that the display width a of the compressed second computer graphics 54 has not yet reached the full width b, the method is iterated starting from step 2120 until the display width a is approximately equal to b, ie until the third computer graphic 55 is full visible, noticeable and the first computer graphics 53 in the background 22 is completely covered. The state then represented by the layout data set is shown in FIG.

Thus, the process of forward scrolling is accomplished with a first portion of paging and a second portion of paging of the panned page in a very memory efficient manner and with widely available engineering means, most conveniently assigning and arranging the computer graphics and doing so in a particular manner small number of memory space efficient operations the animation can be realized.

Fig. 6 shows the process section of paging when a command for backward scrolling is detected in step 2010.

Starting from the in Figs. 10 and 11, iteratively, in steps 2200 to 2230, the illustrated width of the first one

Computer graphic 53 in the left foreground 24 with variable step size and speed from the processing unit, and increasingly the view of the first computer graphic positioned in the left background 22 is freed, as shown in FIG. 16, until the first computer graphic has a rendering width of approximately zero and the state shown in Fig. 17 is made. The details of the process steps 2200 to 2230, which thus animate page forward scrolling, correspond to the page flip paging steps 2020 to 2050.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic overview of a fourth part of an embodiment of the animation method, which prepares the zublättern in backward scrolling and performs.

In step 2300, the second computer graphics 54 associated with the right foreground 34 are first assigned to the right background 32 by the processing unit so that the second computer graphics now instead of the fourth computer graphics 56 occurs and she receives the full width of representation b in the background.

In step 2310, the processing unit then sets the presentation width of the second computer graphics 54 associated with the foreground to approximately zero.

In steps 2320 to 2350, the processing unit now iteratively enlarges the displayed width of the sixth computer graphics 52 in the right foreground 34 with variable step size and speed, and increasingly obscures the view of the second computer graphic 54 positioned in the right background 32, as shown in FIG 18, until the sixth

Computer graphic has reached its full display width approximately and the state shown in Fig. 19 is made. The details of the process steps 2300 to 2350, which thus animate scrolling in the backward scrolling, correspond to the steps 2100 to 2150 explained for scrolling forward.

Finally, in step 2400, a new layout record is requested or created locally, or the existing layout record is updated with new computer graphics such that the pages exposed as a result of the page flip operation (51 and 52 after backward scrolling, or 55 and 56 after scrolling forward) form the first and second computer graphics of the updated layout data record, and the respective following page pair of page sequence, the third and fourth, as well as the respective preceding page pair of page sequence form the fifth and sixth computer graphics of the updated layout data record, after which the reload method can be reapplied.

If the size of the page graphics in the case of double-sided representation exceeds the size that can be displayed on the screen, then the method can be used to display only one of the two layout areas, in particular for page-through. If the number or order of the pages contained in the digital document does not correspond to the present schema of three consecutive pairs of pages, then in digital format Document missing pages will be replaced by transparent graphics. In order to achieve a faster page layout, a graphic preload can be additionally started after the loading of each page in order to advance the next required graphics into the buffer of the WWW browser.

To make smooth the transition to the next page on the completed process on all browsers, without causing disturbing lightning effects, browser-specific tuned Transitions or "smooth side transitions" can be used, such as the transition effect 12 "Zerrozelungsseffekt in all directions" ,

The proposed system animates the page-turning process in digital documents represented by computer graphics, and due to the special assignment of the computer graphics to a layout data set, allows the animation process to be realized by computation and memory-efficient assignment and attribute setting operations, which can be implemented on a wide variety of technical platforms with little technical effort.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate from the foregoing illustrations and discussions, embodiments may include both systems in which the animation functions and the data processing necessary therefor are integrated on a user device (described with reference to FIG. 1 and the method description) and further those in which the data rendering functions required for the animation are located on a user-remote system component, such as a server, while the animation functions are implemented on the user device, in this case a client, with reference to FIG and the procedure description).

The animation and data rendering functionalities may, in an implementation as described with reference to FIG. 1, be implemented in software that includes instructions describing the features of the implemented method, and which is contained in the memory 114 (not shown).

Accordingly, in one implementation, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the data rendering functionality may be implemented in a data rendering software that supports the data processing functionality

3 embodied in the memory 214 (not shown); and further, that the animation functionalities are implemented in animation software that incorporates the method features of the method described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, and contained in the memory 314.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the software may be executed on a general-purpose processor while relying on common Internet technologies, such as the functions provided by a web browser or web server, and commands (eg, JavaScript, PHP). To fall back on.

Thus, the devices 1 and 3 can each be implemented by means of a web browser installed on a stationary or mobile computer, which receives the page graphics to be displayed together with JavaScript commands for the animation from a web server. In such implementations, the above-described software can thus be brought into the memory of the device 1 and 3 and executed there when the WWW page is displayed by the browser.

For example, in systems where the animation features and the data processing necessary therefor are integrated on a user device (described with reference to FIG. 1 and the method description), for example, the data preparation (data editing software) and animation (animation software ) and the page graphics to be displayed are sent from a web server and received by a web client, and the layout Data structure in the web client built (dynamic DOM structure) and brought to the animated presentation.

In systems where the data rendering functions required for the animation are located on a user-remote system component (eg, web server) while the animation functions are implemented on the user-device (eg, web client) (described with reference to FIG 2 and the method description), the finished layout data structure in the form of an HTML or XML or SGML file, the commands for animation (animation software) and the page graphics to be displayed are sent from a web server and through a web Client received and brought to the animated presentation.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the present system can operate with a variety of different storage and delivery types of graphic digital documents. For example, the page graphics may be stored in a database as a result of graphics pages in an Adobe PDF document, or other types of documents having graphics encoded pages, or generated dynamically. The page graphics may also be stored in a file system provided with appropriate file and / or directory structures.

In this way, the proposed solution allows to be implemented on widely used presentation devices, such as WWW browsers, without imposing any extra extra effort on a user. Thus, a WWW browser, which calls a corresponding WWW page, be populated with the layout data structure in the form of an HTML page and associated graphics, and the browser can in the same way with suitable for the execution of the animation process scripting programs, such as JavaScript to be set up. LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 Apparatus and arrangement for automated animation

2 Device for providing a layout data set 3 Device for automated animation

4 layout data set 20 first layout area

22 Background plane of the first layout area 24 Frontplane of the first layout area 30 Second layout area

32 background plane of the second layout area 34 foreground level of the second layout area

51 fifth computer graphics (page 1 of a page sequence)

52 sixth computer graphic (page 2 of a page sequence) 53 first computer graphic (page 3 of a page sequence)

54 second computer graphics (page 4 of a page sequence)

55 third computer graphics (page 5 of a page sequence)

56 fourth computer graphics (page 6 of a page sequence) 110, 210, 310 processing unit 112, 212, 312 data communication unit 114, 214, 314 memory 116 layout data record

118 table element

120 first layout area of the table element

122 background graphic element of the first layout area 124 foreground graphic element of the first layout area

130 second layout area of the table element

132 background graphic element of the second layout area

134 foreground graphic element of the second layout area

140, 340 Presentation unit 1000 Selecting the computer graphics

1010 Generating the layout data record

1020 Assign first graphic

1030 Assign second graphic

1040 Assign Third Graphic and Display Width 1050 Assign Fourth Graphic

1060 Map fifth graphic

1070 Assign sixth graphic

1080 Assign formatting to graphics

1090 Providing the layout data set for further processing 2000 Selecting the layout data record

2010 Evaluate command to flip 2020 Set step size

2030 Reduce the display width of the second graphic

2040 Provision of the layout data record for presentation

2050 Checking whether display width reaches zero 2100 Associate the first graphic with the background

2110 Set display width to zero

Set 2120 increments

2130 Increase the display width of the third graphic

2140 Provision of layout data set for display 2150 Check whether full display width has been reached

Set 2200 increments

2210 Reduce the display width of the first graphic

2220 Provision of the layout data record for presentation

2230 Check if display width reaches zero 2300 Associate the second graphic to the background

2310 Set display width to zero

Set 2320 increments

2330 Increase the display width of the sixth graphic

2340 Provision of layout data set for display 2350 Check whether full display width has been reached

2400 Updating the layout record

Claims

Claims:

1. Device (1, 3) for the automated animation of a sequence of

Computer graphics (51-56) forming pages of a digital document comprising a processing unit (110, 310) and a memory

(114, 314)

characterized in that

the memory has a layout data record (4, 116), and in the layout data record a first layout area (20, 120) having a background plane (22, 122) and a foreground plane (24, 124) and a second layout area (30, 130 ) is applied with a background plane (32, 132) and a foreground plane (34, 134);

the layout data set is associated with a first (53), second (54), third (55) and fourth (56) computer graphics;

the first computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphic is assigned a display width of approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphic is to the background level the second layout area is assigned;

the processing unit is adapted to reduce the display width (a, b) of the second computer graphics step by step while providing the layout data record for display;

the processing unit is configured to associate the first computer graphics with the background plane of the first layout area; the processing unit is designed to assign a presentation width of approximately zero to the first computer graphic assigned to the foreground plane of the first layout area;

the processing unit is adapted to incrementally increase the presentation width (a, b) of the third computer graphics while providing the layout data record for presentation.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit is formed, the step size in the course of gradually reducing the display width of the second

To change computer graphics.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to increase the step size with decreasing display width of the second computer graphics.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to change the time interval between two successive steps of gradually reducing the display width of the second computer graphics.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to reduce the time interval with decreasing display width.

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the layout data set is formed so that the first layout area associated computer graphics to the second

Layout area are aligned.

7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the layout data set is formed so that the second Layout area associated computer graphics are aligned to the first layout area.

8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the layout data set is formed so that the first layout area and the second layout area form an interface.

9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that

the layout data set is associated with a fifth (51) and sixth (52) computer graphics;

- The fifth computer graphic to the background level of the first

10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the layout data set is at least partially formed using a SGML.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the layout data set is formed at least partially using HTML.

12. Device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the layout data set comprises a table element (118) having at least a first (20, 120) and at least a second column (30, 130), wherein the first column of the first layout area and the second column comprises the second layout area.

13. Device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the layout data set comprises a table element (118) having at least a first (20, 120) and at least one second line (30, 130), wherein the first line, the first layout area and the second line comprises the second layout area.

14. Device according to one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the table element is formed, at least one

Background graphic element (22, 32, 122, 132) and at least one foreground graphic element (22, 32, 122, 132) to refer and the background graphic element comprises the background plane and the foreground graphic element comprises the foreground plane.

15. Device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to execute a scripting language program to assign the presentation width and / or gradually reduce and / or increase.

Method for the automated animation of a sequence of pages of a digital document forming computer graphics, for a device according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: Selecting (2000) a layout data set, wherein in the layout data record a first layout area (20, 120) having a background plane (22, 122) and a foreground plane (24, 124) and a second layout area (30, 130) having a background plane opposite the first layout area (32, 132) and a foreground plane (34, 134) is created,

and further wherein the layout data set is associated with first, second, third and fourth computer graphics,

and further wherein the first computer graphics is associated with the foreground plane of the first layout area, the second one

Computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphics is associated with a display width of approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphics for

Background level of the second layout area is assigned;

Gradually reducing (2020-2050) the presentation width of the second computer graphics;

Associating (2100) the first computer graphics with the background plane of the first layout area;

Setting (2110) the presentation width of the first computer graphics associated with the foreground plane of the first layout area to approximately zero;

Gradually increasing (2120 - 2150) the display width of the third computer graphics,

wherein progressively decreasing the display width of the second computer graphics and incrementally increasing the display width of the third computer graphics to provide (2040, 2140) the layout record for presentation.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the

Step size is changed in the course of gradually reducing the display width of the second computer graphics (2020).

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the step size is increased with decreasing display width (a) of the second computer graphics.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the time interval between two successive steps of stepwise decreasing (2030) the display width of the second

Computer graphics is changed.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the time interval with decreasing display width (a) is reduced.

21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that the layout data set is selected so that the first

Layout area associated computer graphics are aligned to the second layout area.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that the layout data set is selected so that the computer graphics associated with the second layout area are aligned to the first layout area.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that the layout data set is selected so that the first layout area and the second layout area form an interface.

24. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, characterized in that:

the layout record is selected so that the layout record is associated with a fifth and sixth computer graphics, further wherein the fifth computer graphic is associated with the background plane of the first layout area, the sixth computer graphic is associated with the foreground plane of the second layout area, and the sixth computer graphic is associated with a display width of approximately zero,

and further comprising the following steps:

Stepping down (2200 - 2230) the presentation width of the first computer graphics;

Associating (2300) the second computer graphics with the background plane of the second layout area;

Setting (2310) to approximately zero the presentation width of the second computer graphic associated with the foreground plane of the second layout area;

Stepping up (2320 - 2350) the display width of the sixth computer graphics,

wherein the stepwise decreasing of the display width of the first computer graphics and the stepwise increasing of the display width of the sixth computer graphics are done by providing (2220, 2340) the layout data set for display.

25. Device (2) for providing a layout data record for a device according to one of claims 1 to 15, comprising a processing unit (210) and a memory (214), characterized in that

- The processing unit is formed, a first (53), second

(54) select third (55) and fourth (56) computer graphics; the processing unit is designed to generate a layout data record (116) in the memory data set and a first layout area (20, 120) having a background plane (22, 122) and a foreground plane (24, 124) and a second layout area (FIG. 30, 130) having a background plane (32, 132) and a foreground plane (34, 134);

the processing unit is designed to associate the first computer graphics with the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphics with the foreground level of the second layout

Assign layout area, assign the third computer graphics to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphics to assign a display width of approximately zero, and assign the fourth computer graphics to the background level of the second layout area.

26. The device according to claim 25, characterized in that

the processing unit is adapted to select a fifth (51) and sixth computer graphics (52);

- The processing unit is adapted to assign the fifth computer graphics of the background level of the first layout area, assign the sixth computer graphics to the foreground level of the second layout area and the sixth computer graphics to assign a display width of approximately zero.

27. Device according to one of claims 25 or 26, characterized in that the processing unit is designed to align the computer graphics associated with the first layout area to the second layout area.

28. Device according to one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to align the computer graphics associated with the second layout area to the first layout area.

29. Device according to one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to generate the layout data set at least partially using a SGML.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to generate the layout data set at least partially using HTML.

31. Device according to one of claims 25 to 30, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to generate in the layout data set a table element (118) having at least a first (20, 120) and at least one second column (30, 130) the first column comprises the first layout area and the second column comprises the second layout area.

32. Device according to one of claims 25 to 30, characterized in that the processing unit is adapted to generate in the layout data set a table element having at least a first and at least a second row, wherein the first line the first layout area and the second line the second layout area includes.

33. Device according to one of claims 31 or 32, characterized in that the processing unit is formed in

Table element at least one background graphic element (22, 32, 122, 132) and at least one foreground graphic element (24, 34, 124, 134) and the background graphic element comprises the background plane and the foreground graphic element comprises the foreground plane.

34. Method for a device according to one of claims 25 to 33, for providing a layout data record, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

- selecting (1000) a first, second, third and fourth

Computer graphics;

Generating (1010) a layout data set (116) in memory and applying a first layout area (20, 120) having a background plane (22, 122) and a foreground plane (24, 124) and a second one opposite the first layout area

Layout area (30, 130) having a background plane (32, 132) and a foreground layer (34, 134) in the layout record;

Associating (1020) the first computer graphics with the foreground plane of the first layout area;

- associating (1030) the second computer graphics with the foreground plane of the second layout area;

Associating (1040) the third computer graphics with the foreground plane of the first layout area and setting the display width of the third computer graphics to approximately zero;

Associating (1050) the fourth computer graphic with the background plane of the second layout area.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the computer graphics associated with the first layout area are aligned with the second layout area (1080).

36. The method according to any one of claims 34 or 35, characterized in that the second layout area assigned Computer graphics to the first layout area (1080).

37. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 36, characterized in that the layout data set is generated at least partially using a SGML.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that the layout data record is generated at least partially using HTML.

39. Method according to one of claims 34 to 38, characterized in that a fifth and sixth computer graphics are selected (1000) and further comprising the following steps:

Associating (1060) the fifth computer graphics with the background plane of the first layout area;

Associating (1070) the sixth computer graphics with the foreground plane of the second layout area and setting the display width of the sixth computer graphics to approximately zero.

40. Arrangement for the automated animation of a sequence of pages of a digital document forming computer graphics with a device according to one of claims 1 to 15 and a device according to one of the

Claims 25 to 33.

41. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable storage medium with computer-readable program means for carrying out the method according to one of claims 16 to 24 and / or one of claims 34 to 39.

42. Computer program product embodied in a digital carrier wave with computer readable program means for carrying out the method according to one of claims 16 to 24 and / or one of claims 34 to 39.

43. Data structure product which is on a computer readable

Storage medium is stored and / or embodied in a digital carrier wave, for a device according to one of claims 1 to 15, with a layout data record,

wherein in the layout data record a first layout area (20, 120) having a background plane (22, 122) and a foreground plane (24,

124) and a second layout area (30, 130) lying opposite the first layout area having a background plane (32, 132) and a foreground plane (34, 134),

and further wherein the layout data set is associated with first, second, third and fourth computer graphics, wherein the first and second computer graphics form the open front sides of a double-sided digital document, and wherein the third and fourth computer graphics form the open front pages of the document after forward scrolling,

In addition, wherein the first computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area, the second computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the second layout area, the third computer graphic is assigned to the foreground level of the first layout area and the third computer graphic is assigned a display width of approximately zero, and the fourth computer graphic is assigned to the background level of the second layout area.

44. Data structure product according to claim 43, characterized in that

a fifth and sixth computer graphics are associated with the layout record, the fifth and sixth computer graphics forming the open front pages of the document after scrolling backward,

further wherein the fifth computer graphics is associated with the background plane of the first layout area, the sixth computer graphics is associated with the foreground level of the second layout area and the sixth computer graphics is associated with an approximately zero presentation width.