Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-28
2003-11-18
Cabeca, John (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06650343
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Applications No. 10-273822 filed Sep. 28, 1998, and No. 11-262099 filed Sep. 16, 1999, the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic information displaying method and an electronic information browsing apparatus to browse through an electronic information. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic information displaying method and an electronic information browsing apparatus to easily browse through an electronic document having links which are defined by a hypertext format or the like.
The rate of distribution of electronic information including multimedia is increasing through networks such as the Internet, as well as data broadcasting by communication satellites and cable television, or through mediums such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or the like. Moreover, even in a local environment such as a person or a company, the demand for directly distributing electronically documents which are generated and edited on a computer and the demand for retrieving and browsing the contents of such documents on a display, such as a terminal unit, can be anticipated to increase in the future.
Here, electronic information is assumed to include character information, stationary images, moving images, audio signals, music information, document format information and link information.
The WWW (World Wide Web) is a current distribution mode for electronic information. In this case, electronic information is accumulated in a server which is connected throughout the world by way of the Internet. An electronic information is then transferred to a client from the server depending on a demand from a computer on the client side connected to the Internet. Thereby, contents of such electronic information is displayed on the display screen of the client computer for the convenience of browsing. In general, a software called a browser is used to display contents of the electronic information on the client computer.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is mainly used as the language of choice for describing the electronic information in the WWW. HTML is a kind of language for describing hypertext (hereinafter, an electronic information described by a description language such as HTML is described as an “electronic document” or only as a “document” for the convenience of explanation).
In regard to the electronic document hypertext, a link to the other related document from the particular place in a document is defined, a document of the link destination can immediately be displayed when a user requests by designation the link information in the document. In the current HTML, it is possible to bury a stationary image, a moving image, an audio signal, music data, a program or the like and link them, in addition to the text documents.
As the browser software to read electronic documents described by HTML or the like, Netscape Navigator of Netscape Communication and Internet Explorer of Microsoft can be listed. Moreover, as the software to display an electronic document described in PDF (Portable Document Format) developed by Adobe Systems, the Adobe Acrobat Reader has been distributed from the same company.
The browser software explained above generally acquires, when a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for defining existence of document definition data on the network is designated by a user, the document definition data indicated by such URL from the network, etc. to analyze contents of the acquired document definition data in view of forming a display image to be displayed on the screen.
A URL can be designated by a user through direct input using a keyboard or the like, or a URL which has been previously registered, such as the bookmark information, may be selected and called from a menu, etc. In addition, when a previously registered URL of an electronic document is to be displayed at the time of starting the browser, the browser acquires the document definition data indicated by the registered URL each time it is activated and then automatically displays the contents of such URL.
When a document is displayed on the display screen of the browser to define the link to the other document from the relevant document, the part for which the link is defined on the document is displayed in a different color of characters or with a display of the frame particularly colored for an icon in order clarify that the link is defined for such part. When a part corresponding to the link explained above is designated (i.e. selected) by a user with a designating means (such as mouse or the like), the browser acquires the document definition data of the link destination and displays the contents on the display screen.
In this case, an electronic document at the link destination is displayed in place of the document being displayed in the window of the browser or in the window which is newly opened.
Here, a user can read the document being displayed in the window through scrolling. Moreover, such a document can also be displayed by changing the font size. However, in general, the document is displayed in such a condition that it is adhered in the predetermined size to the display screen and therefore it is impossible to observe the document from the desired position or direction and to display the document while it is continuously expanded or compressed for the display. This point is far different from the feeling of browsing a document which is written on paper and also interferes with a comfortable feeling of browsing the electronic documents.
Meanwhile, the Adobe Acrobat Reader is software for browsing, on the computer display, a document described in PDF format, i.e. a document expressing format which may be printed to paper. This software enables browsing of a document, which is paginated like printed matter, through the step by step zooming, scrolling and page feeding. However, the feeling for browsing the these electronic documents is also far different from the feeling of browsing a book printed on paper, and such browsing cannot be said to be comfortable.
Browsing of an electronic document has mainly been conducted on the display of a desk-top type or notebook size personal computer. In the future, however, the necessity for browsing electronic documents in various conditions will be increased. For example, surely required in future is such an environment that an electronic document can be read comfortably even on the display of television receiver, for example, which may be installed in a living room or on the display of a hand-held information tool.
In the case of browsing an electronic document on the display screen of a television receiver as a home appliance, a user generally watches the television receiver in the living room maintaining a distance of several meters. Therefore, in comparison with the display of a personal computer, a virtual angle of the display screen observed by a user becomes narrow. Moreover, in the case of the hand-held information tool, there is a limitation in size of the display from the viewpoint of the hand-held property. In this case, even when display is given a higher resolution or when many characters are displayed on one display image, such a document cannot be read comfortably.
The existing browser is based on, like an ordinary computer display, use of the high resolution display screen from an area located within short distance. Namely, a document is displayed on the display screen in such a size as ordinary printed matter. Therefore, It is rather difficult to use to direct the television screen as the display screen when the television is watched in the distance of several meters and when the display area is narrow like the hand-held information tool.
However, when display of a document is magnified to enable easier browsing of characters, only a part of the document can be observed and the ease of browsing may be lowered.
In general, when a person reads a printed document, such as
Fujita Takushi
Kamiwada Toru
Cabeca John
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Vu Kieu D.
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