US20090241054A1 - Electronic book with information manipulation features - Google Patents
Electronic book with information manipulation features Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20090241054A1 US20090241054A1 US12/478,107 US47810709A US2009241054A1 US 20090241054 A1 US20090241054 A1 US 20090241054A1 US 47810709 A US47810709 A US 47810709A US 2009241054 A1 US2009241054 A1 US 2009241054A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- viewer
- subscriber
- electronic book
- text
- data
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/488—Data services, e.g. news ticker
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
- G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
- G06F16/958—Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/23—Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
- H04N21/235—Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/20—Servers specifically adapted for the distribution of content, e.g. VOD servers; Operations thereof
- H04N21/25—Management operations performed by the server for facilitating the content distribution or administrating data related to end-users or client devices, e.g. end-user or client device authentication, learning user preferences for recommending movies
- H04N21/254—Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server
- H04N21/2543—Billing, e.g. for subscription services
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/43—Processing of content or additional data, e.g. demultiplexing additional data from a digital video stream; Elementary client operations, e.g. monitoring of home network or synchronising decoder's clock; Client middleware
- H04N21/431—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
- H04N21/4312—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
- H04N21/4316—Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/45—Management operations performed by the client for facilitating the reception of or the interaction with the content or administrating data related to the end-user or to the client device itself, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies, resolving scheduling conflicts
- H04N21/462—Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
- H04N21/4622—Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/475—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data
- H04N21/4751—End-user interface for inputting end-user data, e.g. personal identification number [PIN], preference data for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
- H04N21/47805—Electronic banking
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
- H04N21/47—End-user applications
- H04N21/478—Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
- H04N21/4782—Web browsing, e.g. WebTV
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
- H04N21/80—Generation or processing of content or additional data by content creator independently of the distribution process; Content per se
- H04N21/81—Monomedia components thereof
- H04N21/8126—Monomedia components thereof involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N7/00—Television systems
- H04N7/16—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
- H04N7/173—Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
- H04N7/17309—Transmission or handling of upstream communications
- H04N7/17318—Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
Definitions
- This invention is directed to an electronic book unit having one or more electronic books. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for manipulating information such as text and graphics within electronic books.
- An electronic book viewer incorporates advanced information manipulation features that enhance the functionality of the electronic book viewer.
- information in an electronic book including text, mathematical formulas, data, graphics, and still and moving images may be selected for manipulation.
- a processor in the viewer uses software modules to execute information manipulation commands.
- Information may be highlighted by selecting a portion of the electronic book using a cursor or similar selection device, and then sending a command to the viewer's processor to initiate the highlighting process.
- text shown on a page of the electronic book may be selected for highlighting. Highlighting may include changing font style, size, format (bold, italics or normal), or color, for example.
- the terms information and images will be understood to refer to all manner of data, graphics, text, videos, formulas and any other information or images.
- the viewer's processor may be used to cut and paste, or copy and paste images from one portion of the electronic book to another portion of the electronic book.
- images or content from other electronic documents can be cut and pasted, or copied and pasted into the electronic book.
- the viewer's processor also may use software modules to annotate portions of the electronic book, to display the annotated portions, and to move annotations within the electronic book.
- the viewer may display multiple electronic books.
- the viewer may display information or images from two electronic books in a side-by-side fashion.
- the two electronic books also may be displayed in a picture-in-picture format.
- the viewer is not limited to displaying only two electronic books, and may display three or more electronic books, using well-known image processing routines.
- the viewer may use multiple screens to display an image from a single electronic book or to display images from multiple electronic books.
- the multiple screens may be hinged and electronically connected to fold like pages in an actual book.
- the multiple screens also may snap into place to form electrical connections.
- a single image may be expanded to fit on all the multiple screens. For example, a map of the world may be expanded from a single screen format to a three screen format.
- the multiple screens may also be used to display multiple pages of the electronic book.
- the displayed multiple pages may be consecutive or non-consecutive pages within the electronic book.
- the multiple screens also may be used to display multiple pages from more than one electronic book, or to display a page from an electronic book, and information from another electronic document or information source.
- a first screen may display a page from the electronic book and a second page may display a digital television signal.
- the second screen also may display images that are linked to the page displayed on the first screen.
- information from other sources may be displayed in a picture-in-picture format on the viewer's screen.
- a live television program may be displayed in a picture-in-picture window of the screen at the same time that the text of an electronic book is displayed.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the primary components of the electronic book selection and delivery system.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic showing an overview of the electronic book selection and delivery system.
- FIG. 3 a is a schematic of the delivery plan for the electronic book selection and delivery system.
- FIG. 3 b is a schematic of an alternate delivery plan.
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an operations center.
- FIG. 5 a is a flow diagram of the processing at the operations center and uplink.
- FIG. 5 b is a block diagram of the hardware configuration for an uplink site.
- FIG. 6 a is a block diagram of the hardware configuration for a four component home subsystem.
- FIG. 6 b is a schematic of a two unit home subsystem.
- FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the processes performed by the video connector.
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram for an example of a library unit.
- FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of some of the processes performed by the library on the received data stream.
- FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of the processes performed by the library unit on information requests from the viewer.
- FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the components for an example of a viewer.
- FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of some of the processes performed by the viewer on an information request from a subscriber.
- FIG. 13 is a chart depicting the menu structure and sequencing of menus in the menu system.
- FIG. 14 a is a schematic of an introductory menu.
- FIG. 14 b is a schematic showing an example of a main menu.
- FIGS. 14 c , 14 d , 14 e , 14 f , 14 g , 14 h , 14 i and 14 j are schematics showing examples of submenus.
- FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an electronic book system for a bookstore or public library.
- FIG. 16 a and FIG. 16 b are schematics of hardware modifications or upgrades to a set top converter.
- FIG. 17 is a schematic showing a set top terminal that includes a data receiver and data transmitter.
- FIG. 18 a is a schematic of a book-on-demand system.
- FIG. 18 b is a schematic of an operations center supporting a book-on-demand system.
- FIG. 19 is a flow chart of a process for highlighting, cutting and pasting, copying and pasting, and annotating text in an electronic book.
- FIG. 20 is a schematic illustrating an example of highlighting text in an electronic book.
- FIG. 21 is a schematic illustrating an example of cutting and pasting, and copying and pasting, text in an electronic book or between electronic books.
- FIG. 22 is a schematic illustrating an example of annotating text in an electronic book.
- FIG. 23 is a flow chart of a process for displaying multiple pages of an electronic book.
- FIG. 24 is a schematic illustrating an example of viewing multiple pages in an electronic book.
- FIG. 25 is a flow chart of a process for displaying one or more pages of an electronic book on a viewer having multiple screens.
- FIG. 26 a is a schematic illustrating a first viewer having multiple screens.
- FIG. 26 b is a schematic illustrating a second viewer having multiple screens.
- FIG. 26 c is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having one screen.
- FIG. 26 d is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having two screens.
- FIG. 26 e is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having four screens.
- FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a process for displaying picture-in-picture images of electronic books.
- FIG. 28 a is a schematic illustrating use of an inset image within a main image for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books.
- FIG. 28 b is a schematic illustrating use of a side-by-side images for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books.
- FIG. 28 c is a schematic illustrating use of an inset image within a main image for picture-in-picture viewing of an electronic book and other information such as graphical images or video.
- FIG. 28 d is a schematic illustrating use of a side-by-side images for picture-in-picture viewing of an electronic book and other information such as graphical images or video.
- FIG. 29 a is a schematic diagram of an electronic book home system for receiving and displaying multiple signals in a picture-in-picture format.
- FIG. 29 b shows the electronic book viewer displaying multiple images from separate information services.
- An electronic book selection and delivery system provides a new way to distribute electronic books to bookstores, public libraries, schools, and subscribers or users.
- subscribers and users will be understood to refer to an individual or individuals who interface with the electronic book or any part of the electronic book selection and delivery system.
- the technological breakthroughs of this invention provide a secure system for both delivering selected electronic books and receiving payments.
- the system has an unusual combination of features that provides the consumer with an electronic book unit that has a high tech aura while being very practical, portable, and easy to use.
- the clear advantage of the system is that it eliminates the distribution of any physical object such as a paper book or computer memory device from any book or text distribution system.
- the purchase of an electronic book may become a PAY-PER-READTM event avoiding the overhead, “middle-men,” printing costs, and time delay associated with the current book distribution system.
- Published material and text such as the President's speech, a new law, a court decision on abortion, or O. J. Simpson's testimony can be made immediately available to the consumer at a nominal fee.
- the system is a novel combination of new technology involving the television, cable, telephone, and computer industries. It uses high bandwidth data transmissions, strong security measures, sophisticated digital switching, high resolution visual displays, novel controls, and user friendly interface software.
- the primary components of the text delivery system are the subsystem for placing the text onto a signal path and the subsystem for receiving and selecting text that was placed on the signal path.
- a preferred embodiment of the system includes additional components and optional features that enhance the system.
- the system may be configured for use by bookstores, public libraries, schools and consumers.
- the system for consumer use is made up of four subsystems, namely: (1) an operations center, (2) a distribution system, (3) a home subsystem including reception, selection, viewing, transacting and transmission capabilities, and (4) a billing and collection system.
- the operations center performs several primary functions: manipulating text data (including receiving, formatting and storing of text data), security encoding of text, cataloging of books, providing a messaging center capability, and performing uplink functions.
- the system delivers the text from the operations center to consumer homes by inserting text data into an appropriate signal path.
- the insertion of text is generally performed with an encoder at an uplink site that is within or near the operations center. If the signal path is a video signal path, the system can use several lines of the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI), all the lines of the analog video signal, a digital video signal or unused portions of bandwidth to transmit text data.
- VBI Vertical Blanking Interval
- the top ten or twenty book titles may be transmitted with video during normal programming utilizing existing cable, satellite, wireless or broadcast transmission capability without disruption to the subscriber's video reception.
- the entire video signal thousands of books may be transmitted within just one hour of air time.
- Nearly any analog or digital video distribution system may be used to deliver the video signal with included text.
- the text data may also be transmitted over other low and high speed signal paths including a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network) having a high speed connection such as an asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) connection.
- a telephone network e.g., a public switched telephone network
- ADSL asynchronous digital subscriber line
- the home subsystem performs four primary functions: connecting to the video distribution system, selecting text, storing text, and transacting through a phone or cable communicating mechanism.
- the components of the home subsystem may be configured in a variety of hardware configurations. Each function may be performed by a separate component, the components may be integrated, or the capability of existing cable set top converter boxes and televisions may be utilized.
- a connector, library unit and an electronic book unit, or viewer unit are used.
- the connector portion of the home subsystem receives the analog video signal and strips or extracts the text from the video.
- the home library stores the text signal, provides a user friendly software interface to the system and processes the transactions at the consumer home.
- the viewer provides a screen for viewing text or menus and novel user friendly controls.
- the viewer may also incorporate all the functionality of the home subsystem.
- the viewing device is preferably a portable book shaped viewer which stores one or more electronic books for viewing and provides a screen for interacting with the home library unit.
- a high resolution LCD display is used to both read the books and to interact with the home library software.
- An optional phone connector or return-path cable connection initiates the telephone calls and, with the aid of the library, transmits the necessary data to complete the ordering and billing portion of the consumer transaction.
- the user friendly controls include a bookmark, current book and page turn button.
- the billing and collection system performs transaction management, authorizations, collections and publisher payments automatically utilizing the telephone system. Alternative ordering and billing methods and systems are described in detail in copending applications U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,957, filed on Apr.
- the primary components of the electronic book selection and delivery system 200 are an encoder 204 , a video distribution system 208 , a connector 212 , and a text selector 216 as shown in FIG. 1 .
- the encoder 204 places textual data on a video signal to form a composite video signal. Although the composite signal may contain only textual data, it usually carries both video and textual data. A variety of equipment and methods may be used to encode text data onto a video signal.
- the video distribution system 208 distributes the composite video signal from the single point of the encoder 204 to multiple locations which have connectors 212 .
- the connector 212 receives the digital or analog video signal from the video distribution system 208 and separates, strips or extracts the text data from the composite video signal. If necessary, the extracted text data is converted into a digital bit stream.
- Text selector 216 works in connection with the connector 212 to select text.
- a connector 212 and text selector 216 combination various methods of selecting and retrieving desired text from a composite or video signal are possible. Text may be preselected, selected as received or selected after being received and stored. A preferred method is for the connector 212 to strip or extract all the text from the video signal and have the text selector 216 screen all the text as received from the connector 212 . The text selector 216 only stores text in long term or permanent memory if the text passes a screening process described below.
- the delivery system 200 includes: an operations center 250 including an uplink site 254 , a video distribution system 208 , a home system 258 including a video connector 212 , a library 262 , a viewer 266 , and a phone connector 270 , telephone system 274 , an internet web site 279 and a billing and collection system 278 .
- the home system 258 may include connections to a television 259 and a personal computer 261 .
- the television 259 and the personal computer 261 may be used to display menu screens, electronic books, electronic files, or any other information associated with the delivery system 200 .
- the television 259 and the personal computer 261 may provide control function that replicate and supplement those of the viewer 266 .
- the operations center 250 receives textual material from outside sources 282 such as publishers, newspapers, and on-line services. Alternately, the outside sources may maintain electronic books at the Internet web site 279 .
- the outside sources 282 may convert textual and graphical material to digital format, or may contract with another vendor to provide this service.
- the operations center 250 may receive the textual and graphical material in various digital formats and may convert the textual material to a standard compressed format for storage. In so doing, the operations center 250 may create a pool of textual material that is available to be delivered to the home system 258 .
- the textual material may be grouped by books or titles for easy access.
- book means textual or graphical information such as contained in any novels, encyclopedias, articles, magazines or manuals.
- title may represent the actual title assigned by an author to a book, or any other designation indicating a particular group, portion, or category of textual information.
- the title may refer to a series of related textual information, a grouping of textual information, or a portion of textual data. For example, “Latest Harlequin Romance”, “Four Child Reading Books (Ages 10-12)”, “Encyclopedia ‘BRITANNICA’TM”, “President's Speech”, “Instruction Manual”, “Schedule of 4th of July Events”, “Pet Handbooks”, “Roe v.
- a picture of a wrench may be a title for a repair book, a picture of a computer a title for a computer book, a graphical symbol of a telephone a title for a telephone book, a drawing of a dagger a title for a mystery book, a picture of a bat and ball a title for a sports book and a picture of tickertape a title for a business book.
- electronic book refers to the electronic counterpart to a “book.”
- the operations center 250 includes an uplink site 254 for placing the text onto a video signal and sending the composite video signal into a video distribution system.
- the uplink site 254 would generally include an encoder 204 (not shown in FIG. 2 ) to encode the text onto a video signal.
- Many analog and digital distribution systems 208 can be used with the delivery system 200 , such as a cable television distribution system, a broadcast television distribution system, video distributed over telephone systems, distribution from the Internet, direct satellite broadcast distribution systems, and other wired and wireless distribution systems.
- the home system 258 performs five primary functions: (1) connecting with a video distribution system, (2) selecting data, (3) storing data, (4) displaying data, and (5) handling transactions.
- An important optional function of the home sub-system 258 is communicating using a telephone communication system 274 .
- the home system 258 is made up of primarily four parts: a video connector 212 or similar type of connector for connecting with the video distribution system 208 , a library unit 262 for storing and processing, an electronic book, or viewer unit, 266 for viewing menus and text and a telephone connector 270 for connecting with a telephone communications system 274 .
- the viewer 266 may include all the functionality of the home system 258 .
- the billing and collection system 278 may be co-located with the operations center 250 or located remote from the operations center 250 .
- the billing and collection system 278 is in communication with the home system 258 via telephone-type communication systems (for example 274 ). Any of a number of telephone type communication systems, such as, a cellular system, will operate with the billing and collection system 278 .
- the billing and collection system 278 records the electronic books or portions of text that are selected or ordered by the subscriber.
- the collection system will charge a subscriber's credit account or bill the subscriber.
- the billing and collection system 278 will monitor that amount due to publishers or other outside sources 282 who have provided textual data or other services such as air time to enable the text delivery system 200 to operate.
- the billing and collecting functions may be incorporated into the Internet web site 279 .
- a subscriber may pay for an electronic book selection by entering a credit card number into a data field of a page of the Internet web site 279 .
- a separate billing and collection system may not be required.
- FIG. 3 a is an expanded overview of a delivery plan 301 for the delivery system 200 .
- the delivery plan 301 supports various types of subscribers and various billing systems.
- FIG. 3 a shows that publishers 282 will provide text transfer 302 to the operations center 250 ′ and receive payments 306 from the billing and collection system 278 ′.
- a separate channel uplink site 254 ′ is shown in this configuration receiving data 310 from the operations center 250 ′.
- the operations center 250 ′ has three separate sections ( 318 , 322 , 326 ) one for text receiving, formatting and re-entry 318 , a second for security encoding 322 and a third section for catalog and messaging center functions 326 .
- the billing and collection system 278 ′ shown has two sections ( 330 , 334 ) one for transaction management, authorizations and publisher payments 330 , and the other for customer service 334 .
- the customer service section 334 provides for data entry and access to customer account information.
- Transaction accounting information 338 is supplied to credit card companies 342 by the transaction management section 330 of the billing and collection system 278 ′.
- the credit card companies 342 provide billing 346 to customers either electronically or by mail.
- Three methods for communicating between the subscriber base 348 and the billing and collection system 278 ′ are shown: by telephone switching 350 alone, cellular switching 354 and telephone switching 350 combined, and by use of the cable system 358 and the telephone switching 350 .
- the system shown supports both one-way 362 and two-way cable communication 366 with subscribers. Public libraries and schools 370 as well as bookstores 374 may use the delivery system 301 .
- Public libraries and schools 370 would have a modified system to allow the viewer 266 to be checked-out or borrowed while bookstores 374 would rent or sell the viewer 266 and sell the electronic books.
- the bookstores 374 as well as the public libraries and schools 370 may be serviced by cable 378 .
- Optional direct broadcast systems (DBS) 382 can also be used with the delivery system 200 .
- the DBS 382 may provide the electronic books using digital satellite technology, with the electronic books being received via a backyard satellite antenna, for example.
- FIG. 3 b is an alternate delivery plan 301 ′ that provides for electronic book selection and delivery using the Internet.
- the publishers 282 provide the electronic books to be posted at the Internet web site 279 .
- the publishers may convert the text and graphical data to digital format, compress the digital data, and upload the compressed digital data to the Internet web site 279 .
- the publishers 282 may arrange for an outside conversion activity 283 to convert the text and graphical data to digital format.
- the conversion activity 283 may then provide the digital data to the Internet web site 279 .
- a large on-line bookstore could gather publications in electronic form from a variety of publishers, or could convert hard-copy books to electronic form, and post the electronic books on the Internet such as at the Internet web site 279 .
- the electronic books may then be transferred via a public switched telephone network (PSTN), for example, direct to a subscriber 285 , a library 286 and a bookstore 287 .
- PSTN public switched telephone network
- the library 286 and the bookstore 287 may also provide electronic books to the subscriber 285 .
- FIG. 4 is a schematic of an operations center 250 which includes an uplink 254 .
- the operations center 250 gathers text or books by receiving, formatting, storing, and encoding.
- a data stream 302 containing text is received at the operations center 250 by a data receiver 402 .
- the data receiver 402 is under the control of a processor 404 .
- the data stream is formatted using digital logic for formatting 406 which is also under the control of the processor 404 .
- the text generation is handled through text generator hardware 410 which may include a data receiver and a keyboard (not shown).
- the additional text can be added to the text received by the combining hardware 414 that includes digital logic circuitry (not shown).
- the processing at the operations center 250 is controlled by a processor 404 which uses an instruction memory 416 .
- the processor 404 and instruction memory 416 may be supplied by a personal computer or mini-computer.
- the operations center 250 uses a catalog and message memory 420 and the text generator 410 if necessary.
- the data stream of text, catalog and messages is preferably encoded by security module encoding 424 prior to being sent to the uplink module 254 .
- Various encoding techniques may be used by the security encoding module 424 such as the commercial derivative of NSA's encryption algorithm (Data Encryption System (DES)) and General Instrument's DigiCipher II.
- DES Data Encryption System
- the encoded text may be stored in text memory 428 prior to being sent to the uplink 254 .
- a first-in-first-out text memory arrangement may be used under the control of the processor 404 .
- Various types of memory may be used for the text memory 428 including RAM.
- the operations center 250 may use file server technology for the text memory 428 to catalog and spool electronic books for transmission as is described below.
- the delivery system 208 uses high bandwidth transmission techniques such as those defined by the North American Broadcast Teletext Standard (NABTS) and the World System Teletext (WST) standard.
- WST World System Teletext
- a four hundred page book may be transmitted during programming using four lines of the Vertical Blanking Interval at a rate of approximately one book every 1.6 minutes (63,840 bits per second).
- electronic books may be transmitted over a dedicated channel, which interrupts programming so that 246 lines of video can be used to transmit approximately 2,250 books every hour (3.9 Mbits per second).
- a teletext type format is the simplest but possibly the slowest text format to use with the delivery system 200 .
- an encoder 204 is utilized at an uplink site 254 to insert textual data into the analog video signal.
- the delivery of the textual information is completed using existing cable television plant and equipment.
- FIG. 5 a is a flowchart of the steps involved in processing text from the publisher or provider 282 that occurs at the operations center 250 .
- the publisher 282 processes data files of text for books, compresses, encrypts and sends the data files to the operations center 250 or uplink 254 .
- Text files for books are preferably sent one book at a time.
- the uplink 254 or operations center 250 receives and processes the data stream from the publisher 282 .
- part of this processing includes encryption and error correction.
- Block 508 files are broken into smaller packets of information. Header information is added to the packets.
- the bit stream is converted from a serial digital bit stream to an analog bit stream that is compatible with an NTSC video signal.
- Block 512 shows the switching of analog data into the video lines of a video signal.
- the analog data is generally placed either in the VBI or the active video lines. In some instances, it may be preferable to utilize unused portions of bandwidth (such as 5-40 MHZ, 70-75 MHZ, 100-109 MHZ or other guard bands) instead of the video lines.
- FIG. 5 b is an example of a hardware configuration to perform some of the functions for blocks 508 and 512 .
- a video feed 516 is received and processed through a sync stripper 520 .
- the stripped sync signal 532 is used by the digital logic control 524 .
- the digital logic control 524 receives the sync signal 532 and a serial digital bit stream 528 for processing.
- the digital logic control 524 passes the serial digital bit stream to the Digital to Analog converter 536 and outputs a control signal 540 for the video switch 544 .
- the video switch 544 integrates the video feed 516 and analog data stream 548 into a video feed with analog data signal inserted 552 .
- the public telephone system may be used to transmit books to the subscribers.
- An average electronic book would take about 7 minutes to transmit over the public telephone system.
- Using the telephone system it is not necessary to combine video and text into a composite signal. In most other respects, the operation center would remain similar whether text delivery was by telephone or cable.
- File server technology such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,875, entitled AUDIO/VIDEO FILE SERVER INCLUDING DECOMPRESSION/PLAYBACK MEANS, issued to Mincer, et al., and, U.S. Pat. No.
- the public telephone system may be used to provide access to the Internet, where the Internet web site 279 may be accessed.
- Electronic books may be ordered, paid for, and delivered directly from the Internet web site 279 over the telephone system.
- ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
- ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
- FIG. 6 a The hardware configuration for a four component home system 258 is shown in FIG. 6 a .
- FIG. 6 b shows a hardware configuration for a two component home system.
- the hardware components may also be incorporated into a single unit that communicates with a terminal in a television delivery system or with a telephone system by use of a modem, for example.
- the home system 258 performs several functions, such as receiving data and video transmissions, stripping (or extracting) the data from the video signal, screening and storing the data, providing user friendly interface controls and software, displaying menus and text, processing transactions, initiating telephone calls and transmitting billing data.
- Various hardware configurations may be utilized to achieve the desired functions of the home system 258 . For example, as shown in FIG.
- the home system 258 can be configured to utilize the reception and channel tuning capability of the current installed subscriber base of cable converter boxes and televisions 601 .
- the home system 258 can also be designed as an advanced set top terminal converter box with menu generation capability, electronic memory and a telephone modem as described in section V below.
- the electronic components which make up the home system 258 can be arranged in a variety of ways.
- the viewer 266 and library unit 262 are wired together while the remaining components communicate through RF transceivers 604 .
- the library unit 262 In a simple version of the home system 258 there are only two units, the library unit 262 and a viewer 266 .
- FIG. 6 b shows a two unit home system 258 with certain optional features.
- all the functionality of the home system 258 may be incorporated into one electronic book unit, or viewer.
- the viewer 266 is generally equipped with a high resolution viewing area 602 , digital logic (including a key 605 , security 606 , and a microprocessor 621 ), video graphics control and memory 607 , power supply circuitry 602 (not shown), an optional battery 603 and an optional RF transceiver 604 .
- the library unit 262 contains the connector function to the video distribution system 208 , connector function to a public telephone communications system, and memory 600 (which may be removable and portable 600 ′).
- the library unit 262 would include data stripping functions 617 , digital logic 609 , memory storage 600 , power circuitry 610 , optional telephone connections 611 (including cellular or PCN 611 ′), optional battery (not shown), optional tuner module 613 and an optional RF transceiver 604 .
- the video connector 212 and the public telephone system connection 270 , as well as the removable portable memory unit 600 of the library unit 262 may be broken out into separate components.
- FIG. 6 b shows a removable portable hard disk memory 600 ′ with removable cartridges 614 .
- the home system 258 may include an attached keyboard 267 or a wireless keyboard 268 . Both the attached keyboard 267 and the wireless keyboard 268 may be used to communicate with the viewer 266 (not shown) or the library unit 262 .
- the wireless keyboard 268 may communicate via radio frequency (RF) signaling, for example. Therefore, the home system 258 may have as many as six separate components which communicate with each other. The two, three, four, five or six separate components which make up the home system 258 can communicate with each other in a variety of ways, including hardwired connection 615 , RF transceiver 604 , and other wireless methods.
- RF radio frequency
- RF communications are preferred in the home because they allow separate components to be located throughout the home without restriction.
- the data communicated between the units is preferably secure data.
- the library unit 262 may provide power to the viewer 266 through the hardwired connection 615 .
- a single unit may perform all of the home system 258 functions.
- the single unit should use light-weight materials, including a light-weight battery.
- a single unit eliminates the need to communicate (externally) between units. The single unit is less expensive and eliminates duplicative processing, memory storage and power circuitry.
- a cable interface device or cable connector 212 is used to receive and strip the data from the video signal at the consumer's home.
- the cable connector device includes a tuner 613 , while the cable interface device makes use of existing tuning equipment in the home.
- data is stripped from the video signal and stored at the subscriber's location in the library unit 262 .
- the phone connector 270 , and modem 611 initiate telephone calls and transmit ordering and billing information to the operations center 250 or billing and collection system 278 .
- the phone connector 270 and the modem 611 may be used to provide access to the Internet to order and receive electronic books from an Internet web site.
- a digital connector 619 is provided to communicate digital information with the set top 601 .
- the library unit 262 is the intelligent component of the home system, incorporating the hardware and software necessary to store the text data, generate menus and effect the purchase transactions.
- the library unit 262 also includes the necessary jacks and connections to allow the delivery system 200 to be connected to the viewer 266 .
- the library 262 communicates the text data (electronic book) to the viewer 266 in a secure format which requires a key 605 for decryption.
- the text is generally only decrypted page by page just before viewing.
- FIG. 7 shows the flow of the processes performed by the video connector 212 .
- the video connector receives the video signal 608 , tunes to the channel containing the text data 612 , strips the text data from the video signal 616 , and communicates the text data stream to logic components in the library 620 .
- the connection to the video distribution system is preferably a cable connector to a cable television delivery system, as shown in FIG. 6 b .
- the cable connector includes a data stripper circuit 617 , which accepts video input from either a set top converter, TV or VCR 601 , or an optional tuner block 613 that receives the CATV signal through the cable connector 212 ′.
- the data stripper circuit 617 strips data out of the video, and outputs a digital bit stream to the digital logic portion 609 of the library unit 262 .
- the data is embedded in the video signal either in the vertical blanking interval or the active video portion in an encrypted and compressed format.
- the data stripper circuit 617 can be placed inside the set top converter box 601 , TV, or in the library unit.
- the data stripper circuit 617 outputs the digital bit stream to be used by the library digital logic 609 .
- the video connector 212 may also contain a channel tuner module 613 that can tune to the video channel and provide access to the video that contains the data to be stripped.
- a channel tuner module 613 that can tune to the video channel and provide access to the video that contains the data to be stripped.
- a set top converter, VCR, or TV tuner is not needed in the home system.
- the optional tuner module 613 would instead receive the CATV signal directly through the cable connector 212 .
- FIG. 6 b An embodiment of the library unit 262 for a two unit home system 258 is shown in both FIG. 6 b and FIG. 8 .
- the embodiment shown includes the following optional parts: the video connector 212 , phone connector 270 , RF transceiver 604 , and battery pack 624 in addition to a removal portable memory 600 ′, microprocessor 628 , instruction memory unit 632 , digital logic 636 , and power unit 640 .
- the library unit 262 contains a digital logic section 609 (not shown in FIG. 8 ) which includes the microprocessor 628 , the digital logic 636 and the instruction memory unit 632 .
- the microprocessor 628 is preferably a secure microprocessor such as the Mot SC21 device sold by Motorola.
- the digital logic section 609 will receive the serial digital bit stream from the data stripper circuit 617 and process the data. Error correction will also be performed by the digital logic section 609 and the data will be checked for proper address. If the address of the data is correct and the library unit 262 is authorized to receive the data, the data will be transferred to the memory storage unit 600 , 600 ′. Authorization to receive the data is provided by the cable headend or another distribution point. An authorization code may be sent in the serial digital bit stream.
- the digital logic section 609 will send appropriate text and graphical data to the memory storage unit 600 , 600 ′. It transfers this data in a compressed and encrypted format and the data remains stored in a compressed and encrypted format.
- the memory storage unit of the library may be a removable portable memory unit 600 ′ (as shown in FIGS. 6 a , 6 b and 8 ).
- a variety of options are available for memory storage: a hard disk drive, a hard disk with removable platters, and a CD ROM, or a MEMORY STICKTM.
- a hard disk drive unit 600 ′ which contains removable platters may also be used. This would provide virtually unlimited library storage capacity.
- Data i.e., electronic book files
- the data may also contain a key or unique ID number that matches the ID or key of the viewer 266 . This matching of a unique key or ID number prevents unauthorized transfer of text data from the memory storage unit to an unauthorized viewer.
- Small memory devices such as smart cards, electronic memory cards or PCMCIA cards (personal computer memory card industry association) may also be used to store the data.
- the library unit 262 may accept power from either AC wall power 610 , DC power 640 , or optional battery power 624 .
- the power circuitry 610 , 640 may provide all the voltage necessary from either the battery 624 or AC unit for the various circuitry in the library.
- the power circuitry 610 , 640 may also provide power to the viewer 266 through a single data cable when connected to the viewer.
- the power circuitry 610 , 640 will recharge the battery using AC power when in operation.
- the library unit 262 With the optional battery unit 624 installed, the library unit 262 becomes a portable unit and can still provide power to the viewer 266 .
- power conservation measures may be utilized, such as shutting down the memory system when not in use. When the viewer 266 is being utilized and the library circuitry is not being utilized, virtually all power may be shut down to the library unit 262 .
- the connection to the telephone system may be provided by a modem 611 .
- Various available modems may be used to perform this function.
- cellular phone or PCN phone connections 611 ′ may also be provided.
- the modem may be used to transfer the name and credit card information of the consumer to the billing and collection system 278 .
- the telephone connection 270 may be utilized each time an electronic book is purchased by a consumer to complete and record the transaction.
- the telephone connection 270 may also be used as a means for receiving the electronic books from the operations center 250 or from an Internet web site, by-passing the video distribution system 208 .
- the phone connection 270 may be a separate unit as shown in FIG. 6 b.
- FIG. 9 shows an example of some basic processing performed by the library unit 262 on the data stream 651 received from the video connector 212 or stripper circuit 617 .
- First the data stream 651 is checked for error correction by block 650 . If an error is detected, block 654 de-interleaves the data followed by block 658 running a FEC (Forward Error Correcting) algorithm. The combination of block 650 , 654 and 658 perform the error correction needed on the data stream. If no error correction is necessary the data proceeds to block 662 where packets are individually checked for packet address.
- FEC Forward Error Correcting
- block 666 checks whether the address of the packet matches the library box ID number.
- the library box ID number is a unique number associated with that library unit 262 which is used to ensure security of the data.
- Block 670 determines whether an electronic file has already been opened into which the data packet can be saved. If no data file has been opened then block 674 opens a new data file for that packet. If an electronic file has been opened, then the packet is saved in that electronic file on disk, block 678 . Next, the process checks to see if this is the last packet for a particular book for a particular textual data block being received 682 . If it is the last packet of information, then the electronic file is closed and the directory of available electronic files is updated 686 . Following either block 682 or 686 , the process returns to receive another data packet from the data stream received from the data stripper block.
- the process determines the type of message that is being sent 690 .
- the message may be an index of book titles, menu (and menu graphics) information, announcements, special offerings, discounts, promotions, previews etc.
- the message is then stored in appropriate electronic message file 694 and the process is returned to block 650 to receive another data packet and perform another error check.
- the library unit 262 is able to receive, store and update directories related to the textual data and graphical data (that can be used to depict pictures in a given book or to generate menus). Variations of the processes are possible depending on the format of the data and operating system of the library unit 262 .
- FIG. 10 shows an example of the processing of information requests from the viewer 266 at the library unit 262 .
- Information requests from the viewer 266 are received either through the cable connecting the viewer 266 to the library unit 262 or through wireless transmissions such as RF. It is possible in some embodiments for subscribers' requests to come from a set top terminal 602 (see Section V).
- Information requests received from the viewer 266 generally fall into three categories: (1) directory data of electronic books stored in the library unit 262 , (2) index of all available electronic books on the system, and (3) requests for a specific electronic book (Block 700 ).
- a get directory process 704 answers a request from the viewer 266 for a directory of data showing the electronic books stored at the viewer 266 .
- the directory of data is sent to the viewer 266 so that it may be displayed to the subscriber.
- a get index process 708 handles requests from the viewer 266 for an index of all available electronic books on the home system 258 .
- the library unit 262 will obtain an index of all the available books on the system and transmit that index, process 712 , with menu information to the viewer 266 .
- An open file process 716 replies to a request from the viewer 266 for a specific electronic book.
- the library unit 262 opens an electronic file for the specific electronic book requested by the viewer 266 and transmits the record or transmits the information 720 on a packet-by-packet basis to the viewer 266 . This process of transmitting the specific electronic book, record, or packets to the viewer 266 continues until the last record or packet has been sent, 724 .
- the library unit 262 In addition to the processes shown on FIG. 10 in handling a request for a specific electronic book, the library unit 262 also orders and receives specific electronic books from the operations center 250 using the process as described in the open file process 716 . Following a request for a specific electronic book which is not stored at the library unit 262 , the library unit 262 will proceed to determine the next available time the electronic book will be on the video distribution system 208 and ensure reception and storage of that electronic book (process not shown). In performing this process the library unit 262 will transmit to the viewer 266 information on when it will obtain the text data for the electronic book so that the subscriber may view the electronic book. In addition to timing information, price and other ordering information may also be passed by the library unit 262 to the subscriber.
- a high resolution LCD screen 602 preferably of VGA quality, is used by the viewer 266 to display text and graphic images.
- the screen is preferably the size of one page of a book.
- a two page screen or two screens may also be used with the viewer 266 .
- Digital circuitry that includes a secure microprocessor 621 , instruction memory 732 , and digital logic. Data is transferred to the viewer 266 in compressed and encrypted format.
- the secure microprocessor 621 compares the ID number of the viewer 266 with the incoming data stream and only stores the text data if the ID number of the viewer 266 matches that within the incoming data stream. It is preferred that the viewer 266 not output text data or other data and that the data is decompressed and decrypted only at the moment of viewing and only for the current page being viewed. These measures are preferred because they provide additional security against unauthorized access to data.
- the viewer 266 of FIG. 11 has touch panel controls 740 .
- These unique and novel controls 740 allow the consumer to select stored electronic books and electronic books from catalogues, move a cursor, and turn pages in a book.
- preferred controls 740 include forward and reverse page buttons 742 , 741 , a ball (or trackball) 743 for cursor movement, one or more selection buttons 745 , a current book button 747 and a bookmark button 749 (see FIG. 14 a ).
- the controls 740 should be easy to use and conveniently located. Referring to FIG. 14 a , the controls for the viewer 266 may be located below the screen 602 at the bottom portion of the viewer 266 .
- the next page turn button 742 is the most used button 740 and may be located towards the right edge of the page.
- the subscriber is likely to use right hand thumb movements to work the controls particularly the page turn buttons 741 , 742 . Therefore, it is preferred that the buttons be arranged in such a manner that the buttons are easily controlled by a subscriber's right thumb. Generally, this can be accommodated either on the lower portion of the viewer 266 (as shown) or along the right hand margin of the viewer 266 (not shown).
- the current book button 747 and bookmark button 749 are usually the least used of the controls 740 . Therefore, in the example shown those buttons 747 , 749 are located on the inside portion towards the binder of the viewer 266 .
- Locating the ball 743 or other cursor movement device (such as four pointer arrows—not shown) in the bottom center of the viewer 266 is both easier for the subscriber to use and easier in manufacturing the viewer 266 .
- the selection buttons for the cursor 745 are preferably located below the middle diameter of the cursor ball 743 on the right and left sides of the ball as shown. If pointer arrows are used for cursor movement, a selection button 745 may be located in the center of the four arrow buttons (not shown). Again, the most used controls should be located where a subscriber's right hand thumb would normally rest.
- Book memory 728 for at least one electronic book or more of text is included in the viewer 266 .
- the memory 728 stores text and any graphics which represent pictures in a book.
- the memory 728 can also store menu graphics data.
- Two different memory 728 devices may be used in the viewer 266 , one for the instructions for the microprocessor 621 in the digital circuitry and a second type of memory may be used for the book memory 728 (and graphics).
- Various memory devices available on the market may be used such as, ROM, RAM or a small hard disk. Since an electronic book requires approximately 0.6 megabytes of storage, a small hard disk providing approximately 60 MBytes of storage provides memory to store approximately 100 electronic books. The large hard disk drives currently available allow for storage of thousands of electronic books.
- Text for books may be displayed in various font sizes.
- a variety of fonts are stored in instruction 732 or book memory 728 .
- larger or smaller fonts may be recalled from memory 621 , 728 to create displays desired by the subscriber.
- Power supply circuitry 736 in the viewer 266 will accept power from either an AC power source or from an optional battery 603 ′, or the library unit 262 .
- the power supply circuitry 736 provides the necessary voltages to accommodate the various systems within the viewer 266 .
- An optional battery 603 ′ is provided in a preferred embodiment.
- the battery 603 ′ is automatically recharged when AC power is available.
- An optional RF transceiver 604 which provided two-way data link between the viewer 266 and other components of the home system can also be included in the viewer 266 .
- the viewer 266 may include a cellular transceiver for mobile communications.
- the optional wired (attached) keyboard 267 and wireless (e.g., RF) keyboard 268 may be used with the viewer 266 to provide communications between the subscriber and the viewer 266 .
- the speaker and microphone 608 ′ allow the viewer 266 to provide audio signals to the subscriber, and allow the subscriber to provide an audio input.
- the speaker and microphone 608 ′ may be used in conjunction with the cellular transceiver 608 or other telecommunications equipment to provide for reception and transmission of telephony and data.
- the viewer 266 of FIG. 11 has parts available for providing connections to: a library 744 , electronic card memory 748 , CD ROM units 752 , and a portable memory unit 756 (such as that shown in FIG. 6 b 600 ′).
- Various electronic memory cards such as PCMCIA can be used with this viewer 266 .
- the viewer 266 should be lightweight and portable.
- the viewer 266 contains a software operating system that allows electronic books to be stored, read and erased and includes the capability to order electronic books and retain them in memory 728 for a predefined period of time determined by the system operator.
- the software can be configured to allow the electronic book to be read during a period of time (i.e., two weeks) and then automatically erased, read once and erased, or held in memory permanently.
- Each viewer 266 has a unique key 605 . All of the data storage is encrypted with the key 605 for an individual viewer 266 to prevent more than one viewer 266 accessing the text file or electronic book file.
- FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of some of the processes executed by the viewer 266 .
- the viewer 266 receives inputs from the subscriber through touch panel controls 740 . Alternately, the viewer 266 receives inputs from a touchscreen display, the attached keyboard 267 , or the remote keyboard 268 .
- the subscriber's information requests are then processed through an information request process 800 by the viewer 266 .
- a select available book process 804 will select a book menu.
- An open file process 808 will open the electronic files which list the electronic books that are available (related to the category of topic of the menu) and display the menu with the names of the available electronic books.
- a select a book process 812 will process the selection and determine the electronic file that contains the specific electronic book.
- An open file process 816 will open the file for that specific book and normally access the first page. (If a pointer has already been set in that electronic book's file, the process may default to that page.)
- a decision process 820 will then determine which page needs to be displayed. The decision process 820 will determine whether a next page, previous page or a book marked page needs to be displayed. If the pointer for the electronic file is not in the correct location then a get previous page process 828 will move the pointer and obtain the previous page of data from the stored file.
- a decrypt and decompress process 832 will decrypt and decompress the text data and send the data to the video display.
- the video display will generally have a video display memory associated with it and the decrypt and decompress process 832 will send the data directly to that video display memory.
- the circuitry for the display then completes the process of displaying the page of text.
- a save pointer process 840 saves the pointer in memory to the page number in the book that the viewer 266 is currently reading.
- a close files process 844 closes all the electronic files and signals the power circuitry to shut down the power to the various circuits in the viewer 266 .
- the subscriber may also use the controls 740 to access other electronic files using electronic links embedded in a particular electronic file. An electronic link system will be described later in detail.
- the menu system 851 allows sequencing between menus and provides menu graphics for graphical displays such as on the LCD display 602 of the viewer 266 . In a system which uses a set top converter these menus may also be displayed on a television screen. In the simplest embodiment, the menus provide basic text information from which the subscriber makes choices. In more sophisticated embodiments, the menus provide visual displays with graphics and icons to assist the subscriber.
- FIG. 13 depicts a menu system 851 with sequencing.
- the primary menus in the system are an introductory menu 850 , a main menu 854 and various submenus 858 .
- one or two submenus 858 is sufficient to easily direct the subscriber to the selection or information requested.
- three or more submenus 858 make the user interface more friendly for the subscriber.
- Each level of submenus 858 may consist of multiple possible menus for display. The particular menu displayed depends on the selection by the subscriber on the previous shown menu. An example of this tree sequence of one to many menus are the help submenus 887 , 888 . Depending upon the specific help requested, a different level two help menu is displayed to the subscriber.
- FIG. 14 a An example of an introductory menu 850 is shown on FIG. 14 a .
- the introductory menu 850 introduces the viewer 266 to the system and provides initial guidance, announcements and instruction.
- the introductory menu 850 is followed by a main menu 854 , an example of which is shown in FIG. 14 b .
- the main menu provides the viewer 266 with the basic selection or features available in the system.
- FIG. 14 b is an example of a main menu 854 offering many additional features and submenus 858 to the subscriber. For example, FIG.
- 14 b shows that the viewer 266 is able to choose by a point and click method, many options including: (1) free previews, (2) books you can order, (3) books in your library, (4) your current book, (5) help, (6) on-line services and (6) other system features. Following a selection on the main menu 854 , a corresponding submenu 858 is shown.
- FIG. 13 shows thirteen available primary or first level submenus. They are (1) account set up 862 , (2) free previews 866 , (3) book suggestion entries 855 , (4) books in your library 872 , (5) books you can order 878 , (6) your current book 884 , (7) help 887 , (8) available features 890 , (9) messages 893 , (10) account information 896 , (11) outgoing message submenu 898 , (12) show links 970 , and (13) create links 980 .
- FIG. 14 c is an example of a first level submenu for electronic books in your library 872 .
- This “Book In Your Library” example submenu 872 shows six available electronic books by title and author and provides the subscriber with the ability to check a different shelf of books 874 or return to the main menu 854 .
- FIGS. 14 d and 14 e show example submenus 858 for electronic books that may be ordered using the “Books You Can Order” submenu 878 .
- FIG. 14 f is an example of an order selection and confirmation menu 880 ′, which provides a “soft keyboard” 975 for the subscriber to use in placing an electronic book order and which confirms the subscriber's order.
- the subscriber is required to enter a PIN number to complete the subscriber's order.
- the “soft keyboard” 975 could be configured as a full alpha-numeric keyboard, and may be used by the subscriber to add additional information related to a book order.
- An alpha-numeric or similar password may be used to ensure the subscriber is an authorized subscriber.
- the subscriber confirms an order with a PIN or password and then receives a final confirmation screen.
- the final confirmation screen is primarily text and may state: Your book order is now being processed via CABLE.
- Examples of the “Account Set Up Menu” 862 and further submenus 858 related to account set up are shown in FIG. 14 g and FIG. 14 h .
- These submenus 858 allow initialization of an account at the operations center 250 and orders to be charged to credit cards.
- the submenus 858 include the ability to enter data related to your desired PIN number or password, credit cards, phone numbers, etc. It is preferred that the account set up be performed using the telephone system.
- a confirmation menu verifies that the account has been properly set up with the desired PIN or password and credit card.
- Free previews for books 866 are also provided by submenus ( 868 , 870 ). Examples of the free preview menus are shown in FIG. 14 i and FIG. 14 j .
- FIG. 14 i shows a menu depicting various electronic books for which previews are available for viewing. Following an electronic book selection, a screen submenu showing an excerpt of the selected electronic book cover's description is provided along with an excerpt from a critic's review of the selected electronic book. In a preferred embodiment, this preview screen for a particular electronic book also allows the subscriber to select a submenu which provides information about the author.
- the book preview submenu may also include a still video picture or graphics portraying a book cover or a scene from the electronic book.
- FIG. 14 j depicts a preview screen 870 about the author.
- the video may also be provided according to MPEG standards as a short moving video clip. Such a clip could be an interview with the author, for example.
- the author's preview screen 870 shows a picture of the author, provides a short biography, and may allow the subscriber to order the author's books. The price for ordering the authors various electronic books may also be shown on the menu.
- the previews may be provided through an electronic link system, which is described in detail in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/237,828, filed on Jan. 27, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ELECTRONIC LINKS, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
- text word searches of preview information (such as book cover descriptions, critics reviews and biographies about the author) and/or text of books or other titles are performed by the library unit 262 using databases stored in the library memory 600 .
- Personalized book or author suggestions are made to the subscriber by obtaining information from the subscriber indicative of general subscriber interests.
- Subscriber entries are solicited from the subscriber preferably using the electronic book suggestion entries submenu 855 . The system uses these subscriber entries either directly or indirectly to search for books or authors to suggest to the subscriber.
- the book suggestion methods may be categorized into two categories, either responsive methods (which respond to a series of subscriber menu entries), or intelligent methods (which analyze data to suggest an electronic book).
- responsive methods which respond to a series of subscriber menu entries
- intelligent methods which analyze data to suggest an electronic book.
- the delivery system 200 determines a list of suggested titles or authors and creates a second or third level submenu 856 , 857 to suggest the titles for subscriber selection.
- Responsive methods of suggesting titles include, for example, the use of mood questions, searching for authors, and keyword searching.
- a series of mood questions can be presented on menus to determine a subscribers interest at a particular time.
- the operations center's 250 processor 404 and instruction memory 416 assign each title mood indicators (and subindicators) from a group such as light, serious, violent, short, long, dull, exciting, complex, easy-read, young theme, old theme, adventure, romance, drama, fiction, science-fiction, etc. These indicators are sent to the home system 258 with the text data and are stored in library memory 600 .
- the processor 404 associates a set of indicators with the subscriber's request and a set of electronic books with matching indicators are located for suggesting to the subscriber.
- Responsive searches for authors or keywords are generally performed by the library processor 628 and instruction memory 632 on data stored in the library memory 600 .
- a keyword given by the subscriber may be searched for a match in library memory 600 storing the book reviews, critics and previews databases.
- the title “Hunt For Red October” may be located by the library processor 628 using instruction from a routine in the instruction memory 632 .
- Intelligent methods of suggesting programs include analyzing personal profile data on the subscriber and/or historical data about the subscriber such as past books ordered by the subscriber (or buy data). This method is preferred in a book on demand system and can be performed at the distribution point or operations center 250 by the on-site processor 404 using subscriber databases stored in memory 428 .
- the home system 258 receives the text data including program suggestion information from the distribution point or operations center 250 and generates the program suggestion submenus 855 , 856 , 857 using the same text data receiving 212 and viewer menu generation hardware (e.g., 607 , 621 ) described above.
- Software routines and algorithms stored in instruction memories e.g. 632 , 732 ) are used to analyze historical data and book ordered data to determine a line of books to suggest to the subscriber.
- submenus 858 are shown on the “Books In Your Library” submenu 872 and are preferably broken into shelf numbers with submenus for each shelf 874 , 876 .
- the submenus 858 for the “Books You Can Order” submenu 878 is similarly broken out into submenus by shelves 880 , 882 .
- These shelves may each be a category or genre of books. Electronic books may be grouped into categories such as best sellers, novels, fiction, romance, etc. See FIG. 14 d.
- the submenu 858 for “Your Current Book” 884 allows a subscriber to select a current book 884 and then determine what page to view. This selection is confirmed with a level two submenu 885 .
- the help submenu 887 provides the subscriber with additional help screens 888 .
- the submenus 858 for available features 890 are preferably broken out into a sequence of separate submenus for each feature 891 , 892 .
- messages can also be sent with the delivery system 200 .
- a level one message screen provides the subscriber with the ability to select from various messages the subscriber has pending 893 . Each message is then shown on a separate submenu screen 894 , 895 .
- the message may contain text and graphics.
- account information is shown on a level one submenu 896 and then follow-on submenus 858 show the recent orders and your account balance 897 .
- level one submenu for outgoing messages 898 which has a follow-on submenu used as an input screen 899 .
- the billing and collection system 278 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 ) utilizes the latest technology in electronic transaction and telephone switching to track orders, authorize deliveries, bill consumers, and credit publishers automatically.
- the telephone calls initiated by the phone connector 270 are received by the billing and collection system 278 which responds immediately without human intervention by placing the order and charging the consumers credit card account. Data is compiled periodically and publishers 282 are credited for sales of their books or other text.
- the billing and collection system 278 may also connect with subscribers through two-way cable connections, cellular, or other communication means.
- the billing and collection system 278 communicate with the operations center 250 to track changes in available books and to provide statistical data to the operations center 250 .
- the electronic book system can be modified to be used at public libraries, schools and bookstores.
- FIG. 15 shows one possible arrangement of components for a public library, school or bookstore location.
- the main unit at a public library, school or bookstore is the file server 900 .
- the file server 900 is a large electronic memory unit that can store thousands of electronic books.
- Various electronic storage means may be used in the file servers, such as hard disks, read-write CD ROMs and read-only CD ROMs.
- the system comprises five components; the file server 900 , a converter or video connector 904 , a controller 908 , a viewer 912 , and a catalog printer 916 .
- the software for controlling the system is primarily located in the controller 908 .
- the converter or video connector 904 is similar to those described above.
- the controller unit 908 monitors the data being transferred to the file server 900 by the converter 904 .
- the controller 908 is preferably provided with a viewing screen and several control buttons. When it is necessary to have a larger screen to perform more sophisticated controlling of the system a viewer 266 may be connected to the controller 908 and the viewer screen and controls 740 may be used.
- the titles of the available books may be printed on a catalog printer 916 .
- the catalog printer 916 is connected to the library controller 908 and the titles of the electronic books are downloaded to the catalog printer 916 . None of the coded text for any of the electronic books can be printed using the controller 908 and catalog printer 916 of this system. In order to maintain security over the data, none of the electronic book data is allowed to be downloaded to the printer 916 . Once a complete printout of available electronic book titles, magazines, or other textual material is complete, a hard copy of the catalog 920 can be maintained at the file server 900 .
- the system shown may also be used at bookstores.
- the bookstores can rent the public viewer 912 to customers with the text for one or two electronic books loaded onto the public viewer 912 .
- the public viewer 912 may be provided with an automatic timeout sequence.
- the timeout sequence would erase the textual data for the books after a certain period of time, for example, two weeks. It is expected that after a period of time (perhaps within two weeks) the renter would return the public viewer 912 to the bookstore and receive additional electronic books for viewing.
- Various other configurations are possible for bookstores, schools and public libraries using the file server 900 and public viewer 912 described.
- FIGS. 16 a and 16 b are examples of hardware modifications or upgrades.
- a port is used to attach hardware upgrades described below to a set top terminal.
- Two upgrades are possible to set top converters 601 to assist in receiving and selecting electronic books.
- a menu generation card upgrade ( FIG. 16 a ) and an information download unit ( FIG. 16 b ).
- Each of these upgrades may be connected to the set top terminal unit through an upgrade port.
- a four wire cable, ribbon cable, IEEE 1394 firewire interface, USB interface, or the like may be used to connect the upgrade to the set top converter 601 .
- a card addition 950 to a set top converter 601 is depicted in FIG. 16 a .
- the card 950 shown provides the additional functionality needed to utilize the book selection system with existing set top converter 601 technology.
- the card 950 may be configured to slip inside the frame of a set top terminal and become part of the set top terminal, an advanced set top terminal.
- the primary functions the card 950 adds to the set top converter 601 are the interpreting of data signals, generating of menus, sequencing of menus, and, ultimately, the ability of the subscriber to select an electronic book using either the television or a viewer 266 .
- the card 950 also provides a method for a remote location, such as the cable headend, to receive information on electronic books ordered.
- the electronic books ordered information and control commands may be passed from the cable headend to the card 950 using telephone lines.
- the primary components of the card 950 are a PC chip CPU 952 , a VGA graphic controller 954 , a video combiner 956 , logic circuitry 958 , NTSC encoder 960 , a receiver 962 , demodulator (not shown), and a dialer 611 ′.
- the card 950 operates by receiving the data text signal from the cable headend through the coaxial cable.
- the logic circuitry 958 of the card 950 receives data 964 , infrared commands 966 , and synchronization signals (not shown) from the set top converter 601 . Menu selections made by the viewer 266 on the remote control are received by the set top converter's 601 IR equipment and passed through to the card 950 .
- the card 950 interprets the IR signal and determines the electronic book (or menu) the subscriber has selected.
- the card 950 modifies the IR command to send the information to the set top converter 601 .
- the modified IR command contains the channel information needed by the set top converter 601 .
- the card 950 is able to transmit electronic books ordered information to the cable headend. It is also possible to receive the electronic books over the telephone lines and by-pass the video distribution system.
- the telephone system may be used to provide access to an Internet web site to order and receive electronic books.
- IR commands 966 are transferred from set top terminal 601 to hardware upgrade.
- Hardware upgrades may include a microprocessor, interactive software, processing circuitry, bubble memory, and a long-term memory device. In addition to these basic components, the hardware upgrade may make use of an additional telephone modem or CD-ROM device.
- the information download hardware upgrade 1001 (shown in FIG. 16 b ) allows the subscriber to download large volumes of information from the operations center 250 or cable headend using the set top converter 601 .
- the hardware upgrade 1001 will enable subscribers to download data, such as electronic books and magazines, to local storage.
- the hardware upgrade 1001 is an additional local storage unit 1003 (e.g., hard disk, floppy, optical disk or magnetic cartridge and may include a microprocessor 1005 , instruction memory 1007 , and a random access memory 1009 , as shown in FIG. 16 b ).
- a small portable viewer 266 is also provided with the upgrade 1001 to enable downloaded text to be read without the use of a TV.
- the downloadable information may be text or graphics supplied by the operations center 250 or cable headend.
- electronic books may be downloaded and read anywhere with the portable viewer 266 .
- books may be downloaded and stored in compressed form for later decompression.
- the electronic books would be decompressed only at the time of viewing.
- Important text that the public desires immediate access may made available through this system. Text such as the President's speech, a new law, or a recent abortion decision rendered by the Supreme Court may be made immediately available.
- electronic book ordering information is stored at each set top terminal until it is polled by the cable headend using a polling request message format.
- a polling request message format consists of six fields, namely: (1) a leading flag at the beginning of the message, (2) an address field, (3) a subscriber region designation, (4) a set top terminal identifier that includes a polling command/response (or P/F) bit, (5) an information field, and (6) a trailing flag at the end of the message.
- P/F polling command/response
- a similar response frame format for information communicated by the set top terminal to the cable headend in response to the polling request may be used.
- FIG. 17 shows a preferred set top converter that includes a data receiver 617 ′ and a data transmitter 1011 .
- the data transmitter provides upstream data communications capability between the set top converter 601 and the cable headend. Upstream data transmissions are accomplished using the polling system described and, using a data transmitter 1011 . Both receiver 617 ′ and transmitter 1011 may be built into the set top converter 601 itself or added through an upgrade module. Regardless of the specific hardware configuration, the set top terminal's data transmission capabilities may be accomplished using the hardware shown in FIG. 17 .
- FIG. 17 shows RF signals, depicted as being received by a data receiver 617 ′ and tuner 613 working in unison. Both of these devices are interfaced with the microprocessor 1013 , which receives inputs 1015 , from the subscriber, either through a set top converter's keypad, a remote control unit or the viewer 266 . All cable signals intended for reception on the subscriber's TV are accessed by the tuner 613 and subsequently processed by the processing circuitry 1017 .
- This processing circuitry 1017 typically includes additional components (not shown) for descrambling, demodulation, volume control and remodulation on a Channel 3 or 4 TV carrier.
- Data targeted to individual set top converters is received by the data receiver 617 ′ according to each set top converter's specific address or ID. In this way, each addressable set top converter only receives its own data.
- the data receiver 617 ′ may receive set top converter 601 specific data in the information field of the signal frame described or on a separate data carrier located at a convenient frequency in the incoming spectrum.
- the received data includes information regarding electronic books and menus available for selection.
- the subscriber may enter a series of commands 1015 using a keypad or remote control in order to choose an electronic book or menu.
- the microprocessor 1013 instructs the tuner to tune to the proper frequency of the channel carrying data and subsequently instructs the processing circuitry 1017 to begin descrambling of this data.
- the microprocessor 1013 Upon selection of the electronic book, the microprocessor 1013 stores any selection information in local memory (not shown) for later data transmission back to the cable headend.
- the microprocessor 1013 coordinates all CATV signal reception and also interacts with various upstream data transmission components.
- the data transmitter 1011 operates in the return frequency band between 5 and 30 MHZ. In an alternative embodiment, the frequency band of 10 to 15 MHZ may be used. Regardless, however, of the frequency band used, the data transmitter 1011 sends information to the cable headend in the information field of the response frame described.
- the data transmitter 1011 sends information to the cable headend in the information field of the response frame described.
- the electronic book system 200 described may also be configured in a book-on-demand style.
- FIG. 18 a shows one example of a configuration for a books-on-demand system.
- a books-on-demand system requires more powerful two-way communications between the consumer's home, bookstore, school or public library and either the operations center 250 or a distribution site 1020 such as the cable headend. This type of two-way communication can be provided by the hardware shown in FIG. 17 and described above.
- the subscriber selects the electronic book to be download from an available menu of electronic books (see for example FIGS. 14 d and 14 e ).
- the data for menus of available books is usually sent to the subscriber location by the distribution site 1020 .
- information about the subscriber selection (or request) is then communicated to either a distribution point 1020 (such as a cable headend or an Internet web site) or the operations center 250 .
- a distribution point 1020 such as a cable headend or an Internet web site
- the operations center 250 Upon receipt of this request, the needed textual and graphical information for the book is spooled and sent to the subscriber. In this manner, books are only sent when requested by the subscriber and are sent immediately upon demand for the book (or text).
- the text delivery and distribution must be conducted on a strong nodal architectured distribution system, such as, a video-on-demand cable or telephone television system, an Internet web site, or through use of individual telephone access on the public telephone system.
- a strong nodal architectured distribution system such as, a video-on-demand cable or telephone television system, an Internet web site, or through use of individual telephone access on the public telephone system.
- the books-on-demand system allows for a greater selection of electronic books to the subscriber and limits the amount of communicated book data that is unnecessary or unneeded. It also provides the electronic book to the subscriber in a much timelier fashion.
- a books-on-demand system requires a distribution point 1020 to have more sophisticated equipment to access and “spool out” the textual information.
- This can be accomplished using file server technology 1024 for storing the electronic books and ATM 1028 or telephone-type switching (not shown) to distribute the textual information.
- file server technology 1024 for storing the electronic books and ATM 1028 or telephone-type switching (not shown) to distribute the textual information.
- the file server 1024 and distribution technology that can be used in configuring such a books-on-demand system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,875 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,695, cited above.
- FIG. 18 a shows an embodiment for a books-on-demand system that utilizes file server technology.
- the embodiment of FIG. 18 a will support distribution of nearly any digital data.
- Electronic books or textual files are received from publishers 282 and other sources through local feeds 1032 , ATM 1028 , or by satellite dish 1036 .
- the data is then stored in memory 1040 at the file server 1024 .
- the distribution point 1020 may be a cable headend that receives requests from subscribers and delivers text to subscribers over a two-way communication system (such as a video-on-demand system (VOD) 1044 ).
- VOD video-on-demand system
- an Internet web site may serve as the distribution point 1020 .
- the library unit 262 can be connected to either a basic premium-type service cable system 1048 , a near video-on-demand type cable system (or pay-per-view (PPV) 1052 ) or a video-on-demand cable system 1044 . In connecting with either of these three systems the library unit 262 may access the cable directly or may access the system through a set top terminal 601 ′, 601 ′′, or 601 ′′′.
- a basic premium-type service cable system 1048 a near video-on-demand type cable system (or pay-per-view (PPV) 1052 ) or a video-on-demand cable system 1044 .
- PSV pay-per-view
- the distribution point 1020 transmits a list of available electronic books through the cable delivery system to the library unit 262 .
- the library unit 262 displays the list of available electronic books on a menu or similar format. As described earlier, it is preferred that the library unit 262 use menus which list categories of available electronic books to form its request from the distribution point 1020 .
- the library unit 262 sends a request signal on the two-way communication system 1044 back to the distribution point 1020 . This request signal can be handled in two ways.
- the library unit 262 either initiates the request or the distribution point 1020 polls the various libraries on to the two-way system 1044 .
- the text associated with that book title is transmitted to the library unit 262 using the two-way cable system 1044 .
- FIG. 18 b is an expanded view of a preferred operations center 250 that supports a regional or national books-on-demand system.
- the operations center 250 shown supports distribution of nearly any digital data.
- the operations center 250 supports multiple feeds to receive digital information by tape 1060 , 1060 ′, ATM 1028 , or satellite 1036 .
- the information is processed through an input MUX 1064 and a small file server 1068 before reaching the master file server 1072 .
- Digital data such as electronic books received from publishers 282 is then stored on the master file server 1072 . It is preferred that the digital data is stored compressed in a standard format such as MPEG2.
- a system controller 1076 provides control over the regional or national books-on-demand system. Electronic books may be packaged into groups to provide feeds to various cable headends. In addition, scheduling and marketing research are conducted at the operations center 250 . In order to handle the scheduling and market research, electronic book buy data is received at the operations center 250 through a multiplexer 1082 . Electronic book buy information can be provided by the operation center 250 to the billing and collection system 278 .
- the operations center 250 is also equipped to insert messages or advertisements into the file server. These messages or advertisements will eventually be received by the subscribers.
- the master file server 1072 uses an output multiplexer 1080 and ATM 1028 as well as satellite connections to distribute digital data.
- cable headends receive text data on electronic books from the master file server 1080 through the output multiplexer 1028 and an ATM system 1028 . After receiving the electronic book data, the cable headends store the books in a local file server 1024 .
- FIG. 18 a 's distribution point 1020 is an example of a cable headend which may receive data from the operations center 250 of FIG. 18 b through an ATM hookup 1088 or satellite hookup.
- An electronic book may include various features for manipulating text or other information within it. As discussed below, those features include highlighting, copying and pasting, cutting and pasting, and annotating information. Other features include simultaneously displaying multiple pages selected by a subscriber, displaying one or more pages on a viewer having multiple screens, rotating images and sizing images.
- FIG. 19 is a flow chart of an information manipulation process 901 for highlighting, cutting and pasting, copying and pasting, and annotating text or other information in an electronic book.
- the information manipulation process 901 may be implemented within the viewer 266 , the library 262 , or a combination.
- the image manipulation process 901 may be implemented by software modules residing within the instruction memory unit 632 for execution by the library processor 628 or within the instruction memory 732 for execution by the viewer processor 621 , or a combination.
- the display page module or process 801 provides for displaying a page on the viewer 266 .
- the page display may be accomplished using the process shown in FIG. 12 in which the subscriber selects a particular electronic book for viewing. The description that follows assumes the viewer processor 621 performs all software module execution steps.
- a subscriber selects text or other information, which may be accomplished by using controls 740 to manipulate the curser to select a portion of text.
- the subscriber may select displayed text or other information by moving the cursor across the information to be selected using a trackball 743 while depressing a selection button 745 (see FIG. 11 ).
- Other types of selection are possible, such as using a touch-sensitive screen and permitting the subscriber to select information by touching the appropriate part of the screen, or using other types of cursor-control devices, including peripheral devices, and selection buttons to manipulate a cursor over information to be selected.
- the viewer 266 may provide an indication of the selected text or other information by showing the text or other information shaded, showing the text in an alternate color, or using another type of indicator.
- a command process 805 such as a highlight command
- a highlight decision process 815 is executed and the processor 621 determines if the subscriber has requested any particular type of highlighting.
- the term highlighting refers to providing an indication of text or other displayed information in order to distinguish the highlighted text from other displayed information. If the subscriber has selected a highlighting option using the process 817 , the processor 621 alters the selected information to highlight the information according to the subscriber-entered option. Otherwise, the processor 621 , using a default process 819 , alters the selected information to highlight it according to a default option. The highlighted information is then stored and displayed by the processor 621 using a store process 821 .
- the processor 621 If the subscriber entered a copy command, the processor 621 , using a copy process 807 , copies and stores the selected information as identified by the subscriber during the select text process 803 . If the subscriber entered a cut command, the processor 621 executes a remove process 809 and removes and stores the selected information. Upon receiving a paste command, as determined during execution of a paste process 811 , the processor 621 , using an insert process 813 , inserts the stored information, typically at a location of the cursor, and displays and stores the changes.
- the processor 621 If the subscriber entered an annotate command, the processor 621 , using text process 823 , permits the subscriber to enter a text or other annotation.
- An annotation may include, for example, text, graphical information, still images, video clips, multi-media information or an electronic link identifier.
- a subscriber may indicate a location to enter an annotation by, for example, using the controls 740 (see FIG. 14 a ) to select text or other information to annotate under control of the processor 621 executing the select text process 803 .
- the subscriber, using controls 740 to position the cursor may create an annotation under control of the processor 621 using the subscriber position cursor process 881 .
- the processor 621 inserts the annotation, and displays and stores the changes.
- the annotation is typically inserted at a location of the cursor identified using the positions cursor process 881 , or proximate to the selected information identified using the select text process 803 , so that the subscriber may choose where to enter the annotation within a particular displayed page of the electronic book.
- the subscriber may alternatively move a location of the annotation elsewhere within the page by using the controls 740 to select the annotation and move the annotation to a new location.
- the subscriber can cut, copy, and paste the annotation.
- the processor 621 repositions the annotation, if moved by the subscriber.
- the processor 621 determines if the subscriber has entered another command. If the subscriber has entered another command, the process repeats. In addition, if the subscriber selected information to annotate, the processor 621 may indicate the selected information along with the annotation by, for example, highlighting the selected information or displaying the selected information within a box or other type of border.
- FIGS. 20-22 are examples of text screens illustrating use of the commands in the information manipulation process 901 .
- FIG. 20 is an example of a text screen 1200 on the viewer 266 displaying highlighted text 1201 .
- the text screen 1200 includes a task bar 1214 having a number of sections 1215 - 1227 and 1231 for selecting particular commands.
- the term section ( 1215 - 1227 and 1231 ) refers to a definable portion of the screen, and the phrase task bar ( 1214 ) refers to a collection of sections for permitting selection of various commands. For instance, a subscriber may select a highlight command by manipulating the controls 740 to select the highlight section 1215 using the cursor or by using a particular key stroke.
- a subscriber also may select a menu section 1231 in task bar 1214 in order to view menus on the viewer 266 , such as the menus identified in FIG. 13 , and then may select an electronic book for viewing from the menus.
- the act of selecting a section may involve, for example, positioning the cursor or a pointer over the section using the trackball 743 and depressing the selection button 745 to “click on” the section.
- Other cursor-control devices including peripheral devices, may be used to select a section.
- highlighted text 1201 is shown as shaded.
- Other types of highlighting may be used such as, for example, illustrating the text or other displayed information in a different color, in a box, in a different font, in bold, in italics, underlined, or in reverse video.
- the subscriber may highlight other types of information in addition to text.
- the viewer 266 may present highlighting options by presenting a section with options when the subscriber selects the highlight section 1215 .
- the viewer 266 may include a screen for setting various display and other controls, which may include a section for setting highlighting options.
- the task bar 1214 includes the sections 1215 - 1227 and 1231 in contiguous horizontal form, the sections of the task bar 1214 may be displayed vertically on the left or right margin, scattered among the screen, or in some other geometric representation.
- Typical cut, copy, and paste commands are illustrated by a text screen 1202 shown in FIG. 21 .
- a subscriber may select cut, copy, and paste commands by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select, respectively, sections 1216 , 1217 , and 1218 using the cursor, or by using particular key strokes.
- the text screen 1202 which may be displayed on the viewer 266 , corresponds to the text screen 1200 shown in FIG. 20 .
- the highlighted text 1201 has been cut, copied, and pasted.
- the first sentence in highlighted text 1201 has been cut and pasted at location 1203 .
- the second sentence in highlighted text 1201 has been copied and pasted at location 1204 .
- commands are illustrated with text, they may apply to other information such as, for example, graphical information, still images, or video clips.
- FIG. 21 is shown as cutting and pasting, and copying and pasting, text within one electronic book, the viewer 266 typically may cut and paste, and copy and paste, text or other information between two or more electronic books, or between electronic books and other data sources such as word processing programs.
- the electronic book When text is added or deleted from an electronic book, the electronic book typically automatically repaginates.
- FIG. 22 is an example of an annotated screen 1205 on the viewer 266 displaying an annotation 1206 within the text.
- the subscriber may select an annotate command by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select an annotate section 1219 using the cursor or by using a particular key stroke.
- the viewer 266 may present section 1206 at a location of the cursor and permit the subscriber to enter text or other information into section 1206 .
- the annotation may include text, graphical information, still photos, video clips, or multimedia information.
- the information may include subscriber-entered information, default information provided by the viewer 266 , or a combination.
- the annotation may be displayed, for example, in a box, highlighted, or as codes or symbols.
- the annotation may cover the text beneath it, or the text beneath the annotation may scroll around the annotation.
- Text for annotation may be created using the remote wired keyboard 267 or wireless keyboard 268 shown in FIG. 6 a .
- Text may also be created using a soft keyboard displayed on the viewer 266 .
- the soft keyboard may be displayed during the annotation step and may be hidden at other times.
- FIG. 23 is a flow chart of a multiple display process 903 for displaying multiple pages.
- the process 903 may be implemented within the viewer 266 , the library 262 , or a combination.
- the process 903 may be implemented by software modules residing within the instruction memory unit 632 for execution by the library processor 628 or within the instruction memory 732 for execution by the viewer processor 621 , or a combination.
- the process 903 may be used by the subscriber to view a plurality of pages within an electronic book. For example, instead of viewing consecutive pages, as typically presented on the viewer 266 , the subscriber may wish to view non-consecutive pages, such as those having related information. Therefore, the viewer 266 may display, for example, on a split screen, two or more pages selected by the subscriber.
- the processor 621 In the multiple display process 903 , the processor 621 , executing a display page module or process 829 , displays a page. Using a request process 831 , the processor 621 receives a multiple page view request. A receive process 833 is used by the processor 621 to receive a selection of pages. In response, using a display process 835 , the processor 621 retrieves, formats, and displays the selected pages of the electronic book. Formatting may involve reducing the size of the pages and appending them together to display as one image on the viewer 266 . A decision process 837 determines if additional pages are selected. If so, the display process 835 again retrieves and displays the newly selected pages.
- FIG. 24 is an example illustrating how two pages 1229 and 1230 may be displayed simultaneously on the viewer 266 within one split-screen 1228 .
- the subscriber may select multiple page view by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select a multi-page section 1220 in the task bar 1214 , and the subscriber may enter pages to view within a page section 1221 of the task bar 1214 .
- the subscriber may select pages from different electronic books for simultaneous viewing by selecting the menu section 1231 to select another electronic book or other information source and, if necessary, select a page by entering a page or pages in the page section 1221 .
- the subscriber may select which particular pages among any of the pages in the electronic book are to be displayed on the viewer 266 .
- the pages are shown displayed as a side-by-side image, the pages may be displayed vertically.
- the viewer 266 may format varying number of pages to be displayed. For example, the viewer 266 may receive a selection of four pages and display the four pages in four equally sized sections of the viewer 266 .
- the viewer 266 may display the page numbers along with the page content.
- pages may contain other types of information such as, for example, graphical, video, or multimedia information. When multiple pages are displayed, information contained on each of the multiple pages may be manipulated as described herein.
- the subscriber may elect to manipulate information on the third page.
- the subscriber may operate the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select the third page and to then manipulate information on, or associated with, the third page.
- the subscriber may select a paragraph of text in the third page, copy the text, and then scroll or drag the copied text to the first page of the four displayed pages.
- FIG. 25 is a flow chart of a multiple screen display process 905 for displaying pages on an electronic book viewer having multiple screens.
- the process 905 may be implemented within the viewer 266 , the library 262 , or a combination.
- the process 905 may be implemented by software modules residing within the instruction memory unit 632 for execution by the library processor 628 or within the instruction memory 732 for execution by the viewer processor 621 , or a combination.
- Displaying images on multiple screens involves formatting one or more pages to be displayed on a number of associated screens.
- an electronic book viewer 266 ′ may include three screens, 1211 , 1212 , and 1213 .
- the screens may be connected in a variety of positions, such as horizontally, vertically, T-shape, rectangular, square, or some other geometric configuration.
- the screens 1211 , 1212 , and 1213 may be physically connected by hinges 1241 and 1242 , including electrical connections between screens for transmitting electronic book content and commands.
- a viewer 266 ′′ may include three screens 1211 ′, 1212 ′, and 1213 ′ that snap together, or become otherwise joined together, by physical and electrical connectors, as represented by arrows 1243 and 1244 .
- the subscriber may select a multiple screen view by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select a multi-screen section 1222 in the task bar 1214 , as shown in FIG.
- At least one of the screens 1211 - 1213 and 1211 ′- 1213 ′ may include the task bar 1214 for selecting a command and entering pages.
- the processor 621 executing a display page module or process 839 , displays a page.
- the processor 621 receives a request for display on multiple screens.
- the processor 621 receives selected pages, which the subscriber may specify by manipulating the controls 740 .
- the processor 621 determines a number of screens in the viewer 266 , which may be accomplished by electronically interrogating the connections between screens to determine how many screens are interconnected.
- the processor 621 next uses a format process 845 to format the page or pages for display on the multiple screens. Using the format process 845 , the processor 621 determines the number of pages for display and compares that number with the number of screens available for displaying the page or pages. If only one page was selected, the processor 621 uses a first format process 847 to format the selected page for display across all screens in the viewer 266 . If the number of selected pages is less than the number of screens, the processor 621 uses a second format process 849 to format the selected pages for display.
- One method of formatting is to equally distribute the selected pages across the screens, which involves resizing and scaling up or scaling down the pages for display among the available screens.
- the processor 621 uses a third format process 851 to format the selected pages to display one page per screen. If the number of selected pages is greater than the number of screens, the processor 621 uses a fourth format process 853 to format the selected pages to display them equally distributed across the screens, which involves resizing and reducing the pages to fit among the screens.
- the processor 621 uses known techniques for sizing a page to fit an available screen. For example, the processor 621 may apply sub-sampling routines to create a thumbnail image of a page, and then may display the thumbnail image in a reduced size window on a screen.
- an electronic atlas may include many full page maps. A select number of the maps may be displayed on the viewer screen by first creating thumbnail images, and then arranging their display on the viewer screen. In this way, several full page images may be viewed and compared in a convenient manner. For example, nine full page maps from the electronic atlas may be displayed simultaneously on the viewer screen.
- Digital data compression techniques for images are well known and need not be repeated here. For example, Data Compression In Digital System , by Ray Hoffman, (Chapman & Hall, 1977), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes such data compression techniques.
- An image displayed on the viewer 266 may be scaled down by dropping, or decimating, rows and columns of pixels within the image.
- each pixel in the reduced-size image may be created by averaging neighboring pixels in the original image.
- each pixel in the scaled-up image is created by applying a color smoothing or dithering algorithm to pixels in the original image.
- the scaling up and down may be performed with text and graphic images, and with still (for example, JPEG) and moving (for example, MPEG 2) images. These and other techniques may be used to display multiple images on a single screen, multiple images on multiple screens and multiple images on multiple screens.
- the processor 621 uses a display process 855 to send the formatted page or pages to the viewer screen(s) for display. Then, using display process 883 , the processor 621 displays the formatted page or pages on the multiple screens of the viewer 266 .
- the processor 621 uses decision process 856 to determine the number of screens changes. This may occur by the subscriber adding additional screens to the viewer 266 or removing screens from the viewer 266 , if the viewer 266 contains removable screens or the capability to deactivate particular screens. If this occurs, the processor 621 returns to the determination process 859 to determine the number of screens and then formats the page or pages accordingly. Otherwise, the processor 621 determines if additional pages are selected using decision process 857 .
- FIGS. 26 c , 26 d , and 26 e in which each box represents one screen, illustrate the display of a page or pages on multiple screens. If a single image 1245 represents one page, FIG. 26 d illustrates enlargement of the page to display the page as a first image 1246 and a second image 1247 . FIG. 26 e illustrates enlargement of the page to display the page as a first image 1248 , a second image 1249 , a third image 1250 , and a fourth image 1251 . In comparison, if the first image 1248 , the second image 1249 , the third image 1250 , and the fourth image 1251 together represent one page, FIG.
- FIG. 26 d illustrates reduction of the pages to display the pages as the first image 1246 and the second image 1247
- FIG. 26 c represents reduction of the pages to display the pages as the single image 1245
- the first image 1248 , the second image 1249 , the third image 1250 , and the fourth image 1251 each represent one page
- FIG. 26 e illustrates display of one page per screen, alternatively, FIG. 26 e shows an enlargement of a single page to four screens.
- Picture-in-picture viewing permits the subscriber to simultaneously display on the viewer 266 , pages or portions of two different electronic books, or content from an electronic book and another information source, such as video or multimedia information.
- the electronic book for viewing may be selected from electronic books stored in the viewer 266 or an associated library viewer 262 , or may be obtained from a received signal.
- the other information source when used, may be received using an electronic or electromagnetic signal such as a television signal, video signal, cable television signal, or wireline or wireless telephone or data source signal. For example, while viewing an electronic book the subscriber may want to simultaneously view a television program or a particular video.
- a system for picture-in-picture viewing formats the two or more electronic books, or electronic books and other electronic information, for simultaneous display.
- the viewer 266 performs necessary decoding or other processing for simultaneously displaying a page of an electronic book along with the other electronic information.
- FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a picture-in-picture viewing process 907 for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books and other electronic information.
- the process 907 may be implemented within the viewer 266 , the library 262 , or a combination.
- the process 907 may be implemented by software modules residing within the instruction memory unit 632 for execution by the library processor 628 or within the instruction memory 732 for execution by the viewer processor 621 , or a combination.
- the viewer 266 using a display page module or process 863 , displays a page of a first electronic book.
- the processor 621 receives a request for picture-in-picture viewing from the subscriber along with an identification of a second information source, such as a second electronic book, a television signal, a video signal, still photos, content from the Internet, electronic book electronic links, or multi-media information.
- a decision process 867 the processor 621 determines if the subscriber entered a request for a particular type of picture-in-picture viewing format, which may include, for example, use of an inset image or side-by-side images. If the subscriber did not enter a particular type of picture-in-picture viewing format, the processor 621 uses a default process 873 to format the first electronic book and content from the second information source for picture-in-picture viewing according to a particular default format setting.
- the library 262 or the viewer 266 formats the first electronic book and the content from the second information source according to the subscriber-entered option.
- the processor 621 using an inset image process 869 , formats the first electronic book and the content from the second information source for displaying content from the second information source as an inset image within the first displayed electronic book.
- the processor 621 uses a reposition process 909 to reposition the inset image and reformats the first electronic book, if the inset image is moved by the subscriber.
- the processor 621 uses a split screen process 871 to format the first electronic book and content from the second information source for display as side-by-side images.
- each display functions independently, permitting the subscriber to advance pages in the first electronic book, for example, by selecting the displayed image of the first electronic book.
- the processor 621 determines if the subscriber entered a request to reverse the displayed images. If so, the processor 621 executes a reverse format process 877 to reverse the display. The processor 621 then uses a decision process 879 to determine if the subscriber entered a request for different viewing. If the subscriber entered a different viewing request, the processor 621 returns to the decision process 867 .
- Various multimedia experiences, programs, and displays may be created using two or more images.
- FIGS. 28 a , 28 b , 28 c , and 28 d are examples of displays for picture-in-picture viewing.
- a portion of a first electronic book is displayed as a main image 1207
- a portion of a second electronic book is displayed as an inset image 1208 .
- side-by-side images display a portion of a first electronic book 1209 adjacent a portion of a second electronic book 1210 .
- a portion of a first electronic book is displayed as a main image 1207 ′, and content from a second information source, such as a television or video signal, is displayed as an inset image 1208 ′.
- side-by-side images display a portion of a first electronic book 1209 ′ adjacent to content 1210 ′ from a second information source such as a television or video signal.
- the viewer 266 typically formats the content 1207 and 1207 ′ from the electronic book so that the content 1207 and 1207 ′ wraps around the inset images 1208 and 1208 ′, respectively, in order to display a portion of the content 1207 and 1207 ′ that would otherwise be concealed by inset images 1208 and 1208 ′.
- content from the electronic book is not obstructed because the inset image does not overlay the main image. This is particularly well-suited for text.
- the processor 621 uses the reposition process 909 to reformat the content 1207 and 1207 ′ to display the portion concealed by the new location of the inset image 1208 or 1208 ′, respectfully.
- the main image 1207 and 1207 ′ may be formatted so that the inset images 1208 and 1208 ′, respectively, overlay and obstruct the portion of the main image at the location of the inset images.
- the main image 1207 or 1207 ′ is a television or video signal
- the viewer 266 typically overlays the inset image 1208 or 1208 ′ to avoid distortion of the main image as may occur with wrapping the main image around an inset image.
- the subscriber may typically position the inset image anywhere within the main image by using the cursor and the controls 740 to select and move the inset image to a new location.
- the size of the inset image may also be changed.
- the subscriber may select picture-in-picture viewing by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745 ) to select a p-i-p section 1223 in the task bar 1214 , or by using a particular key stroke.
- the subscriber may select an inset image, as shown in FIG. 28 a .
- the subscriber may select an inset section 1225 .
- the subscriber may select a split section 1224 .
- the subscriber may switch between the inset view and the split image view by selecting the split section 1224 and the inset section 1225 for the desired view.
- the subscriber may reverse or swap the displayed images by selecting a swap section 1226 in the task bar 1214 .
- the viewer 266 switches positions of the images.
- a normal view section 1227 the subscriber may exit the picture-in-picture mode and return to normal viewing, in which case the main image 1207 or left image 1209 becomes the sole displayed image, for example.
- the subscriber may select the first and second electronic books, or the first electronic book and the second information source, for viewing by selecting the menu section 1231 on the task bar 1214 and selecting particular electronic books or other information sources from the displayed menu.
- the viewer 266 or the home system 258 may be used to provide picture-in-picture capability with one or more signals coming from an information source or a component that is external to the home system 258 .
- FIG. 29 a shows an embodiment of the home system 258 that is intended to display multiple images in a picture-in-picture format.
- the home system 258 comprises a single unit, namely the viewer 266 .
- the viewer 266 includes the digital logic 609 , the microprocessor 621 , the memory 607 , and the LCD 602 . The functions of these components have been described previously. Also included in the viewer 266 is a data connector/converter 617 ′.
- the data converter 617 ′ includes the functions of the tuner 613 , data stripper 617 , modem 611 and RF transceiver 604 described in connection with FIG. 6 b .
- the data converter 617 ′ receives data signals from wired or wireless communications paths and passes the signals to the digital logic 609 for processing and display on the LCD 602 .
- the data converter 617 ′ may for example receive signals from a wireless keyboard 268 , a telephone 275 , a personal computer 261 , a video camera 273 , a television 259 or a set top terminal 601 . As shown in FIG. 29 a , all of these components may communicate with the viewer 266 using either wired or wireless communication paths.
- the viewer 266 may also receive data signals from the Internet web site 279 .
- Data signals from the Internet web site 279 may be received directly from the Internet or by using the personal computer 261 , for example.
- the data converter 617 ′ receives the data signals from one or more of the multiple sources shown in FIG. 29 a and converts the signal into an appropriate format for display on the LCD 602 .
- the received signal may be displayed as text, a JPEG image, or an MPEG image, for example.
- the data converter 617 ′ may also receive audio and output the audio to a speaker 608 . Alternately, the audio may be converted to text and displayed on the LCD 602 .
- Text information displayed on the personal computer 261 may be sent to the data converter 617 ′ and displayed as text on the LCD 602 .
- Television signals received at either the set top terminal 601 or the television 259 may be displayed as video signals on the LCD 602 .
- the video camera 273 may provide a live video feed to the viewer 266 for display on the LCD 602 .
- Commands or text typed in using the keyboard 268 may be displayed on the LCD 602 .
- web pages such as a web page available at the web site 279 may be displayed on the LCD 602 .
- the memory 607 may store programs and menus to allow the subscriber to select which of the multiple information sources will provide a display on the viewer 266 .
- the subscriber may decide to display an electronic book on the viewer 266 and concurrently to display in a window on the LCD 602 , a live feed from the video camera 273 , and in another window on the LCD 602 , a broadcast television program being received by the television 259 , for example.
- FIG. 29 b shows an example of the multiple information sources being displayed on the viewer 266 .
- the menu bar 1214 shows the menu selection 1231 and the p-i-p selection 1223 .
- the subscriber has elected to use the p-i-p function and the menu bar therefore displays four window options 1244 - 1247 .
- the subscriber has elected to play the text from an electronic book using window one 1244 , a television show using window two 1245 and a video feed from a video camera using window three 1246 .
- Window four 1247 is not used.
- the result is shown as the text in a full width, upper window 1207 ′′ television show in a split with lower window 1240 and a video feed in a second split window 1241 .
- the subscriber can use the viewer 266 to help make a repair easier.
- the subscriber can use part of the LCD 602 to display the instructions to make the necessary repair on the automobile, can also display schematics, drawings and/or pictures of the parts, a short video on how to make the repair, as well as continuously watching the video camera 273 showing the front door or baby's crib.
- the subscriber can move the viewer to the kitchen where the subscriber can have one, two or more of the following on the viewer 266 : a list of ingredients, text of a recipe, a video on how to mix the ingredients, listing of measurement conversions, and a video feed from a child's play room. More simply, the subscriber can read a book in the backyard while simultaneously watching the baby's playpen indoor on a video feed.
Abstract
An electronic book having various features for manipulating text or other information. The subscriber may highlight, cut and paste, copy and paste, and annotate information within an electronic book. A multiple page view feature permits the subscriber to simultaneously view any plurality of pages of an electronic book, and a multiple screen feature permits the subscriber to view one or more pages on a viewer having multiple screens. A picture-in-picture feature permits the subscriber to simultaneously view a page of an electronic book along with other content, such as a television program or information from another electronic book. The picture-in-picture feature may display an electronic book page as a main image wrapped around an inset image.
Description
- This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/336,247 entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK SELECTION AND DELIVERY SYSTEM, filed Nov. 7, 1994; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/237,828, filed on Jan. 27, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ELECTRONIC LINKS; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,957, filed on Apr. 13, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEMS; U.S. application Ser. No. 08/160,194, entitled ADVANCED SET-TOP TERMINAL FOR CABLE TELEVISION DELIVERY SYSTEMS, filed Dec. 2, 1993; and U.S. application Ser. No. 08/906,469, entitled REPROGRAMMABLE TERMINAL FOR SUGGESTING PROGRAMS OFFERED ON A TELEVISION PROGRAM DELIVERY SYSTEM, filed Aug. 5, 1997, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/160,281, entitled TERMINAL FOR SUGGESTING PROGRAMS OFFERED ON A TELEVISION PROGRAM DELIVERY SYSTEM, filed Dec. 2, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,785, dated Aug. 25, 1998, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- This invention is directed to an electronic book unit having one or more electronic books. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for manipulating information such as text and graphics within electronic books.
- Sparked by the concept of an information superhighway, a revolution will take place in the distribution of books. Not since the introduction of Gutenberg's movable typeset printing has the world stood on the brink of such a revolution in the distribution of text material. The definition of the word “book” will change drastically in the near future. Due to reasons such as security, convenience, cost, and other technical problems, book and magazine publishers are currently only able to distribute their products in paper form. This invention solves the problems encountered by publishers.
- An electronic book viewer incorporates advanced information manipulation features that enhance the functionality of the electronic book viewer. In an embodiment, information in an electronic book including text, mathematical formulas, data, graphics, and still and moving images may be selected for manipulation. A processor in the viewer uses software modules to execute information manipulation commands. Information may be highlighted by selecting a portion of the electronic book using a cursor or similar selection device, and then sending a command to the viewer's processor to initiate the highlighting process. For example, text shown on a page of the electronic book may be selected for highlighting. Highlighting may include changing font style, size, format (bold, italics or normal), or color, for example. In the disclosure that follows, the terms information and images will be understood to refer to all manner of data, graphics, text, videos, formulas and any other information or images.
- Using other software modules, the viewer's processor may be used to cut and paste, or copy and paste images from one portion of the electronic book to another portion of the electronic book. Similarly, images or content from other electronic documents can be cut and pasted, or copied and pasted into the electronic book.
- The viewer's processor also may use software modules to annotate portions of the electronic book, to display the annotated portions, and to move annotations within the electronic book.
- In another embodiment, the viewer may display multiple electronic books. For example, the viewer may display information or images from two electronic books in a side-by-side fashion. The two electronic books also may be displayed in a picture-in-picture format. The viewer is not limited to displaying only two electronic books, and may display three or more electronic books, using well-known image processing routines.
- In yet another embodiment, the viewer may use multiple screens to display an image from a single electronic book or to display images from multiple electronic books. The multiple screens may be hinged and electronically connected to fold like pages in an actual book. The multiple screens also may snap into place to form electrical connections. A single image may be expanded to fit on all the multiple screens. For example, a map of the world may be expanded from a single screen format to a three screen format. The multiple screens may also be used to display multiple pages of the electronic book. The displayed multiple pages may be consecutive or non-consecutive pages within the electronic book. The multiple screens also may be used to display multiple pages from more than one electronic book, or to display a page from an electronic book, and information from another electronic document or information source. For example, a first screen may display a page from the electronic book and a second page may display a digital television signal. The second screen also may display images that are linked to the page displayed on the first screen. A method and apparatus for links in an electronic book are described in detail in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/237,828, filed on Jan. 27, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ELECTRONIC LINKS, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
- In still another embodiment, information from other sources may be displayed in a picture-in-picture format on the viewer's screen. For example, a live television program may be displayed in a picture-in-picture window of the screen at the same time that the text of an electronic book is displayed.
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the primary components of the electronic book selection and delivery system. -
FIG. 2 is a schematic showing an overview of the electronic book selection and delivery system. -
FIG. 3 a is a schematic of the delivery plan for the electronic book selection and delivery system. -
FIG. 3 b is a schematic of an alternate delivery plan. -
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an operations center. -
FIG. 5 a is a flow diagram of the processing at the operations center and uplink. -
FIG. 5 b is a block diagram of the hardware configuration for an uplink site. -
FIG. 6 a is a block diagram of the hardware configuration for a four component home subsystem. -
FIG. 6 b is a schematic of a two unit home subsystem. -
FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the processes performed by the video connector. -
FIG. 8 is a block diagram for an example of a library unit. -
FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of some of the processes performed by the library on the received data stream. -
FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of the processes performed by the library unit on information requests from the viewer. -
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the components for an example of a viewer. -
FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of some of the processes performed by the viewer on an information request from a subscriber. -
FIG. 13 is a chart depicting the menu structure and sequencing of menus in the menu system. -
FIG. 14 a is a schematic of an introductory menu. -
FIG. 14 b is a schematic showing an example of a main menu. -
FIGS. 14 c, 14 d, 14 e, 14 f, 14 g, 14 h, 14 i and 14 j are schematics showing examples of submenus. -
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an electronic book system for a bookstore or public library. -
FIG. 16 a andFIG. 16 b are schematics of hardware modifications or upgrades to a set top converter. -
FIG. 17 is a schematic showing a set top terminal that includes a data receiver and data transmitter. -
FIG. 18 a is a schematic of a book-on-demand system. -
FIG. 18 b is a schematic of an operations center supporting a book-on-demand system. -
FIG. 19 is a flow chart of a process for highlighting, cutting and pasting, copying and pasting, and annotating text in an electronic book. -
FIG. 20 is a schematic illustrating an example of highlighting text in an electronic book. -
FIG. 21 is a schematic illustrating an example of cutting and pasting, and copying and pasting, text in an electronic book or between electronic books. -
FIG. 22 is a schematic illustrating an example of annotating text in an electronic book. -
FIG. 23 is a flow chart of a process for displaying multiple pages of an electronic book. -
FIG. 24 is a schematic illustrating an example of viewing multiple pages in an electronic book. -
FIG. 25 is a flow chart of a process for displaying one or more pages of an electronic book on a viewer having multiple screens. -
FIG. 26 a is a schematic illustrating a first viewer having multiple screens. -
FIG. 26 b is a schematic illustrating a second viewer having multiple screens. -
FIG. 26 c is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having one screen. -
FIG. 26 d is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having two screens. -
FIG. 26 e is a schematic illustrating presenting an image on a viewer having four screens. -
FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a process for displaying picture-in-picture images of electronic books. -
FIG. 28 a is a schematic illustrating use of an inset image within a main image for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books. -
FIG. 28 b is a schematic illustrating use of a side-by-side images for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books. -
FIG. 28 c is a schematic illustrating use of an inset image within a main image for picture-in-picture viewing of an electronic book and other information such as graphical images or video. -
FIG. 28 d is a schematic illustrating use of a side-by-side images for picture-in-picture viewing of an electronic book and other information such as graphical images or video. -
FIG. 29 a is a schematic diagram of an electronic book home system for receiving and displaying multiple signals in a picture-in-picture format. -
FIG. 29 b shows the electronic book viewer displaying multiple images from separate information services. - An electronic book selection and delivery system provides a new way to distribute electronic books to bookstores, public libraries, schools, and subscribers or users. In the discussion that follows, subscribers and users will be understood to refer to an individual or individuals who interface with the electronic book or any part of the electronic book selection and delivery system. The technological breakthroughs of this invention provide a secure system for both delivering selected electronic books and receiving payments. The system has an unusual combination of features that provides the consumer with an electronic book unit that has a high tech aura while being very practical, portable, and easy to use.
- The clear advantage of the system is that it eliminates the distribution of any physical object such as a paper book or computer memory device from any book or text distribution system. The purchase of an electronic book may become a PAY-PER-READ™ event avoiding the overhead, “middle-men,” printing costs, and time delay associated with the current book distribution system. Published material and text such as the President's speech, a new law, a court decision on abortion, or O. J. Simpson's testimony can be made immediately available to the consumer at a nominal fee.
- The system is a novel combination of new technology involving the television, cable, telephone, and computer industries. It uses high bandwidth data transmissions, strong security measures, sophisticated digital switching, high resolution visual displays, novel controls, and user friendly interface software.
- The primary components of the text delivery system are the subsystem for placing the text onto a signal path and the subsystem for receiving and selecting text that was placed on the signal path. A preferred embodiment of the system includes additional components and optional features that enhance the system. The system may be configured for use by bookstores, public libraries, schools and consumers.
- The system for consumer use is made up of four subsystems, namely: (1) an operations center, (2) a distribution system, (3) a home subsystem including reception, selection, viewing, transacting and transmission capabilities, and (4) a billing and collection system.
- The operations center performs several primary functions: manipulating text data (including receiving, formatting and storing of text data), security encoding of text, cataloging of books, providing a messaging center capability, and performing uplink functions. The system delivers the text from the operations center to consumer homes by inserting text data into an appropriate signal path. The insertion of text is generally performed with an encoder at an uplink site that is within or near the operations center. If the signal path is a video signal path, the system can use several lines of the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI), all the lines of the analog video signal, a digital video signal or unused portions of bandwidth to transmit text data. Using the VBI delivery method, the top ten or twenty book titles may be transmitted with video during normal programming utilizing existing cable, satellite, wireless or broadcast transmission capability without disruption to the subscriber's video reception. Using the entire video signal, thousands of books may be transmitted within just one hour of air time. Nearly any analog or digital video distribution system may be used to deliver the video signal with included text.
- The text data may also be transmitted over other low and high speed signal paths including a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network) having a high speed connection such as an asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) connection. Other delivery methods and systems are described in detail in copending applications U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,957, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEMS, and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,956, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY METHODS, both filed Apr. 13, 1999, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
- The home subsystem performs four primary functions: connecting to the video distribution system, selecting text, storing text, and transacting through a phone or cable communicating mechanism. The components of the home subsystem may be configured in a variety of hardware configurations. Each function may be performed by a separate component, the components may be integrated, or the capability of existing cable set top converter boxes and televisions may be utilized. Preferably, a connector, library unit and an electronic book unit, or viewer unit, are used. The connector portion of the home subsystem receives the analog video signal and strips or extracts the text from the video. The home library stores the text signal, provides a user friendly software interface to the system and processes the transactions at the consumer home. The viewer provides a screen for viewing text or menus and novel user friendly controls. The viewer may also incorporate all the functionality of the home subsystem.
- The viewing device is preferably a portable book shaped viewer which stores one or more electronic books for viewing and provides a screen for interacting with the home library unit. A high resolution LCD display is used to both read the books and to interact with the home library software. An optional phone connector or return-path cable connection initiates the telephone calls and, with the aid of the library, transmits the necessary data to complete the ordering and billing portion of the consumer transaction. The user friendly controls include a bookmark, current book and page turn button. The billing and collection system performs transaction management, authorizations, collections and publisher payments automatically utilizing the telephone system. Alternative ordering and billing methods and systems are described in detail in copending applications U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,957, filed on Apr. 13, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEMS, and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/289,956, filed on Apr. 13, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY METHODS.
- In an embodiment, the primary components of the electronic book selection and
delivery system 200 are anencoder 204, avideo distribution system 208, aconnector 212, and atext selector 216 as shown inFIG. 1 . Theencoder 204 places textual data on a video signal to form a composite video signal. Although the composite signal may contain only textual data, it usually carries both video and textual data. A variety of equipment and methods may be used to encode text data onto a video signal. Thevideo distribution system 208 distributes the composite video signal from the single point of theencoder 204 to multiple locations which haveconnectors 212. Theconnector 212 receives the digital or analog video signal from thevideo distribution system 208 and separates, strips or extracts the text data from the composite video signal. If necessary, the extracted text data is converted into a digital bit stream.Text selector 216 works in connection with theconnector 212 to select text. - Using a
connector 212 andtext selector 216 combination, various methods of selecting and retrieving desired text from a composite or video signal are possible. Text may be preselected, selected as received or selected after being received and stored. A preferred method is for theconnector 212 to strip or extract all the text from the video signal and have thetext selector 216 screen all the text as received from theconnector 212. Thetext selector 216 only stores text in long term or permanent memory if the text passes a screening process described below. - An overview of the electronic book selection and
delivery system 200 is shown inFIG. 2 . Thedelivery system 200 includes: anoperations center 250 including anuplink site 254, avideo distribution system 208, ahome system 258 including avideo connector 212, alibrary 262, aviewer 266, and aphone connector 270,telephone system 274, aninternet web site 279 and a billing andcollection system 278. Also as shown inFIG. 2 , thehome system 258 may include connections to atelevision 259 and apersonal computer 261. Thetelevision 259 and thepersonal computer 261 may be used to display menu screens, electronic books, electronic files, or any other information associated with thedelivery system 200. In addition, thetelevision 259 and thepersonal computer 261 may provide control function that replicate and supplement those of theviewer 266. - The
operations center 250 receives textual material fromoutside sources 282 such as publishers, newspapers, and on-line services. Alternately, the outside sources may maintain electronic books at theInternet web site 279. Theoutside sources 282 may convert textual and graphical material to digital format, or may contract with another vendor to provide this service. Theoperations center 250 may receive the textual and graphical material in various digital formats and may convert the textual material to a standard compressed format for storage. In so doing, theoperations center 250 may create a pool of textual material that is available to be delivered to thehome system 258. The textual material may be grouped by books or titles for easy access. - As used herein, “book” means textual or graphical information such as contained in any novels, encyclopedias, articles, magazines or manuals. The term “title” may represent the actual title assigned by an author to a book, or any other designation indicating a particular group, portion, or category of textual information. The title may refer to a series of related textual information, a grouping of textual information, or a portion of textual data. For example, “Latest Harlequin Romance”, “Four Child Reading Books (Ages 10-12)”, “Encyclopedia ‘BRITANNICA’™”, “President's Speech”, “Instruction Manual”, “Schedule of 4th of July Events”, “Pet Handbooks”, “Roe v. Wade”, and “The Joy of Cooking” are suitable titles. Also, the title may be a graphical symbol or icon. Thus, a picture of a wrench may be a title for a repair book, a picture of a computer a title for a computer book, a graphical symbol of a telephone a title for a telephone book, a drawing of a dagger a title for a mystery book, a picture of a bat and ball a title for a sports book and a picture of tickertape a title for a business book. The term “electronic book” refers to the electronic counterpart to a “book.”
- The
operations center 250 includes anuplink site 254 for placing the text onto a video signal and sending the composite video signal into a video distribution system. Theuplink site 254 would generally include an encoder 204 (not shown inFIG. 2 ) to encode the text onto a video signal. - Many analog and
digital distribution systems 208, or other telecommunications systems, can be used with thedelivery system 200, such as a cable television distribution system, a broadcast television distribution system, video distributed over telephone systems, distribution from the Internet, direct satellite broadcast distribution systems, and other wired and wireless distribution systems. - The
home system 258 performs five primary functions: (1) connecting with a video distribution system, (2) selecting data, (3) storing data, (4) displaying data, and (5) handling transactions. An important optional function of thehome sub-system 258 is communicating using atelephone communication system 274. Thehome system 258 is made up of primarily four parts: avideo connector 212 or similar type of connector for connecting with thevideo distribution system 208, alibrary unit 262 for storing and processing, an electronic book, or viewer unit, 266 for viewing menus and text and atelephone connector 270 for connecting with atelephone communications system 274. In an alternate arrangement, theviewer 266 may include all the functionality of thehome system 258. - The billing and
collection system 278 may be co-located with theoperations center 250 or located remote from theoperations center 250. In an embodiment, the billing andcollection system 278 is in communication with thehome system 258 via telephone-type communication systems (for example 274). Any of a number of telephone type communication systems, such as, a cellular system, will operate with the billing andcollection system 278. The billing andcollection system 278 records the electronic books or portions of text that are selected or ordered by the subscriber. The collection system will charge a subscriber's credit account or bill the subscriber. In addition, the billing andcollection system 278 will monitor that amount due to publishers or otheroutside sources 282 who have provided textual data or other services such as air time to enable thetext delivery system 200 to operate. - When electronic books are provided via the
Internet web site 279, the billing and collecting functions may be incorporated into theInternet web site 279. For example, a subscriber may pay for an electronic book selection by entering a credit card number into a data field of a page of theInternet web site 279. In this configuration, a separate billing and collection system may not be required. -
FIG. 3 a is an expanded overview of adelivery plan 301 for thedelivery system 200. Thedelivery plan 301 supports various types of subscribers and various billing systems.FIG. 3 a shows thatpublishers 282 will providetext transfer 302 to theoperations center 250′ and receivepayments 306 from the billing andcollection system 278′. A separatechannel uplink site 254′ is shown in thisconfiguration receiving data 310 from theoperations center 250′. Theoperations center 250′ has three separate sections (318, 322, 326) one for text receiving, formatting andre-entry 318, a second forsecurity encoding 322 and a third section for catalog and messaging center functions 326. - The billing and
collection system 278′ shown has two sections (330, 334) one for transaction management, authorizations andpublisher payments 330, and the other forcustomer service 334. Thecustomer service section 334 provides for data entry and access to customer account information.Transaction accounting information 338 is supplied tocredit card companies 342 by thetransaction management section 330 of the billing andcollection system 278′. Thecredit card companies 342 providebilling 346 to customers either electronically or by mail. - Three methods for communicating between the
subscriber base 348 and the billing andcollection system 278′ are shown: by telephone switching 350 alone, cellular switching 354 and telephone switching 350 combined, and by use of thecable system 358 and the telephone switching 350. The system shown supports both one-way 362 and two-way cable communication 366 with subscribers. Public libraries andschools 370 as well asbookstores 374 may use thedelivery system 301. - Public libraries and
schools 370 would have a modified system to allow theviewer 266 to be checked-out or borrowed whilebookstores 374 would rent or sell theviewer 266 and sell the electronic books. Thebookstores 374 as well as the public libraries andschools 370 may be serviced bycable 378. Optional direct broadcast systems (DBS) 382 can also be used with thedelivery system 200. TheDBS 382 may provide the electronic books using digital satellite technology, with the electronic books being received via a backyard satellite antenna, for example. -
FIG. 3 b is analternate delivery plan 301′ that provides for electronic book selection and delivery using the Internet. InFIG. 3 b, thepublishers 282 provide the electronic books to be posted at theInternet web site 279. The publishers may convert the text and graphical data to digital format, compress the digital data, and upload the compressed digital data to theInternet web site 279. Alternately, thepublishers 282 may arrange for anoutside conversion activity 283 to convert the text and graphical data to digital format. Theconversion activity 283 may then provide the digital data to theInternet web site 279. For example, a large on-line bookstore could gather publications in electronic form from a variety of publishers, or could convert hard-copy books to electronic form, and post the electronic books on the Internet such as at theInternet web site 279. - The electronic books may then be transferred via a public switched telephone network (PSTN), for example, direct to a
subscriber 285, alibrary 286 and abookstore 287. Thelibrary 286 and thebookstore 287 may also provide electronic books to thesubscriber 285. -
FIG. 4 is a schematic of anoperations center 250 which includes anuplink 254. Theoperations center 250 gathers text or books by receiving, formatting, storing, and encoding. Adata stream 302 containing text is received at theoperations center 250 by adata receiver 402. Thedata receiver 402 is under the control of aprocessor 404. After reception, the data stream is formatted using digital logic for formatting 406 which is also under the control of theprocessor 404. If any additional text is being generated at theoperation center 250 locally for insertion into the distributed signal, the text generation is handled throughtext generator hardware 410 which may include a data receiver and a keyboard (not shown). Following processing by thetext generator 410, the additional text can be added to the text received by the combininghardware 414 that includes digital logic circuitry (not shown). - The processing at the
operations center 250 is controlled by aprocessor 404 which uses aninstruction memory 416. Theprocessor 404 andinstruction memory 416 may be supplied by a personal computer or mini-computer. To perform the catalog and messaging functions, theoperations center 250 uses a catalog andmessage memory 420 and thetext generator 410 if necessary. - The data stream of text, catalog and messages is preferably encoded by
security module encoding 424 prior to being sent to theuplink module 254. Various encoding techniques may be used by thesecurity encoding module 424 such as the commercial derivative of NSA's encryption algorithm (Data Encryption System (DES)) and General Instrument's DigiCipher II. Following encoding, the encoded text may be stored intext memory 428 prior to being sent to theuplink 254. A first-in-first-out text memory arrangement may be used under the control of theprocessor 404. Various types of memory may be used for thetext memory 428 including RAM. Theoperations center 250 may use file server technology for thetext memory 428 to catalog and spool electronic books for transmission as is described below. - To transmit textual data (i.e., electronic books), the
delivery system 208 uses high bandwidth transmission techniques such as those defined by the North American Broadcast Teletext Standard (NABTS) and the World System Teletext (WST) standard. Using the WST format (where each line of the Vertical Blanking Interval contains 266 data bits), a four hundred page book, for example, may be transmitted during programming using four lines of the Vertical Blanking Interval at a rate of approximately one book every 1.6 minutes (63,840 bits per second). Alternatively, electronic books may be transmitted over a dedicated channel, which interrupts programming so that 246 lines of video can be used to transmit approximately 2,250 books every hour (3.9 Mbits per second). A teletext type format is the simplest but possibly the slowest text format to use with thedelivery system 200. In either event, anencoder 204 is utilized at anuplink site 254 to insert textual data into the analog video signal. In many other respects, the delivery of the textual information is completed using existing cable television plant and equipment. -
FIG. 5 a is a flowchart of the steps involved in processing text from the publisher orprovider 282 that occurs at theoperations center 250. As shown inblock 500, thepublisher 282 processes data files of text for books, compresses, encrypts and sends the data files to theoperations center 250 oruplink 254. Text files for books are preferably sent one book at a time. As shown inblock 504, theuplink 254 oroperations center 250 receives and processes the data stream from thepublisher 282. Generally, part of this processing includes encryption and error correction. - As shown in
block 508, files are broken into smaller packets of information. Header information is added to the packets. The bit stream is converted from a serial digital bit stream to an analog bit stream that is compatible with an NTSC video signal.Block 512 shows the switching of analog data into the video lines of a video signal. The analog data is generally placed either in the VBI or the active video lines. In some instances, it may be preferable to utilize unused portions of bandwidth (such as 5-40 MHZ, 70-75 MHZ, 100-109 MHZ or other guard bands) instead of the video lines. -
FIG. 5 b is an example of a hardware configuration to perform some of the functions forblocks video feed 516 is received and processed through async stripper 520. The strippedsync signal 532 is used by thedigital logic control 524. Thedigital logic control 524 receives thesync signal 532 and a serialdigital bit stream 528 for processing. Thedigital logic control 524 passes the serial digital bit stream to the Digital toAnalog converter 536 and outputs acontrol signal 540 for thevideo switch 544. Thevideo switch 544 integrates thevideo feed 516 andanalog data stream 548 into a video feed with analog data signal inserted 552. - As an alternative to cable, satellite, broadcast, or other television delivery methods, the public telephone system may be used to transmit books to the subscribers. An average electronic book would take about 7 minutes to transmit over the public telephone system. Using the telephone system, it is not necessary to combine video and text into a composite signal. In most other respects, the operation center would remain similar whether text delivery was by telephone or cable. File server technology (such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,875, entitled AUDIO/VIDEO FILE SERVER INCLUDING DECOMPRESSION/PLAYBACK MEANS, issued to Mincer, et al., and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,695, entitled FILE SERVER SYSTEM HAVING HIGH-SPEED WRITE EXECUTION, issued to Noveck, et al., incorporated herein by reference) may be used at the operation center with a telephone system text delivery method.
- As another alternative to cable, television, and telephone system delivery, the public telephone system may be used to provide access to the Internet, where the
Internet web site 279 may be accessed. Electronic books may be ordered, paid for, and delivered directly from theInternet web site 279 over the telephone system. - In any delivery system using the telephone system, individual subscribers may increase the electronic book deliver rate by incorporating high speed modems or other communication devices such as an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) connector, or by use of an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
- The hardware configuration for a four
component home system 258 is shown inFIG. 6 a.FIG. 6 b shows a hardware configuration for a two component home system. The hardware components may also be incorporated into a single unit that communicates with a terminal in a television delivery system or with a telephone system by use of a modem, for example. Thehome system 258 performs several functions, such as receiving data and video transmissions, stripping (or extracting) the data from the video signal, screening and storing the data, providing user friendly interface controls and software, displaying menus and text, processing transactions, initiating telephone calls and transmitting billing data. Various hardware configurations may be utilized to achieve the desired functions of thehome system 258. For example, as shown inFIG. 6 b, thehome system 258 can be configured to utilize the reception and channel tuning capability of the current installed subscriber base of cable converter boxes andtelevisions 601. Thehome system 258 can also be designed as an advanced set top terminal converter box with menu generation capability, electronic memory and a telephone modem as described in section V below. - The electronic components which make up the
home system 258 can be arranged in a variety of ways. In the four unit system ofFIG. 6 a theviewer 266 andlibrary unit 262 are wired together while the remaining components communicate throughRF transceivers 604. In a simple version of thehome system 258 there are only two units, thelibrary unit 262 and aviewer 266.FIG. 6 b shows a twounit home system 258 with certain optional features. Finally, all the functionality of thehome system 258 may be incorporated into one electronic book unit, or viewer. - The
viewer 266 is generally equipped with a highresolution viewing area 602, digital logic (including a key 605,security 606, and a microprocessor 621), video graphics control andmemory 607, power supply circuitry 602 (not shown), anoptional battery 603 and anoptional RF transceiver 604. In a two unit arrangement, thelibrary unit 262 contains the connector function to thevideo distribution system 208, connector function to a public telephone communications system, and memory 600 (which may be removable and portable 600′). More specifically, thelibrary unit 262 would includedata stripping functions 617,digital logic 609,memory storage 600,power circuitry 610, optional telephone connections 611 (including cellular orPCN 611′), optional battery (not shown),optional tuner module 613 and anoptional RF transceiver 604. Thevideo connector 212 and the publictelephone system connection 270, as well as the removableportable memory unit 600 of thelibrary unit 262 may be broken out into separate components. (FIG. 6 b shows a removable portablehard disk memory 600′ withremovable cartridges 614.) Finally, thehome system 258 may include an attachedkeyboard 267 or awireless keyboard 268. Both the attachedkeyboard 267 and thewireless keyboard 268 may be used to communicate with the viewer 266 (not shown) or thelibrary unit 262. - The
wireless keyboard 268 may communicate via radio frequency (RF) signaling, for example. Therefore, thehome system 258 may have as many as six separate components which communicate with each other. The two, three, four, five or six separate components which make up thehome system 258 can communicate with each other in a variety of ways, includinghardwired connection 615,RF transceiver 604, and other wireless methods. - RF communications are preferred in the home because they allow separate components to be located throughout the home without restriction. The data communicated between the units is preferably secure data. In addition, the
library unit 262 may provide power to theviewer 266 through thehardwired connection 615. - Alternatively, a single unit may perform all of the
home system 258 functions. The single unit should use light-weight materials, including a light-weight battery. A single unit eliminates the need to communicate (externally) between units. The single unit is less expensive and eliminates duplicative processing, memory storage and power circuitry. - To receive and strip the data from the video signal at the consumer's home, either a cable interface device or
cable connector 212 is used. The cable connector device includes atuner 613, while the cable interface device makes use of existing tuning equipment in the home. In either configuration, data is stripped from the video signal and stored at the subscriber's location in thelibrary unit 262. Thephone connector 270, andmodem 611 initiate telephone calls and transmit ordering and billing information to theoperations center 250 or billing andcollection system 278. Alternatively, thephone connector 270 and themodem 611 may be used to provide access to the Internet to order and receive electronic books from an Internet web site. Adigital connector 619 is provided to communicate digital information with theset top 601. Thelibrary unit 262 is the intelligent component of the home system, incorporating the hardware and software necessary to store the text data, generate menus and effect the purchase transactions. In addition to anRF transceiver 604, thelibrary unit 262 also includes the necessary jacks and connections to allow thedelivery system 200 to be connected to theviewer 266. As shown inFIG. 6 b, thelibrary 262 communicates the text data (electronic book) to theviewer 266 in a secure format which requires a key 605 for decryption. The text is generally only decrypted page by page just before viewing. - a. The Video Connector
-
FIG. 7 shows the flow of the processes performed by thevideo connector 212. The video connector receives thevideo signal 608, tunes to the channel containing thetext data 612, strips the text data from thevideo signal 616, and communicates the text data stream to logic components in thelibrary 620. - The connection to the video distribution system is preferably a cable connector to a cable television delivery system, as shown in
FIG. 6 b. The cable connector includes adata stripper circuit 617, which accepts video input from either a set top converter, TV orVCR 601, or anoptional tuner block 613 that receives the CATV signal through thecable connector 212′. Thedata stripper circuit 617 strips data out of the video, and outputs a digital bit stream to thedigital logic portion 609 of thelibrary unit 262. The data is embedded in the video signal either in the vertical blanking interval or the active video portion in an encrypted and compressed format. Thedata stripper circuit 617 can be placed inside the settop converter box 601, TV, or in the library unit. Thedata stripper circuit 617 outputs the digital bit stream to be used by the librarydigital logic 609. - The
video connector 212 may also contain achannel tuner module 613 that can tune to the video channel and provide access to the video that contains the data to be stripped. Using theoptional tuner module 613, a set top converter, VCR, or TV tuner is not needed in the home system. Theoptional tuner module 613 would instead receive the CATV signal directly through thecable connector 212. - b. Library
- An embodiment of the
library unit 262 for a twounit home system 258 is shown in bothFIG. 6 b andFIG. 8 . The embodiment shown includes the following optional parts: thevideo connector 212,phone connector 270,RF transceiver 604, andbattery pack 624 in addition to a removalportable memory 600′,microprocessor 628,instruction memory unit 632,digital logic 636, andpower unit 640. - The
library unit 262 contains a digital logic section 609 (not shown inFIG. 8 ) which includes themicroprocessor 628, thedigital logic 636 and theinstruction memory unit 632. Themicroprocessor 628 is preferably a secure microprocessor such as the Mot SC21 device sold by Motorola. Thedigital logic section 609 will receive the serial digital bit stream from thedata stripper circuit 617 and process the data. Error correction will also be performed by thedigital logic section 609 and the data will be checked for proper address. If the address of the data is correct and thelibrary unit 262 is authorized to receive the data, the data will be transferred to thememory storage unit digital logic section 609 will send appropriate text and graphical data to thememory storage unit - i. Memory Storage Unit
- The memory storage unit of the library may be a removable
portable memory unit 600′ (as shown inFIGS. 6 a, 6 b and 8). A variety of options are available for memory storage: a hard disk drive, a hard disk with removable platters, and a CD ROM, or a MEMORY STICK™. Referring toFIG. 6 b, a harddisk drive unit 600′ which contains removable platters may also be used. This would provide virtually unlimited library storage capacity. Data (i.e., electronic book files) may be stored in the memory storage unit in a compressed and encrypted format. As is also shown inFIG. 6 b, the data may also contain a key or unique ID number that matches the ID or key of theviewer 266. This matching of a unique key or ID number prevents unauthorized transfer of text data from the memory storage unit to an unauthorized viewer. Small memory devices such as smart cards, electronic memory cards or PCMCIA cards (personal computer memory card industry association) may also be used to store the data. - ii. Power Circuitry
- As shown in
FIGS. 6 b and 8, thelibrary unit 262 may accept power from eitherAC wall power 610,DC power 640, oroptional battery power 624. Thepower circuitry battery 624 or AC unit for the various circuitry in the library. Thepower circuitry viewer 266 through a single data cable when connected to the viewer. Thepower circuitry optional battery unit 624 installed, thelibrary unit 262 becomes a portable unit and can still provide power to theviewer 266. In order to extend battery life, power conservation measures may be utilized, such as shutting down the memory system when not in use. When theviewer 266 is being utilized and the library circuitry is not being utilized, virtually all power may be shut down to thelibrary unit 262. - iii. Connection to the Public Telephone System
- The connection to the telephone system may be provided by a
modem 611. Various available modems may be used to perform this function. As shown inFIG. 6 b, cellular phone orPCN phone connections 611′ may also be provided. When thehome system 258 is first initialized, the modem may be used to transfer the name and credit card information of the consumer to the billing andcollection system 278. Thetelephone connection 270 may be utilized each time an electronic book is purchased by a consumer to complete and record the transaction. Thetelephone connection 270 may also be used as a means for receiving the electronic books from theoperations center 250 or from an Internet web site, by-passing thevideo distribution system 208. Thephone connection 270 may be a separate unit as shown inFIG. 6 b. - iv. Library Processing
-
FIG. 9 shows an example of some basic processing performed by thelibrary unit 262 on thedata stream 651 received from thevideo connector 212 orstripper circuit 617. First thedata stream 651 is checked for error correction byblock 650. If an error is detected, block 654 de-interleaves the data followed byblock 658 running a FEC (Forward Error Correcting) algorithm. The combination ofblock - If the address is a unique address, block 666 checks whether the address of the packet matches the library box ID number. The library box ID number is a unique number associated with that
library unit 262 which is used to ensure security of the data.Block 670 determines whether an electronic file has already been opened into which the data packet can be saved. If no data file has been opened then block 674 opens a new data file for that packet. If an electronic file has been opened, then the packet is saved in that electronic file on disk, block 678. Next, the process checks to see if this is the last packet for a particular book for a particular textual data block being received 682. If it is the last packet of information, then the electronic file is closed and the directory of available electronic files is updated 686. Following either block 682 or 686, the process returns to receive another data packet from the data stream received from the data stripper block. - If the packet address is checked and the address is determined to be a broadcast address, the process determines the type of message that is being sent 690. The message may be an index of book titles, menu (and menu graphics) information, announcements, special offerings, discounts, promotions, previews etc. The message is then stored in appropriate
electronic message file 694 and the process is returned to block 650 to receive another data packet and perform another error check. - Using the process of
FIG. 9 , thelibrary unit 262 is able to receive, store and update directories related to the textual data and graphical data (that can be used to depict pictures in a given book or to generate menus). Variations of the processes are possible depending on the format of the data and operating system of thelibrary unit 262. -
FIG. 10 shows an example of the processing of information requests from theviewer 266 at thelibrary unit 262. Information requests from theviewer 266 are received either through the cable connecting theviewer 266 to thelibrary unit 262 or through wireless transmissions such as RF. It is possible in some embodiments for subscribers' requests to come from a set top terminal 602 (see Section V). - Information requests received from the
viewer 266 generally fall into three categories: (1) directory data of electronic books stored in thelibrary unit 262, (2) index of all available electronic books on the system, and (3) requests for a specific electronic book (Block 700). Aget directory process 704 answers a request from theviewer 266 for a directory of data showing the electronic books stored at theviewer 266. The directory of data is sent to theviewer 266 so that it may be displayed to the subscriber. Aget index process 708 handles requests from theviewer 266 for an index of all available electronic books on thehome system 258. Thelibrary unit 262 will obtain an index of all the available books on the system and transmit that index,process 712, with menu information to theviewer 266. Anopen file process 716 replies to a request from theviewer 266 for a specific electronic book. Thelibrary unit 262 opens an electronic file for the specific electronic book requested by theviewer 266 and transmits the record or transmits theinformation 720 on a packet-by-packet basis to theviewer 266. This process of transmitting the specific electronic book, record, or packets to theviewer 266 continues until the last record or packet has been sent, 724. - In addition to the processes shown on
FIG. 10 in handling a request for a specific electronic book, thelibrary unit 262 also orders and receives specific electronic books from theoperations center 250 using the process as described in theopen file process 716. Following a request for a specific electronic book which is not stored at thelibrary unit 262, thelibrary unit 262 will proceed to determine the next available time the electronic book will be on thevideo distribution system 208 and ensure reception and storage of that electronic book (process not shown). In performing this process thelibrary unit 262 will transmit to theviewer 266 information on when it will obtain the text data for the electronic book so that the subscriber may view the electronic book. In addition to timing information, price and other ordering information may also be passed by thelibrary unit 262 to the subscriber. - c. The Viewer
-
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of theviewer 266 showing its internal components. Theviewer 266 ofFIG. 11 is similar to theviewer 266 depicted inFIG. 6 b. Theviewer 266 is designed to physically resemble a bound book. Theviewer 266 is made up of five primary components and six optional components: (1)LCD display 602, (2) digital circuitry (not shown), (3)video graphics controller 607′, (4) controls 740, (5)book memory 728, (6) optionalpower supply circuitry 736, (7)optional battery 603′, (8)optional RF transceiver 604, (9) optional cellular or mobile communicator (608), (10)optional keyboards microphone 608′. - (1) A high
resolution LCD screen 602, preferably of VGA quality, is used by theviewer 266 to display text and graphic images. The screen is preferably the size of one page of a book. A two page screen or two screens may also be used with theviewer 266. - (2) Digital circuitry that includes a
secure microprocessor 621,instruction memory 732, and digital logic. Data is transferred to theviewer 266 in compressed and encrypted format. Thesecure microprocessor 621 compares the ID number of theviewer 266 with the incoming data stream and only stores the text data if the ID number of theviewer 266 matches that within the incoming data stream. It is preferred that theviewer 266 not output text data or other data and that the data is decompressed and decrypted only at the moment of viewing and only for the current page being viewed. These measures are preferred because they provide additional security against unauthorized access to data. - (3) A
video graphics controller 607′ that is capable of assisting and displaying VGA quality text and graphic images is included in theviewer 266. Thegraphics controller 607′ is controlled by the digital circuitry described above. Text may be displayed in multiple font sizes. - (4) The
viewer 266 ofFIG. 11 has touch panel controls 740. These unique andnovel controls 740 allow the consumer to select stored electronic books and electronic books from catalogues, move a cursor, and turn pages in a book. Typically,preferred controls 740 include forward and reversepage buttons 742, 741, a ball (or trackball) 743 for cursor movement, one ormore selection buttons 745, acurrent book button 747 and a bookmark button 749 (seeFIG. 14 a). - The
controls 740 should be easy to use and conveniently located. Referring toFIG. 14 a, the controls for theviewer 266 may be located below thescreen 602 at the bottom portion of theviewer 266. The nextpage turn button 742 is the mostused button 740 and may be located towards the right edge of the page. The subscriber is likely to use right hand thumb movements to work the controls particularly thepage turn buttons 741, 742. Therefore, it is preferred that the buttons be arranged in such a manner that the buttons are easily controlled by a subscriber's right thumb. Generally, this can be accommodated either on the lower portion of the viewer 266 (as shown) or along the right hand margin of the viewer 266 (not shown). Thecurrent book button 747 andbookmark button 749 are usually the least used of thecontrols 740. Therefore, in the example shown thosebuttons viewer 266. - Locating the ball 743 or other cursor movement device (such as four pointer arrows—not shown) in the bottom center of the
viewer 266 is both easier for the subscriber to use and easier in manufacturing theviewer 266. The selection buttons for thecursor 745 are preferably located below the middle diameter of the cursor ball 743 on the right and left sides of the ball as shown. If pointer arrows are used for cursor movement, aselection button 745 may be located in the center of the four arrow buttons (not shown). Again, the most used controls should be located where a subscriber's right hand thumb would normally rest. - (5)
Book memory 728 for at least one electronic book or more of text is included in theviewer 266. Thememory 728 stores text and any graphics which represent pictures in a book. Thememory 728 can also store menu graphics data. Twodifferent memory 728 devices may be used in theviewer 266, one for the instructions for themicroprocessor 621 in the digital circuitry and a second type of memory may be used for the book memory 728 (and graphics). Various memory devices available on the market may be used such as, ROM, RAM or a small hard disk. Since an electronic book requires approximately 0.6 megabytes of storage, a small hard disk providing approximately 60 MBytes of storage provides memory to store approximately 100 electronic books. The large hard disk drives currently available allow for storage of thousands of electronic books. - Text for books may be displayed in various font sizes. To accommodate various fonts for display, a variety of fonts are stored in
instruction 732 orbook memory 728. Thus larger or smaller fonts may be recalled frommemory - (6)
Power supply circuitry 736 in theviewer 266 will accept power from either an AC power source or from anoptional battery 603′, or thelibrary unit 262. Thepower supply circuitry 736 provides the necessary voltages to accommodate the various systems within theviewer 266. - (7) An
optional battery 603′ is provided in a preferred embodiment. Thebattery 603′ is automatically recharged when AC power is available. - (8) An
optional RF transceiver 604 which provided two-way data link between theviewer 266 and other components of the home system can also be included in theviewer 266. - (9) Also, the
viewer 266 may include a cellular transceiver for mobile communications. - (10) The optional wired (attached)
keyboard 267 and wireless (e.g., RF) keyboard 268 (seeFIG. 6 a) may be used with theviewer 266 to provide communications between the subscriber and theviewer 266. - (11) The speaker and
microphone 608′ allow theviewer 266 to provide audio signals to the subscriber, and allow the subscriber to provide an audio input. The speaker andmicrophone 608′ may be used in conjunction with thecellular transceiver 608 or other telecommunications equipment to provide for reception and transmission of telephony and data. - The
viewer 266 ofFIG. 11 has parts available for providing connections to: alibrary 744,electronic card memory 748,CD ROM units 752, and a portable memory unit 756 (such as that shown inFIG. 6 b 600′). Various electronic memory cards such as PCMCIA can be used with thisviewer 266. - Security, low power consumption and excellent display technology are desired features of the
viewer 266 design. Theviewer 266 should be lightweight and portable. Theviewer 266 contains a software operating system that allows electronic books to be stored, read and erased and includes the capability to order electronic books and retain them inmemory 728 for a predefined period of time determined by the system operator. The software can be configured to allow the electronic book to be read during a period of time (i.e., two weeks) and then automatically erased, read once and erased, or held in memory permanently. Eachviewer 266 has aunique key 605. All of the data storage is encrypted with the key 605 for anindividual viewer 266 to prevent more than oneviewer 266 accessing the text file or electronic book file. -
FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of some of the processes executed by theviewer 266. Generally, theviewer 266 receives inputs from the subscriber through touch panel controls 740. Alternately, theviewer 266 receives inputs from a touchscreen display, the attachedkeyboard 267, or theremote keyboard 268. The subscriber's information requests are then processed through aninformation request process 800 by theviewer 266. - If the subscriber requests a menu of available electronic books, a select
available book process 804 will select a book menu. Anopen file process 808 will open the electronic files which list the electronic books that are available (related to the category of topic of the menu) and display the menu with the names of the available electronic books. - If the subscriber selects a particular electronic book to read, then a select a
book process 812 will process the selection and determine the electronic file that contains the specific electronic book. Anopen file process 816 will open the file for that specific book and normally access the first page. (If a pointer has already been set in that electronic book's file, the process may default to that page.) Adecision process 820 will then determine which page needs to be displayed. Thedecision process 820 will determine whether a next page, previous page or a book marked page needs to be displayed. If the pointer for the electronic file is not in the correct location then a getprevious page process 828 will move the pointer and obtain the previous page of data from the stored file. Otherwise, a getnext page process 824 will normally obtain the next page of text from the stored electronic file. A decrypt and decompressprocess 832 will decrypt and decompress the text data and send the data to the video display. The video display will generally have a video display memory associated with it and the decrypt and decompressprocess 832 will send the data directly to that video display memory. The circuitry for the display then completes the process of displaying the page of text. - If the subscriber, through the
controls 740, requests (from the information request process 800) that the power be turned off, then a process, 836, of turning the power off will be initiated. Asave pointer process 840 saves the pointer in memory to the page number in the book that theviewer 266 is currently reading. Aclose files process 844 closes all the electronic files and signals the power circuitry to shut down the power to the various circuits in theviewer 266. The subscriber may also use thecontrols 740 to access other electronic files using electronic links embedded in a particular electronic file. An electronic link system will be described later in detail. - With these examples of basic processes the
viewer 266 is able to display book selections and display text from those books. - d. Menu System
- Referring generally to
FIG. 13 , thedelivery system 200 may have amenu system 851 for selecting features and electronic books from thedelivery system 200. The operating software and memory required for themenu system 851 may be located at the viewer 266 (e.g., theinstruction memory 732 and/or book memory 728). However, it may also be located at the library unit 262 (e.g., the instruction memory 632) or thelibrary unit 262 and theviewer 266 can share the software and memory needed to operate themenu system 851. Since the menus are usually displayed on theviewer 266 and it is preferred that theviewer 266 be capable of operating in the absence of thelibrary unit 262, the basic software and memory to create the menus is more conveniently located at theviewer 266. - The
menu system 851 allows sequencing between menus and provides menu graphics for graphical displays such as on theLCD display 602 of theviewer 266. In a system which uses a set top converter these menus may also be displayed on a television screen. In the simplest embodiment, the menus provide basic text information from which the subscriber makes choices. In more sophisticated embodiments, the menus provide visual displays with graphics and icons to assist the subscriber. -
FIG. 13 depicts amenu system 851 with sequencing. The primary menus in the system are anintroductory menu 850, amain menu 854 andvarious submenus 858. In the embodiment shown, there are three levels ofsubmenus 858. In certain instances one or twosubmenus 858 is sufficient to easily direct the subscriber to the selection or information requested. However, there are features in which three ormore submenus 858 make the user interface more friendly for the subscriber. Each level ofsubmenus 858 may consist of multiple possible menus for display. The particular menu displayed depends on the selection by the subscriber on the previous shown menu. An example of this tree sequence of one to many menus are thehelp submenus - An example of an
introductory menu 850 is shown onFIG. 14 a. Generally theintroductory menu 850 introduces theviewer 266 to the system and provides initial guidance, announcements and instruction. Theintroductory menu 850 is followed by amain menu 854, an example of which is shown inFIG. 14 b. The main menu provides theviewer 266 with the basic selection or features available in the system.FIG. 14 b is an example of amain menu 854 offering many additional features andsubmenus 858 to the subscriber. For example,FIG. 14 b shows that theviewer 266 is able to choose by a point and click method, many options including: (1) free previews, (2) books you can order, (3) books in your library, (4) your current book, (5) help, (6) on-line services and (6) other system features. Following a selection on themain menu 854, acorresponding submenu 858 is shown. -
FIG. 13 shows thirteen available primary or first level submenus. They are (1) account set up 862, (2)free previews 866, (3)book suggestion entries 855, (4) books in yourlibrary 872, (5) books you can order 878, (6) yourcurrent book 884, (7)help 887, (8)available features 890, (9)messages 893, (10)account information 896, (11)outgoing message submenu 898, (12) showlinks 970, and (13) createlinks 980.FIG. 14 c is an example of a first level submenu for electronic books in yourlibrary 872. This “Book In Your Library”example submenu 872 shows six available electronic books by title and author and provides the subscriber with the ability to check a different shelf ofbooks 874 or return to themain menu 854.FIGS. 14 d and 14 e show example submenus 858 for electronic books that may be ordered using the “Books You Can Order”submenu 878. -
FIG. 14 f is an example of an order selection andconfirmation menu 880′, which provides a “soft keyboard” 975 for the subscriber to use in placing an electronic book order and which confirms the subscriber's order. In this particular example, the subscriber is required to enter a PIN number to complete the subscriber's order. The “soft keyboard” 975 could be configured as a full alpha-numeric keyboard, and may be used by the subscriber to add additional information related to a book order. An alpha-numeric or similar password may be used to ensure the subscriber is an authorized subscriber. In an embodiment, the subscriber confirms an order with a PIN or password and then receives a final confirmation screen. The final confirmation screen is primarily text and may state: Your book order is now being processed via CABLE. -
- Your book will be delivered overnight and your VISA account will be charged $2.95.
- Your book will be available for reading at 6:00 AM EST tomorrow. Make sure that:
- 1. your Library Unit and Cable Connection Unit are plugged in with aerials up tonight; and
- 2. you tune your cable converter to THE BOOK Channel. The TV set does not have to remain on.
or similar language.
- Examples of the “Account Set Up Menu” 862 and
further submenus 858 related to account set up (which provide instructions and account input 864) are shown inFIG. 14 g andFIG. 14 h. Thesesubmenus 858 allow initialization of an account at theoperations center 250 and orders to be charged to credit cards. Thesubmenus 858 include the ability to enter data related to your desired PIN number or password, credit cards, phone numbers, etc. It is preferred that the account set up be performed using the telephone system. A confirmation menu verifies that the account has been properly set up with the desired PIN or password and credit card. - Free previews for
books 866 are also provided by submenus (868, 870). Examples of the free preview menus are shown inFIG. 14 i andFIG. 14 j.FIG. 14 i shows a menu depicting various electronic books for which previews are available for viewing. Following an electronic book selection, a screen submenu showing an excerpt of the selected electronic book cover's description is provided along with an excerpt from a critic's review of the selected electronic book. In a preferred embodiment, this preview screen for a particular electronic book also allows the subscriber to select a submenu which provides information about the author. The book preview submenu may also include a still video picture or graphics portraying a book cover or a scene from the electronic book. An example of such a still video picture or graphics is shown inFIG. 14 j which depicts apreview screen 870 about the author. The video may also be provided according to MPEG standards as a short moving video clip. Such a clip could be an interview with the author, for example. The author'spreview screen 870 shows a picture of the author, provides a short biography, and may allow the subscriber to order the author's books. The price for ordering the authors various electronic books may also be shown on the menu. Alternatively, the previews may be provided through an electronic link system, which is described in detail in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/237,828, filed on Jan. 27, 1999, entitled ELECTRONIC BOOK ELECTRONIC LINKS, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference. - In addition to free previews, in more sophisticated embodiments, the
delivery system 200 provides the subscriber with an electronic book suggestion feature (see 855). This is accomplished using themenu system 851 and the processor with associated memory located at theviewer 266,library unit 262 or at the distribution point (1020 or 250). When necessary, information for the program suggestion feature is sent in the text data of the composite or video signal to thehome system 258. With this feature, books or authors are suggested to a subscriber based upon historical data of the subscriber's previous orders, demographics or mood of the subscriber, other indicators, and/or by text word searches. - In a book suggestion embodiment, text word searches of preview information (such as book cover descriptions, critics reviews and biographies about the author) and/or text of books or other titles are performed by the
library unit 262 using databases stored in thelibrary memory 600. Personalized book or author suggestions are made to the subscriber by obtaining information from the subscriber indicative of general subscriber interests. Subscriber entries are solicited from the subscriber preferably using the electronic book suggestion entries submenu 855. The system uses these subscriber entries either directly or indirectly to search for books or authors to suggest to the subscriber. - Generally, the book suggestion methods may be categorized into two categories, either responsive methods (which respond to a series of subscriber menu entries), or intelligent methods (which analyze data to suggest an electronic book). Using a responsive or intelligent method, the
delivery system 200 determines a list of suggested titles or authors and creates a second orthird level submenu - Responsive methods of suggesting titles include, for example, the use of mood questions, searching for authors, and keyword searching. Using the
instruction memory 732 and menu generation hardware (e.g., 607) of theviewer 266, a series of mood questions can be presented on menus to determine a subscribers interest at a particular time. For this methodology, the operations center's 250processor 404 andinstruction memory 416 assign each title mood indicators (and subindicators) from a group such as light, serious, violent, short, long, dull, exciting, complex, easy-read, young theme, old theme, adventure, romance, drama, fiction, science-fiction, etc. These indicators are sent to thehome system 258 with the text data and are stored inlibrary memory 600. Based upon the subscriber entries, theprocessor 404 associates a set of indicators with the subscriber's request and a set of electronic books with matching indicators are located for suggesting to the subscriber. - Responsive searches for authors or keywords (a search word provided by the subscriber) are generally performed by the
library processor 628 andinstruction memory 632 on data stored in thelibrary memory 600. For example, a keyword given by the subscriber may be searched for a match inlibrary memory 600 storing the book reviews, critics and previews databases. Thus, if a subscriber provided an entry of the word “submarine” on an appropriate submenu, the title “Hunt For Red October” may be located by thelibrary processor 628 using instruction from a routine in theinstruction memory 632. - Intelligent methods of suggesting programs include analyzing personal profile data on the subscriber and/or historical data about the subscriber such as past books ordered by the subscriber (or buy data). This method is preferred in a book on demand system and can be performed at the distribution point or
operations center 250 by the on-site processor 404 using subscriber databases stored inmemory 428. Thehome system 258 receives the text data including program suggestion information from the distribution point oroperations center 250 and generates the program suggestion submenus 855, 856, 857 using the same text data receiving 212 and viewer menu generation hardware (e.g., 607, 621) described above. Software routines and algorithms stored in instruction memories (e.g. 632, 732) are used to analyze historical data and book ordered data to determine a line of books to suggest to the subscriber. - The algorithms for this powerful feature of suggesting books or authors to subscribers are disclosed in great detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,549, entitled REPROGRAMMABLE TERMINAL FOR SUGGESTING PROGRAMS OFFERED ON A TELEVISION PROGRAM DELIVERY SYSTEM, issued Sep. 24, 1996, and are incorporated herein by reference.
- Referring to
FIG. 13 ,submenus 858 are shown on the “Books In Your Library”submenu 872 and are preferably broken into shelf numbers with submenus for eachshelf submenus 858 for the “Books You Can Order”submenu 878 is similarly broken out into submenus byshelves FIG. 14 d. - Referring to
FIG. 13 , thesubmenu 858 for “Your Current Book” 884 allows a subscriber to select acurrent book 884 and then determine what page to view. This selection is confirmed with a level twosubmenu 885. Thehelp submenu 887 provides the subscriber with additional help screens 888. Thesubmenus 858 foravailable features 890 are preferably broken out into a sequence of separate submenus for eachfeature - Referring to
FIG. 13 , messages can also be sent with thedelivery system 200. A level one message screen provides the subscriber with the ability to select from various messages the subscriber has pending 893. Each message is then shown on aseparate submenu screen - Referring to
FIG. 13 , account information is shown on a level onesubmenu 896 and then follow-onsubmenus 858 show the recent orders and youraccount balance 897. There is also a level one submenu foroutgoing messages 898 which has a follow-on submenu used as aninput screen 899. - In addition to the specific features and submenus described in
FIG. 13 andFIG. 14 a throughFIG. 14 j, many other variations and features are possible. When a book is finally selected for viewing thetitle page 886 will appear on the screen followed by a page of text. - The billing and collection system 278 (shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3 ) utilizes the latest technology in electronic transaction and telephone switching to track orders, authorize deliveries, bill consumers, and credit publishers automatically. The telephone calls initiated by thephone connector 270 are received by the billing andcollection system 278 which responds immediately without human intervention by placing the order and charging the consumers credit card account. Data is compiled periodically andpublishers 282 are credited for sales of their books or other text. The billing andcollection system 278 may also connect with subscribers through two-way cable connections, cellular, or other communication means. - In an embodiment, the billing and
collection system 278 communicate with theoperations center 250 to track changes in available books and to provide statistical data to theoperations center 250. - The electronic book system can be modified to be used at public libraries, schools and bookstores.
FIG. 15 shows one possible arrangement of components for a public library, school or bookstore location. The main unit at a public library, school or bookstore is thefile server 900. Thefile server 900 is a large electronic memory unit that can store thousands of electronic books. Various electronic storage means may be used in the file servers, such as hard disks, read-write CD ROMs and read-only CD ROMs. - The system comprises five components; the
file server 900, a converter orvideo connector 904, acontroller 908, aviewer 912, and acatalog printer 916. The software for controlling the system is primarily located in thecontroller 908. The converter orvideo connector 904 is similar to those described above. In this configuration thecontroller unit 908 monitors the data being transferred to thefile server 900 by theconverter 904. Thecontroller 908 is preferably provided with a viewing screen and several control buttons. When it is necessary to have a larger screen to perform more sophisticated controlling of the system aviewer 266 may be connected to thecontroller 908 and the viewer screen and controls 740 may be used. - The
controller 908 is only able to download books topublic viewers 912 which are authorized to receive books from theparticular file server 900. For security reasons it is not desirable that thepublic viewer 912 have access to more than onefile server 900. In this way, security can be maintained over the text data for books. It is preferred that thepublic viewer 912 be limited to receiving one or two electronic books at a time from thecontroller 908. When the subscriber of thepublic viewer 912 needs a new or additional electronic book, the subscriber returns theviewer 912 to the school or public library where the subscriber receives a new electronic book from thecontroller 908. - In order to track the electronic books that are available on the
file server 900, the titles of the available books may be printed on acatalog printer 916. Thecatalog printer 916 is connected to thelibrary controller 908 and the titles of the electronic books are downloaded to thecatalog printer 916. None of the coded text for any of the electronic books can be printed using thecontroller 908 andcatalog printer 916 of this system. In order to maintain security over the data, none of the electronic book data is allowed to be downloaded to theprinter 916. Once a complete printout of available electronic book titles, magazines, or other textual material is complete, a hard copy of thecatalog 920 can be maintained at thefile server 900. - The system shown may also be used at bookstores. The bookstores can rent the
public viewer 912 to customers with the text for one or two electronic books loaded onto thepublic viewer 912. Thepublic viewer 912 may be provided with an automatic timeout sequence. The timeout sequence would erase the textual data for the books after a certain period of time, for example, two weeks. It is expected that after a period of time (perhaps within two weeks) the renter would return thepublic viewer 912 to the bookstore and receive additional electronic books for viewing. Using this arrangement, it is also possible for the bookstore to (permanently) sell aviewer 912 to a regular customer. The customer then returns to the bookstore from time to time to receive textual data for an electronic book which the customer can then store permanently on the customer'sown viewer 912. Various other configurations are possible for bookstores, schools and public libraries using thefile server 900 andpublic viewer 912 described. - Existing set top converters such as those made by Scientific Atlanta or General Instruments are presently unequipped to handle the
delivery system 200 of the present invention. Although set top converters may be built which include the library functions, hardware modifications are necessary in order to use thedelivery system 200 with existing set top converter technology. -
FIGS. 16 a and 16 b are examples of hardware modifications or upgrades. A port is used to attach hardware upgrades described below to a set top terminal. Two upgrades are possible to settop converters 601 to assist in receiving and selecting electronic books. A menu generation card upgrade (FIG. 16 a) and an information download unit (FIG. 16 b). Each of these upgrades may be connected to the set top terminal unit through an upgrade port. A four wire cable, ribbon cable, IEEE 1394 firewire interface, USB interface, or the like may be used to connect the upgrade to the settop converter 601. - A
card addition 950 to aset top converter 601 is depicted inFIG. 16 a. Thecard 950 shown provides the additional functionality needed to utilize the book selection system with existing settop converter 601 technology. Thecard 950 may be configured to slip inside the frame of a set top terminal and become part of the set top terminal, an advanced set top terminal. The primary functions thecard 950 adds to the settop converter 601 are the interpreting of data signals, generating of menus, sequencing of menus, and, ultimately, the ability of the subscriber to select an electronic book using either the television or aviewer 266. Thecard 950 also provides a method for a remote location, such as the cable headend, to receive information on electronic books ordered. The electronic books ordered information and control commands may be passed from the cable headend to thecard 950 using telephone lines. - The primary components of the
card 950 are aPC chip CPU 952, a VGAgraphic controller 954, avideo combiner 956,logic circuitry 958,NTSC encoder 960, areceiver 962, demodulator (not shown), and adialer 611′. Thecard 950 operates by receiving the data text signal from the cable headend through the coaxial cable. Thelogic circuitry 958 of thecard 950 receivesdata 964,infrared commands 966, and synchronization signals (not shown) from the settop converter 601. Menu selections made by theviewer 266 on the remote control are received by the set top converter's 601 IR equipment and passed through to thecard 950. Thecard 950 interprets the IR signal and determines the electronic book (or menu) the subscriber has selected. Thecard 950 modifies the IR command to send the information to the settop converter 601. The modified IR command contains the channel information needed by the settop converter 601. Using thephone line 968 anddialer 611′, thecard 950 is able to transmit electronic books ordered information to the cable headend. It is also possible to receive the electronic books over the telephone lines and by-pass the video distribution system. In this embodiment, the telephone system may be used to provide access to an Internet web site to order and receive electronic books. - These commands are passed through the interface linking the set top terminal's microprocessor with the microprocessor of the hardware upgrades. In this way, subscriber inputs, entered through the set top terminal keypad or remote control, can be transferred to any of the hardware upgrades for processing and responses generated therein can then be sent back to the set top terminal for display. In a preferred embodiment the IR commands 966 are transferred from set
top terminal 601 to hardware upgrade. - Hardware upgrades may include a microprocessor, interactive software, processing circuitry, bubble memory, and a long-term memory device. In addition to these basic components, the hardware upgrade may make use of an additional telephone modem or CD-ROM device.
- The information download hardware upgrade 1001 (shown in
FIG. 16 b) allows the subscriber to download large volumes of information from theoperations center 250 or cable headend using the settop converter 601. Thehardware upgrade 1001 will enable subscribers to download data, such as electronic books and magazines, to local storage. Primarily, thehardware upgrade 1001 is an additional local storage unit 1003 (e.g., hard disk, floppy, optical disk or magnetic cartridge and may include amicroprocessor 1005,instruction memory 1007, and arandom access memory 1009, as shown inFIG. 16 b). Preferably, a smallportable viewer 266 is also provided with theupgrade 1001 to enable downloaded text to be read without the use of a TV. - The downloadable information may be text or graphics supplied by the
operations center 250 or cable headend. With this upgrade, electronic books may be downloaded and read anywhere with theportable viewer 266. Using this upgrade, books may be downloaded and stored in compressed form for later decompression. The electronic books would be decompressed only at the time of viewing. Important text that the public desires immediate access may made available through this system. Text such as the President's speech, a new law, or a recent abortion decision rendered by the Supreme Court may be made immediately available. - In an embodiment, electronic book ordering information is stored at each set top terminal until it is polled by the cable headend using a polling request message format. An example of a polling request message format consists of six fields, namely: (1) a leading flag at the beginning of the message, (2) an address field, (3) a subscriber region designation, (4) a set top terminal identifier that includes a polling command/response (or P/F) bit, (5) an information field, and (6) a trailing flag at the end of the message. A similar response frame format for information communicated by the set top terminal to the cable headend in response to the polling request may be used.
-
FIG. 17 shows a preferred set top converter that includes adata receiver 617′ and adata transmitter 1011. The data transmitter provides upstream data communications capability between the settop converter 601 and the cable headend. Upstream data transmissions are accomplished using the polling system described and, using adata transmitter 1011. Bothreceiver 617′ andtransmitter 1011 may be built into the settop converter 601 itself or added through an upgrade module. Regardless of the specific hardware configuration, the set top terminal's data transmission capabilities may be accomplished using the hardware shown inFIG. 17 . -
FIG. 17 shows RF signals, depicted as being received by adata receiver 617′ andtuner 613 working in unison. Both of these devices are interfaced with themicroprocessor 1013, which receivesinputs 1015, from the subscriber, either through a set top converter's keypad, a remote control unit or theviewer 266. All cable signals intended for reception on the subscriber's TV are accessed by thetuner 613 and subsequently processed by theprocessing circuitry 1017. Thisprocessing circuitry 1017 typically includes additional components (not shown) for descrambling, demodulation, volume control and remodulation on aChannel - Data targeted to individual set top converters is received by the
data receiver 617′ according to each set top converter's specific address or ID. In this way, each addressable set top converter only receives its own data. Thedata receiver 617′ may receive settop converter 601 specific data in the information field of the signal frame described or on a separate data carrier located at a convenient frequency in the incoming spectrum. - The received data includes information regarding electronic books and menus available for selection. The subscriber may enter a series of
commands 1015 using a keypad or remote control in order to choose an electronic book or menu. Upon receipt of such commands, themicroprocessor 1013 instructs the tuner to tune to the proper frequency of the channel carrying data and subsequently instructs theprocessing circuitry 1017 to begin descrambling of this data. - Upon selection of the electronic book, the
microprocessor 1013 stores any selection information in local memory (not shown) for later data transmission back to the cable headend. Themicroprocessor 1013 coordinates all CATV signal reception and also interacts with various upstream data transmission components. Typically, thedata transmitter 1011 operates in the return frequency band between 5 and 30 MHZ. In an alternative embodiment, the frequency band of 10 to 15 MHZ may be used. Regardless, however, of the frequency band used, thedata transmitter 1011 sends information to the cable headend in the information field of the response frame described. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a number of variations and combinations of the above-described set top terminal hardware components may be used to accomplish upstream data transmissions. - The
electronic book system 200 described may also be configured in a book-on-demand style.FIG. 18 a shows one example of a configuration for a books-on-demand system. A books-on-demand system requires more powerful two-way communications between the consumer's home, bookstore, school or public library and either theoperations center 250 or adistribution site 1020 such as the cable headend. This type of two-way communication can be provided by the hardware shown inFIG. 17 and described above. - Referring to
FIG. 18 a, in a books-on-demand system, the subscriber selects the electronic book to be download from an available menu of electronic books (see for exampleFIGS. 14 d and 14 e). The data for menus of available books is usually sent to the subscriber location by thedistribution site 1020. After the subscriber's menu selection, information about the subscriber selection (or request) is then communicated to either a distribution point 1020 (such as a cable headend or an Internet web site) or theoperations center 250. Upon receipt of this request, the needed textual and graphical information for the book is spooled and sent to the subscriber. In this manner, books are only sent when requested by the subscriber and are sent immediately upon demand for the book (or text). - In order to support such a books-on-demand system, the text delivery and distribution must be conducted on a strong nodal architectured distribution system, such as, a video-on-demand cable or telephone television system, an Internet web site, or through use of individual telephone access on the public telephone system.
- The books-on-demand system allows for a greater selection of electronic books to the subscriber and limits the amount of communicated book data that is unnecessary or unneeded. It also provides the electronic book to the subscriber in a much timelier fashion.
- In addition to a stronger distribution system, a books-on-demand system requires a
distribution point 1020 to have more sophisticated equipment to access and “spool out” the textual information. This can be accomplished usingfile server technology 1024 for storing the electronic books andATM 1028 or telephone-type switching (not shown) to distribute the textual information. Thefile server 1024 and distribution technology that can be used in configuring such a books-on-demand system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,875 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,695, cited above. -
FIG. 18 a shows an embodiment for a books-on-demand system that utilizes file server technology. In addition to electronic books, the embodiment ofFIG. 18 a will support distribution of nearly any digital data. Electronic books or textual files are received frompublishers 282 and other sources throughlocal feeds 1032,ATM 1028, or bysatellite dish 1036. The data is then stored inmemory 1040 at thefile server 1024. Thedistribution point 1020 may be a cable headend that receives requests from subscribers and delivers text to subscribers over a two-way communication system (such as a video-on-demand system (VOD) 1044). Alternately, an Internet web site may serve as thedistribution point 1020. - The
library unit 262 can be connected to either a basic premium-typeservice cable system 1048, a near video-on-demand type cable system (or pay-per-view (PPV) 1052) or a video-on-demand cable system 1044. In connecting with either of these three systems thelibrary unit 262 may access the cable directly or may access the system through a settop terminal 601′, 601″, or 601′″. - Using the two-way video-on-
demand system 1044, a subscriber is able to request a specific electronic book title and receive that text immediately following its request. To accomplish this, thedistribution point 1020 transmits a list of available electronic books through the cable delivery system to thelibrary unit 262. Thelibrary unit 262 displays the list of available electronic books on a menu or similar format. As described earlier, it is preferred that thelibrary unit 262 use menus which list categories of available electronic books to form its request from thedistribution point 1020. After selecting an electronic book, thelibrary unit 262 sends a request signal on the two-way communication system 1044 back to thedistribution point 1020. This request signal can be handled in two ways. Thelibrary unit 262 either initiates the request or thedistribution point 1020 polls the various libraries on to the two-way system 1044. Upon receiving the request for the electronic book title, the text associated with that book title is transmitted to thelibrary unit 262 using the two-way cable system 1044. -
FIG. 18 b is an expanded view of apreferred operations center 250 that supports a regional or national books-on-demand system. In fact, theoperations center 250 shown supports distribution of nearly any digital data. Theoperations center 250 supports multiple feeds to receive digital information bytape ATM 1028, orsatellite 1036. The information is processed through aninput MUX 1064 and asmall file server 1068 before reaching themaster file server 1072. Digital data such as electronic books received frompublishers 282 is then stored on themaster file server 1072. It is preferred that the digital data is stored compressed in a standard format such as MPEG2. - A
system controller 1076 provides control over the regional or national books-on-demand system. Electronic books may be packaged into groups to provide feeds to various cable headends. In addition, scheduling and marketing research are conducted at theoperations center 250. In order to handle the scheduling and market research, electronic book buy data is received at theoperations center 250 through amultiplexer 1082. Electronic book buy information can be provided by theoperation center 250 to the billing andcollection system 278. - The
operations center 250 is also equipped to insert messages or advertisements into the file server. These messages or advertisements will eventually be received by the subscribers. - The
master file server 1072 uses anoutput multiplexer 1080 andATM 1028 as well as satellite connections to distribute digital data. In a preferred embodiment, cable headends receive text data on electronic books from themaster file server 1080 through theoutput multiplexer 1028 and anATM system 1028. After receiving the electronic book data, the cable headends store the books in alocal file server 1024.FIG. 18 a'sdistribution point 1020 is an example of a cable headend which may receive data from theoperations center 250 ofFIG. 18 b through anATM hookup 1088 or satellite hookup. - An electronic book may include various features for manipulating text or other information within it. As discussed below, those features include highlighting, copying and pasting, cutting and pasting, and annotating information. Other features include simultaneously displaying multiple pages selected by a subscriber, displaying one or more pages on a viewer having multiple screens, rotating images and sizing images.
-
FIG. 19 is a flow chart of aninformation manipulation process 901 for highlighting, cutting and pasting, copying and pasting, and annotating text or other information in an electronic book. Theinformation manipulation process 901 may be implemented within theviewer 266, thelibrary 262, or a combination. For example, theimage manipulation process 901 may be implemented by software modules residing within theinstruction memory unit 632 for execution by thelibrary processor 628 or within theinstruction memory 732 for execution by theviewer processor 621, or a combination. Within theinformation manipulation process 901, the display page module orprocess 801 provides for displaying a page on theviewer 266. The page display may be accomplished using the process shown inFIG. 12 in which the subscriber selects a particular electronic book for viewing. The description that follows assumes theviewer processor 621 performs all software module execution steps. - In the
select text process 803, a subscriber selects text or other information, which may be accomplished by usingcontrols 740 to manipulate the curser to select a portion of text. In particular, the subscriber may select displayed text or other information by moving the cursor across the information to be selected using a trackball 743 while depressing a selection button 745 (seeFIG. 11 ). Other types of selection are possible, such as using a touch-sensitive screen and permitting the subscriber to select information by touching the appropriate part of the screen, or using other types of cursor-control devices, including peripheral devices, and selection buttons to manipulate a cursor over information to be selected. - The
viewer 266 may provide an indication of the selected text or other information by showing the text or other information shaded, showing the text in an alternate color, or using another type of indicator. If the subscriber selects acommand process 805, such as a highlight command, ahighlight decision process 815 is executed and theprocessor 621 determines if the subscriber has requested any particular type of highlighting. The term highlighting refers to providing an indication of text or other displayed information in order to distinguish the highlighted text from other displayed information. If the subscriber has selected a highlighting option using theprocess 817, theprocessor 621 alters the selected information to highlight the information according to the subscriber-entered option. Otherwise, theprocessor 621, using adefault process 819, alters the selected information to highlight it according to a default option. The highlighted information is then stored and displayed by theprocessor 621 using astore process 821. - If the subscriber entered a copy command, the
processor 621, using acopy process 807, copies and stores the selected information as identified by the subscriber during theselect text process 803. If the subscriber entered a cut command, theprocessor 621 executes aremove process 809 and removes and stores the selected information. Upon receiving a paste command, as determined during execution of apaste process 811, theprocessor 621, using aninsert process 813, inserts the stored information, typically at a location of the cursor, and displays and stores the changes. - If the subscriber entered an annotate command, the
processor 621, usingtext process 823, permits the subscriber to enter a text or other annotation. An annotation may include, for example, text, graphical information, still images, video clips, multi-media information or an electronic link identifier. A subscriber may indicate a location to enter an annotation by, for example, using the controls 740 (seeFIG. 14 a) to select text or other information to annotate under control of theprocessor 621 executing theselect text process 803. Alternatively, the subscriber, usingcontrols 740 to position the cursor, may create an annotation under control of theprocessor 621 using the subscriberposition cursor process 881. - Using an
insert process 825, theprocessor 621 inserts the annotation, and displays and stores the changes. The annotation is typically inserted at a location of the cursor identified using thepositions cursor process 881, or proximate to the selected information identified using theselect text process 803, so that the subscriber may choose where to enter the annotation within a particular displayed page of the electronic book. The subscriber may alternatively move a location of the annotation elsewhere within the page by using thecontrols 740 to select the annotation and move the annotation to a new location. The subscriber can cut, copy, and paste the annotation. Using a reposition process 826, theprocessor 621 repositions the annotation, if moved by the subscriber. - Using a receive another
command process 827, theprocessor 621 determines if the subscriber has entered another command. If the subscriber has entered another command, the process repeats. In addition, if the subscriber selected information to annotate, theprocessor 621 may indicate the selected information along with the annotation by, for example, highlighting the selected information or displaying the selected information within a box or other type of border. -
FIGS. 20-22 are examples of text screens illustrating use of the commands in theinformation manipulation process 901.FIG. 20 is an example of atext screen 1200 on theviewer 266 displaying highlightedtext 1201. In an embodiment, thetext screen 1200 includes atask bar 1214 having a number of sections 1215-1227 and 1231 for selecting particular commands. The term section (1215-1227 and 1231) refers to a definable portion of the screen, and the phrase task bar (1214) refers to a collection of sections for permitting selection of various commands. For instance, a subscriber may select a highlight command by manipulating thecontrols 740 to select thehighlight section 1215 using the cursor or by using a particular key stroke. A subscriber also may select amenu section 1231 intask bar 1214 in order to view menus on theviewer 266, such as the menus identified inFIG. 13 , and then may select an electronic book for viewing from the menus. The act of selecting a section may involve, for example, positioning the cursor or a pointer over the section using the trackball 743 and depressing theselection button 745 to “click on” the section. Other cursor-control devices, including peripheral devices, may be used to select a section. - In this example, highlighted
text 1201 is shown as shaded. Other types of highlighting may be used such as, for example, illustrating the text or other displayed information in a different color, in a box, in a different font, in bold, in italics, underlined, or in reverse video. In addition, the subscriber may highlight other types of information in addition to text. Theviewer 266 may present highlighting options by presenting a section with options when the subscriber selects thehighlight section 1215. Alternatively, theviewer 266 may include a screen for setting various display and other controls, which may include a section for setting highlighting options. In addition, although thetask bar 1214 includes the sections 1215-1227 and 1231 in contiguous horizontal form, the sections of thetask bar 1214 may be displayed vertically on the left or right margin, scattered among the screen, or in some other geometric representation. - Typical cut, copy, and paste commands are illustrated by a
text screen 1202 shown inFIG. 21 . A subscriber may select cut, copy, and paste commands by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745) to select, respectively,sections text screen 1202, which may be displayed on theviewer 266, corresponds to thetext screen 1200 shown inFIG. 20 . In this example, the highlightedtext 1201 has been cut, copied, and pasted. In particular, the first sentence in highlightedtext 1201 has been cut and pasted atlocation 1203. The second sentence in highlightedtext 1201 has been copied and pasted atlocation 1204. Although these commands are illustrated with text, they may apply to other information such as, for example, graphical information, still images, or video clips. Although the example inFIG. 21 is shown as cutting and pasting, and copying and pasting, text within one electronic book, theviewer 266 typically may cut and paste, and copy and paste, text or other information between two or more electronic books, or between electronic books and other data sources such as word processing programs. When text is added or deleted from an electronic book, the electronic book typically automatically repaginates. -
FIG. 22 is an example of an annotated screen 1205 on theviewer 266 displaying anannotation 1206 within the text. The subscriber may select an annotate command by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745) to select anannotate section 1219 using the cursor or by using a particular key stroke. Upon selection of theannotate section 1219, theviewer 266 may presentsection 1206 at a location of the cursor and permit the subscriber to enter text or other information intosection 1206. The annotation may include text, graphical information, still photos, video clips, or multimedia information. The information may include subscriber-entered information, default information provided by theviewer 266, or a combination. The annotation may be displayed, for example, in a box, highlighted, or as codes or symbols. The annotation may cover the text beneath it, or the text beneath the annotation may scroll around the annotation. Text for annotation may be created using the remote wiredkeyboard 267 orwireless keyboard 268 shown inFIG. 6 a. Text may also be created using a soft keyboard displayed on theviewer 266. The soft keyboard may be displayed during the annotation step and may be hidden at other times. -
FIG. 23 is a flow chart of amultiple display process 903 for displaying multiple pages. Theprocess 903 may be implemented within theviewer 266, thelibrary 262, or a combination. For example, theprocess 903 may be implemented by software modules residing within theinstruction memory unit 632 for execution by thelibrary processor 628 or within theinstruction memory 732 for execution by theviewer processor 621, or a combination. Theprocess 903 may be used by the subscriber to view a plurality of pages within an electronic book. For example, instead of viewing consecutive pages, as typically presented on theviewer 266, the subscriber may wish to view non-consecutive pages, such as those having related information. Therefore, theviewer 266 may display, for example, on a split screen, two or more pages selected by the subscriber. - In the
multiple display process 903, theprocessor 621, executing a display page module orprocess 829, displays a page. Using arequest process 831, theprocessor 621 receives a multiple page view request. A receiveprocess 833 is used by theprocessor 621 to receive a selection of pages. In response, using adisplay process 835, theprocessor 621 retrieves, formats, and displays the selected pages of the electronic book. Formatting may involve reducing the size of the pages and appending them together to display as one image on theviewer 266. Adecision process 837 determines if additional pages are selected. If so, thedisplay process 835 again retrieves and displays the newly selected pages. -
FIG. 24 is an example illustrating how twopages viewer 266 within one split-screen 1228. The subscriber may select multiple page view by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745) to select amulti-page section 1220 in thetask bar 1214, and the subscriber may enter pages to view within apage section 1221 of thetask bar 1214. In addition, the subscriber may select pages from different electronic books for simultaneous viewing by selecting themenu section 1231 to select another electronic book or other information source and, if necessary, select a page by entering a page or pages in thepage section 1221. - Therefore, the subscriber may select which particular pages among any of the pages in the electronic book are to be displayed on the
viewer 266. Although the pages are shown displayed as a side-by-side image, the pages may be displayed vertically. In addition, although only two pages are shown displayed, theviewer 266 may format varying number of pages to be displayed. For example, theviewer 266 may receive a selection of four pages and display the four pages in four equally sized sections of theviewer 266. In addition, theviewer 266 may display the page numbers along with the page content. Although only text is shown, pages may contain other types of information such as, for example, graphical, video, or multimedia information. When multiple pages are displayed, information contained on each of the multiple pages may be manipulated as described herein. For example, if four pages from an electronic book are displayed simultaneously, the subscriber may elect to manipulate information on the third page. To do so, the subscriber may operate the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745) to select the third page and to then manipulate information on, or associated with, the third page. For example, the subscriber may select a paragraph of text in the third page, copy the text, and then scroll or drag the copied text to the first page of the four displayed pages. -
FIG. 25 is a flow chart of a multiplescreen display process 905 for displaying pages on an electronic book viewer having multiple screens. Theprocess 905 may be implemented within theviewer 266, thelibrary 262, or a combination. For example, theprocess 905 may be implemented by software modules residing within theinstruction memory unit 632 for execution by thelibrary processor 628 or within theinstruction memory 732 for execution by theviewer processor 621, or a combination. Displaying images on multiple screens involves formatting one or more pages to be displayed on a number of associated screens. For example, as shown inFIG. 26 a, anelectronic book viewer 266′ may include three screens, 1211, 1212, and 1213. The screens may be connected in a variety of positions, such as horizontally, vertically, T-shape, rectangular, square, or some other geometric configuration. - The
screens hinges FIG. 26 b, aviewer 266″ may include threescreens 1211′, 1212′, and 1213′ that snap together, or become otherwise joined together, by physical and electrical connectors, as represented byarrows multi-screen section 1222 in thetask bar 1214, as shown inFIG. 24 , or by using a particular key stroke, and the subscriber may enter pages to view within thepage section 1221 of thetask bar 1214. At least one of the screens 1211-1213 and 1211′-1213′ may include thetask bar 1214 for selecting a command and entering pages. - Referring to
FIG. 25 , in the multiplescreen display process 905, theprocessor 621, executing a display page module orprocess 839, displays a page. Next, using arequest process 841, theprocessor 621 receives a request for display on multiple screens. Using a receiveprocess 843, theprocessor 621 receives selected pages, which the subscriber may specify by manipulating thecontrols 740. Next, in adetermination process 859, theprocessor 621 determines a number of screens in theviewer 266, which may be accomplished by electronically interrogating the connections between screens to determine how many screens are interconnected. - The
processor 621 next uses aformat process 845 to format the page or pages for display on the multiple screens. Using theformat process 845, theprocessor 621 determines the number of pages for display and compares that number with the number of screens available for displaying the page or pages. If only one page was selected, theprocessor 621 uses afirst format process 847 to format the selected page for display across all screens in theviewer 266. If the number of selected pages is less than the number of screens, theprocessor 621 uses asecond format process 849 to format the selected pages for display. One method of formatting is to equally distribute the selected pages across the screens, which involves resizing and scaling up or scaling down the pages for display among the available screens. If the number of selected pages equals the number of screens, theprocessor 621 uses athird format process 851 to format the selected pages to display one page per screen. If the number of selected pages is greater than the number of screens, theprocessor 621 uses afourth format process 853 to format the selected pages to display them equally distributed across the screens, which involves resizing and reducing the pages to fit among the screens. - The
processor 621 uses known techniques for sizing a page to fit an available screen. For example, theprocessor 621 may apply sub-sampling routines to create a thumbnail image of a page, and then may display the thumbnail image in a reduced size window on a screen. For example, an electronic atlas may include many full page maps. A select number of the maps may be displayed on the viewer screen by first creating thumbnail images, and then arranging their display on the viewer screen. In this way, several full page images may be viewed and compared in a convenient manner. For example, nine full page maps from the electronic atlas may be displayed simultaneously on the viewer screen. Digital data compression techniques for images (including text and images) are well known and need not be repeated here. For example, Data Compression In Digital System, by Ray Hoffman, (Chapman & Hall, 1977), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes such data compression techniques. - An image displayed on the
viewer 266 may be scaled down by dropping, or decimating, rows and columns of pixels within the image. Alternatively, each pixel in the reduced-size image may be created by averaging neighboring pixels in the original image. - To make an image larger, the existing pixels in the original image may be replicated in two dimensions. However, such a scaled-up image is likely to be “blocky.” To avoid the blocky appearance, each pixel in the scaled-up image is created by applying a color smoothing or dithering algorithm to pixels in the original image.
- The scaling up and down may be performed with text and graphic images, and with still (for example, JPEG) and moving (for example, MPEG 2) images. These and other techniques may be used to display multiple images on a single screen, multiple images on multiple screens and multiple images on multiple screens.
- Once the selected pages have been resized, the
processor 621, using adisplay process 855, sends the formatted page or pages to the viewer screen(s) for display. Then, using display process 883, theprocessor 621 displays the formatted page or pages on the multiple screens of theviewer 266. Theprocessor 621uses decision process 856 to determine the number of screens changes. This may occur by the subscriber adding additional screens to theviewer 266 or removing screens from theviewer 266, if theviewer 266 contains removable screens or the capability to deactivate particular screens. If this occurs, theprocessor 621 returns to thedetermination process 859 to determine the number of screens and then formats the page or pages accordingly. Otherwise, theprocessor 621 determines if additional pages are selected usingdecision process 857. -
FIGS. 26 c, 26 d, and 26 e, in which each box represents one screen, illustrate the display of a page or pages on multiple screens. If asingle image 1245 represents one page,FIG. 26 d illustrates enlargement of the page to display the page as afirst image 1246 and asecond image 1247.FIG. 26 e illustrates enlargement of the page to display the page as afirst image 1248, asecond image 1249, athird image 1250, and afourth image 1251. In comparison, if thefirst image 1248, thesecond image 1249, thethird image 1250, and thefourth image 1251 together represent one page,FIG. 26 d illustrates reduction of the pages to display the pages as thefirst image 1246 and thesecond image 1247, andFIG. 26 c represents reduction of the pages to display the pages as thesingle image 1245. If thefirst image 1248, thesecond image 1249, thethird image 1250, and thefourth image 1251 each represent one page,FIG. 26 e illustrates display of one page per screen, alternatively,FIG. 26 e shows an enlargement of a single page to four screens. - Picture-in-picture viewing permits the subscriber to simultaneously display on the
viewer 266, pages or portions of two different electronic books, or content from an electronic book and another information source, such as video or multimedia information. The electronic book for viewing may be selected from electronic books stored in theviewer 266 or an associatedlibrary viewer 262, or may be obtained from a received signal. The other information source, when used, may be received using an electronic or electromagnetic signal such as a television signal, video signal, cable television signal, or wireline or wireless telephone or data source signal. For example, while viewing an electronic book the subscriber may want to simultaneously view a television program or a particular video. - When electronic content is obtained from memory, a system for picture-in-picture viewing formats the two or more electronic books, or electronic books and other electronic information, for simultaneous display. When electronic content is obtained from a received signal, the
viewer 266 performs necessary decoding or other processing for simultaneously displaying a page of an electronic book along with the other electronic information. - a. Picture-in-Picture Process
-
FIG. 27 is a flow chart of a picture-in-picture viewing process 907 for picture-in-picture viewing of electronic books and other electronic information. Theprocess 907 may be implemented within theviewer 266, thelibrary 262, or a combination. For example, theprocess 907 may be implemented by software modules residing within theinstruction memory unit 632 for execution by thelibrary processor 628 or within theinstruction memory 732 for execution by theviewer processor 621, or a combination. In the picture-in-picture viewing process 907, theviewer 266, using a display page module orprocess 863, displays a page of a first electronic book. Using the receiverequest process 865, theprocessor 621 receives a request for picture-in-picture viewing from the subscriber along with an identification of a second information source, such as a second electronic book, a television signal, a video signal, still photos, content from the Internet, electronic book electronic links, or multi-media information. Using adecision process 867, theprocessor 621 determines if the subscriber entered a request for a particular type of picture-in-picture viewing format, which may include, for example, use of an inset image or side-by-side images. If the subscriber did not enter a particular type of picture-in-picture viewing format, theprocessor 621 uses adefault process 873 to format the first electronic book and content from the second information source for picture-in-picture viewing according to a particular default format setting. - Otherwise, the
library 262 or theviewer 266 formats the first electronic book and the content from the second information source according to the subscriber-entered option. In particular, if the subscriber requested an inset image, theprocessor 621, using aninset image process 869, formats the first electronic book and the content from the second information source for displaying content from the second information source as an inset image within the first displayed electronic book. Using a repositionprocess 909, theprocessor 621 then repositions the inset image and reformats the first electronic book, if the inset image is moved by the subscriber. If the subscriber requested side-by-side images, theprocessor 621 uses asplit screen process 871 to format the first electronic book and content from the second information source for display as side-by-side images. After displaying the picture-in-picture images, each display functions independently, permitting the subscriber to advance pages in the first electronic book, for example, by selecting the displayed image of the first electronic book. Using reverseimages decision process 875, theprocessor 621 determines if the subscriber entered a request to reverse the displayed images. If so, theprocessor 621 executes areverse format process 877 to reverse the display. Theprocessor 621 then uses adecision process 879 to determine if the subscriber entered a request for different viewing. If the subscriber entered a different viewing request, theprocessor 621 returns to thedecision process 867. Various multimedia experiences, programs, and displays may be created using two or more images. -
FIGS. 28 a, 28 b, 28 c, and 28 d are examples of displays for picture-in-picture viewing. In the display ofFIG. 28 a, a portion of a first electronic book is displayed as amain image 1207, and a portion of a second electronic book is displayed as aninset image 1208. In the display ofFIG. 28 b, side-by-side images display a portion of a firstelectronic book 1209 adjacent a portion of a secondelectronic book 1210. In the display ofFIG. 28 c, a portion of a first electronic book is displayed as amain image 1207′, and content from a second information source, such as a television or video signal, is displayed as aninset image 1208′. In the display ofFIG. 28 d, side-by-side images display a portion of a firstelectronic book 1209′ adjacent tocontent 1210′ from a second information source such as a television or video signal. - As shown in
FIGS. 28 a and 28 c, theviewer 266 typically formats thecontent content inset images content inset images inset image processor 621 uses the repositionprocess 909 to reformat thecontent inset image - In an alternative embodiment, the
main image inset images main image viewer 266 typically overlays theinset image controls 740 to select and move the inset image to a new location. The size of the inset image may also be changed. - The subscriber may select picture-in-picture viewing by manipulating the controls 740 (the trackball 743 and the selection button 745) to select a
p-i-p section 1223 in thetask bar 1214, or by using a particular key stroke. In order to display an inset image, as shown inFIG. 28 a, the subscriber may select aninset section 1225. To display the electronic books as side-by-side images, as shown inFIG. 28 b, the subscriber may select asplit section 1224. The subscriber may switch between the inset view and the split image view by selecting thesplit section 1224 and theinset section 1225 for the desired view. The subscriber may reverse or swap the displayed images by selecting aswap section 1226 in thetask bar 1214. Upon selecting theswap section 1226, theviewer 266 switches positions of the images. By selecting anormal view section 1227, the subscriber may exit the picture-in-picture mode and return to normal viewing, in which case themain image 1207 or leftimage 1209 becomes the sole displayed image, for example. The subscriber may select the first and second electronic books, or the first electronic book and the second information source, for viewing by selecting themenu section 1231 on thetask bar 1214 and selecting particular electronic books or other information sources from the displayed menu. - b. Picture-in-Picture Tuning: Electronic Book and an Information Source
- The
viewer 266 or thehome system 258 may be used to provide picture-in-picture capability with one or more signals coming from an information source or a component that is external to thehome system 258.FIG. 29 a shows an embodiment of thehome system 258 that is intended to display multiple images in a picture-in-picture format. InFIG. 29 a, thehome system 258 comprises a single unit, namely theviewer 266. Theviewer 266 includes thedigital logic 609, themicroprocessor 621, thememory 607, and theLCD 602. The functions of these components have been described previously. Also included in theviewer 266 is a data connector/converter 617′. Thedata converter 617′ includes the functions of thetuner 613,data stripper 617,modem 611 andRF transceiver 604 described in connection withFIG. 6 b. Thedata converter 617′ receives data signals from wired or wireless communications paths and passes the signals to thedigital logic 609 for processing and display on theLCD 602. Thedata converter 617′ may for example receive signals from awireless keyboard 268, atelephone 275, apersonal computer 261, avideo camera 273, atelevision 259 or aset top terminal 601. As shown inFIG. 29 a, all of these components may communicate with theviewer 266 using either wired or wireless communication paths. Theviewer 266 may also receive data signals from theInternet web site 279. Data signals from theInternet web site 279 may be received directly from the Internet or by using thepersonal computer 261, for example. Thedata converter 617′ receives the data signals from one or more of the multiple sources shown inFIG. 29 a and converts the signal into an appropriate format for display on theLCD 602. The received signal may be displayed as text, a JPEG image, or an MPEG image, for example. Thedata converter 617′ may also receive audio and output the audio to aspeaker 608. Alternately, the audio may be converted to text and displayed on theLCD 602. Text information displayed on thepersonal computer 261, using for example a word processing program, may be sent to thedata converter 617′ and displayed as text on theLCD 602. Television signals received at either the settop terminal 601 or thetelevision 259 may be displayed as video signals on theLCD 602. Thevideo camera 273 may provide a live video feed to theviewer 266 for display on theLCD 602. Commands or text typed in using thekeyboard 268 may be displayed on theLCD 602. Finally, web pages such as a web page available at theweb site 279 may be displayed on theLCD 602. Thememory 607 may store programs and menus to allow the subscriber to select which of the multiple information sources will provide a display on theviewer 266. For example, the subscriber may decide to display an electronic book on theviewer 266 and concurrently to display in a window on theLCD 602, a live feed from thevideo camera 273, and in another window on theLCD 602, a broadcast television program being received by thetelevision 259, for example. -
FIG. 29 b shows an example of the multiple information sources being displayed on theviewer 266. InFIG. 29 b themenu bar 1214 shows themenu selection 1231 and thep-i-p selection 1223. The subscriber has elected to use the p-i-p function and the menu bar therefore displays four window options 1244-1247. InFIG. 29 b the subscriber has elected to play the text from an electronic book using window one 1244, a television show using window two 1245 and a video feed from a video camera using window three 1246. Window four 1247 is not used. The result is shown as the text in a full width,upper window 1207″ television show in a split withlower window 1240 and a video feed in asecond split window 1241. - There are many practical uses for the multiple screen, split screen and picture-in-picture features of the
viewer 266. Examples of uses of these features include, but are not limited to, the following. - For example, while in the garage working on a vehicle the subscriber can use the
viewer 266 to help make a repair easier. The subscriber can use part of theLCD 602 to display the instructions to make the necessary repair on the automobile, can also display schematics, drawings and/or pictures of the parts, a short video on how to make the repair, as well as continuously watching thevideo camera 273 showing the front door or baby's crib. - When the car repair is completed, the subscriber can move the viewer to the kitchen where the subscriber can have one, two or more of the following on the viewer 266: a list of ingredients, text of a recipe, a video on how to mix the ingredients, listing of measurement conversions, and a video feed from a child's play room. More simply, the subscriber can read a book in the backyard while simultaneously watching the baby's playpen indoor on a video feed.
- While this invention has been described in conjunction with the embodiments described above, it is evident that many alterations, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention as set forth above are intended to be only illustrative. Various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims (11)
1.-6. (canceled)
7. A method for annotating text of an electronic book displayed on a viewer, comprising:
displaying a portion of the electronic book on a viewer;
receiving a request from the subscriber to annotate the displayed portion of the electronic book;
displaying a task bar for use in receiving the request;
receiving annotation information; and
associating the annotation information with the electronic book based upon the subscriber's request.
8. The method of claim 7 , further including displaying the annotation information along with the displayed portion of the electronic book.
9. The method of claim 8 , further including displaying the annotation information along with the displayed portion of the electronic book.
10. A method for annotating text of the electronic book displayed on a viewer, comprising:
displaying a portion of the electronic book on the viewer;
receiving annotation information and a request from the subscriber to annotate the displayed portion of the electronic book;
associating the annotation information with the electronic book based upon the subscriber's request;
displaying the annotation information along with the displayed portion of the electronic book; and
permitting the subscriber to move a location of the annotation information within the electronic book.
11.-35. (canceled)
36. An apparatus for annotating text of an electronic book displayed on a viewer, comprising:
a display module that displays a portion of an electronic book on a viewer;
an annotate module that receives a request from the subscriber to annotate the displayed portion of the electronic book;
a task module that displays a task bar for use in receiving the request;
a save module that receives annotation information; and
an associate module that associates the annotation information with the electronic book based upon the subscriber's request.
37. The apparatus of claim 36 , further including an annotation display module that displays the annotation information along with the displayed portion of the electronic book.
38. The apparatus of claim 37 , further including an annotation move module that permits the subscriber to move a location of the annotation information within the electronic book.
39. An apparatus for annotating text of an electronic book displayed on a viewer, comprising:
a display module that displays a portion of an electronic book on a viewer;
an annotate module that receives annotation information and a request from the subscriber to annotate the displayed portion of the electronic book;
an associate module that associates the annotation information with the electronic book based upon the subscriber's request;
an annotation display module that displays the annotation information along with the displayed portion of the electronic book; and
an annotation move module that permits the subscriber to move a location of the annotation information within the electronic book.
40.-73. (canceled)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/478,107 US20090241054A1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2009-06-04 | Electronic book with information manipulation features |
Applications Claiming Priority (8)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US08/160,281 US5798785A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1993-12-02 | Terminal for suggesting programs offered on a television program delivery system |
US08/160,194 US5990927A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1993-12-02 | Advanced set top terminal for cable television delivery systems |
US08/336,247 US5986690A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1994-11-07 | Electronic book selection and delivery system |
US08/906,469 US6408437B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1997-08-05 | Reprogrammable terminal for suggesting programs offered on a television program delivery system |
US09/237,828 US7401286B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 1999-01-27 | Electronic book electronic links |
US09/289,957 US7835989B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-04-13 | Electronic book alternative delivery systems |
US09/335,268 US7861166B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 1999-06-17 | Resizing document pages to fit available hardware screens |
US12/478,107 US20090241054A1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2009-06-04 | Electronic book with information manipulation features |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/335,268 Division US7861166B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 1999-06-17 | Resizing document pages to fit available hardware screens |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20090241054A1 true US20090241054A1 (en) | 2009-09-24 |
Family
ID=23113918
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/289,957 Expired - Fee Related US7835989B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-04-13 | Electronic book alternative delivery systems |
US12/478,107 Abandoned US20090241054A1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2009-06-04 | Electronic book with information manipulation features |
Family Applications Before (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/289,957 Expired - Fee Related US7835989B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-04-13 | Electronic book alternative delivery systems |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US7835989B1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1171840A2 (en) |
JP (2) | JP2002541594A (en) |
AU (1) | AU4453600A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2369759C (en) |
HK (1) | HK1045381A1 (en) |
MX (1) | MXPA01010300A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2000062228A2 (en) |
Cited By (215)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080293450A1 (en) * | 2007-05-21 | 2008-11-27 | Ryan Thomas A | Consumption of Items via a User Device |
US20090328070A1 (en) * | 2008-06-30 | 2009-12-31 | Deidre Paknad | Event Driven Disposition |
US20110107217A1 (en) * | 2009-10-29 | 2011-05-05 | Margery Kravitz Schwarz | Interactive Storybook System and Method |
US20110167350A1 (en) * | 2010-01-06 | 2011-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Assist Features For Content Display Device |
US20110167375A1 (en) * | 2010-01-06 | 2011-07-07 | Kocienda Kenneth L | Apparatus and Method for Conditionally Enabling or Disabling Soft Buttons |
US20110202825A1 (en) * | 2010-02-12 | 2011-08-18 | Flashnotes, Llc | System and Method of Annotating Non-modifiable Documents and Managing Annotations |
US20120102395A1 (en) * | 2010-10-25 | 2012-04-26 | Standard Nine Inc. Dba Inkling | Methods for sequencing electronic media content |
CN102483691A (en) * | 2010-06-24 | 2012-05-30 | 松下电器产业株式会社 | Electronic publication browsing device, electronic publication browsing method, program, and integrated circuit |
US8250041B2 (en) | 2009-12-22 | 2012-08-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for propagation of file plans from enterprise retention management applications to records management systems |
US8275720B2 (en) | 2008-06-12 | 2012-09-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | External scoping sources to determine affected people, systems, and classes of information in legal matters |
US8290777B1 (en) * | 2009-06-12 | 2012-10-16 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Synchronizing the playing and displaying of digital content |
US20120290964A1 (en) * | 2010-11-09 | 2012-11-15 | Chia-Ying Lee | Method for creating bookmark and electronic reading device using the same |
US20120293553A1 (en) * | 2011-05-18 | 2012-11-22 | Korea Institute Of Science And Technology | Apparatus, method and computer readable recording medium for displaying content |
US8402359B1 (en) * | 2010-06-30 | 2013-03-19 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for managing recent activity navigation in web applications |
WO2013048554A1 (en) * | 2011-09-29 | 2013-04-04 | Pleiades Publishing Ltd. | Interactive electronic book |
US20130129310A1 (en) * | 2011-11-22 | 2013-05-23 | Pleiades Publishing Limited Inc. | Electronic book |
US8484069B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-07-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Forecasting discovery costs based on complex and incomplete facts |
US8489439B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-07-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Forecasting discovery costs based on complex and incomplete facts |
US8515924B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-08-20 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for handling edge-cases of event-driven disposition |
CN103262078A (en) * | 2010-11-25 | 2013-08-21 | 索尼公司 | Systems and methods for producing, reproducing, and maintaining electronic books |
US20130219320A1 (en) * | 2000-07-14 | 2013-08-22 | Chern Hway Seet | Novel book-like internet browser for electronic information |
US20130232221A1 (en) * | 2012-03-01 | 2013-09-05 | Sarah Nash Brechner | System and Method for Personal Customization of Digital Content |
US8547354B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-10-01 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8566903B2 (en) | 2010-06-29 | 2013-10-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Enterprise evidence repository providing access control to collected artifacts |
US8587547B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-11-19 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8613061B2 (en) | 2010-09-01 | 2013-12-17 | Blackberry Limited | Methods and apparatus to implement electronic book viewers |
US8655856B2 (en) | 2009-12-22 | 2014-02-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for policy distribution |
US8725565B1 (en) | 2006-09-29 | 2014-05-13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Expedited acquisition of a digital item following a sample presentation of the item |
US8782513B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2014-07-15 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating through an electronic document |
US8793575B1 (en) | 2007-03-29 | 2014-07-29 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Progress indication for a digital work |
US8798366B1 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2014-08-05 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Electronic book pagination |
US8826495B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2014-09-09 | Intel Corporation | Hinged dual panel electronic device |
US8832148B2 (en) | 2010-06-29 | 2014-09-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Enterprise evidence repository |
US8832584B1 (en) | 2009-03-31 | 2014-09-09 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Questions on highlighted passages |
US8842082B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2014-09-23 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating and annotating an electronic document |
US8904304B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2014-12-02 | Barnesandnoble.Com Llc | Creation and exposure of embedded secondary content data relevant to a primary content page of an electronic book |
US8954444B1 (en) | 2007-03-29 | 2015-02-10 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Search and indexing on a user device |
US9037991B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2015-05-19 | Intel Corporation | Apparatus and method for digital content navigation |
US9069767B1 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2015-06-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Aligning content items to identify differences |
US9087032B1 (en) | 2009-01-26 | 2015-07-21 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Aggregation of highlights |
US9092132B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2015-07-28 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface with a dynamic gesture disambiguation threshold |
US9116657B1 (en) | 2006-12-29 | 2015-08-25 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Invariant referencing in digital works |
US9158741B1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2015-10-13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Indicators for navigating digital works |
US9262612B2 (en) | 2011-03-21 | 2016-02-16 | Apple Inc. | Device access using voice authentication |
US9275052B2 (en) | 2005-01-19 | 2016-03-01 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Providing annotations of a digital work |
US9318108B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2016-04-19 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US9330720B2 (en) | 2008-01-03 | 2016-05-03 | Apple Inc. | Methods and apparatus for altering audio output signals |
US9338493B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2016-05-10 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for TV user interactions |
US9483461B2 (en) | 2012-03-06 | 2016-11-01 | Apple Inc. | Handling speech synthesis of content for multiple languages |
US9495129B2 (en) | 2012-06-29 | 2016-11-15 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and user interface for voice-activated navigation and browsing of a document |
US9495322B1 (en) | 2010-09-21 | 2016-11-15 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Cover display |
US9535906B2 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2017-01-03 | Apple Inc. | Mobile device having human language translation capability with positional feedback |
US9564089B2 (en) | 2009-09-28 | 2017-02-07 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Last screen rendering for electronic book reader |
US9582608B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-02-28 | Apple Inc. | Unified ranking with entropy-weighted information for phrase-based semantic auto-completion |
US9620104B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-04-11 | Apple Inc. | System and method for user-specified pronunciation of words for speech synthesis and recognition |
US9626955B2 (en) | 2008-04-05 | 2017-04-18 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent text-to-speech conversion |
US9633674B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-04-25 | Apple Inc. | System and method for detecting errors in interactions with a voice-based digital assistant |
US9633660B2 (en) | 2010-02-25 | 2017-04-25 | Apple Inc. | User profiling for voice input processing |
US9646609B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2017-05-09 | Apple Inc. | Caching apparatus for serving phonetic pronunciations |
US9646614B2 (en) | 2000-03-16 | 2017-05-09 | Apple Inc. | Fast, language-independent method for user authentication by voice |
US9668121B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2017-05-30 | Apple Inc. | Social reminders |
US9672533B1 (en) | 2006-09-29 | 2017-06-06 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Acquisition of an item based on a catalog presentation of items |
US9690762B1 (en) * | 2013-01-14 | 2017-06-27 | Google Inc. | Manipulating image content items through determination and application of multiple transparency values to visually merge with other content as part of a web page |
US9697820B2 (en) | 2015-09-24 | 2017-07-04 | Apple Inc. | Unit-selection text-to-speech synthesis using concatenation-sensitive neural networks |
US9715875B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-07-25 | Apple Inc. | Reducing the need for manual start/end-pointing and trigger phrases |
US9721566B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2017-08-01 | Apple Inc. | Competing devices responding to voice triggers |
US9760559B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-09-12 | Apple Inc. | Predictive text input |
US9785630B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-10-10 | Apple Inc. | Text prediction using combined word N-gram and unigram language models |
US9798393B2 (en) | 2011-08-29 | 2017-10-24 | Apple Inc. | Text correction processing |
US9818400B2 (en) | 2014-09-11 | 2017-11-14 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for discovering trending terms in speech requests |
US9830563B2 (en) | 2008-06-27 | 2017-11-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for managing legal obligations for data |
US9842105B2 (en) | 2015-04-16 | 2017-12-12 | Apple Inc. | Parsimonious continuous-space phrase representations for natural language processing |
US9842101B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-12-12 | Apple Inc. | Predictive conversion of language input |
US9846688B1 (en) * | 2010-12-28 | 2017-12-19 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Book version mapping |
US9858925B2 (en) | 2009-06-05 | 2018-01-02 | Apple Inc. | Using context information to facilitate processing of commands in a virtual assistant |
US9865280B2 (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2018-01-09 | Apple Inc. | Structured dictation using intelligent automated assistants |
US9881009B1 (en) | 2011-03-15 | 2018-01-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Identifying book title sets |
US9886432B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-02-06 | Apple Inc. | Parsimonious handling of word inflection via categorical stem + suffix N-gram language models |
US9886953B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2018-02-06 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant activation |
US9899019B2 (en) | 2015-03-18 | 2018-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for structured stem and suffix language models |
US9934775B2 (en) | 2016-05-26 | 2018-04-03 | Apple Inc. | Unit-selection text-to-speech synthesis based on predicted concatenation parameters |
US9953088B2 (en) | 2012-05-14 | 2018-04-24 | Apple Inc. | Crowd sourcing information to fulfill user requests |
US9966068B2 (en) | 2013-06-08 | 2018-05-08 | Apple Inc. | Interpreting and acting upon commands that involve sharing information with remote devices |
US9966065B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-05-08 | Apple Inc. | Multi-command single utterance input method |
US9971774B2 (en) | 2012-09-19 | 2018-05-15 | Apple Inc. | Voice-based media searching |
US9972304B2 (en) | 2016-06-03 | 2018-05-15 | Apple Inc. | Privacy preserving distributed evaluation framework for embedded personalized systems |
US10043516B2 (en) | 2016-09-23 | 2018-08-07 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US10049668B2 (en) | 2015-12-02 | 2018-08-14 | Apple Inc. | Applying neural network language models to weighted finite state transducers for automatic speech recognition |
US10049663B2 (en) | 2016-06-08 | 2018-08-14 | Apple, Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US10057736B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2018-08-21 | Apple Inc. | Active transport based notifications |
US10067938B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2018-09-04 | Apple Inc. | Multilingual word prediction |
US10074360B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-09-11 | Apple Inc. | Providing an indication of the suitability of speech recognition |
US10079014B2 (en) | 2012-06-08 | 2018-09-18 | Apple Inc. | Name recognition system |
US10078631B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-09-18 | Apple Inc. | Entropy-guided text prediction using combined word and character n-gram language models |
US10083688B2 (en) | 2015-05-27 | 2018-09-25 | Apple Inc. | Device voice control for selecting a displayed affordance |
US10083690B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-09-25 | Apple Inc. | Better resolution when referencing to concepts |
US10089072B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2018-10-02 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent device arbitration and control |
US10101822B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2018-10-16 | Apple Inc. | Language input correction |
US10127911B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-11-13 | Apple Inc. | Speaker identification and unsupervised speaker adaptation techniques |
US10127220B2 (en) | 2015-06-04 | 2018-11-13 | Apple Inc. | Language identification from short strings |
US10169329B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2019-01-01 | Apple Inc. | Exemplar-based natural language processing |
US10176167B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2019-01-08 | Apple Inc. | System and method for inferring user intent from speech inputs |
US10186254B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2019-01-22 | Apple Inc. | Context-based endpoint detection |
US10185542B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2019-01-22 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for enabling conversation persistence across two or more instances of a digital assistant |
US10192552B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-01-29 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant providing whispered speech |
US10217257B1 (en) * | 2015-03-17 | 2019-02-26 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Process for contextualizing continuous images |
US10223066B2 (en) | 2015-12-23 | 2019-03-05 | Apple Inc. | Proactive assistance based on dialog communication between devices |
US10241644B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2019-03-26 | Apple Inc. | Actionable reminder entries |
US10241752B2 (en) | 2011-09-30 | 2019-03-26 | Apple Inc. | Interface for a virtual digital assistant |
US10249300B2 (en) | 2016-06-06 | 2019-04-02 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent list reading |
US10255907B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2019-04-09 | Apple Inc. | Automatic accent detection using acoustic models |
US10269345B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-04-23 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent task discovery |
US10276170B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2019-04-30 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US10283110B2 (en) | 2009-07-02 | 2019-05-07 | Apple Inc. | Methods and apparatuses for automatic speech recognition |
US10297253B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-05-21 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US10303715B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-05-28 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US10311144B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-06-04 | Apple Inc. | Emoji word sense disambiguation |
US10318871B2 (en) | 2005-09-08 | 2019-06-11 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant |
US10332518B2 (en) | 2017-05-09 | 2019-06-25 | Apple Inc. | User interface for correcting recognition errors |
US10356243B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2019-07-16 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant aided communication with 3rd party service in a communication session |
US10354011B2 (en) | 2016-06-09 | 2019-07-16 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant in a home environment |
US10366158B2 (en) | 2015-09-29 | 2019-07-30 | Apple Inc. | Efficient word encoding for recurrent neural network language models |
US10395654B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2019-08-27 | Apple Inc. | Text normalization based on a data-driven learning network |
US10403283B1 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2019-09-03 | Apple Inc. | Voice interaction at a primary device to access call functionality of a companion device |
US10403278B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-09-03 | Apple Inc. | Methods and systems for phonetic matching in digital assistant services |
US10410637B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2019-09-10 | Apple Inc. | User-specific acoustic models |
US10417266B2 (en) | 2017-05-09 | 2019-09-17 | Apple Inc. | Context-aware ranking of intelligent response suggestions |
US10446143B2 (en) | 2016-03-14 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Identification of voice inputs providing credentials |
US10446141B2 (en) | 2014-08-28 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Automatic speech recognition based on user feedback |
US10445429B2 (en) | 2017-09-21 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Natural language understanding using vocabularies with compressed serialized tries |
US10474753B2 (en) | 2016-09-07 | 2019-11-12 | Apple Inc. | Language identification using recurrent neural networks |
US10482874B2 (en) | 2017-05-15 | 2019-11-19 | Apple Inc. | Hierarchical belief states for digital assistants |
US10490187B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-11-26 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant providing automated status report |
US10496753B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2019-12-03 | Apple Inc. | Automatically adapting user interfaces for hands-free interaction |
US10496705B1 (en) | 2018-06-03 | 2019-12-03 | Apple Inc. | Accelerated task performance |
US10509862B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-12-17 | Apple Inc. | Dynamic phrase expansion of language input |
US10521466B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-12-31 | Apple Inc. | Data driven natural language event detection and classification |
US10553209B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-02-04 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for hands-free notification summaries |
US10552013B2 (en) | 2014-12-02 | 2020-02-04 | Apple Inc. | Data detection |
US10567477B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2020-02-18 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant continuity |
US10568032B2 (en) | 2007-04-03 | 2020-02-18 | Apple Inc. | Method and system for operating a multi-function portable electronic device using voice-activation |
US10593346B2 (en) | 2016-12-22 | 2020-03-17 | Apple Inc. | Rank-reduced token representation for automatic speech recognition |
US10592604B2 (en) | 2018-03-12 | 2020-03-17 | Apple Inc. | Inverse text normalization for automatic speech recognition |
US10637986B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2020-04-28 | Apple Inc. | Displaying and updating a set of application views |
US10636424B2 (en) | 2017-11-30 | 2020-04-28 | Apple Inc. | Multi-turn canned dialog |
US10643611B2 (en) | 2008-10-02 | 2020-05-05 | Apple Inc. | Electronic devices with voice command and contextual data processing capabilities |
US10657328B2 (en) | 2017-06-02 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Multi-task recurrent neural network architecture for efficient morphology handling in neural language modeling |
US10659851B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Real-time digital assistant knowledge updates |
US10671428B2 (en) | 2015-09-08 | 2020-06-02 | Apple Inc. | Distributed personal assistant |
US10679605B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-06-09 | Apple Inc. | Hands-free list-reading by intelligent automated assistant |
US10684703B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2020-06-16 | Apple Inc. | Attention aware virtual assistant dismissal |
US10691473B2 (en) | 2015-11-06 | 2020-06-23 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant in a messaging environment |
US10699717B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-06-30 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent assistant for home automation |
US10705794B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Automatically adapting user interfaces for hands-free interaction |
US10706373B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2020-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Performing actions associated with task items that represent tasks to perform |
US10714117B2 (en) | 2013-02-07 | 2020-07-14 | Apple Inc. | Voice trigger for a digital assistant |
US10726832B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2020-07-28 | Apple Inc. | Maintaining privacy of personal information |
US10733982B2 (en) | 2018-01-08 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Multi-directional dialog |
US10733375B2 (en) | 2018-01-31 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Knowledge-based framework for improving natural language understanding |
US10733993B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent digital assistant in a multi-tasking environment |
US10739974B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2020-08-11 | Apple Inc. | Configuring context-specific user interfaces |
US10748546B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2020-08-18 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant services based on device capabilities |
US10747498B2 (en) | 2015-09-08 | 2020-08-18 | Apple Inc. | Zero latency digital assistant |
US10755051B2 (en) | 2017-09-29 | 2020-08-25 | Apple Inc. | Rule-based natural language processing |
US10755703B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2020-08-25 | Apple Inc. | Offline personal assistant |
US10789959B2 (en) | 2018-03-02 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Training speaker recognition models for digital assistants |
US10791176B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Synchronization and task delegation of a digital assistant |
US10789945B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Low-latency intelligent automated assistant |
US10789041B2 (en) | 2014-09-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Dynamic thresholds for always listening speech trigger |
US10810274B2 (en) | 2017-05-15 | 2020-10-20 | Apple Inc. | Optimizing dialogue policy decisions for digital assistants using implicit feedback |
US10818288B2 (en) | 2018-03-26 | 2020-10-27 | Apple Inc. | Natural assistant interaction |
US10839159B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2020-11-17 | Apple Inc. | Named entity normalization in a spoken dialog system |
US10892996B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2021-01-12 | Apple Inc. | Variable latency device coordination |
US10909331B2 (en) | 2018-03-30 | 2021-02-02 | Apple Inc. | Implicit identification of translation payload with neural machine translation |
US10921976B2 (en) | 2013-09-03 | 2021-02-16 | Apple Inc. | User interface for manipulating user interface objects |
US10928918B2 (en) | 2018-05-07 | 2021-02-23 | Apple Inc. | Raise to speak |
US10984780B2 (en) | 2018-05-21 | 2021-04-20 | Apple Inc. | Global semantic word embeddings using bi-directional recurrent neural networks |
US11010561B2 (en) | 2018-09-27 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Sentiment prediction from textual data |
US11010127B2 (en) | 2015-06-29 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant for media playback |
US11010550B2 (en) | 2015-09-29 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Unified language modeling framework for word prediction, auto-completion and auto-correction |
US11023513B2 (en) | 2007-12-20 | 2021-06-01 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for searching using an active ontology |
US11025565B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2021-06-01 | Apple Inc. | Personalized prediction of responses for instant messaging |
US11069336B2 (en) | 2012-03-02 | 2021-07-20 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for name pronunciation |
US11140099B2 (en) | 2019-05-21 | 2021-10-05 | Apple Inc. | Providing message response suggestions |
US11145294B2 (en) | 2018-05-07 | 2021-10-12 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for delivering content from user experiences |
US11157135B2 (en) | 2014-09-02 | 2021-10-26 | Apple Inc. | Multi-dimensional object rearrangement |
US11170166B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2021-11-09 | Apple Inc. | Neural typographical error modeling via generative adversarial networks |
US11204787B2 (en) | 2017-01-09 | 2021-12-21 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US11217251B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-01-04 | Apple Inc. | Spoken notifications |
US11227589B2 (en) | 2016-06-06 | 2022-01-18 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent list reading |
US11231904B2 (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2022-01-25 | Apple Inc. | Reducing response latency of intelligent automated assistants |
US11237797B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-02-01 | Apple Inc. | User activity shortcut suggestions |
US11269678B2 (en) | 2012-05-15 | 2022-03-08 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for integrating third party services with a digital assistant |
US11281993B2 (en) | 2016-12-05 | 2022-03-22 | Apple Inc. | Model and ensemble compression for metric learning |
US11289073B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-03-29 | Apple Inc. | Device text to speech |
US11301477B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2022-04-12 | Apple Inc. | Feedback analysis of a digital assistant |
US11307752B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-04-19 | Apple Inc. | User configurable task triggers |
US11314370B2 (en) | 2013-12-06 | 2022-04-26 | Apple Inc. | Method for extracting salient dialog usage from live data |
US11348573B2 (en) | 2019-03-18 | 2022-05-31 | Apple Inc. | Multimodality in digital assistant systems |
US11360641B2 (en) | 2019-06-01 | 2022-06-14 | Apple Inc. | Increasing the relevance of new available information |
US11360634B1 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2022-06-14 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
US11386266B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2022-07-12 | Apple Inc. | Text correction |
US11402968B2 (en) | 2014-09-02 | 2022-08-02 | Apple Inc. | Reduced size user in interface |
US11423908B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-08-23 | Apple Inc. | Interpreting spoken requests |
US11462215B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2022-10-04 | Apple Inc. | Multi-modal inputs for voice commands |
US11468282B2 (en) | 2015-05-15 | 2022-10-11 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant in a communication session |
US11475898B2 (en) | 2018-10-26 | 2022-10-18 | Apple Inc. | Low-latency multi-speaker speech recognition |
US11475884B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-10-18 | Apple Inc. | Reducing digital assistant latency when a language is incorrectly determined |
US11488406B2 (en) | 2019-09-25 | 2022-11-01 | Apple Inc. | Text detection using global geometry estimators |
US11496600B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-11-08 | Apple Inc. | Remote execution of machine-learned models |
US11495218B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2022-11-08 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant operation in multi-device environments |
US11587559B2 (en) | 2015-09-30 | 2023-02-21 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent device identification |
US11638059B2 (en) | 2019-01-04 | 2023-04-25 | Apple Inc. | Content playback on multiple devices |
US11907013B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2024-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Continuity of applications across devices |
US11907605B2 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2024-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
Families Citing this family (32)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7849393B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 2010-12-07 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book connection to world watch live |
US5990927A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-11-23 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Advanced set top terminal for cable television delivery systems |
US7509270B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 2009-03-24 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic Book having electronic commerce features |
US7835989B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 2010-11-16 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book alternative delivery systems |
US8073695B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 2011-12-06 | Adrea, LLC | Electronic book with voice emulation features |
US8095949B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2012-01-10 | Adrea, LLC | Electronic book with restricted access features |
US9053640B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2015-06-09 | Adrea, LLC | Interactive electronic book |
US7865567B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2011-01-04 | Discovery Patent Holdings, Llc | Virtual on-demand electronic book |
US7861166B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2010-12-28 | Discovery Patent Holding, Llc | Resizing document pages to fit available hardware screens |
US8738471B2 (en) * | 1999-09-22 | 2014-05-27 | Scott C. Harris | Enhancing touch and feel on the internet |
US7111252B1 (en) | 1999-09-22 | 2006-09-19 | Harris Scott C | Enhancing touch and feel on the internet |
US6876991B1 (en) | 1999-11-08 | 2005-04-05 | Collaborative Decision Platforms, Llc. | System, method and computer program product for a collaborative decision platform |
JP2003523560A (en) | 1999-11-17 | 2003-08-05 | ディスカバリー・コミニュケーションズ・インコーポレーテッド | E-book with e-commerce function |
JP4205299B2 (en) * | 2000-10-24 | 2009-01-07 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | System and method for content distribution |
US20020083182A1 (en) * | 2000-12-18 | 2002-06-27 | Alvarado Juan C. | Real-time streamed data download system and method |
WO2002050742A1 (en) * | 2000-12-20 | 2002-06-27 | James Chien Liang Chua | Method and apparatus for rewarding contributors |
US8347104B2 (en) | 2001-12-26 | 2013-01-01 | Research In Motion Limited | Security interface for a mobile device |
US7668752B2 (en) * | 2003-03-13 | 2010-02-23 | Realnetworks, Inc. | System and method for the distribution of software products |
US8131647B2 (en) * | 2005-01-19 | 2012-03-06 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Method and system for providing annotations of a digital work |
US7639386B1 (en) * | 2005-07-01 | 2009-12-29 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Automated creation of printed works having customized and/or personalized content |
US8352449B1 (en) | 2006-03-29 | 2013-01-08 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Reader device content indexing |
US8024400B2 (en) | 2007-09-26 | 2011-09-20 | Oomble, Inc. | Method and system for transferring content from the web to mobile devices |
US7751807B2 (en) | 2007-02-12 | 2010-07-06 | Oomble, Inc. | Method and system for a hosted mobile management service architecture |
US8423889B1 (en) | 2008-06-05 | 2013-04-16 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Device specific presentation control for electronic book reader devices |
US8378979B2 (en) | 2009-01-27 | 2013-02-19 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Electronic device with haptic feedback |
US20110119696A1 (en) * | 2009-11-13 | 2011-05-19 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Gifting multimedia content using an electronic address book |
SG171492A1 (en) * | 2009-12-01 | 2011-06-29 | Creative Tech Ltd | An electronic book reader |
WO2012032535A1 (en) | 2010-09-08 | 2012-03-15 | Anuroop Iyengar | An intelligent portable e-book/ e- reader |
US20120090032A1 (en) * | 2010-10-06 | 2012-04-12 | Victor Trinklein | Webtextbooks |
WO2012068678A1 (en) * | 2010-11-25 | 2012-05-31 | Kobo Inc. | Systems and methods for managing profiles |
ZA201606357B (en) * | 2015-09-15 | 2017-11-29 | Tata Consultancy Services Ltd | "method and system to enable real-time availability of accessible format through multimodal , multichannel eco-system" |
CN110516189B (en) * | 2019-08-29 | 2023-04-18 | 深圳市今天国际物流技术股份有限公司 | Interface self-service method, device, computer equipment and storage medium |
Citations (102)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3860873A (en) * | 1971-10-01 | 1975-01-14 | Tape Athon Corp | Fm transmission system |
US3869873A (en) * | 1974-05-20 | 1975-03-11 | Elliott Williams Company Inc | Door structure for large freezer |
US4071697A (en) * | 1976-10-18 | 1978-01-31 | Atari, Inc. | Interactive video/telephone transmission system |
US4251671A (en) * | 1979-10-05 | 1981-02-17 | Miles Laboratories, Inc. | Extraction of citric acid |
US4429385A (en) * | 1981-12-31 | 1984-01-31 | American Newspaper Publishers Association | Method and apparatus for digital serial scanning with hierarchical and relational access |
US4567512A (en) * | 1982-08-19 | 1986-01-28 | World Video Library, Inc. | Recorded program communication system |
US4578531A (en) * | 1982-06-09 | 1986-03-25 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Encryption system key distribution method and apparatus |
US4639225A (en) * | 1982-06-24 | 1987-01-27 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Portable audio-visual electronic apparatus |
US4644470A (en) * | 1984-07-20 | 1987-02-17 | International Business Machines Corp. | Non-unique names for broadcast messages |
US4649533A (en) * | 1983-10-25 | 1987-03-10 | Keycom Electronic Publishing | Method and apparatus for retrieving remotely located information |
US4653100A (en) * | 1982-01-29 | 1987-03-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Audio response terminal for use with data processing systems |
US4724491A (en) * | 1984-08-28 | 1988-02-09 | Adams-Russell Co., Inc. | Inserting television advertising spots automatically |
US4731840A (en) * | 1985-05-06 | 1988-03-15 | The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy | Method for encryption and transmission of digital keying data |
US4796220A (en) * | 1986-12-15 | 1989-01-03 | Pride Software Development Corp. | Method of controlling the copying of software |
US4805014A (en) * | 1983-11-07 | 1989-02-14 | Sony Corporation | Signal transmission system for a CATV system |
US4891838A (en) * | 1985-11-04 | 1990-01-02 | Dental Data Service, Inc. | Computer accessing system |
US4899292A (en) * | 1988-03-02 | 1990-02-06 | Image Storage/Retrieval Systems, Inc. | System for storing and retrieving text and associated graphics |
US4982344A (en) * | 1988-05-18 | 1991-01-01 | Xerox Corporation | Accelerating link creation |
US4985697A (en) * | 1987-07-06 | 1991-01-15 | Learning Insights, Ltd. | Electronic book educational publishing method using buried reference materials and alternate learning levels |
USD314383S (en) * | 1986-09-23 | 1991-02-05 | RUF GmbH & Co. KG Elektrotechnische Spezialfabrik | Remote-control transmitter |
US4995078A (en) * | 1988-06-09 | 1991-02-19 | Monslow H Vincent | Television broadcast system for selective transmission of viewer-chosen programs at viewer-requested times |
US4996597A (en) * | 1989-04-20 | 1991-02-26 | Rca Licensing Corporation | User programmable switching arrangement |
US5078019A (en) * | 1989-05-26 | 1992-01-07 | Alps Electric Co., Ltd. | Trackball device |
US5089956A (en) * | 1988-11-29 | 1992-02-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method of distributing related documents to identified end users in an information processing system |
US5091782A (en) * | 1990-04-09 | 1992-02-25 | General Instrument Corporation | Apparatus and method for adaptively compressing successive blocks of digital video |
US5157783A (en) * | 1988-02-26 | 1992-10-20 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Data base system which maintains project query list, desktop list and status of multiple ongoing research projects |
US5182639A (en) * | 1991-10-30 | 1993-01-26 | Suganda Jutamulia | Real-time analytic pseudocolor encoder system |
US5185667A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1993-02-09 | Telerobotics International, Inc. | Omniview motionless camera orientation system |
US5282206A (en) * | 1991-12-03 | 1994-01-25 | Fujitsu Limited | Synchronization circuit for establishing frame synchronism using pointers in a digital transmission system |
US5282028A (en) * | 1990-11-27 | 1994-01-25 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Remote control for digital music terminal with synchronized communications |
US5283639A (en) * | 1989-10-23 | 1994-02-01 | Esch Arthur G | Multiple media delivery network method and apparatus |
US5285272A (en) * | 1991-02-26 | 1994-02-08 | Sasktel | Video store and forward on demand apparatus and method |
US5289288A (en) * | 1990-07-20 | 1994-02-22 | Mti Associates | Method and apparatus for encoding a video signal having multi-language capabilities |
US5289271A (en) * | 1991-09-09 | 1994-02-22 | Watson John C | Cable television-usage system |
US5379057A (en) * | 1988-11-14 | 1995-01-03 | Microslate, Inc. | Portable computer with touch screen and computer system employing same |
US5383112A (en) * | 1991-01-07 | 1995-01-17 | Gte Service Corporation | Inventory management method |
US5384588A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1995-01-24 | Telerobotics International, Inc. | System for omindirectional image viewing at a remote location without the transmission of control signals to select viewing parameters |
US5388101A (en) * | 1992-10-26 | 1995-02-07 | Eon Corporation | Interactive nationwide data service communication system for stationary and mobile battery operated subscriber units |
US5388196A (en) * | 1990-09-07 | 1995-02-07 | Xerox Corporation | Hierarchical shared books with database |
US5390348A (en) * | 1992-02-12 | 1995-02-14 | Creative Digital Inc. | System for tracking and correcting drift and dispersion in satellite transmission signals |
US5392387A (en) * | 1992-12-17 | 1995-02-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for enhanced data access efficiency in an electronic book |
US5404505A (en) * | 1991-11-01 | 1995-04-04 | Finisar Corporation | System for scheduling transmission of indexed and requested database tiers on demand at varying repetition rates |
US5467102A (en) * | 1992-08-31 | 1995-11-14 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Portable display device with at least two display screens controllable collectively or separately |
US5481542A (en) * | 1993-11-10 | 1996-01-02 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Interactive information services control system |
US5481255A (en) * | 1993-02-10 | 1996-01-02 | Data Critical Corp. | Paging transmission system |
US5481296A (en) * | 1993-08-06 | 1996-01-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Apparatus and method for selectively viewing video information |
US5481294A (en) * | 1993-10-27 | 1996-01-02 | A. C. Nielsen Company | Audience measurement system utilizing ancillary codes and passive signatures |
US5483278A (en) * | 1992-05-27 | 1996-01-09 | Philips Electronics North America Corporation | System and method for finding a movie of interest in a large movie database |
US5484292A (en) * | 1989-08-21 | 1996-01-16 | Mctaggart; Stephen I. | Apparatus for combining audio and visual indicia |
US5485176A (en) * | 1991-11-21 | 1996-01-16 | Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises | Information display system for electronically reading a book |
US5485221A (en) * | 1993-06-07 | 1996-01-16 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Subscription television system and terminal for enabling simultaneous display of multiple services |
US5486686A (en) * | 1990-05-30 | 1996-01-23 | Xerox Corporation | Hardcopy lossless data storage and communications for electronic document processing systems |
US5495581A (en) * | 1992-02-25 | 1996-02-27 | Tsai; Irving | Method and apparatus for linking a document with associated reference information using pattern matching |
US5596697A (en) * | 1993-09-30 | 1997-01-21 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Method for routing items within a computer system |
US5598351A (en) * | 1993-02-26 | 1997-01-28 | John C. Chater | Communication system |
US5598279A (en) * | 1993-11-02 | 1997-01-28 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Document circulating apparatus with automatic deletion of data |
US5598523A (en) * | 1994-03-31 | 1997-01-28 | Panasonic Technologies, Inc. | Method and system for displayed menu activation using a matching distinctive arrangement of keypad actuators |
US5598470A (en) * | 1994-04-25 | 1997-01-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for enabling trial period use of software products: Method and apparatus for utilizing a decryption block |
US5598209A (en) * | 1993-10-20 | 1997-01-28 | Videoconferencing Systems, Inc. | Method for automatically adjusting a video conferencing system camera |
US5600573A (en) * | 1992-12-09 | 1997-02-04 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Operations center with video storage for a television program packaging and delivery system |
US5600368A (en) * | 1994-11-09 | 1997-02-04 | Microsoft Corporation | Interactive television system and method for viewer control of multiple camera viewpoints in broadcast programming |
US5602596A (en) * | 1994-04-08 | 1997-02-11 | U S West Technologies, Inc. | Method for navigating a complex multimedia structure at an interactive user station |
US5604824A (en) * | 1994-09-22 | 1997-02-18 | Houston Advanced Research Center | Method and apparatus for compression and decompression of documents and the like using splines and spline-wavelets |
US5708960A (en) * | 1994-02-17 | 1998-01-13 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Subscription newspaper dispatching system |
US5710887A (en) * | 1995-08-29 | 1998-01-20 | Broadvision | Computer system and method for electronic commerce |
US5715515A (en) * | 1992-12-02 | 1998-02-03 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for downloading on-screen graphics and captions to a television terminal |
US5719938A (en) * | 1994-08-01 | 1998-02-17 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Methods for providing secure access to shared information |
US5721956A (en) * | 1995-05-15 | 1998-02-24 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Method and apparatus for selective buffering of pages to provide continuous media data to multiple users |
US5721908A (en) * | 1995-06-07 | 1998-02-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Computer network for WWW server data access over internet |
US5721832A (en) * | 1995-05-12 | 1998-02-24 | Regal Greetings & Gifts Inc. | Method and apparatus for an interactive computerized catalog system |
US5859594A (en) * | 1990-06-28 | 1999-01-12 | Motorola, Inc. | Selective call receiver having selectable displays |
US5862325A (en) * | 1996-02-29 | 1999-01-19 | Intermind Corporation | Computer-based communication system and method using metadata defining a control structure |
US5862329A (en) * | 1996-04-18 | 1999-01-19 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method system and article of manufacture for multi-casting audio visual material |
US5870717A (en) * | 1995-11-13 | 1999-02-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for ordering items over computer network using an electronic catalog |
US5870767A (en) * | 1996-11-22 | 1999-02-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for rendering hyper-link information in a printable medium from a graphical user interface |
US6012890A (en) * | 1996-10-04 | 2000-01-11 | Instabook Corporation | Electronic bookstore vending machine |
US6014184A (en) * | 1993-09-09 | 2000-01-11 | News America Publications, Inc. | Electronic television program guide schedule system and method with data feed access |
US6016484A (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 2000-01-18 | Verifone, Inc. | System, method and article of manufacture for network electronic payment instrument and certification of payment and credit collection utilizing a payment |
US6025871A (en) * | 1998-12-31 | 2000-02-15 | Intel Corporation | User interface for a video conferencing system |
US6025837A (en) * | 1996-03-29 | 2000-02-15 | Micrsoft Corporation | Electronic program guide with hyperlinks to target resources |
US6029176A (en) * | 1997-11-25 | 2000-02-22 | Cannon Holdings, L.L.C. | Manipulating and analyzing data using a computer system having a database mining engine resides in memory |
US6029141A (en) * | 1997-06-27 | 2000-02-22 | Amazon.Com, Inc. | Internet-based customer referral system |
US6029045A (en) * | 1997-12-09 | 2000-02-22 | Cogent Technology, Inc. | System and method for inserting local content into programming content |
US6173335B1 (en) * | 1993-07-30 | 2001-01-09 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Structure and protocol for routing information in a system |
US6177936B1 (en) * | 1998-08-20 | 2001-01-23 | International Business Machines Corporation | Browser hierarchical contextual information for web pages |
US6195667B1 (en) * | 1998-10-16 | 2001-02-27 | Softbook Press, Inc. | On-line menu updating for an electronic book |
US6335678B1 (en) * | 1998-02-26 | 2002-01-01 | Monec Holding Ag | Electronic device, preferably an electronic book |
US6339842B1 (en) * | 1998-06-10 | 2002-01-15 | Dennis Sunga Fernandez | Digital television with subscriber conference overlay |
US6344853B1 (en) * | 2000-01-06 | 2002-02-05 | Alcone Marketing Group | Method and apparatus for selecting, modifying and superimposing one image on another |
US6351750B1 (en) * | 1998-10-16 | 2002-02-26 | Softbook Press, Inc. | Dynamic conversion of byte ordering for use on different processor platforms |
US6507342B1 (en) * | 1990-01-19 | 2003-01-14 | Sony Corporation | Information processing apparatus |
US20030014754A1 (en) * | 2000-02-04 | 2003-01-16 | Chang Vernon S. | Advertisement response system |
US6510531B1 (en) * | 1999-09-23 | 2003-01-21 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Methods and systems for testing parallel queues |
US20030018543A1 (en) * | 2001-06-25 | 2003-01-23 | Alger Jeffrey H. | Client portal |
US6675384B1 (en) * | 1995-12-21 | 2004-01-06 | Robert S. Block | Method and apparatus for information labeling and control |
US6683631B2 (en) * | 1998-12-31 | 2004-01-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for selecting and deselecting information in an electronic document |
US20040039934A1 (en) * | 2000-12-19 | 2004-02-26 | Land Michael Z. | System and method for multimedia authoring and playback |
US6847403B1 (en) * | 1997-11-05 | 2005-01-25 | Polycom, Inc. | Integrated portable videoconferencing unit |
US20070016657A1 (en) * | 2005-07-14 | 2007-01-18 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Multimedia data processing devices, multimedia data processing methods and multimedia data processing programs |
US7181692B2 (en) * | 1994-07-22 | 2007-02-20 | Siegel Steven H | Method for the auditory navigation of text |
US7181468B2 (en) * | 2003-04-28 | 2007-02-20 | Sony Corporation | Content management for rich media publishing system |
US7185274B1 (en) * | 1999-12-07 | 2007-02-27 | Microsoft Corporation | Computer user interface architecture wherein users interact with both content and user interface by activating links |
Family Cites Families (574)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1204190A (en) | 1966-12-26 | 1970-09-03 | Mainichi Broadcasting System | Multiplex communication system |
US3891792A (en) | 1974-06-25 | 1975-06-24 | Asahi Broadcasting | Television character crawl display method and apparatus |
US3978470A (en) | 1974-07-10 | 1976-08-31 | Midwest Analog And Digital, Inc. | Multi-channel data color display apparatus |
US4023408A (en) | 1975-01-10 | 1977-05-17 | Dytronics Company, Inc. | Stormscope |
US4197590A (en) | 1976-01-19 | 1980-04-08 | Nugraphics, Inc. | Method for dynamically viewing image elements stored in a random access memory array |
FR2363949A1 (en) | 1976-09-06 | 1978-03-31 | Telediffusion Fse | DIGITAL TRANSMISSION AND TEXT DISPLAY SYSTEM ON A TELEVISION SCREEN |
US4528589A (en) | 1977-02-14 | 1985-07-09 | Telease, Inc. | Method and system for subscription television billing and access |
US4160242A (en) | 1977-06-28 | 1979-07-03 | Fowler Gerald C | Reading machine |
US4179212A (en) * | 1977-09-06 | 1979-12-18 | Xerox Corporation | Demand publishing royalty accounting system |
US4159417A (en) | 1977-10-28 | 1979-06-26 | Rubincam David P | Electronic book |
US4405829A (en) | 1977-12-14 | 1983-09-20 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Cryptographic communications system and method |
NL7802132A (en) | 1978-02-27 | 1979-08-29 | Philips Nv | PORTABLE ELEMENT FOR RECORDING, REMEMBERING, DISPLAYING AND DISPLAYING DIGITAL INFORMATION AND BOOKING DEVICE FOR USE IN A BOOKING SYSTEM. |
JPS54129942A (en) | 1978-03-31 | 1979-10-08 | Fujitsu Ltd | Direct transfer system between sub-systems |
US4860379A (en) | 1979-05-18 | 1989-08-22 | General Instrument Corporation | Data communications system |
US4513390A (en) | 1979-06-08 | 1985-04-23 | Planning Research Corporation | System for digital transmission and synthesis of integrated data |
US4406626A (en) | 1979-07-31 | 1983-09-27 | Anderson Weston A | Electronic teaching aid |
US4302193A (en) | 1980-01-17 | 1981-11-24 | Haynes Leonard S | Reading tutor timer |
US4398216A (en) | 1980-09-19 | 1983-08-09 | Telease, Inc. | Multiple signal transmission method and system, particularly for television |
DE3036552C2 (en) | 1980-09-27 | 1985-04-25 | Blaupunkt-Werke Gmbh, 3200 Hildesheim | Television reception system |
US4455570A (en) | 1980-10-13 | 1984-06-19 | Pioneer Electronic Corporation | CATV System |
US4381522A (en) | 1980-12-01 | 1983-04-26 | Adams-Russell Co., Inc. | Selective viewing |
US4688218A (en) | 1981-07-15 | 1987-08-18 | Etablissement Public De Diffusion Dit "Telediffusion De France" | Multiplex channels for continuous flow for numerical signal |
US4604710A (en) | 1981-10-09 | 1986-08-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for converting data processing information to text processing format and vice versa |
US4694490A (en) | 1981-11-03 | 1987-09-15 | Harvey John C | Signal processing apparatus and methods |
US4965825A (en) | 1981-11-03 | 1990-10-23 | The Personalized Mass Media Corporation | Signal processing apparatus and methods |
WO1983002208A1 (en) | 1981-12-19 | 1983-06-23 | Frederick William Chard | Method and apparatus for editing the output of a television set |
CA1200910A (en) | 1981-12-29 | 1986-02-18 | Toshiaki Yamada | Terminal device for editing document and communicating data |
US4579533A (en) | 1982-04-26 | 1986-04-01 | Anderson Weston A | Method of teaching a subject including use of a dictionary and translator |
US4533948A (en) | 1982-04-30 | 1985-08-06 | General Instrument Corporation | CATV Communication system |
US4484217A (en) | 1982-05-11 | 1984-11-20 | Telease, Inc. | Method and system for remote reporting, particularly for pay television billing |
EP0103438B1 (en) | 1982-09-07 | 1986-07-23 | Thorn Emi Plc | Television and distribution network |
US4517598A (en) | 1982-10-22 | 1985-05-14 | George Van Valkenburg | Method and apparatus for electronic publishing |
US4528643A (en) | 1983-01-10 | 1985-07-09 | Fpdc, Inc. | System for reproducing information in material objects at a point of sale location |
US4532540A (en) | 1983-03-28 | 1985-07-30 | Rca Corporation | Teletext set-top converter with transparent mode |
US4587520A (en) | 1983-04-07 | 1986-05-06 | Rca Corporation | Cursor controlled page selection in a video display |
US4916539A (en) | 1983-04-21 | 1990-04-10 | The Weather Channel, Inc. | Communications system having receivers which can be addressed in selected classes |
US4625235A (en) | 1983-05-19 | 1986-11-25 | Westinghouse Electric Corp. | Remote control switching of television sources |
US4613901A (en) | 1983-05-27 | 1986-09-23 | M/A-Com Linkabit, Inc. | Signal encryption and distribution system for controlling scrambling and selective remote descrambling of television signals |
US4816904A (en) | 1983-06-09 | 1989-03-28 | Control Data Corporation | Television and market research data collection system and method |
US4566030A (en) | 1983-06-09 | 1986-01-21 | Ctba Associates | Television viewer data collection system |
US4633462A (en) | 1983-07-18 | 1986-12-30 | The Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois | Multiple access communication on a CATV reverse channel |
US4768087A (en) | 1983-10-07 | 1988-08-30 | National Information Utilities Corporation | Education utility |
US4776011A (en) | 1983-10-24 | 1988-10-04 | Sony Corporation | Recursive key schedule cryptographic system |
GB2149544B (en) | 1983-11-08 | 1987-03-25 | Standard Telephones Cables Ltd | Electronic books for the partially sighted |
NL8303991A (en) | 1983-11-18 | 1985-06-17 | Nl Standard Electric Mij B V | CABLE TELEVISION NETWORK. |
US4742543A (en) | 1983-12-22 | 1988-05-03 | Frederiksen Jeffrey E | Video transmission system |
GB8401318D0 (en) | 1984-01-18 | 1984-02-22 | Communications Patents Ltd | Communications system |
NL8400860A (en) | 1984-03-16 | 1985-10-16 | Nl Standard Electric Mij B V | CABLE TELEVISION NETWORK. |
US4625076A (en) | 1984-03-19 | 1986-11-25 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public Corporation | Signed document transmission system |
US4602279A (en) | 1984-03-21 | 1986-07-22 | Actv, Inc. | Method for providing targeted profile interactive CATV displays |
AU3542284A (en) | 1984-03-30 | 1985-10-03 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Enhanced videotex decoder |
GB8410671D0 (en) | 1984-04-26 | 1984-05-31 | British Telecomm | Transmitting stereo audio programmes |
US4697209A (en) | 1984-04-26 | 1987-09-29 | A. C. Nielsen Company | Methods and apparatus for automatically identifying programs viewed or recorded |
US4673976A (en) | 1984-05-31 | 1987-06-16 | American Television & Communications Corporation | Cable television system data verification apparatus |
EP0167237A3 (en) | 1984-05-31 | 1988-08-03 | AMERICAN TELEVISION & COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION | Cable television system |
DE3423846A1 (en) | 1984-06-28 | 1986-01-09 | Telefunken Fernseh Und Rundfunk Gmbh, 3000 Hannover | Television receiver with a teletext decoder |
US4941125A (en) | 1984-08-01 | 1990-07-10 | Smithsonian Institution | Information storage and retrieval system |
US4829569A (en) | 1984-09-21 | 1989-05-09 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Communication of individual messages to subscribers in a subscription television system |
US4890319A (en) | 1984-09-21 | 1989-12-26 | Scientific-Atlantic, Inc. | Method for controlling copying of protected information transmitted over a communications link |
US4774655A (en) | 1984-10-24 | 1988-09-27 | Telebase Systems, Inc. | System for retrieving information from a plurality of remote databases having at least two different languages |
US5036537A (en) | 1984-11-19 | 1991-07-30 | General Instrument Corp. | Geographic black-out method for direct broadcast satellite system |
GB8429488D0 (en) | 1984-11-22 | 1985-01-03 | Communications Patents Ltd | Interactive television distribution system |
US4868866A (en) | 1984-12-28 | 1989-09-19 | Mcgraw-Hill Inc. | Broadcast data distribution system |
US4709266A (en) | 1985-01-14 | 1987-11-24 | Oak Industries Inc. | Satellite scrambling communication network using geographically separated uplinks |
US4616263A (en) | 1985-02-11 | 1986-10-07 | Gte Corporation | Video subsystem for a hybrid videotex facility |
NL8500690A (en) | 1985-03-12 | 1986-10-01 | Philips Nv | REMOTE CONTROL UNIT FOR OPERATING VARIOUS MODULES. |
SE448277B (en) | 1985-04-12 | 1987-02-09 | Draco Ab | INDICATOR DEVICE WITH A DOSAGE DEVICE FOR MEDICINAL PRODUCTS |
EP0200310B1 (en) | 1985-05-01 | 1993-08-11 | General Instrument Corporation | Direct broadcast satellite signal transmission system |
US4751578A (en) | 1985-05-28 | 1988-06-14 | David P. Gordon | System for electronically controllably viewing on a television updateable television programming information |
US4706121B1 (en) | 1985-07-12 | 1993-12-14 | Insight Telecast, Inc. | Tv schedule system and process |
GB2177873B (en) | 1985-07-19 | 1989-11-22 | Marconi Electronic Devices | Communications system |
US4854878A (en) | 1985-11-29 | 1989-08-08 | Malvino, Inc. | Textbook with animated illustrations |
US4688246A (en) | 1985-12-20 | 1987-08-18 | Zenith Electronics Corporation | CATV scrambling system with compressed digital audio in synchronizing signal intervals |
JPS62185485A (en) | 1986-02-10 | 1987-08-13 | Pioneer Electronic Corp | Setting system for limit capable of viewing/listing charged program in bidirectional catv system |
ES2076931T3 (en) | 1986-04-18 | 1995-11-16 | Nagra Plus Sa | DECODER FOR A PAYMENT TELEVISION SYSTEM. |
USD301037S (en) | 1986-04-28 | 1989-05-09 | Multivision Products, Inc. | Hand-held remote control |
US4694483A (en) | 1986-06-02 | 1987-09-15 | Innings Telecom Inc. | Computerized system for routing incoming telephone calls to a plurality of agent positions |
EP0252646B1 (en) | 1986-07-07 | 1993-09-29 | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. | Paperless portable book |
US4890321A (en) | 1986-07-08 | 1989-12-26 | Scientific Atlanta, Inc. | Communications format for a subscription television system permitting transmission of individual text messages to subscribers |
US4866770A (en) | 1986-07-08 | 1989-09-12 | Scientific Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for communication of video, audio, teletext, and data to groups of decoders in a communication system |
US5202817A (en) | 1989-06-07 | 1993-04-13 | Norand Corporation | Hand-held data capture system with interchangeable modules |
US4792972A (en) | 1986-08-19 | 1988-12-20 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Remote programming of CATV channel authorization unit |
US4712130A (en) | 1986-08-29 | 1987-12-08 | Rca Corporation | Chrominance signal frequency converter as for a pix-in-pix television receiver |
US4941089A (en) | 1986-12-12 | 1990-07-10 | Datapoint Corporation | Input/output network for computer system |
US4820167A (en) | 1987-01-14 | 1989-04-11 | Nobles Anthony A | Electronic school teaching system |
JP2658030B2 (en) | 1987-01-30 | 1997-09-30 | ソニー株式会社 | Information transmission equipment |
JP2722450B2 (en) | 1987-02-25 | 1998-03-04 | ソニー株式会社 | Central control device |
EP0347419B1 (en) | 1987-02-27 | 1994-11-09 | Logicblend Limited | Improvements in interactive video systems |
US4885803A (en) | 1987-03-17 | 1989-12-05 | Lawrence W. Hermann | System and method for controlling a plurality of electronic entertainment devices |
US4847700A (en) | 1987-07-16 | 1989-07-11 | Actv, Inc. | Interactive television system for providing full motion synched compatible audio/visual displays from transmitted television signals |
US5152011A (en) | 1987-07-27 | 1992-09-29 | Schwob Pierre R | Broadcast receiver capable of automatic station identification and format-scanning based on an internal database updatable via data reception over the airwaves |
CA1288516C (en) | 1987-07-31 | 1991-09-03 | Leendert M. Bijnagte | Apparatus and method for communicating textual and image information between a host computer and a remote display terminal |
US4829372A (en) | 1987-08-20 | 1989-05-09 | Telaction Corporation | Presentation player |
US5208665A (en) | 1987-08-20 | 1993-05-04 | Telaction Corporation | Presentation player for an interactive digital communication system |
JPS6450688A (en) | 1987-08-21 | 1989-02-27 | Hashimoto Corp | Method and device for generating individual television program |
US4930160A (en) | 1987-09-02 | 1990-05-29 | Vogel Peter S | Automatic censorship of video programs |
US5099331A (en) | 1987-09-04 | 1992-03-24 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Apparatus for overlaying a displayed image with a second image |
US4876736A (en) | 1987-09-23 | 1989-10-24 | A. C. Nielsen Company | Method and apparatus for determining channel reception of a receiver |
US4924513A (en) | 1987-09-25 | 1990-05-08 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Apparatus and method for secure transmission of data over an unsecure transmission channel |
US5414426A (en) | 1987-10-14 | 1995-05-09 | Universal Electronics Inc. | Favorite key macro command and chained macro command in a remote control |
US4959810A (en) | 1987-10-14 | 1990-09-25 | Universal Electronics, Inc. | Universal remote control device |
US4918516A (en) | 1987-10-26 | 1990-04-17 | 501 Actv, Inc. | Closed circuit television system having seamless interactive television programming and expandable user participation |
US4835607A (en) | 1987-11-16 | 1989-05-30 | Technology, Inc. | Method and apparatus for expanding compressed video data |
US4855725A (en) | 1987-11-24 | 1989-08-08 | Fernandez Emilio A | Microprocessor based simulated book |
US4947429A (en) | 1987-11-30 | 1990-08-07 | Zenith Electronics Corporation | Pay per view television signaling method |
US4920432A (en) | 1988-01-12 | 1990-04-24 | Eggers Derek C | System for random access to an audio video data library with independent selection and display at each of a plurality of remote locations |
US5132789A (en) | 1988-01-15 | 1992-07-21 | Tiltrac Corporation | Tilt rack video tape library and VCP to multiple subscriber system |
US4829558A (en) | 1988-01-19 | 1989-05-09 | Peac Media Research, Inc. | System and device for data transmission, and related method |
FR2627045B1 (en) | 1988-02-05 | 1994-07-01 | Sgs Thomson Microelectronics | SELECTION SYSTEM FOR RECEIVING BROADCASTED OR BROADCASTED BROADCASTS |
US5121476A (en) | 1988-02-22 | 1992-06-09 | Yee Keen Y | TV data capture device |
US5010499A (en) | 1988-02-22 | 1991-04-23 | Yee Keen Y | Digital data capture for use with TV set or monitor |
US5319454A (en) | 1990-11-13 | 1994-06-07 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | CATV system enabling access to premium (pay per view) program events by bar code data entry |
US5235619A (en) | 1990-03-20 | 1993-08-10 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Cable television radio frequency subscriber data transmission apparatus and rf return method |
US5155590A (en) | 1990-03-20 | 1992-10-13 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | System for data channel level control |
US5003384A (en) | 1988-04-01 | 1991-03-26 | Scientific Atlanta, Inc. | Set-top interface transactions in an impulse pay per view television system |
US4928177A (en) | 1988-04-11 | 1990-05-22 | Cooper Industries, Inc. | Two-way data broadcast networks |
US4816901A (en) | 1988-04-27 | 1989-03-28 | Universal Video Communications Corp. | Method and system for compressing color video data |
US5146600A (en) | 1988-04-30 | 1992-09-08 | Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha | Document image filing system for furnishing additional managerial information for management of documents filed in the system |
US4907082A (en) | 1988-05-03 | 1990-03-06 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Dynamic control menu for a television system or the like |
WO1989011693A1 (en) | 1988-05-27 | 1989-11-30 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Document annotation and manipulation in a data processing system |
US5130924A (en) | 1988-06-30 | 1992-07-14 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for defining relationships among document elements including logical relationships of elements in a multi-dimensional tabular specification |
US4977455B1 (en) | 1988-07-15 | 1993-04-13 | System and process for vcr scheduling | |
US5208745A (en) | 1988-07-25 | 1993-05-04 | Electric Power Research Institute | Multimedia interface and method for computer system |
JPH0695759B2 (en) | 1988-08-08 | 1994-11-24 | パイオニア株式会社 | Billing display system for CCTV device |
US5247575A (en) * | 1988-08-16 | 1993-09-21 | Sprague Peter J | Information distribution system |
JP3002471B2 (en) | 1988-08-19 | 2000-01-24 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Program distribution device |
US4965819A (en) | 1988-09-22 | 1990-10-23 | Docu-Vision, Inc. | Video conferencing system for courtroom and other applications |
DE569350T1 (en) | 1988-09-30 | 1994-03-17 | Right Hemisphere Pty Ltd | TELEVISION PROGRAM DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. |
US5221962A (en) | 1988-10-03 | 1993-06-22 | Popeil Industries, Inc. | Subliminal device having manual adjustment of perception level of subliminal messages |
US4975951A (en) | 1988-10-07 | 1990-12-04 | General Instrument Corporation | IPPV programming distribution control system |
USD325581S (en) | 1988-10-07 | 1992-04-21 | Cable Electric Products, Inc. | Remote control |
US5691777A (en) | 1988-10-17 | 1997-11-25 | Kassatly; Lord Samuel Anthony | Method and apparatus for simultaneous compression of video, audio and data signals |
US5105268A (en) | 1988-11-08 | 1992-04-14 | Fujitsu Limited | Community antenna broadcast system having an improved channel selecting system permitting purchase of a selected channel from a plurality of non-purchased channels |
JPH02152382A (en) | 1988-12-02 | 1990-06-12 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Teletext receiver |
US5038402A (en) | 1988-12-06 | 1991-08-06 | General Instrument Corporation | Apparatus and method for providing digital audio in the FM broadcast band |
US5199104A (en) | 1988-12-15 | 1993-03-30 | Sony Corporation | Electronic organizer with electronic book marker |
US5159669A (en) | 1988-12-15 | 1992-10-27 | Xerox Corporation | Automatically creating a second workspace operation record including history data and a unit ID based on a first workspace operation |
US4949187A (en) | 1988-12-16 | 1990-08-14 | Cohen Jason M | Video communications system having a remotely controlled central source of video and audio data |
US5001554A (en) | 1988-12-23 | 1991-03-19 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Terminal authorization method |
US5077607A (en) | 1988-12-23 | 1991-12-31 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Cable television transaction terminal |
KR920002049B1 (en) | 1988-12-31 | 1992-03-10 | 삼성전자 주식회사 | Multi-screen execution method |
CA1319762C (en) | 1989-02-28 | 1993-06-29 | Elie Cassorla | Method for displaying online information |
CA2010094A1 (en) | 1989-03-09 | 1990-09-09 | Robert R. Butler | Binding line book tracking system and method |
US5124980A (en) | 1989-03-20 | 1992-06-23 | Maki Gerald G | Synchronous multiport digital 2-way communications network using T1 PCM on a CATV cable |
JPH0322259A (en) | 1989-03-22 | 1991-01-30 | Seiko Epson Corp | Small-sized data display and reproducing device |
US5239665A (en) | 1989-03-30 | 1993-08-24 | Hiuka Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Electronic book having several keys for changing pages and underlining certain portions of text |
US5015829A (en) | 1989-04-28 | 1991-05-14 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Key pad and front panel assembly for an electronic instrument |
US4947244A (en) | 1989-05-03 | 1990-08-07 | On Command Video Corporation | Video selection and distribution system |
NL8901133A (en) | 1989-05-03 | 1990-12-03 | Nederland Ptt | DATA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING DATA VIA INFORMATION FREE ZONES IN A TELEVISION SIGNAL TO BE TRANSMITTED BY A TRANSMITTER. |
US5014125A (en) | 1989-05-05 | 1991-05-07 | Cableshare, Inc. | Television system for the interactive distribution of selectable video presentations |
US5150118A (en) | 1989-05-08 | 1992-09-22 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Interchangeable coded key pad assemblies alternately attachable to a user definable keyboard to enable programmable keyboard functions |
US5151782A (en) | 1989-05-17 | 1992-09-29 | Reiss Media Enterprises | Control system for satellite delivered pay-per-view television system |
US5003591A (en) | 1989-05-25 | 1991-03-26 | General Instrument Corporation | Functionally modifiable cable television converter system |
US5253066C1 (en) | 1989-06-01 | 2001-05-22 | United Video Properties Inc | Tv recording and viewing control system |
US5047867A (en) | 1989-06-08 | 1991-09-10 | North American Philips Corporation | Interface for a TV-VCR system |
IL94519A (en) | 1989-06-13 | 1993-07-08 | Tv Answer Int Inc | Satellite television communication system for audience polling and processing answers |
US5319453A (en) | 1989-06-22 | 1994-06-07 | Airtrax | Method and apparatus for video signal encoding, decoding and monitoring |
US5663757A (en) | 1989-07-14 | 1997-09-02 | Morales; Fernando | Software controlled multi-mode interactive TV systems |
JP2830111B2 (en) | 1989-07-21 | 1998-12-02 | ソニー株式会社 | High efficiency coding device |
USD326446S (en) | 1989-07-26 | 1992-05-26 | Wong Curtis G | Combined electronic book and CD ROM reader |
US5166886A (en) | 1989-07-31 | 1992-11-24 | Molnar Charles E | System to demonstrate and sell computer programs |
US5231631A (en) | 1989-08-15 | 1993-07-27 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Arrangement for regulating traffic in a high speed data network |
US5167508A (en) | 1989-08-21 | 1992-12-01 | Mc Taggart Stephen I | Electronic book |
US5046093A (en) | 1989-09-05 | 1991-09-03 | General Instrument Corporation | CATV subscriber apparatus with intelligent remote control |
US5056138A (en) | 1989-09-11 | 1991-10-08 | Nuphase Electronics, Inc. | Television selection system |
JP2547641B2 (en) | 1989-09-27 | 1996-10-23 | 三洋電機株式会社 | Program reservation device |
US5343516A (en) | 1989-09-29 | 1994-08-30 | Digital Systems Group, Inc. | Computer telecommunications signalling interface |
US5049862A (en) | 1989-10-06 | 1991-09-17 | Communication Intelligence Corporation ("Cic") | Keyless flat panel portable computer--computer aided notebook |
US5339239A (en) | 1989-10-13 | 1994-08-16 | Mitsubishi Plastics Industries Limited | Information collecting and/or service furnishing systems by which a user can request information from a central data base using a portable personal terminal and an access terminal |
US5073930A (en) | 1989-10-19 | 1991-12-17 | Green James A | Method and system for receiving and distributing satellite transmitted television signals |
US5128662A (en) | 1989-10-20 | 1992-07-07 | Failla Stephen J | Collapsibly segmented display screens for computers or the like |
US5155591A (en) | 1989-10-23 | 1992-10-13 | General Instrument Corporation | Method and apparatus for providing demographically targeted television commercials |
DE3935294A1 (en) | 1989-10-24 | 1991-04-25 | Grundig Emv | VIDEORECORDER WITH A DEVICE FOR STORING THE CONTENTS OF A TAPE MAGAZINE CONTAINING A VARIETY OF MAGNETIC TAPE CASSETTES |
US5241671C1 (en) | 1989-10-26 | 2002-07-02 | Encyclopaedia Britannica Educa | Multimedia search system using a plurality of entry path means which indicate interrelatedness of information |
JPH03141752A (en) | 1989-10-27 | 1991-06-17 | Hitachi Ltd | Picture signal transmitting method |
EP1335594A3 (en) | 1989-10-30 | 2003-09-10 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | A system for unattended recording of television programs |
US5353121A (en) | 1989-10-30 | 1994-10-04 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | Television schedule system |
IT1237668B (en) | 1989-10-31 | 1993-06-15 | Telettra Lab Telefon | SYSTEM AND MULTIPLATOR / DEMULTIPLATOR FOR THE TRANSMISSION / RECEPTION OF DIGITAL TELEVISION INFORMATION. |
US5318450A (en) | 1989-11-22 | 1994-06-07 | Gte California Incorporated | Multimedia distribution system for instructional materials |
US5218672A (en) | 1990-01-19 | 1993-06-08 | Sony Corporation Of America | Offline editing system with user interface for controlling edit list generation |
US5237610A (en) | 1990-02-01 | 1993-08-17 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Independent external security module for a digitally upgradeable television signal decoder |
US5130792A (en) | 1990-02-01 | 1992-07-14 | Usa Video Inc. | Store and forward video system |
US5446919A (en) | 1990-02-20 | 1995-08-29 | Wilkins; Jeff K. | Communication system and method with demographically or psychographically defined audiences |
JP3080382B2 (en) | 1990-02-21 | 2000-08-28 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Cryptographic communication system |
US5146552A (en) | 1990-02-28 | 1992-09-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method for associating annotation with electronically published material |
US5351075A (en) | 1990-03-20 | 1994-09-27 | Frederick Herz | Home video club television broadcasting system |
US5251324A (en) | 1990-03-20 | 1993-10-05 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for generating and collecting viewing statistics for remote terminals in a cable television system |
EP0450841B1 (en) | 1990-03-29 | 1996-08-21 | Gte Laboratories Incorporated | Video control system |
US5115426A (en) | 1990-03-30 | 1992-05-19 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Broadband isdn packet switching arrangements |
US5020129A (en) | 1990-04-16 | 1991-05-28 | General Instrument Corporation | Addressable control system for CATV program distribution |
US5256067A (en) | 1990-04-25 | 1993-10-26 | Gildea Patricia M | Device and method for optimal reading vocabulary development |
US5321846A (en) | 1990-04-28 | 1994-06-14 | Sony Corporation | Signal transmission system with quicker response and with parallel and serial outputs |
US5257185A (en) | 1990-05-21 | 1993-10-26 | Ann W. Farley | Interactive, cross-referenced knowledge system |
US5233333A (en) | 1990-05-21 | 1993-08-03 | Borsuk Sherwin M | Portable hand held reading unit with reading aid feature |
USD331760S (en) | 1990-05-29 | 1992-12-15 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Remote control |
US5640552A (en) | 1990-05-29 | 1997-06-17 | Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for providing multi-level searching in an electronic book |
IL94729A0 (en) | 1990-06-13 | 1991-04-15 | Yossef Yomdin | Compressed image production,storage transmission and processing |
US5057917A (en) | 1990-06-20 | 1991-10-15 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration | Real-time data compression of broadcast video signals |
US5260778A (en) | 1990-06-26 | 1993-11-09 | General Instrument Corporation | Apparatus for selective distribution of messages over a communications network |
US5428529A (en) | 1990-06-29 | 1995-06-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | Structured document tags invoking specialized functions |
WO1992002888A1 (en) | 1990-07-27 | 1992-02-20 | Ross Harvey M | System and method of manufacturing a single book copy |
CA2022302C (en) | 1990-07-30 | 1995-02-28 | Douglas J. Ballantyne | Method and apparatus for distribution of movies |
EP0472070A3 (en) | 1990-08-22 | 1993-06-23 | Xerox Corporation | Electronic library |
JPH04200082A (en) | 1990-11-29 | 1992-07-21 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Teletext broadcast receiver |
JP3089479B2 (en) | 1990-09-04 | 2000-09-18 | ソニー株式会社 | Television image display |
ES2234978T3 (en) | 1990-09-10 | 2005-07-01 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | USER INTERFACE FOR A TELEVISION PROGRAMMING SYSTEM. |
US5103314A (en) | 1990-09-24 | 1992-04-07 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Color-coded system for selection of rf input terminals and associated scan lists |
JP2552030B2 (en) | 1990-09-27 | 1996-11-06 | マスプロ電工株式会社 | Satellite signal receiver |
US5319542A (en) | 1990-09-27 | 1994-06-07 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for ordering items using an electronic catalogue |
US5093718A (en) | 1990-09-28 | 1992-03-03 | Inteletext Systems, Inc. | Interactive home information system |
US5319455A (en) | 1990-09-28 | 1994-06-07 | Ictv Inc. | System for distributing customized commercials to television viewers |
JPH06501802A (en) | 1990-10-01 | 1994-02-24 | ブッシュ,トーマス,エイ. | transaction processing system |
US5204947A (en) | 1990-10-31 | 1993-04-20 | International Business Machines Corporation | Application independent (open) hypermedia enablement services |
JPH04180458A (en) | 1990-11-15 | 1992-06-26 | Fuji Xerox Co Ltd | Facsimile equipment |
US5327554A (en) | 1990-11-29 | 1994-07-05 | Palazzi Iii Michael A | Interactive terminal for the access of remote database information |
US5345580A (en) | 1990-11-29 | 1994-09-06 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Microprocessor device and emulator device thereof |
US5172413A (en) | 1990-12-20 | 1992-12-15 | Sasktel | Secure hierarchial video delivery system and method |
US5565999A (en) | 1990-12-21 | 1996-10-15 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Image data communication processing method, and apparatus therefor |
USD329238S (en) | 1990-12-21 | 1992-09-08 | Tandy Corporation | Universal remote controller |
US5206722A (en) | 1990-12-28 | 1993-04-27 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Remote channel switching for video on demand service |
US5253275A (en) | 1991-01-07 | 1993-10-12 | H. Lee Browne | Audio and video transmission and receiving system |
US5132992A (en) | 1991-01-07 | 1992-07-21 | Paul Yurt | Audio and video transmission and receiving system |
JPH04245818A (en) | 1991-01-31 | 1992-09-02 | Pioneer Electron Corp | Information transmission system |
US5367643A (en) | 1991-02-06 | 1994-11-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Generic high bandwidth adapter having data packet memory configured in three level hierarchy for temporary storage of variable length data packets |
US5253341A (en) | 1991-03-04 | 1993-10-12 | Rozmanith Anthony I | Remote query communication system |
CA2106597A1 (en) | 1991-03-19 | 1992-09-20 | Jay C. Mcmullan Jr. | Apparatus for generating and collecting viewing statistics |
US5220649A (en) | 1991-03-20 | 1993-06-15 | Forcier Mitchell D | Script/binary-encoded-character processing method and system with moving space insertion mode |
JP3105015B2 (en) | 1991-03-25 | 2000-10-30 | パイオニア株式会社 | Terminal device in CATV system |
CA2064508A1 (en) | 1991-04-26 | 1992-10-27 | John D. Gerlach, Jr. | Methods and apparatus providing for a multimedia authoring and presentation system |
US5764276A (en) | 1991-05-13 | 1998-06-09 | Interactive Pictures Corporation | Method and apparatus for providing perceived video viewing experiences using still images |
US5903319A (en) | 1991-05-13 | 1999-05-11 | Interactive Pictures Corporation | Method for eliminating temporal and spacial distortion from interlaced video signals |
JP2938611B2 (en) | 1991-05-14 | 1999-08-23 | 富士通株式会社 | TV signal exchange system |
US5479508A (en) | 1991-05-22 | 1995-12-26 | Zenith Electronics Corp. | Method of operating a pay per view television system |
US5216515A (en) | 1991-05-23 | 1993-06-01 | Adexpress Company | Addressable video feed system |
JP2622049B2 (en) | 1991-05-24 | 1997-06-18 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Cable broadcasting system |
FR2677166B1 (en) | 1991-05-30 | 1993-08-06 | Alsthom Gec | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CONTACT TULIP AND CONTACT TULIP CARRIED OUT ACCORDING TO THE METHOD. |
JP3129762B2 (en) | 1991-06-06 | 2001-01-31 | シャープ株式会社 | Small information terminal |
US5237614A (en) | 1991-06-07 | 1993-08-17 | Security Dynamics Technologies, Inc. | Integrated network security system |
CA2044574A1 (en) | 1991-06-13 | 1992-12-14 | Frederick James Anderson | Information distribution through a communication subscription system utilizing an interactive storage and retrieval device |
JP3308562B2 (en) | 1991-07-15 | 2002-07-29 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Video conference terminal |
CA2048039A1 (en) | 1991-07-19 | 1993-01-20 | Steven Derose | Data processing system and method for generating a representation for and random access rendering of electronic documents |
US5293540A (en) | 1991-07-29 | 1994-03-08 | Nview Corporation | Method and apparatus for merging independently generated internal video with external video |
US5367330A (en) | 1991-08-01 | 1994-11-22 | Luther Haave | Pay-per-view television delivery system |
US5237311A (en) | 1991-08-01 | 1993-08-17 | Picker International, Inc. | Hingedly supported integrated trackball and selection device |
US5210611A (en) | 1991-08-12 | 1993-05-11 | Keen Y. Yee | Automatic tuning radio/TV using filtered seek |
US5367621A (en) | 1991-09-06 | 1994-11-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Data processing method to provide a generalized link from a reference point in an on-line book to an arbitrary multimedia object which can be dynamically updated |
JPH0575944A (en) | 1991-09-10 | 1993-03-26 | Sony Corp | Television receiver |
US5247347A (en) | 1991-09-27 | 1993-09-21 | Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. | Pstn architecture for video-on-demand services |
US5528281A (en) | 1991-09-27 | 1996-06-18 | Bell Atlantic Network Services | Method and system for accessing multimedia data over public switched telephone network |
US5404393A (en) | 1991-10-03 | 1995-04-04 | Viscorp | Method and apparatus for interactive television through use of menu windows |
US5396546A (en) | 1991-10-03 | 1995-03-07 | Viscorp | Apparatus and method for automatic and user configurable information appliance |
US5524193A (en) | 1991-10-15 | 1996-06-04 | And Communications | Interactive multimedia annotation method and apparatus |
US5173051B1 (en) | 1991-10-15 | 1997-06-10 | Optical Data Corp | Curriculum planning and publishing method |
US5416508A (en) | 1991-10-22 | 1995-05-16 | Pioneer Electronic Corporation | CATV system with transmission of program schedules, linked program broadcasts, and permissive ordering periods |
US5235419A (en) | 1991-10-24 | 1993-08-10 | General Instrument Corporation | Adaptive motion compensation using a plurality of motion compensators |
US5350303A (en) | 1991-10-24 | 1994-09-27 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Method for accessing information in a computer |
US5315711A (en) | 1991-11-01 | 1994-05-24 | Unisys Corporation | Method and apparatus for remotely and centrally controlling a plurality of host processors |
WO1993009490A1 (en) | 1991-11-04 | 1993-05-13 | Vpr Systems Ltd. | Lap-top computer for retrieving and displaying text and graphic information encoded on personal library cd-rom |
US5734823A (en) | 1991-11-04 | 1998-03-31 | Microtome, Inc. | Systems and apparatus for electronic communication and storage of information |
US5632022A (en) | 1991-11-13 | 1997-05-20 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration | Encyclopedia of software components |
GB9124337D0 (en) | 1991-11-15 | 1992-01-08 | Philips Electronic Associated | Method of storing user information items and apparatus for reproducing stored items |
US5343239A (en) | 1991-11-20 | 1994-08-30 | Zing Systems, L.P. | Transaction based interactive television system |
JPH05143476A (en) | 1991-11-20 | 1993-06-11 | Fujitsu Ltd | Diagnostic system for instruction queue |
US5724091A (en) | 1991-11-25 | 1998-03-03 | Actv, Inc. | Compressed digital data interactive program system |
US5497187A (en) | 1991-11-29 | 1996-03-05 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | In-band/out-of-band data transmission method and apparatus for a television system |
US5477262A (en) | 1991-11-29 | 1995-12-19 | Scientific-Altanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing an on-screen user interface for a subscription television terminal |
US5202290A (en) | 1991-12-02 | 1993-04-13 | Martin Moskovits | Process for manufacture of quantum dot and quantum wire semiconductors |
JP2793399B2 (en) | 1991-12-09 | 1998-09-03 | 日本電気株式会社 | Buffer device |
US5319649A (en) | 1991-12-27 | 1994-06-07 | Comstream Corporation | Transmission systems and decoders therefor |
US5195181A (en) | 1992-01-10 | 1993-03-16 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Message processing system having separate message receiving and transmitting processors with message processing being distributed between the separate processors |
US5689648A (en) | 1992-01-31 | 1997-11-18 | Raychem Corporation | Method and apparatus for publication of information |
JP3328951B2 (en) | 1992-02-07 | 2002-09-30 | ソニー株式会社 | TV receiver and tuning method |
JP3299771B2 (en) | 1992-02-18 | 2002-07-08 | パイオニア株式会社 | Teletext receiver |
US5341166A (en) | 1992-02-27 | 1994-08-23 | Video Control Technology, Inc. | System for controlling selected devices having unique sets of control codes |
US5418957A (en) | 1992-03-09 | 1995-05-23 | Narayan; Rom | Network data dictionary |
US5432561A (en) | 1992-03-27 | 1995-07-11 | North American Philips Corporation | System for automatically activating picture-in-picture when an auxiliary signal is detected |
US5444853A (en) | 1992-03-31 | 1995-08-22 | Seiko Epson Corporation | System and method for transferring data between a plurality of virtual FIFO's and a peripheral via a hardware FIFO and selectively updating control information associated with the virtual FIFO's |
US5528490A (en) | 1992-04-10 | 1996-06-18 | Charles E. Hill & Associates, Inc. | Electronic catalog system and method |
DE4212184A1 (en) | 1992-04-10 | 1993-10-14 | Bosch Gmbh Robert | Hydraulic control unit for double acting working cylinder esp. in vehicle steering unit - controls both working volumes by one 4/3-way valve with hydraulic shut off valve connected between each working vol. and 4/3-way valve |
JP2659896B2 (en) | 1992-04-29 | 1997-09-30 | インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレイション | Structured document copy management method and structured document copy management device |
US5262875A (en) | 1992-04-30 | 1993-11-16 | Instant Video Technologies, Inc. | Audio/video file server including decompression/playback means |
CA2257658C (en) | 1992-05-08 | 2000-09-12 | Joseph S. Nadan | Restricted information distribution system apparatus and methods |
US5341474A (en) | 1992-05-15 | 1994-08-23 | Bell Communications Research, Inc. | Communications architecture and buffer for distributing information services |
US5371532A (en) | 1992-05-15 | 1994-12-06 | Bell Communications Research, Inc. | Communications architecture and method for distributing information services |
EP0570785B1 (en) | 1992-05-19 | 1997-10-01 | THOMSON multimedia | Method and apparatus for device control by data transmission in TV lines |
US5223924A (en) | 1992-05-27 | 1993-06-29 | North American Philips Corporation | System and method for automatically correlating user preferences with a T.V. program information database |
US5291554A (en) | 1992-05-28 | 1994-03-01 | Tv Answer, Inc. | Shared-price custom video rentals via interactive TV |
US5375068A (en) | 1992-06-03 | 1994-12-20 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Video teleconferencing for networked workstations |
US5689663A (en) | 1992-06-19 | 1997-11-18 | Microsoft Corporation | Remote controller user interface and methods relating thereto |
US5835732A (en) | 1993-10-28 | 1998-11-10 | Elonex Ip Holdings, Ltd. | Miniature digital assistant having enhanced host communication |
JPH0619978A (en) | 1992-06-30 | 1994-01-28 | Sony Corp | Reproducing and display device |
WO1994001964A1 (en) | 1992-07-08 | 1994-01-20 | Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. | Media server for supplying video and multi-media data over the public telephone switched network |
US5222136A (en) | 1992-07-23 | 1993-06-22 | Crest Industries, Inc. | Encrypted communication system |
JPH0646419A (en) | 1992-07-27 | 1994-02-18 | Lsi Japan Kk | Tv charging system |
EP1037465B1 (en) | 1992-08-06 | 2005-06-08 | Fujitsu Limited | Terminal used with transaction processing system utilizing teletext broadcasting |
US5412416A (en) | 1992-08-07 | 1995-05-02 | Nbl Communications, Inc. | Video media distribution network apparatus and method |
US5502576A (en) | 1992-08-24 | 1996-03-26 | Ramsay International Corporation | Method and apparatus for the transmission, storage, and retrieval of documents in an electronic domain |
US5432542A (en) | 1992-08-31 | 1995-07-11 | Television Computer, Inc. | Television receiver location identification |
EP0586954B1 (en) | 1992-09-11 | 2004-11-03 | Siemens Information & Communication Networks, Inc. | Techniques for producing PC displays and printed transcripts from voicemail messages |
USD362429S (en) | 1992-09-18 | 1995-09-19 | Booklink Corporation | Electronic book library for storing digitized computer readable material |
WO1994007327A1 (en) | 1992-09-21 | 1994-03-31 | Rolm Company | Method and apparatus for on-screen camera control in video-conference equipment |
US5586235A (en) | 1992-09-25 | 1996-12-17 | Kauffman; Ivan J. | Interactive multimedia system and method |
US5739814A (en) | 1992-09-28 | 1998-04-14 | Sega Enterprises | Information storage system and book device for providing information in response to the user specification |
US5799071A (en) | 1992-10-05 | 1998-08-25 | Azar; Sanjar | Telecommunications cost-minimizing system |
US5644354A (en) | 1992-10-09 | 1997-07-01 | Prevue Interactive, Inc. | Interactive video system |
US5420974A (en) | 1992-10-15 | 1995-05-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | Multimedia complex form creation, display and editing method apparatus |
US5446490A (en) | 1992-10-23 | 1995-08-29 | At&T Corp. | Interactive television with tailored programming |
US5418559A (en) | 1992-10-23 | 1995-05-23 | At&T Corp. | Multi-channel television converter for conventional and interactive signals |
US5742329A (en) | 1992-10-26 | 1998-04-21 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Image pickup system and communication system for use in video conference system or the like |
US5400401A (en) | 1992-10-30 | 1995-03-21 | Scientific Atlanta, Inc. | System and method for transmitting a plurality of digital services |
US5319707A (en) | 1992-11-02 | 1994-06-07 | Scientific Atlanta | System and method for multiplexing a plurality of digital program services for transmission to remote locations |
USD346620S (en) | 1992-11-04 | 1994-05-03 | Mcsorley Jeffrey E | Electronic book for displaying sheet music |
DE69318571T2 (en) | 1992-12-01 | 1998-09-17 | Microsoft Corp | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IN-LOCAL INTERACTION WITH EMBEDDED OBJECTS |
US5657414A (en) | 1992-12-01 | 1997-08-12 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Auxiliary device control for a subscriber terminal |
US5367571A (en) | 1992-12-02 | 1994-11-22 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Subscriber terminal with plug in expansion card |
US5357276A (en) | 1992-12-01 | 1994-10-18 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method of providing video on demand with VCR like functions |
US5341425A (en) | 1992-12-02 | 1994-08-23 | Scientific Atlanta, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for uniquely encrypting data at a plurality of data transmission sites for transmission to a reception site |
US5440632A (en) | 1992-12-02 | 1995-08-08 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Reprogrammable subscriber terminal |
US5410326A (en) | 1992-12-04 | 1995-04-25 | Goldstein; Steven W. | Programmable remote control device for interacting with a plurality of remotely controlled devices |
US5990927A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-11-23 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Advanced set top terminal for cable television delivery systems |
US7835989B1 (en) | 1992-12-09 | 2010-11-16 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book alternative delivery systems |
US5986690A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1999-11-16 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book selection and delivery system |
US7401286B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2008-07-15 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book electronic links |
US5798785A (en) | 1992-12-09 | 1998-08-25 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Terminal for suggesting programs offered on a television program delivery system |
US5341426A (en) | 1992-12-15 | 1994-08-23 | Motorola, Inc. | Cryptographic key management apparatus and method |
US5465401A (en) | 1992-12-15 | 1995-11-07 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Communication system and methods for enhanced information transfer |
JP3360856B2 (en) | 1992-12-18 | 2003-01-07 | 富士通株式会社 | Processor |
TW234223B (en) | 1993-01-05 | 1994-11-11 | Yuen Henry C | |
US5544320A (en) | 1993-01-08 | 1996-08-06 | Konrad; Allan M. | Remote information service access system based on a client-server-service model |
US5349638A (en) | 1993-01-25 | 1994-09-20 | Micro-Technology Inc.-Wisconsin | Universal calling/originating number identification |
US5890122A (en) | 1993-02-08 | 1999-03-30 | Microsoft Corporation | Voice-controlled computer simulateously displaying application menu and list of available commands |
US5491821A (en) | 1993-02-24 | 1996-02-13 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for incremental processing of computer objects |
JPH06250895A (en) | 1993-02-26 | 1994-09-09 | Fujitsu Ltd | Structured data base system |
JPH06337896A (en) | 1993-03-31 | 1994-12-06 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Device and method for retrieving electronic book display |
US5426594A (en) | 1993-04-02 | 1995-06-20 | Motorola, Inc. | Electronic greeting card store and communication system |
JPH06303607A (en) | 1993-04-15 | 1994-10-28 | Canon Inc | Video conference system and its control method |
CA2121151A1 (en) | 1993-04-16 | 1994-10-17 | Trevor Lambert | Method and apparatus for automatic insertion of a television signal from a remote source |
JPH06311119A (en) | 1993-04-20 | 1994-11-04 | Sony Corp | Data broadcasting system |
US5408258A (en) | 1993-04-21 | 1995-04-18 | The Arbitron Company | Method of automatically qualifying a signal reproduction device for installation of monitoring equipment |
USD349923S (en) | 1993-04-26 | 1994-08-23 | Western Publishing Company, Inc. | Electronic book |
TW318315B (en) | 1993-05-03 | 1997-10-21 | At & T Corp | |
US5565908A (en) | 1993-05-07 | 1996-10-15 | Kayon Systems, Inc. | Bi-directional system for providing information, management, and entertainment services |
JP3343990B2 (en) | 1993-05-19 | 2002-11-11 | ソニー株式会社 | Magnetic disk drive |
US5375160A (en) | 1993-05-28 | 1994-12-20 | Ledler Corporation | Interface apparatus for effecting captioning and communications between a telephone line and a television |
US5365434A (en) | 1993-06-04 | 1994-11-15 | Carolyn E. Carlson | Book enhancer |
US5579055A (en) | 1993-06-07 | 1996-11-26 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Electronic program guide and text channel data controller |
CA2164290A1 (en) | 1993-06-07 | 1994-12-22 | David B. Burleson | Display system for a subscriber terminal |
TW235358B (en) | 1993-06-11 | 1994-12-01 | Philips Electronics Nv | CD-I pointer device with 8 directions, 1 pixel/update |
US5408465A (en) | 1993-06-21 | 1995-04-18 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Flexible scheme for admission control of multimedia streams on integrated networks |
US5621456A (en) | 1993-06-22 | 1997-04-15 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for audio-visual interface for the display of multiple program categories |
US5544342A (en) | 1993-06-30 | 1996-08-06 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for prefetching information in a processing system |
EP0632397A3 (en) | 1993-07-02 | 1995-08-16 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone | Book data service system with data delivery by broadcasting. |
US5442390A (en) | 1993-07-07 | 1995-08-15 | Digital Equipment Corporation | Video on demand with memory accessing and or like functions |
US5329590A (en) | 1993-07-08 | 1994-07-12 | Uniden America Corporation | Automatic pay-per-view reception in a satellite receiver |
US5621658A (en) | 1993-07-13 | 1997-04-15 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for communicating an electronic action from a data processing system to another data processing system via an audio device |
US5355162A (en) | 1993-07-13 | 1994-10-11 | Pacific Ray Video Limited | Multi-standard cable television system |
US5437552A (en) | 1993-08-13 | 1995-08-01 | Western Publishing Co., Inc. | Interactive audio-visual work |
IL106746A (en) | 1993-08-19 | 1997-02-18 | News Datacom Ltd | CATV systems |
US5666493A (en) | 1993-08-24 | 1997-09-09 | Lykes Bros., Inc. | System for managing customer orders and method of implementation |
US5442626A (en) | 1993-08-24 | 1995-08-15 | At&T Corp. | Digital communications system with symbol multiplexers |
US5581560A (en) | 1993-08-27 | 1996-12-03 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Communication apparatus and method for simultaneous communication of audio and data signals with improved audio control |
US5377258A (en) | 1993-08-30 | 1994-12-27 | National Medical Research Council | Method and apparatus for an automated and interactive behavioral guidance system |
JPH0764893A (en) | 1993-08-31 | 1995-03-10 | Canon Inc | Network system |
FI97517C (en) | 1993-09-06 | 1996-12-27 | Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd | Packet data transmission in a digital cellular network |
US5499330A (en) | 1993-09-17 | 1996-03-12 | Digital Equipment Corp. | Document display system for organizing and displaying documents as screen objects organized along strand paths |
JPH09503358A (en) | 1993-09-20 | 1997-03-31 | モトローラ・インコーポレイテッド | Method and apparatus for trunk telephone access to a cable network |
JP2781345B2 (en) | 1993-09-20 | 1998-07-30 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Information playback device |
US5410344A (en) | 1993-09-22 | 1995-04-25 | Arrowsmith Technologies, Inc. | Apparatus and method of selecting video programs based on viewers' preferences |
US5491785A (en) | 1993-09-30 | 1996-02-13 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Information retrieval device for displaying and directly refreshing the display of a dynamically modifiable document |
US5689641A (en) | 1993-10-01 | 1997-11-18 | Vicor, Inc. | Multimedia collaboration system arrangement for routing compressed AV signal through a participant site without decompressing the AV signal |
JPH07175868A (en) | 1993-10-15 | 1995-07-14 | Internatl Business Mach Corp <Ibm> | Method and system for output of digital information to medium |
US5572625A (en) | 1993-10-22 | 1996-11-05 | Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. | Method for generating audio renderings of digitized works having highly technical content |
US5631693A (en) | 1993-10-25 | 1997-05-20 | Antec Corporation | Method and apparatus for providing on demand services in a subscriber system |
JPH07129604A (en) * | 1993-10-29 | 1995-05-19 | Hiuka Sangyo Kk | Remote library system for purchased electronic book data |
US6243071B1 (en) | 1993-11-03 | 2001-06-05 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Tool set for navigating through an electronic book |
US5524201A (en) | 1993-11-03 | 1996-06-04 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Method of preparing an electronic book for a computer system |
US5771354A (en) | 1993-11-04 | 1998-06-23 | Crawford; Christopher M. | Internet online backup system provides remote storage for customers using IDs and passwords which were interactively established when signing up for backup services |
US5903867A (en) | 1993-11-30 | 1999-05-11 | Sony Corporation | Information access system and recording system |
US5473362A (en) | 1993-11-30 | 1995-12-05 | Microsoft Corporation | Video on demand system comprising stripped data across plural storable devices with time multiplex scheduling |
US9053640B1 (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2015-06-09 | Adrea, LLC | Interactive electronic book |
CA2459059C (en) | 1993-12-02 | 2011-02-01 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Telephone system for delivery of electronic books |
US5519780A (en) | 1993-12-03 | 1996-05-21 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | System and method for providing compressed digital teletext services and teletext support services |
JP3237362B2 (en) | 1993-12-27 | 2001-12-10 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Program guide display device |
US5594493A (en) | 1994-01-19 | 1997-01-14 | Nemirofsky; Frank R. | Television signal activated interactive smart card system |
US5509074A (en) | 1994-01-27 | 1996-04-16 | At&T Corp. | Method of protecting electronically published materials using cryptographic protocols |
US5531227A (en) | 1994-01-28 | 1996-07-02 | Schneider Medical Technologies, Inc. | Imaging device and method |
US5534888A (en) | 1994-02-03 | 1996-07-09 | Motorola | Electronic book |
US5466158A (en) | 1994-02-14 | 1995-11-14 | Smith, Iii; Jay | Interactive book device |
JPH07235909A (en) * | 1994-02-25 | 1995-09-05 | Fujitsu Ltd | Transmission/reception system for electronic publication |
US6298441B1 (en) | 1994-03-10 | 2001-10-02 | News Datacom Ltd. | Secure document access system |
TW236744B (en) | 1994-03-23 | 1994-12-21 | Thomson Consumer Electronics | |
US5500794A (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1996-03-19 | Panasonic Technologies, Inc. | Distribution system and method for menu-driven user interface |
US5572652A (en) | 1994-04-04 | 1996-11-05 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | System and method for monitoring and controlling one or more computer sites |
US5537141A (en) | 1994-04-15 | 1996-07-16 | Actv, Inc. | Distance learning system providing individual television participation, audio responses and memory for every student |
US5768521A (en) | 1994-05-16 | 1998-06-16 | Intel Corporation | General purpose metering mechanism for distribution of electronic information |
US5630125A (en) | 1994-05-23 | 1997-05-13 | Zellweger; Paul | Method and apparatus for information management using an open hierarchical data structure |
US5521631A (en) | 1994-05-25 | 1996-05-28 | Spectravision, Inc. | Interactive digital video services system with store and forward capabilities |
US5477263A (en) | 1994-05-26 | 1995-12-19 | Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. | Method and apparatus for video on demand with fast forward, reverse and channel pause |
WO1995034170A1 (en) | 1994-06-08 | 1995-12-14 | Futurevision Of America Corp. | Interactive broadband multimedia system |
US5425102A (en) | 1994-06-09 | 1995-06-13 | Datasonix Corporation | Computer security apparatus with password hints |
US5475682A (en) | 1994-06-10 | 1995-12-12 | At&T Corp. | Method of regulating backpressure traffic in a packet switched network |
US5526469A (en) | 1994-06-14 | 1996-06-11 | Xerox Corporation | System for printing image data in a versatile print server |
JPH088850A (en) * | 1994-06-16 | 1996-01-12 | Hitachi Ltd | Radio electronic book system |
JPH088853A (en) * | 1994-06-24 | 1996-01-12 | Sony Corp | Scrambling device and descrambling device |
US5453796A (en) | 1994-06-28 | 1995-09-26 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Signal swap apparatus for a television receiver having an HDTV main picture signal processor and an NTSC Pix-in-Pix signal processor |
US5787171A (en) | 1994-06-28 | 1998-07-28 | Sony Corporation | Data transmitter and receiver |
US5624265A (en) | 1994-07-01 | 1997-04-29 | Tv Interactive Data Corporation | Printed publication remote contol for accessing interactive media |
US5538430A (en) | 1994-07-26 | 1996-07-23 | Smith; B. Gary | Self-reading child's book |
US5555441A (en) | 1994-08-02 | 1996-09-10 | Interim Design Inc. | Interactive audiovisual distribution system |
US5640193A (en) | 1994-08-15 | 1997-06-17 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Multimedia service access by reading marks on an object |
US5586264A (en) | 1994-09-08 | 1996-12-17 | Ibm Corporation | Video optimized media streamer with cache management |
US5515098A (en) | 1994-09-08 | 1996-05-07 | Carles; John B. | System and method for selectively distributing commercial messages over a communications network |
CA2154951C (en) | 1994-09-12 | 2004-05-25 | John E. Warnock | Method and apparatus for viewing electronic documents |
US5715314A (en) * | 1994-10-24 | 1998-02-03 | Open Market, Inc. | Network sales system |
US5608449A (en) | 1994-10-31 | 1997-03-04 | Rtc Industries, Inc. | Wireless interactive consumer video system |
WO1996015517A2 (en) | 1994-11-02 | 1996-05-23 | Visible Interactive Corporation | Interactive personal interpretive device and system for retrieving information about a plurality of objects |
US5724521A (en) | 1994-11-03 | 1998-03-03 | Intel Corporation | Method and apparatus for providing electronic advertisements to end users in a consumer best-fit pricing manner |
US5727065A (en) | 1994-11-14 | 1998-03-10 | Hughes Electronics | Deferred billing, broadcast, electronic document distribution system and method |
US5638443A (en) | 1994-11-23 | 1997-06-10 | Xerox Corporation | System for controlling the distribution and use of composite digital works |
US7613659B1 (en) | 1994-11-28 | 2009-11-03 | Yt Acquisition Corporation | System and method for processing tokenless biometric electronic transmissions using an electronic rule module clearinghouse |
US5758257A (en) | 1994-11-29 | 1998-05-26 | Herz; Frederick | System and method for scheduling broadcast of and access to video programs and other data using customer profiles |
US6460036B1 (en) | 1994-11-29 | 2002-10-01 | Pinpoint Incorporated | System and method for providing customized electronic newspapers and target advertisements |
US5799157A (en) | 1994-12-13 | 1998-08-25 | Elcom Systems, Inc. | System and method for creating interactive electronic systems to present information and execute transactions |
US5774170A (en) | 1994-12-13 | 1998-06-30 | Hite; Kenneth C. | System and method for delivering targeted advertisements to consumers |
US5512934A (en) | 1994-12-29 | 1996-04-30 | At&T Corp. | System and method for transmission of programming on demand |
US5754172A (en) | 1995-01-09 | 1998-05-19 | Sony Corporation | Information display method |
JP2827946B2 (en) | 1995-02-09 | 1998-11-25 | 日本電気株式会社 | Video search system |
US5892900A (en) | 1996-08-30 | 1999-04-06 | Intertrust Technologies Corp. | Systems and methods for secure transaction management and electronic rights protection |
US5530235A (en) | 1995-02-16 | 1996-06-25 | Xerox Corporation | Interactive contents revealing storage device |
US5696906A (en) | 1995-03-09 | 1997-12-09 | Continental Cablevision, Inc. | Telecommunicaion user account management system and method |
US5635918A (en) | 1995-03-16 | 1997-06-03 | Motorola, Inc. | Method and apparatus for controlling message delivery to wireless receiver devices |
US5630103A (en) | 1995-03-20 | 1997-05-13 | Smith; Patrick C. | Radio transmission system for distribution of newspaper copy in computer format to personal computers for viewing |
US5937162A (en) | 1995-04-06 | 1999-08-10 | Exactis.Com, Inc. | Method and apparatus for high volume e-mail delivery |
US5906397A (en) | 1995-04-07 | 1999-05-25 | Steve C. MacWilliams | File folder and method |
US6230202B1 (en) | 1995-05-01 | 2001-05-08 | Donald A Lewine | Method for performing transactions on the world-wide web computer network |
US5740549A (en) | 1995-06-12 | 1998-04-14 | Pointcast, Inc. | Information and advertising distribution system and method |
DE29510170U1 (en) | 1995-06-22 | 1995-11-30 | Siemens Ag | Pen-oriented small calculator in the form of a notepad |
US5778374A (en) | 1995-08-03 | 1998-07-07 | International Business Machines Corporation | Compressed common file directory for mass storage systems |
US5815662A (en) | 1995-08-15 | 1998-09-29 | Ong; Lance | Predictive memory caching for media-on-demand systems |
US6486895B1 (en) | 1995-09-08 | 2002-11-26 | Xerox Corporation | Display system for displaying lists of linked documents |
JP3441306B2 (en) | 1995-09-12 | 2003-09-02 | 株式会社東芝 | Client device, message transmission method, server device, page processing method, and relay server device |
US5844600A (en) | 1995-09-15 | 1998-12-01 | General Datacomm, Inc. | Methods, apparatus, and systems for transporting multimedia conference data streams through a transport network |
US5682206A (en) | 1995-09-25 | 1997-10-28 | Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. | Consumer interface for programming device |
WO1997012328A1 (en) | 1995-09-25 | 1997-04-03 | Adobe Systems Incorporated | Optimum access to electronic documents |
EP0766183B1 (en) | 1995-09-29 | 2002-12-04 | Hewlett-Packard Company, A Delaware Corporation | Browsing electronically stored information |
JPH09101971A (en) * | 1995-10-06 | 1997-04-15 | Nippon Telegr & Teleph Corp <Ntt> | Personal electronic book device |
US5796954A (en) | 1995-10-13 | 1998-08-18 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Method and system for maximizing the use of threads in a file server for processing network requests |
US5788504A (en) | 1995-10-16 | 1998-08-04 | Brookhaven Science Associates Llc | Computerized training management system |
US5737747A (en) | 1995-10-27 | 1998-04-07 | Emc Corporation | Prefetching to service multiple video streams from an integrated cached disk array |
US6061504A (en) | 1995-10-27 | 2000-05-09 | Emc Corporation | Video file server using an integrated cached disk array and stream server computers |
US5742680A (en) | 1995-11-13 | 1998-04-21 | E Star, Inc. | Set top box for receiving and decryption and descrambling a plurality of satellite television signals |
ES2220995T5 (en) | 1995-11-13 | 2009-03-16 | Gemstar Development Corporation | METHOD AND APPLIANCE FOR DISPLAYING TEXT DATA OR GRAPHICS ON THE TELEVISION RECEIVERS SCREEN. |
US5793414A (en) | 1995-11-15 | 1998-08-11 | Eastman Kodak Company | Interactive video communication system |
US5802526A (en) | 1995-11-15 | 1998-09-01 | Microsoft Corporation | System and method for graphically displaying and navigating through an interactive voice response menu |
US5761485A (en) | 1995-12-01 | 1998-06-02 | Munyan; Daniel E. | Personal electronic book system |
US5726909A (en) | 1995-12-08 | 1998-03-10 | Krikorian; Thomas M. | Continuous play background music system |
US5893132A (en) * | 1995-12-14 | 1999-04-06 | Motorola, Inc. | Method and system for encoding a book for reading using an electronic book |
US5663748A (en) | 1995-12-14 | 1997-09-02 | Motorola, Inc. | Electronic book having highlighting feature |
US5761681A (en) | 1995-12-14 | 1998-06-02 | Motorola, Inc. | Method of substituting names in an electronic book |
US5697793A (en) | 1995-12-14 | 1997-12-16 | Motorola, Inc. | Electronic book and method of displaying at least one reading metric therefor |
US5918213A (en) | 1995-12-22 | 1999-06-29 | Mci Communications Corporation | System and method for automated remote previewing and purchasing of music, video, software, and other multimedia products |
US5737725A (en) | 1996-01-09 | 1998-04-07 | U S West Marketing Resources Group, Inc. | Method and system for automatically generating new voice files corresponding to new text from a script |
JP2000503154A (en) * | 1996-01-11 | 2000-03-14 | エムアールジェイ インコーポレイテッド | System for controlling access and distribution of digital ownership |
US5790935A (en) | 1996-01-30 | 1998-08-04 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Virtual on-demand digital information delivery system and method |
US5631694A (en) | 1996-02-01 | 1997-05-20 | Ibm Corporation | Maximum factor selection policy for batching VOD requests |
US5930768A (en) | 1996-02-06 | 1999-07-27 | Supersonic Boom, Inc. | Method and system for remote user controlled manufacturing |
US5761606A (en) | 1996-02-08 | 1998-06-02 | Wolzien; Thomas R. | Media online services access via address embedded in video or audio program |
US6115482A (en) | 1996-02-13 | 2000-09-05 | Ascent Technology, Inc. | Voice-output reading system with gesture-based navigation |
US5978841A (en) | 1996-03-08 | 1999-11-02 | Berger; Louis | Look ahead caching process for improved information retrieval response time by caching bodies of information before they are requested by the user |
JP3862315B2 (en) | 1996-03-13 | 2006-12-27 | キヤノン株式会社 | Image display apparatus and control method thereof |
US5893109A (en) | 1996-03-15 | 1999-04-06 | Inso Providence Corporation | Generation of chunks of a long document for an electronic book system |
DE19611142A1 (en) | 1996-03-21 | 1997-09-25 | Bayer Ag | Process for the preparation of hydroxymethylcyclopropane |
JPH09284571A (en) * | 1996-04-09 | 1997-10-31 | Mitsubishi Electric Corp | Electronic newspaper system |
US5890177A (en) | 1996-04-24 | 1999-03-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for consolidating edits made by multiple editors working on multiple document copies |
WO1997041688A1 (en) | 1996-04-29 | 1997-11-06 | Agostino Richard J D | Video directory entertainment and marketing method and apparatus |
US6469753B1 (en) | 1996-05-03 | 2002-10-22 | Starsight Telecast, Inc. | Information system |
EP0810534B1 (en) | 1996-05-13 | 2003-03-19 | Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. | Document display system and electronic dictionary |
US5761468A (en) | 1996-05-15 | 1998-06-02 | Sun Microsystems Inc | Hardware mechanism for optimizing instruction and data prefetching by forming augmented prefetch instructions |
US5815671A (en) | 1996-06-11 | 1998-09-29 | Command Audio Corporation | Method and apparatus for encoding and storing audio/video information for subsequent predetermined retrieval |
US5956483A (en) | 1996-06-28 | 1999-09-21 | Microsoft Corporation | System and method for making function calls from a web browser to a local application |
US5850520A (en) | 1996-07-01 | 1998-12-15 | Electronic Data Systems Corporation | Method and system for electronic publication distribution including return receipt |
US5884288A (en) * | 1996-07-01 | 1999-03-16 | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Method and system for electronic bill payment |
US5760771A (en) | 1996-07-17 | 1998-06-02 | At & T Corp | System and method for providing structured tours of hypertext files |
US6279017B1 (en) | 1996-08-07 | 2001-08-21 | Randall C. Walker | Method and apparatus for displaying text based upon attributes found within the text |
US5956034A (en) | 1996-08-13 | 1999-09-21 | Softbook Press, Inc. | Method and apparatus for viewing electronic reading materials |
US5850629A (en) | 1996-09-09 | 1998-12-15 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | User interface controller for text-to-speech synthesizer |
US5926624A (en) | 1996-09-12 | 1999-07-20 | Audible, Inc. | Digital information library and delivery system with logic for generating files targeted to the playback device |
DE69717659T2 (en) | 1996-09-25 | 2003-09-18 | Sylvan Learning Systems Inc | AUTOMATIC EXAMINATION AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR MEDIATING THE TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATING THE STUDENTS |
JPH10187267A (en) * | 1996-12-25 | 1998-07-14 | Digital Vision Lab:Kk | Information supply system and charging system applied to the information supply system |
US5881269A (en) | 1996-09-30 | 1999-03-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Simulation of multiple local area network clients on a single workstation |
US5923656A (en) | 1996-10-22 | 1999-07-13 | Board Of Trustees Of The University Of Illinois | Scalable broad band input-queued ATM switch including weight driven cell scheduler |
US6052717A (en) | 1996-10-23 | 2000-04-18 | Family Systems, Ltd. | Interactive web book system |
US6039575A (en) | 1996-10-24 | 2000-03-21 | National Education Corporation | Interactive learning system with pretest |
US6313828B1 (en) | 1996-11-12 | 2001-11-06 | Carlos Landetta Chombo | Electronic book |
US5903652A (en) | 1996-11-25 | 1999-05-11 | Microsoft Corporation | System and apparatus for monitoring secure information in a computer network |
WO1998027494A1 (en) * | 1996-12-18 | 1998-06-25 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Electronic document management method |
GB9626752D0 (en) | 1996-12-23 | 1997-02-12 | Northern Telecom Ltd | Management of data structures |
JP2751923B1 (en) | 1997-02-05 | 1998-05-18 | 日本電気株式会社 | Multipoint video conference system and multipoint video conference device |
US6452933B1 (en) | 1997-02-07 | 2002-09-17 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Fair queuing system with adaptive bandwidth redistribution |
US5850218A (en) | 1997-02-19 | 1998-12-15 | Time Warner Entertainment Company L.P. | Inter-active program guide with default selection control |
US6091930A (en) | 1997-03-04 | 2000-07-18 | Case Western Reserve University | Customizable interactive textbook |
US5787254A (en) | 1997-03-14 | 1998-07-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | Web browser method and system for display and management of server latency |
US20040219494A1 (en) | 1997-03-21 | 2004-11-04 | Boon John F. | Authoring tool and method of use |
US5844890A (en) | 1997-03-25 | 1998-12-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Communications cell scheduler and scheduling method for providing proportional use of network bandwith |
US5959945A (en) | 1997-04-04 | 1999-09-28 | Advanced Technology Research Sa Cv | System for selectively distributing music to a plurality of jukeboxes |
US6452614B1 (en) | 1997-04-14 | 2002-09-17 | Siements Information And Communication Networks, Inc. | Organizing a user interface using different personae |
US5892915A (en) | 1997-04-25 | 1999-04-06 | Emc Corporation | System having client sending edit commands to server during transmission of continuous media from one clip in play list for editing the play list |
US6034680A (en) | 1997-04-25 | 2000-03-07 | Foundation For Concepts In Education, Inc. | Supplying supplementary information for printed books |
US6606603B1 (en) | 1997-04-28 | 2003-08-12 | Ariba, Inc. | Method and apparatus for ordering items using electronic catalogs |
JPH113341A (en) * | 1997-06-10 | 1999-01-06 | Sony Corp | Information storing device, its method, information processing communication system and its method |
US5864823A (en) | 1997-06-25 | 1999-01-26 | Virtel Corporation | Integrated virtual telecommunication system for E-commerce |
US5898852A (en) | 1997-06-26 | 1999-04-27 | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Load instruction steering in a dual data cache microarchitecture |
CA2239339C (en) | 1997-07-18 | 2002-04-16 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing speaker authentication by verbal information verification using forced decoding |
US5991594A (en) | 1997-07-21 | 1999-11-23 | Froeber; Helmut | Electronic book |
US5957697A (en) | 1997-08-20 | 1999-09-28 | Ithaca Media Corporation | Printed book augmented with an electronic virtual book and associated electronic data |
US6301584B1 (en) | 1997-08-21 | 2001-10-09 | Home Information Services, Inc. | System and method for retrieving entities and integrating data |
US5987482A (en) | 1997-09-08 | 1999-11-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Computer system and method of displaying hypertext documents with internal hypertext link definitions |
US6044385A (en) | 1997-09-10 | 2000-03-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for efficiently managing the manipulation of large documents displayed within a computer screen |
US6252879B1 (en) | 1997-09-17 | 2001-06-26 | Sony Corporation | Single counter for controlling multiple finite state machines in a multi-port bridge for local area network |
US6377993B1 (en) | 1997-09-26 | 2002-04-23 | Mci Worldcom, Inc. | Integrated proxy interface for web based data management reports |
US5986677A (en) | 1997-09-30 | 1999-11-16 | Compaq Computer Corporation | Accelerated graphics port read transaction merging |
US6101216A (en) | 1997-10-03 | 2000-08-08 | Rockwell International Corporation | Splitterless digital subscriber line communication system |
US6112049A (en) | 1997-10-21 | 2000-08-29 | The Riverside Publishing Company | Computer network based testing system |
US6006183A (en) | 1997-12-16 | 1999-12-21 | International Business Machines Corp. | Speech recognition confidence level display |
US6006236A (en) | 1997-12-22 | 1999-12-21 | Adobe Systems Incorporated | Virtual navigator that produces virtual links at run time for identifying links in an electronic file |
US6359881B1 (en) | 1997-12-31 | 2002-03-19 | At&T Corp. | Hybrid fiber twisted pair local loop network service architecture |
US6385614B1 (en) | 1998-01-14 | 2002-05-07 | Netlibrary Inc. | Electronic bookshelf with multi-user features |
US6331867B1 (en) | 1998-03-20 | 2001-12-18 | Nuvomedia, Inc. | Electronic book with automated look-up of terms of within reference titles |
US6101485A (en) | 1998-03-26 | 2000-08-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Electronic solicitations for internet commerce |
US6009401A (en) | 1998-04-06 | 1999-12-28 | Preview Systems, Inc. | Relicensing of electronically purchased software |
US6657654B2 (en) | 1998-04-29 | 2003-12-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Camera for use with personal digital assistants with high speed communication link |
US6415316B1 (en) | 1998-09-01 | 2002-07-02 | Aidministrator Nederland B.V. | Method and apparatus for implementing a web page diary |
US6611531B1 (en) | 1998-09-30 | 2003-08-26 | Cisco Technology, Inc. | Method and apparatus for routing integrated data, voice, and video traffic |
US6535505B1 (en) | 1998-09-30 | 2003-03-18 | Cisco Technology, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing a time-division multiplexing (TDM) interface among a high-speed data stream and multiple processors |
US6295542B1 (en) | 1998-10-02 | 2001-09-25 | National Power Plc | Method and apparatus for cross-referencing text |
GB9822022D0 (en) | 1998-10-09 | 1998-12-02 | Roke Manor Research | Method and apparatus for receiving a media broadcast |
US6314474B1 (en) | 1998-10-16 | 2001-11-06 | Softbook Press, Inc. | Efficient information exchange between an electronic book and a cartridge |
US6363418B1 (en) | 1998-10-16 | 2002-03-26 | Softbook Press, Inc. | On-line image caching control for efficient image display |
US6331865B1 (en) | 1998-10-16 | 2001-12-18 | Softbook Press, Inc. | Method and apparatus for electronically distributing and viewing digital contents |
US6167435A (en) | 1998-10-30 | 2000-12-26 | Netcreations, Inc. | Double opt-in™ method and system for verifying subscriptions to information distribution services |
US6334109B1 (en) | 1998-10-30 | 2001-12-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Distributed personalized advertisement system and method |
US6260024B1 (en) | 1998-12-02 | 2001-07-10 | Gary Shkedy | Method and apparatus for facilitating buyer-driven purchase orders on a commercial network system |
EP1141811A2 (en) | 1998-12-08 | 2001-10-10 | Mediadna, Inc. | A system and method of obfuscating data |
US6269483B1 (en) | 1998-12-17 | 2001-07-31 | International Business Machines Corp. | Method and apparatus for using audio level to make a multimedia conference dormant |
US6556561B1 (en) | 1998-12-31 | 2003-04-29 | Nortel Networks Corporation | Data network for real time information |
MXPA01007580A (en) | 1999-01-27 | 2003-07-14 | Discovery Communicat Inc | Electronic book having library catalog menu and searching features. |
US6813249B1 (en) | 1999-02-16 | 2004-11-02 | Efficient Networks, Inc. | System and method for prefetching data |
US7051351B2 (en) | 1999-03-08 | 2006-05-23 | Microsoft Corporation | System and method of inserting advertisements into an information retrieval system display |
US6249785B1 (en) | 1999-05-06 | 2001-06-19 | Mediachoice, Inc. | Method for predicting ratings |
WO2001018665A1 (en) | 1999-09-08 | 2001-03-15 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Video conferencing using an electronic book viewer |
US6320591B1 (en) | 1999-09-10 | 2001-11-20 | Gateway, Inc. | System and method for the utilization of an electronic book |
AU7830200A (en) | 1999-09-21 | 2001-04-24 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Electronic book security and copyright protection system |
US6886000B1 (en) | 1999-09-29 | 2005-04-26 | International Business Machines Corporation | On-line negotiations with dynamic profiling |
US6493734B1 (en) | 1999-10-15 | 2002-12-10 | Softbook Press, Inc. | System and method to efficiently generate and switch page display views on a portable electronic book |
US6597314B1 (en) | 1999-12-07 | 2003-07-22 | Microsoft Corporation | Method and apparatus for providing help and settings control to users of an electronic book |
US6990464B1 (en) | 2000-01-11 | 2006-01-24 | Ncr Corporation | Apparatus, system and method for electronic book distribution |
US7725812B1 (en) | 2000-03-31 | 2010-05-25 | Avid Technology, Inc. | Authoring system for combining temporal and nontemporal digital media |
JP2001357219A (en) | 2000-06-15 | 2001-12-26 | Media Vision:Kk | Method and system for generating and selling book by using network |
US6725203B1 (en) | 2000-10-12 | 2004-04-20 | E-Book Systems Pte Ltd. | Method and system for advertisement using internet browser to insert advertisements |
US6891551B2 (en) | 2000-11-10 | 2005-05-10 | Microsoft Corporation | Selection handles in editing electronic documents |
US6985913B2 (en) | 2000-12-28 | 2006-01-10 | Casio Computer Co. Ltd. | Electronic book data delivery apparatus, electronic book device and recording medium |
US20020120635A1 (en) | 2001-02-27 | 2002-08-29 | Joao Raymond Anthony | Apparatus and method for providing an electronic book |
US7039643B2 (en) | 2001-04-10 | 2006-05-02 | Adobe Systems Incorporated | System, method and apparatus for converting and integrating media files |
US7020663B2 (en) | 2001-05-30 | 2006-03-28 | George M. Hay | System and method for the delivery of electronic books |
US6976028B2 (en) | 2001-06-15 | 2005-12-13 | Sony Corporation | Media content creating and publishing system and process |
GB2381086A (en) | 2001-07-30 | 2003-04-23 | Tentendigital Ltd | Learning content management system |
US7103848B2 (en) | 2001-09-13 | 2006-09-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Handheld electronic book reader with annotation and usage tracking capabilities |
JP2003150813A (en) | 2001-11-13 | 2003-05-23 | Sony Corp | Information processing device and method, information processing system and method, and program |
TW565811B (en) | 2001-12-31 | 2003-12-11 | Ji-Ching Jou | Computer digital teaching method |
US20030236836A1 (en) | 2002-03-21 | 2003-12-25 | Borthwick Ernest Mark | System and method for the design and sharing of rich media productions via a computer network |
US20030200145A1 (en) | 2002-04-18 | 2003-10-23 | Brad Krassner | Internet-based system and method for creating and distributing customized rich media marketing and sales materials via e-mail |
US8392834B2 (en) | 2003-04-09 | 2013-03-05 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Systems and methods of authoring a multimedia file |
US20060204942A1 (en) | 2005-03-10 | 2006-09-14 | Qbinternational | E-learning system |
US20060259239A1 (en) | 2005-04-27 | 2006-11-16 | Guy Nouri | System and method for providing multimedia tours |
-
1999
- 1999-04-13 US US09/289,957 patent/US7835989B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2000
- 2000-04-11 JP JP2000611222A patent/JP2002541594A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2000-04-11 MX MXPA01010300A patent/MXPA01010300A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2000-04-11 CA CA2369759A patent/CA2369759C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2000-04-11 EP EP00925915A patent/EP1171840A2/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2000-04-11 WO PCT/US2000/009541 patent/WO2000062228A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2000-04-11 AU AU44536/00A patent/AU4453600A/en not_active Abandoned
-
2002
- 2002-07-16 HK HK02105271.7A patent/HK1045381A1/en unknown
-
2009
- 2009-06-04 US US12/478,107 patent/US20090241054A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2011
- 2011-10-05 JP JP2011221264A patent/JP2012054964A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (102)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3860873A (en) * | 1971-10-01 | 1975-01-14 | Tape Athon Corp | Fm transmission system |
US3869873A (en) * | 1974-05-20 | 1975-03-11 | Elliott Williams Company Inc | Door structure for large freezer |
US4071697A (en) * | 1976-10-18 | 1978-01-31 | Atari, Inc. | Interactive video/telephone transmission system |
US4251671A (en) * | 1979-10-05 | 1981-02-17 | Miles Laboratories, Inc. | Extraction of citric acid |
US4429385A (en) * | 1981-12-31 | 1984-01-31 | American Newspaper Publishers Association | Method and apparatus for digital serial scanning with hierarchical and relational access |
US4653100A (en) * | 1982-01-29 | 1987-03-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Audio response terminal for use with data processing systems |
US4578531A (en) * | 1982-06-09 | 1986-03-25 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Encryption system key distribution method and apparatus |
US4639225A (en) * | 1982-06-24 | 1987-01-27 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Portable audio-visual electronic apparatus |
US4567512A (en) * | 1982-08-19 | 1986-01-28 | World Video Library, Inc. | Recorded program communication system |
US4649533A (en) * | 1983-10-25 | 1987-03-10 | Keycom Electronic Publishing | Method and apparatus for retrieving remotely located information |
US4805014A (en) * | 1983-11-07 | 1989-02-14 | Sony Corporation | Signal transmission system for a CATV system |
US4644470A (en) * | 1984-07-20 | 1987-02-17 | International Business Machines Corp. | Non-unique names for broadcast messages |
US4724491A (en) * | 1984-08-28 | 1988-02-09 | Adams-Russell Co., Inc. | Inserting television advertising spots automatically |
US4731840A (en) * | 1985-05-06 | 1988-03-15 | The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy | Method for encryption and transmission of digital keying data |
US4891838A (en) * | 1985-11-04 | 1990-01-02 | Dental Data Service, Inc. | Computer accessing system |
USD314383S (en) * | 1986-09-23 | 1991-02-05 | RUF GmbH & Co. KG Elektrotechnische Spezialfabrik | Remote-control transmitter |
US4796220A (en) * | 1986-12-15 | 1989-01-03 | Pride Software Development Corp. | Method of controlling the copying of software |
US4985697A (en) * | 1987-07-06 | 1991-01-15 | Learning Insights, Ltd. | Electronic book educational publishing method using buried reference materials and alternate learning levels |
US5157783A (en) * | 1988-02-26 | 1992-10-20 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Data base system which maintains project query list, desktop list and status of multiple ongoing research projects |
US4899292A (en) * | 1988-03-02 | 1990-02-06 | Image Storage/Retrieval Systems, Inc. | System for storing and retrieving text and associated graphics |
US4982344A (en) * | 1988-05-18 | 1991-01-01 | Xerox Corporation | Accelerating link creation |
US4995078A (en) * | 1988-06-09 | 1991-02-19 | Monslow H Vincent | Television broadcast system for selective transmission of viewer-chosen programs at viewer-requested times |
US5379057A (en) * | 1988-11-14 | 1995-01-03 | Microslate, Inc. | Portable computer with touch screen and computer system employing same |
US5089956A (en) * | 1988-11-29 | 1992-02-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method of distributing related documents to identified end users in an information processing system |
US4996597A (en) * | 1989-04-20 | 1991-02-26 | Rca Licensing Corporation | User programmable switching arrangement |
US5078019A (en) * | 1989-05-26 | 1992-01-07 | Alps Electric Co., Ltd. | Trackball device |
US5484292A (en) * | 1989-08-21 | 1996-01-16 | Mctaggart; Stephen I. | Apparatus for combining audio and visual indicia |
US5283639A (en) * | 1989-10-23 | 1994-02-01 | Esch Arthur G | Multiple media delivery network method and apparatus |
US6507342B1 (en) * | 1990-01-19 | 2003-01-14 | Sony Corporation | Information processing apparatus |
US5091782A (en) * | 1990-04-09 | 1992-02-25 | General Instrument Corporation | Apparatus and method for adaptively compressing successive blocks of digital video |
US5486686A (en) * | 1990-05-30 | 1996-01-23 | Xerox Corporation | Hardcopy lossless data storage and communications for electronic document processing systems |
US5859594A (en) * | 1990-06-28 | 1999-01-12 | Motorola, Inc. | Selective call receiver having selectable displays |
US5289288A (en) * | 1990-07-20 | 1994-02-22 | Mti Associates | Method and apparatus for encoding a video signal having multi-language capabilities |
US5388196A (en) * | 1990-09-07 | 1995-02-07 | Xerox Corporation | Hierarchical shared books with database |
US5282028A (en) * | 1990-11-27 | 1994-01-25 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Remote control for digital music terminal with synchronized communications |
US5383112A (en) * | 1991-01-07 | 1995-01-17 | Gte Service Corporation | Inventory management method |
US5285272A (en) * | 1991-02-26 | 1994-02-08 | Sasktel | Video store and forward on demand apparatus and method |
US5384588A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1995-01-24 | Telerobotics International, Inc. | System for omindirectional image viewing at a remote location without the transmission of control signals to select viewing parameters |
US5185667A (en) * | 1991-05-13 | 1993-02-09 | Telerobotics International, Inc. | Omniview motionless camera orientation system |
US5289271A (en) * | 1991-09-09 | 1994-02-22 | Watson John C | Cable television-usage system |
US5182639A (en) * | 1991-10-30 | 1993-01-26 | Suganda Jutamulia | Real-time analytic pseudocolor encoder system |
US5404505A (en) * | 1991-11-01 | 1995-04-04 | Finisar Corporation | System for scheduling transmission of indexed and requested database tiers on demand at varying repetition rates |
US5485176A (en) * | 1991-11-21 | 1996-01-16 | Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises | Information display system for electronically reading a book |
US5282206A (en) * | 1991-12-03 | 1994-01-25 | Fujitsu Limited | Synchronization circuit for establishing frame synchronism using pointers in a digital transmission system |
US5390348A (en) * | 1992-02-12 | 1995-02-14 | Creative Digital Inc. | System for tracking and correcting drift and dispersion in satellite transmission signals |
US5495581A (en) * | 1992-02-25 | 1996-02-27 | Tsai; Irving | Method and apparatus for linking a document with associated reference information using pattern matching |
US5483278A (en) * | 1992-05-27 | 1996-01-09 | Philips Electronics North America Corporation | System and method for finding a movie of interest in a large movie database |
US5467102A (en) * | 1992-08-31 | 1995-11-14 | Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba | Portable display device with at least two display screens controllable collectively or separately |
US5388101A (en) * | 1992-10-26 | 1995-02-07 | Eon Corporation | Interactive nationwide data service communication system for stationary and mobile battery operated subscriber units |
US5715515A (en) * | 1992-12-02 | 1998-02-03 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Method and apparatus for downloading on-screen graphics and captions to a television terminal |
US5600573A (en) * | 1992-12-09 | 1997-02-04 | Discovery Communications, Inc. | Operations center with video storage for a television program packaging and delivery system |
US5392387A (en) * | 1992-12-17 | 1995-02-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for enhanced data access efficiency in an electronic book |
US5481255A (en) * | 1993-02-10 | 1996-01-02 | Data Critical Corp. | Paging transmission system |
US5598351A (en) * | 1993-02-26 | 1997-01-28 | John C. Chater | Communication system |
US5485221A (en) * | 1993-06-07 | 1996-01-16 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Subscription television system and terminal for enabling simultaneous display of multiple services |
US6173335B1 (en) * | 1993-07-30 | 2001-01-09 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Structure and protocol for routing information in a system |
US5481296A (en) * | 1993-08-06 | 1996-01-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Apparatus and method for selectively viewing video information |
US6014184A (en) * | 1993-09-09 | 2000-01-11 | News America Publications, Inc. | Electronic television program guide schedule system and method with data feed access |
US5596697A (en) * | 1993-09-30 | 1997-01-21 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Method for routing items within a computer system |
US5598209A (en) * | 1993-10-20 | 1997-01-28 | Videoconferencing Systems, Inc. | Method for automatically adjusting a video conferencing system camera |
US5481294A (en) * | 1993-10-27 | 1996-01-02 | A. C. Nielsen Company | Audience measurement system utilizing ancillary codes and passive signatures |
US5598279A (en) * | 1993-11-02 | 1997-01-28 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Document circulating apparatus with automatic deletion of data |
US5481542A (en) * | 1993-11-10 | 1996-01-02 | Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. | Interactive information services control system |
US5708960A (en) * | 1994-02-17 | 1998-01-13 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Subscription newspaper dispatching system |
US5598523A (en) * | 1994-03-31 | 1997-01-28 | Panasonic Technologies, Inc. | Method and system for displayed menu activation using a matching distinctive arrangement of keypad actuators |
US5602596A (en) * | 1994-04-08 | 1997-02-11 | U S West Technologies, Inc. | Method for navigating a complex multimedia structure at an interactive user station |
US5598470A (en) * | 1994-04-25 | 1997-01-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for enabling trial period use of software products: Method and apparatus for utilizing a decryption block |
US7181692B2 (en) * | 1994-07-22 | 2007-02-20 | Siegel Steven H | Method for the auditory navigation of text |
US5719938A (en) * | 1994-08-01 | 1998-02-17 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Methods for providing secure access to shared information |
US5604824A (en) * | 1994-09-22 | 1997-02-18 | Houston Advanced Research Center | Method and apparatus for compression and decompression of documents and the like using splines and spline-wavelets |
US5600368A (en) * | 1994-11-09 | 1997-02-04 | Microsoft Corporation | Interactive television system and method for viewer control of multiple camera viewpoints in broadcast programming |
US5721832A (en) * | 1995-05-12 | 1998-02-24 | Regal Greetings & Gifts Inc. | Method and apparatus for an interactive computerized catalog system |
US5721956A (en) * | 1995-05-15 | 1998-02-24 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Method and apparatus for selective buffering of pages to provide continuous media data to multiple users |
US5721908A (en) * | 1995-06-07 | 1998-02-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Computer network for WWW server data access over internet |
US5710887A (en) * | 1995-08-29 | 1998-01-20 | Broadvision | Computer system and method for electronic commerce |
US5870717A (en) * | 1995-11-13 | 1999-02-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | System for ordering items over computer network using an electronic catalog |
US6675384B1 (en) * | 1995-12-21 | 2004-01-06 | Robert S. Block | Method and apparatus for information labeling and control |
US5862325A (en) * | 1996-02-29 | 1999-01-19 | Intermind Corporation | Computer-based communication system and method using metadata defining a control structure |
US6025837A (en) * | 1996-03-29 | 2000-02-15 | Micrsoft Corporation | Electronic program guide with hyperlinks to target resources |
US5862329A (en) * | 1996-04-18 | 1999-01-19 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method system and article of manufacture for multi-casting audio visual material |
US6016484A (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 2000-01-18 | Verifone, Inc. | System, method and article of manufacture for network electronic payment instrument and certification of payment and credit collection utilizing a payment |
US6012890A (en) * | 1996-10-04 | 2000-01-11 | Instabook Corporation | Electronic bookstore vending machine |
US5870767A (en) * | 1996-11-22 | 1999-02-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for rendering hyper-link information in a printable medium from a graphical user interface |
US6029141A (en) * | 1997-06-27 | 2000-02-22 | Amazon.Com, Inc. | Internet-based customer referral system |
US6847403B1 (en) * | 1997-11-05 | 2005-01-25 | Polycom, Inc. | Integrated portable videoconferencing unit |
US6029176A (en) * | 1997-11-25 | 2000-02-22 | Cannon Holdings, L.L.C. | Manipulating and analyzing data using a computer system having a database mining engine resides in memory |
US6029045A (en) * | 1997-12-09 | 2000-02-22 | Cogent Technology, Inc. | System and method for inserting local content into programming content |
US6335678B1 (en) * | 1998-02-26 | 2002-01-01 | Monec Holding Ag | Electronic device, preferably an electronic book |
US6339842B1 (en) * | 1998-06-10 | 2002-01-15 | Dennis Sunga Fernandez | Digital television with subscriber conference overlay |
US6177936B1 (en) * | 1998-08-20 | 2001-01-23 | International Business Machines Corporation | Browser hierarchical contextual information for web pages |
US6351750B1 (en) * | 1998-10-16 | 2002-02-26 | Softbook Press, Inc. | Dynamic conversion of byte ordering for use on different processor platforms |
US6195667B1 (en) * | 1998-10-16 | 2001-02-27 | Softbook Press, Inc. | On-line menu updating for an electronic book |
US6683631B2 (en) * | 1998-12-31 | 2004-01-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for selecting and deselecting information in an electronic document |
US6025871A (en) * | 1998-12-31 | 2000-02-15 | Intel Corporation | User interface for a video conferencing system |
US6510531B1 (en) * | 1999-09-23 | 2003-01-21 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Methods and systems for testing parallel queues |
US7185274B1 (en) * | 1999-12-07 | 2007-02-27 | Microsoft Corporation | Computer user interface architecture wherein users interact with both content and user interface by activating links |
US6344853B1 (en) * | 2000-01-06 | 2002-02-05 | Alcone Marketing Group | Method and apparatus for selecting, modifying and superimposing one image on another |
US20030014754A1 (en) * | 2000-02-04 | 2003-01-16 | Chang Vernon S. | Advertisement response system |
US20040039934A1 (en) * | 2000-12-19 | 2004-02-26 | Land Michael Z. | System and method for multimedia authoring and playback |
US20030018543A1 (en) * | 2001-06-25 | 2003-01-23 | Alger Jeffrey H. | Client portal |
US7181468B2 (en) * | 2003-04-28 | 2007-02-20 | Sony Corporation | Content management for rich media publishing system |
US20070016657A1 (en) * | 2005-07-14 | 2007-01-18 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Multimedia data processing devices, multimedia data processing methods and multimedia data processing programs |
Cited By (333)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9646614B2 (en) | 2000-03-16 | 2017-05-09 | Apple Inc. | Fast, language-independent method for user authentication by voice |
US20130219320A1 (en) * | 2000-07-14 | 2013-08-22 | Chern Hway Seet | Novel book-like internet browser for electronic information |
US10853560B2 (en) | 2005-01-19 | 2020-12-01 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Providing annotations of a digital work |
US9275052B2 (en) | 2005-01-19 | 2016-03-01 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Providing annotations of a digital work |
US10318871B2 (en) | 2005-09-08 | 2019-06-11 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant |
US11928604B2 (en) | 2005-09-08 | 2024-03-12 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for building an intelligent automated assistant |
US9672533B1 (en) | 2006-09-29 | 2017-06-06 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Acquisition of an item based on a catalog presentation of items |
US9292873B1 (en) | 2006-09-29 | 2016-03-22 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Expedited acquisition of a digital item following a sample presentation of the item |
US8725565B1 (en) | 2006-09-29 | 2014-05-13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Expedited acquisition of a digital item following a sample presentation of the item |
US9116657B1 (en) | 2006-12-29 | 2015-08-25 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Invariant referencing in digital works |
US8793575B1 (en) | 2007-03-29 | 2014-07-29 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Progress indication for a digital work |
US8954444B1 (en) | 2007-03-29 | 2015-02-10 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Search and indexing on a user device |
US9665529B1 (en) | 2007-03-29 | 2017-05-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Relative progress and event indicators |
US10568032B2 (en) | 2007-04-03 | 2020-02-18 | Apple Inc. | Method and system for operating a multi-function portable electronic device using voice-activation |
US8656040B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2014-02-18 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Providing user-supplied items to a user device |
US9178744B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2015-11-03 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Delivery of items for consumption by a user device |
US9888005B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2018-02-06 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Delivery of items for consumption by a user device |
US8965807B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2015-02-24 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Selecting and providing items in a media consumption system |
US8990215B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2015-03-24 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Obtaining and verifying search indices |
US20080293450A1 (en) * | 2007-05-21 | 2008-11-27 | Ryan Thomas A | Consumption of Items via a User Device |
US8700005B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2014-04-15 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Notification of a user device to perform an action |
US9479591B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2016-10-25 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Providing user-supplied items to a user device |
US9568984B1 (en) | 2007-05-21 | 2017-02-14 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Administrative tasks in a media consumption system |
US11023513B2 (en) | 2007-12-20 | 2021-06-01 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for searching using an active ontology |
US10381016B2 (en) | 2008-01-03 | 2019-08-13 | Apple Inc. | Methods and apparatus for altering audio output signals |
US9330720B2 (en) | 2008-01-03 | 2016-05-03 | Apple Inc. | Methods and apparatus for altering audio output signals |
US9626955B2 (en) | 2008-04-05 | 2017-04-18 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent text-to-speech conversion |
US9865248B2 (en) | 2008-04-05 | 2018-01-09 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent text-to-speech conversion |
US8275720B2 (en) | 2008-06-12 | 2012-09-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | External scoping sources to determine affected people, systems, and classes of information in legal matters |
US9830563B2 (en) | 2008-06-27 | 2017-11-28 | International Business Machines Corporation | System and method for managing legal obligations for data |
US8327384B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2012-12-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Event driven disposition |
US20090328070A1 (en) * | 2008-06-30 | 2009-12-31 | Deidre Paknad | Event Driven Disposition |
US8484069B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-07-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Forecasting discovery costs based on complex and incomplete facts |
US8489439B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-07-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Forecasting discovery costs based on complex and incomplete facts |
US8515924B2 (en) | 2008-06-30 | 2013-08-20 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for handling edge-cases of event-driven disposition |
US9535906B2 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2017-01-03 | Apple Inc. | Mobile device having human language translation capability with positional feedback |
US10108612B2 (en) | 2008-07-31 | 2018-10-23 | Apple Inc. | Mobile device having human language translation capability with positional feedback |
US10643611B2 (en) | 2008-10-02 | 2020-05-05 | Apple Inc. | Electronic devices with voice command and contextual data processing capabilities |
US11348582B2 (en) | 2008-10-02 | 2022-05-31 | Apple Inc. | Electronic devices with voice command and contextual data processing capabilities |
US9087032B1 (en) | 2009-01-26 | 2015-07-21 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Aggregation of highlights |
US8832584B1 (en) | 2009-03-31 | 2014-09-09 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Questions on highlighted passages |
US10795541B2 (en) | 2009-06-05 | 2020-10-06 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent organization of tasks items |
US9858925B2 (en) | 2009-06-05 | 2018-01-02 | Apple Inc. | Using context information to facilitate processing of commands in a virtual assistant |
US11080012B2 (en) | 2009-06-05 | 2021-08-03 | Apple Inc. | Interface for a virtual digital assistant |
US10475446B2 (en) | 2009-06-05 | 2019-11-12 | Apple Inc. | Using context information to facilitate processing of commands in a virtual assistant |
US8676585B1 (en) | 2009-06-12 | 2014-03-18 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Synchronizing the playing and displaying of digital content |
US9542926B2 (en) | 2009-06-12 | 2017-01-10 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Synchronizing the playing and displaying of digital content |
US8290777B1 (en) * | 2009-06-12 | 2012-10-16 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Synchronizing the playing and displaying of digital content |
US10283110B2 (en) | 2009-07-02 | 2019-05-07 | Apple Inc. | Methods and apparatuses for automatic speech recognition |
US9564089B2 (en) | 2009-09-28 | 2017-02-07 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Last screen rendering for electronic book reader |
US8510656B2 (en) | 2009-10-29 | 2013-08-13 | Margery Kravitz Schwarz | Interactive storybook system and method |
US8656283B2 (en) | 2009-10-29 | 2014-02-18 | Margery Kravitz Schwarz | Interactive storybook system and method |
US20110107217A1 (en) * | 2009-10-29 | 2011-05-05 | Margery Kravitz Schwarz | Interactive Storybook System and Method |
US8250041B2 (en) | 2009-12-22 | 2012-08-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for propagation of file plans from enterprise retention management applications to records management systems |
US8655856B2 (en) | 2009-12-22 | 2014-02-18 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for policy distribution |
US9442654B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2016-09-13 | Apple Inc. | Apparatus and method for conditionally enabling or disabling soft buttons |
US20110167375A1 (en) * | 2010-01-06 | 2011-07-07 | Kocienda Kenneth L | Apparatus and Method for Conditionally Enabling or Disabling Soft Buttons |
US8621380B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2013-12-31 | Apple Inc. | Apparatus and method for conditionally enabling or disabling soft buttons |
US20110167350A1 (en) * | 2010-01-06 | 2011-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Assist Features For Content Display Device |
US10706841B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Task flow identification based on user intent |
US10679605B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-06-09 | Apple Inc. | Hands-free list-reading by intelligent automated assistant |
US9318108B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2016-04-19 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US9548050B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2017-01-17 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US10705794B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Automatically adapting user interfaces for hands-free interaction |
US10276170B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2019-04-30 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US10496753B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2019-12-03 | Apple Inc. | Automatically adapting user interfaces for hands-free interaction |
US10553209B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-02-04 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for hands-free notification summaries |
US11423886B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2022-08-23 | Apple Inc. | Task flow identification based on user intent |
US10741185B2 (en) | 2010-01-18 | 2020-08-11 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US20110202825A1 (en) * | 2010-02-12 | 2011-08-18 | Flashnotes, Llc | System and Method of Annotating Non-modifiable Documents and Managing Annotations |
US10049675B2 (en) | 2010-02-25 | 2018-08-14 | Apple Inc. | User profiling for voice input processing |
US10692504B2 (en) | 2010-02-25 | 2020-06-23 | Apple Inc. | User profiling for voice input processing |
US9633660B2 (en) | 2010-02-25 | 2017-04-25 | Apple Inc. | User profiling for voice input processing |
US8826495B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2014-09-09 | Intel Corporation | Hinged dual panel electronic device |
US9141134B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2015-09-22 | Intel Corporation | Utilization of temporal and spatial parameters to enhance the writing capability of an electronic device |
US9037991B2 (en) | 2010-06-01 | 2015-05-19 | Intel Corporation | Apparatus and method for digital content navigation |
US20120147042A1 (en) * | 2010-06-24 | 2012-06-14 | Yuki Shinomoto | Electronic publication viewer, method for viewing electronic publication, program, and integrated circuit |
CN102483691A (en) * | 2010-06-24 | 2012-05-30 | 松下电器产业株式会社 | Electronic publication browsing device, electronic publication browsing method, program, and integrated circuit |
US8832148B2 (en) | 2010-06-29 | 2014-09-09 | International Business Machines Corporation | Enterprise evidence repository |
US8566903B2 (en) | 2010-06-29 | 2013-10-22 | International Business Machines Corporation | Enterprise evidence repository providing access control to collected artifacts |
US8402359B1 (en) * | 2010-06-30 | 2013-03-19 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for managing recent activity navigation in web applications |
US8613061B2 (en) | 2010-09-01 | 2013-12-17 | Blackberry Limited | Methods and apparatus to implement electronic book viewers |
US9495322B1 (en) | 2010-09-21 | 2016-11-15 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Cover display |
US20120102395A1 (en) * | 2010-10-25 | 2012-04-26 | Standard Nine Inc. Dba Inkling | Methods for sequencing electronic media content |
US9098407B2 (en) * | 2010-10-25 | 2015-08-04 | Inkling Systems, Inc. | Methods for automatically retrieving electronic media content items from a server based upon a reading list and facilitating presentation of media objects of the electronic media content items in sequences not constrained by an original order thereof |
US8547354B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-10-01 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8593422B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-11-26 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8659562B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2014-02-25 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8648823B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2014-02-11 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US9128614B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2015-09-08 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8754860B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2014-06-17 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US9146673B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2015-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8587547B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-11-19 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US8587540B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2013-11-19 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US9141285B2 (en) | 2010-11-05 | 2015-09-22 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for manipulating soft keyboards |
US20120290964A1 (en) * | 2010-11-09 | 2012-11-15 | Chia-Ying Lee | Method for creating bookmark and electronic reading device using the same |
EP2643776A4 (en) * | 2010-11-25 | 2016-06-08 | Sony Corp | Systems and methods for producing, reproducing, and maintaining electronic books |
US20130232407A1 (en) * | 2010-11-25 | 2013-09-05 | Sony Corporation | Systems and methods for producing, reproducing, and maintaining electronic books |
CN103262078A (en) * | 2010-11-25 | 2013-08-21 | 索尼公司 | Systems and methods for producing, reproducing, and maintaining electronic books |
US9846688B1 (en) * | 2010-12-28 | 2017-12-19 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Book version mapping |
US8798366B1 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2014-08-05 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Electronic book pagination |
US9892094B2 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2018-02-13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Electronic book pagination |
US10592598B1 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2020-03-17 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Book version mapping |
US9069767B1 (en) | 2010-12-28 | 2015-06-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Aligning content items to identify differences |
US9250798B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2016-02-02 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface with a dynamic gesture disambiguation threshold |
US9552015B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2017-01-24 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating through an electronic document |
US9092132B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2015-07-28 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface with a dynamic gesture disambiguation threshold |
US10365819B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2019-07-30 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for displaying a character input user interface |
US9671825B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2017-06-06 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating through an electronic document |
US9442516B2 (en) * | 2011-01-24 | 2016-09-13 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating through an electronic document |
US9436381B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2016-09-06 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating and annotating an electronic document |
US8782513B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2014-07-15 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating through an electronic document |
US8842082B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2014-09-23 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for navigating and annotating an electronic document |
US10042549B2 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2018-08-07 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface with a dynamic gesture disambiguation threshold |
US9881009B1 (en) | 2011-03-15 | 2018-01-30 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Identifying book title sets |
US9262612B2 (en) | 2011-03-21 | 2016-02-16 | Apple Inc. | Device access using voice authentication |
US10102359B2 (en) | 2011-03-21 | 2018-10-16 | Apple Inc. | Device access using voice authentication |
US10417405B2 (en) | 2011-03-21 | 2019-09-17 | Apple Inc. | Device access using voice authentication |
US20120293553A1 (en) * | 2011-05-18 | 2012-11-22 | Korea Institute Of Science And Technology | Apparatus, method and computer readable recording medium for displaying content |
US8878879B2 (en) * | 2011-05-18 | 2014-11-04 | Korea Institute Of Science & Technology | Apparatus, method and computer readable recording medium for displaying content |
US10706373B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2020-07-07 | Apple Inc. | Performing actions associated with task items that represent tasks to perform |
US11350253B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2022-05-31 | Apple Inc. | Active transport based notifications |
US10241644B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2019-03-26 | Apple Inc. | Actionable reminder entries |
US10057736B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2018-08-21 | Apple Inc. | Active transport based notifications |
US11120372B2 (en) | 2011-06-03 | 2021-09-14 | Apple Inc. | Performing actions associated with task items that represent tasks to perform |
US9798393B2 (en) | 2011-08-29 | 2017-10-24 | Apple Inc. | Text correction processing |
WO2013048554A1 (en) * | 2011-09-29 | 2013-04-04 | Pleiades Publishing Ltd. | Interactive electronic book |
US8890873B2 (en) | 2011-09-29 | 2014-11-18 | Pleiades Publishing Limited | Interactive electronic book |
US10241752B2 (en) | 2011-09-30 | 2019-03-26 | Apple Inc. | Interface for a virtual digital assistant |
US9158741B1 (en) | 2011-10-28 | 2015-10-13 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Indicators for navigating digital works |
US20130129310A1 (en) * | 2011-11-22 | 2013-05-23 | Pleiades Publishing Limited Inc. | Electronic book |
WO2013077899A1 (en) * | 2011-11-22 | 2013-05-30 | Pleiades Publishing Ltd. | Electronic book |
US9741061B2 (en) * | 2012-03-01 | 2017-08-22 | Sarah Nash Brechner | System and method for personal customization of digital content |
US20130232221A1 (en) * | 2012-03-01 | 2013-09-05 | Sarah Nash Brechner | System and Method for Personal Customization of Digital Content |
US11069336B2 (en) | 2012-03-02 | 2021-07-20 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for name pronunciation |
US9483461B2 (en) | 2012-03-06 | 2016-11-01 | Apple Inc. | Handling speech synthesis of content for multiple languages |
US9953088B2 (en) | 2012-05-14 | 2018-04-24 | Apple Inc. | Crowd sourcing information to fulfill user requests |
US11269678B2 (en) | 2012-05-15 | 2022-03-08 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for integrating third party services with a digital assistant |
US10079014B2 (en) | 2012-06-08 | 2018-09-18 | Apple Inc. | Name recognition system |
US8904304B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2014-12-02 | Barnesandnoble.Com Llc | Creation and exposure of embedded secondary content data relevant to a primary content page of an electronic book |
US10042519B2 (en) | 2012-06-25 | 2018-08-07 | Nook Digital, Llc | Creation and exposure of embedded secondary content data relevant to a primary content page of an electronic book |
US9495129B2 (en) | 2012-06-29 | 2016-11-15 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and user interface for voice-activated navigation and browsing of a document |
US9971774B2 (en) | 2012-09-19 | 2018-05-15 | Apple Inc. | Voice-based media searching |
US9690762B1 (en) * | 2013-01-14 | 2017-06-27 | Google Inc. | Manipulating image content items through determination and application of multiple transparency values to visually merge with other content as part of a web page |
US10714117B2 (en) | 2013-02-07 | 2020-07-14 | Apple Inc. | Voice trigger for a digital assistant |
US10978090B2 (en) | 2013-02-07 | 2021-04-13 | Apple Inc. | Voice trigger for a digital assistant |
US9966060B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2018-05-08 | Apple Inc. | System and method for user-specified pronunciation of words for speech synthesis and recognition |
US9620104B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-04-11 | Apple Inc. | System and method for user-specified pronunciation of words for speech synthesis and recognition |
US9582608B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-02-28 | Apple Inc. | Unified ranking with entropy-weighted information for phrase-based semantic auto-completion |
US9633674B2 (en) | 2013-06-07 | 2017-04-25 | Apple Inc. | System and method for detecting errors in interactions with a voice-based digital assistant |
US10657961B2 (en) | 2013-06-08 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Interpreting and acting upon commands that involve sharing information with remote devices |
US9966068B2 (en) | 2013-06-08 | 2018-05-08 | Apple Inc. | Interpreting and acting upon commands that involve sharing information with remote devices |
US10176167B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2019-01-08 | Apple Inc. | System and method for inferring user intent from speech inputs |
US10185542B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2019-01-22 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for enabling conversation persistence across two or more instances of a digital assistant |
US11048473B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2021-06-29 | Apple Inc. | Device, method, and graphical user interface for enabling conversation persistence across two or more instances of a digital assistant |
US10769385B2 (en) | 2013-06-09 | 2020-09-08 | Apple Inc. | System and method for inferring user intent from speech inputs |
US10921976B2 (en) | 2013-09-03 | 2021-02-16 | Apple Inc. | User interface for manipulating user interface objects |
US11314370B2 (en) | 2013-12-06 | 2022-04-26 | Apple Inc. | Method for extracting salient dialog usage from live data |
US10078631B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-09-18 | Apple Inc. | Entropy-guided text prediction using combined word and character n-gram language models |
US9966065B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-05-08 | Apple Inc. | Multi-command single utterance input method |
US10497365B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2019-12-03 | Apple Inc. | Multi-command single utterance input method |
US10083690B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2018-09-25 | Apple Inc. | Better resolution when referencing to concepts |
US10878809B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-12-29 | Apple Inc. | Multi-command single utterance input method |
US11133008B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2021-09-28 | Apple Inc. | Reducing the need for manual start/end-pointing and trigger phrases |
US10417344B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2019-09-17 | Apple Inc. | Exemplar-based natural language processing |
US9760559B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-09-12 | Apple Inc. | Predictive text input |
US9842101B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-12-12 | Apple Inc. | Predictive conversion of language input |
US11257504B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2022-02-22 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent assistant for home automation |
US10169329B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2019-01-01 | Apple Inc. | Exemplar-based natural language processing |
US11907013B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2024-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Continuity of applications across devices |
US10714095B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-07-14 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent assistant for home automation |
US9715875B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-07-25 | Apple Inc. | Reducing the need for manual start/end-pointing and trigger phrases |
US9785630B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2017-10-10 | Apple Inc. | Text prediction using combined word N-gram and unigram language models |
US10699717B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-06-30 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent assistant for home automation |
US10657966B2 (en) | 2014-05-30 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Better resolution when referencing to concepts |
US10659851B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Real-time digital assistant knowledge updates |
US9668024B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2017-05-30 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for TV user interactions |
US10904611B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2021-01-26 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for TV user interactions |
US9338493B2 (en) | 2014-06-30 | 2016-05-10 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for TV user interactions |
US10446141B2 (en) | 2014-08-28 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Automatic speech recognition based on user feedback |
US11157135B2 (en) | 2014-09-02 | 2021-10-26 | Apple Inc. | Multi-dimensional object rearrangement |
US11402968B2 (en) | 2014-09-02 | 2022-08-02 | Apple Inc. | Reduced size user in interface |
US11747956B2 (en) | 2014-09-02 | 2023-09-05 | Apple Inc. | Multi-dimensional object rearrangement |
US10431204B2 (en) | 2014-09-11 | 2019-10-01 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for discovering trending terms in speech requests |
US9818400B2 (en) | 2014-09-11 | 2017-11-14 | Apple Inc. | Method and apparatus for discovering trending terms in speech requests |
US10789041B2 (en) | 2014-09-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Dynamic thresholds for always listening speech trigger |
US9986419B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-05-29 | Apple Inc. | Social reminders |
US10453443B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2019-10-22 | Apple Inc. | Providing an indication of the suitability of speech recognition |
US10390213B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2019-08-20 | Apple Inc. | Social reminders |
US10074360B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-09-11 | Apple Inc. | Providing an indication of the suitability of speech recognition |
US10438595B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2019-10-08 | Apple Inc. | Speaker identification and unsupervised speaker adaptation techniques |
US9668121B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2017-05-30 | Apple Inc. | Social reminders |
US9886432B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-02-06 | Apple Inc. | Parsimonious handling of word inflection via categorical stem + suffix N-gram language models |
US10127911B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2018-11-13 | Apple Inc. | Speaker identification and unsupervised speaker adaptation techniques |
US9646609B2 (en) | 2014-09-30 | 2017-05-09 | Apple Inc. | Caching apparatus for serving phonetic pronunciations |
US11556230B2 (en) | 2014-12-02 | 2023-01-17 | Apple Inc. | Data detection |
US10552013B2 (en) | 2014-12-02 | 2020-02-04 | Apple Inc. | Data detection |
US11231904B2 (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2022-01-25 | Apple Inc. | Reducing response latency of intelligent automated assistants |
US9865280B2 (en) | 2015-03-06 | 2018-01-09 | Apple Inc. | Structured dictation using intelligent automated assistants |
US9721566B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2017-08-01 | Apple Inc. | Competing devices responding to voice triggers |
US10529332B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2020-01-07 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant activation |
US9886953B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2018-02-06 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant activation |
US10930282B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2021-02-23 | Apple Inc. | Competing devices responding to voice triggers |
US10311871B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2019-06-04 | Apple Inc. | Competing devices responding to voice triggers |
US10567477B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2020-02-18 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant continuity |
US11087759B2 (en) | 2015-03-08 | 2021-08-10 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant activation |
US10217257B1 (en) * | 2015-03-17 | 2019-02-26 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Process for contextualizing continuous images |
US9899019B2 (en) | 2015-03-18 | 2018-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Systems and methods for structured stem and suffix language models |
US9842105B2 (en) | 2015-04-16 | 2017-12-12 | Apple Inc. | Parsimonious continuous-space phrase representations for natural language processing |
US11468282B2 (en) | 2015-05-15 | 2022-10-11 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant in a communication session |
US10083688B2 (en) | 2015-05-27 | 2018-09-25 | Apple Inc. | Device voice control for selecting a displayed affordance |
US11127397B2 (en) | 2015-05-27 | 2021-09-21 | Apple Inc. | Device voice control |
US10127220B2 (en) | 2015-06-04 | 2018-11-13 | Apple Inc. | Language identification from short strings |
US10101822B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2018-10-16 | Apple Inc. | Language input correction |
US10356243B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2019-07-16 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant aided communication with 3rd party service in a communication session |
US10681212B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2020-06-09 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant aided communication with 3rd party service in a communication session |
US10255907B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2019-04-09 | Apple Inc. | Automatic accent detection using acoustic models |
US11025565B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2021-06-01 | Apple Inc. | Personalized prediction of responses for instant messaging |
US10186254B2 (en) | 2015-06-07 | 2019-01-22 | Apple Inc. | Context-based endpoint detection |
US11010127B2 (en) | 2015-06-29 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant for media playback |
US10747498B2 (en) | 2015-09-08 | 2020-08-18 | Apple Inc. | Zero latency digital assistant |
US10671428B2 (en) | 2015-09-08 | 2020-06-02 | Apple Inc. | Distributed personal assistant |
US11500672B2 (en) | 2015-09-08 | 2022-11-15 | Apple Inc. | Distributed personal assistant |
US9697820B2 (en) | 2015-09-24 | 2017-07-04 | Apple Inc. | Unit-selection text-to-speech synthesis using concatenation-sensitive neural networks |
US11010550B2 (en) | 2015-09-29 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Unified language modeling framework for word prediction, auto-completion and auto-correction |
US10366158B2 (en) | 2015-09-29 | 2019-07-30 | Apple Inc. | Efficient word encoding for recurrent neural network language models |
US11587559B2 (en) | 2015-09-30 | 2023-02-21 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent device identification |
US11526368B2 (en) | 2015-11-06 | 2022-12-13 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant in a messaging environment |
US10691473B2 (en) | 2015-11-06 | 2020-06-23 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant in a messaging environment |
US10049668B2 (en) | 2015-12-02 | 2018-08-14 | Apple Inc. | Applying neural network language models to weighted finite state transducers for automatic speech recognition |
US10354652B2 (en) | 2015-12-02 | 2019-07-16 | Apple Inc. | Applying neural network language models to weighted finite state transducers for automatic speech recognition |
US10223066B2 (en) | 2015-12-23 | 2019-03-05 | Apple Inc. | Proactive assistance based on dialog communication between devices |
US10942703B2 (en) | 2015-12-23 | 2021-03-09 | Apple Inc. | Proactive assistance based on dialog communication between devices |
US10446143B2 (en) | 2016-03-14 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Identification of voice inputs providing credentials |
US9934775B2 (en) | 2016-05-26 | 2018-04-03 | Apple Inc. | Unit-selection text-to-speech synthesis based on predicted concatenation parameters |
US9972304B2 (en) | 2016-06-03 | 2018-05-15 | Apple Inc. | Privacy preserving distributed evaluation framework for embedded personalized systems |
US11227589B2 (en) | 2016-06-06 | 2022-01-18 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent list reading |
US10249300B2 (en) | 2016-06-06 | 2019-04-02 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent list reading |
US10049663B2 (en) | 2016-06-08 | 2018-08-14 | Apple, Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US11069347B2 (en) | 2016-06-08 | 2021-07-20 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US10354011B2 (en) | 2016-06-09 | 2019-07-16 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant in a home environment |
US10509862B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-12-17 | Apple Inc. | Dynamic phrase expansion of language input |
US11323559B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2022-05-03 | Apple Inc. | Displaying and updating a set of application views |
US10192552B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-01-29 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant providing whispered speech |
US10637986B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2020-04-28 | Apple Inc. | Displaying and updating a set of application views |
US11037565B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2021-06-15 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent digital assistant in a multi-tasking environment |
US10490187B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2019-11-26 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant providing automated status report |
US10733993B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent digital assistant in a multi-tasking environment |
US10067938B2 (en) | 2016-06-10 | 2018-09-04 | Apple Inc. | Multilingual word prediction |
US11733656B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2023-08-22 | Apple Inc. | Configuring context-specific user interfaces |
US10942702B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2021-03-09 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent device arbitration and control |
US10269345B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-04-23 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent task discovery |
US10297253B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-05-21 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US11073799B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2021-07-27 | Apple Inc. | Configuring context-specific user interfaces |
US10089072B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2018-10-02 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent device arbitration and control |
US10521466B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2019-12-31 | Apple Inc. | Data driven natural language event detection and classification |
US11152002B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2021-10-19 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US10739974B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2020-08-11 | Apple Inc. | Configuring context-specific user interfaces |
US10580409B2 (en) | 2016-06-11 | 2020-03-03 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US10474753B2 (en) | 2016-09-07 | 2019-11-12 | Apple Inc. | Language identification using recurrent neural networks |
US10043516B2 (en) | 2016-09-23 | 2018-08-07 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US10553215B2 (en) | 2016-09-23 | 2020-02-04 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant |
US11281993B2 (en) | 2016-12-05 | 2022-03-22 | Apple Inc. | Model and ensemble compression for metric learning |
US10593346B2 (en) | 2016-12-22 | 2020-03-17 | Apple Inc. | Rank-reduced token representation for automatic speech recognition |
US11656884B2 (en) | 2017-01-09 | 2023-05-23 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US11204787B2 (en) | 2017-01-09 | 2021-12-21 | Apple Inc. | Application integration with a digital assistant |
US10332518B2 (en) | 2017-05-09 | 2019-06-25 | Apple Inc. | User interface for correcting recognition errors |
US10741181B2 (en) | 2017-05-09 | 2020-08-11 | Apple Inc. | User interface for correcting recognition errors |
US10417266B2 (en) | 2017-05-09 | 2019-09-17 | Apple Inc. | Context-aware ranking of intelligent response suggestions |
US10395654B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2019-08-27 | Apple Inc. | Text normalization based on a data-driven learning network |
US10847142B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2020-11-24 | Apple Inc. | Maintaining privacy of personal information |
US10726832B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2020-07-28 | Apple Inc. | Maintaining privacy of personal information |
US10755703B2 (en) | 2017-05-11 | 2020-08-25 | Apple Inc. | Offline personal assistant |
US10789945B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Low-latency intelligent automated assistant |
US10791176B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Synchronization and task delegation of a digital assistant |
US10410637B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2019-09-10 | Apple Inc. | User-specific acoustic models |
US11405466B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2022-08-02 | Apple Inc. | Synchronization and task delegation of a digital assistant |
US11301477B2 (en) | 2017-05-12 | 2022-04-12 | Apple Inc. | Feedback analysis of a digital assistant |
US10482874B2 (en) | 2017-05-15 | 2019-11-19 | Apple Inc. | Hierarchical belief states for digital assistants |
US10810274B2 (en) | 2017-05-15 | 2020-10-20 | Apple Inc. | Optimizing dialogue policy decisions for digital assistants using implicit feedback |
US10303715B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-05-28 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US10311144B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-06-04 | Apple Inc. | Emoji word sense disambiguation |
US10403278B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2019-09-03 | Apple Inc. | Methods and systems for phonetic matching in digital assistant services |
US10909171B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2021-02-02 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for media exploration |
US10748546B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2020-08-18 | Apple Inc. | Digital assistant services based on device capabilities |
US11217255B2 (en) | 2017-05-16 | 2022-01-04 | Apple Inc. | Far-field extension for digital assistant services |
US10657328B2 (en) | 2017-06-02 | 2020-05-19 | Apple Inc. | Multi-task recurrent neural network architecture for efficient morphology handling in neural language modeling |
US10445429B2 (en) | 2017-09-21 | 2019-10-15 | Apple Inc. | Natural language understanding using vocabularies with compressed serialized tries |
US10755051B2 (en) | 2017-09-29 | 2020-08-25 | Apple Inc. | Rule-based natural language processing |
US10636424B2 (en) | 2017-11-30 | 2020-04-28 | Apple Inc. | Multi-turn canned dialog |
US10733982B2 (en) | 2018-01-08 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Multi-directional dialog |
US10733375B2 (en) | 2018-01-31 | 2020-08-04 | Apple Inc. | Knowledge-based framework for improving natural language understanding |
US10789959B2 (en) | 2018-03-02 | 2020-09-29 | Apple Inc. | Training speaker recognition models for digital assistants |
US10592604B2 (en) | 2018-03-12 | 2020-03-17 | Apple Inc. | Inverse text normalization for automatic speech recognition |
US10818288B2 (en) | 2018-03-26 | 2020-10-27 | Apple Inc. | Natural assistant interaction |
US10909331B2 (en) | 2018-03-30 | 2021-02-02 | Apple Inc. | Implicit identification of translation payload with neural machine translation |
US11145294B2 (en) | 2018-05-07 | 2021-10-12 | Apple Inc. | Intelligent automated assistant for delivering content from user experiences |
US10928918B2 (en) | 2018-05-07 | 2021-02-23 | Apple Inc. | Raise to speak |
US10984780B2 (en) | 2018-05-21 | 2021-04-20 | Apple Inc. | Global semantic word embeddings using bi-directional recurrent neural networks |
US11386266B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2022-07-12 | Apple Inc. | Text correction |
US10403283B1 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2019-09-03 | Apple Inc. | Voice interaction at a primary device to access call functionality of a companion device |
US10892996B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2021-01-12 | Apple Inc. | Variable latency device coordination |
US11009970B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Attention aware virtual assistant dismissal |
US10984798B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2021-04-20 | Apple Inc. | Voice interaction at a primary device to access call functionality of a companion device |
US11495218B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2022-11-08 | Apple Inc. | Virtual assistant operation in multi-device environments |
US10684703B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2020-06-16 | Apple Inc. | Attention aware virtual assistant dismissal |
US10720160B2 (en) | 2018-06-01 | 2020-07-21 | Apple Inc. | Voice interaction at a primary device to access call functionality of a companion device |
US10504518B1 (en) | 2018-06-03 | 2019-12-10 | Apple Inc. | Accelerated task performance |
US10944859B2 (en) | 2018-06-03 | 2021-03-09 | Apple Inc. | Accelerated task performance |
US10496705B1 (en) | 2018-06-03 | 2019-12-03 | Apple Inc. | Accelerated task performance |
US11010561B2 (en) | 2018-09-27 | 2021-05-18 | Apple Inc. | Sentiment prediction from textual data |
US10839159B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2020-11-17 | Apple Inc. | Named entity normalization in a spoken dialog system |
US11462215B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2022-10-04 | Apple Inc. | Multi-modal inputs for voice commands |
US11170166B2 (en) | 2018-09-28 | 2021-11-09 | Apple Inc. | Neural typographical error modeling via generative adversarial networks |
US11475898B2 (en) | 2018-10-26 | 2022-10-18 | Apple Inc. | Low-latency multi-speaker speech recognition |
US11638059B2 (en) | 2019-01-04 | 2023-04-25 | Apple Inc. | Content playback on multiple devices |
US11348573B2 (en) | 2019-03-18 | 2022-05-31 | Apple Inc. | Multimodality in digital assistant systems |
US11423908B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-08-23 | Apple Inc. | Interpreting spoken requests |
US11217251B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-01-04 | Apple Inc. | Spoken notifications |
US11475884B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-10-18 | Apple Inc. | Reducing digital assistant latency when a language is incorrectly determined |
US11307752B2 (en) | 2019-05-06 | 2022-04-19 | Apple Inc. | User configurable task triggers |
US11140099B2 (en) | 2019-05-21 | 2021-10-05 | Apple Inc. | Providing message response suggestions |
US11360739B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-06-14 | Apple Inc. | User activity shortcut suggestions |
US11289073B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-03-29 | Apple Inc. | Device text to speech |
US11237797B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-02-01 | Apple Inc. | User activity shortcut suggestions |
US11496600B2 (en) | 2019-05-31 | 2022-11-08 | Apple Inc. | Remote execution of machine-learned models |
US11360641B2 (en) | 2019-06-01 | 2022-06-14 | Apple Inc. | Increasing the relevance of new available information |
US11488406B2 (en) | 2019-09-25 | 2022-11-01 | Apple Inc. | Text detection using global geometry estimators |
US11449188B1 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2022-09-20 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
US11360634B1 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2022-06-14 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
US11822761B2 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2023-11-21 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
US11907605B2 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2024-02-20 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
US11928303B2 (en) | 2021-05-15 | 2024-03-12 | Apple Inc. | Shared-content session user interfaces |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2000062228A2 (en) | 2000-10-19 |
WO2000062228A3 (en) | 2001-01-25 |
JP2002541594A (en) | 2002-12-03 |
JP2012054964A (en) | 2012-03-15 |
AU4453600A (en) | 2000-11-14 |
HK1045381A1 (en) | 2002-11-22 |
CA2369759C (en) | 2011-10-18 |
US7835989B1 (en) | 2010-11-16 |
MXPA01010300A (en) | 2002-09-18 |
CA2369759A1 (en) | 2000-10-19 |
EP1171840A2 (en) | 2002-01-16 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7861166B1 (en) | Resizing document pages to fit available hardware screens | |
US20090241054A1 (en) | Electronic book with information manipulation features | |
US20090300539A1 (en) | Electronic book with information manipulation features | |
CA2458564C (en) | Electronic book delivery system with error correction | |
US8095949B1 (en) | Electronic book with restricted access features | |
US5986690A (en) | Electronic book selection and delivery system | |
US7716349B1 (en) | Electronic book library/bookstore system | |
US7336788B1 (en) | Electronic book secure communication with home subsystem | |
US7299501B2 (en) | Electronic book selection and delivery system having encryption and security features | |
US20150332664A1 (en) | Electronic book with voice emulation features | |
CA2388648A1 (en) | Virtual on-demand electronic book | |
CA2457505A1 (en) | Internet-based language archiving system and education facility |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: ADREA, LLC, CALIFORNIA Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:DISCOVERY PATENT HOLDINGS, LLC;REEL/FRAME:025757/0375 Effective date: 20100824 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |