Binding interactive multichannel digital document system

#A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

#This invention relates generally to the field of multimedia documents, and more particularly to interactive multi-channel multimedia documents.

#Communication has evolved to take place in many forms for many purposes. In order to communicate effectively, the presenter must be able to maintain the attention of the message recipient. One method for maintaining the recipient's attention is to make the communication interactive. When a recipient is invited to interact as part of the communicative process, the recipient is likely to pay more attention to the details of the communication in order to interact successfully.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of an interactive multichannel document in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 illustrates a digital interactive multichannel document as displayed on a display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 3 is a diagram of an interactive multichannel document having a mapping frame in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

#In one embodiment of the present invention, a digital document comprising an interactive multi-channel interface is provided that binds video, text, images, web page content and audio media content types using spatial and temporal boundaries. The binding element of the document achieves cohesion among document content, which enables a better understanding by and engagement from a user, thereby achieving a higher level of engagement from a user A user may interact with the document and explore document boundaries and document depth at his or her own pace and in a procession chosen by the user. The document of the present invention features a single-page interface with customized depth of media content that may include video, text, one or more images, web page content and audio. In one embodiment, the media content is managed in a spatial and temporal manner using the content itself and time. The content in the multi-channel digital document may repeat in a looping pattern to allow a user the chance to experience the different content associated with each channel. The boundaries of the document that bind the media together provide information and comfort to a user as the user becomes familiar with the spatial and temporal layout of the content allowing the user to focus on the content instead of the interface. In another embodiment, the system of the present invention allows an author to create an interactive multi-channel digital document.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram of an interactive multi-channel document 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The document is comprised of an interface 100 that includes content channels 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150. The content channels may be used to present media including video, audio, images, web page content and text. The interface also includes supplementary channels 170 and 180. Similar to the content channels, the supplementary channels may be used to present video, audio, images, web page content and text. Though five content channels and two supplemental channels are shown, the number and placement of the content channels and supplementary channels may vary according to the desire of the author of the interface. The audio presented within a content or supplementary channel may be part of a video file or a separate audio file. Interactive multi-channel interface 100 also includes channel highlight frame 160, optional control bar 190, and information window 195. In one embodiment, a background sound channel is also provided. A background sound channel may or may not be visually represented on the interface (not shown in FIG. 1).

#An interactive multi-channel interface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention may have several features. One feature of the present invention is that all content is presented on a single page. A user of the multi-channel interface does not need to traverse multiple pages when exploring new content. The changing content is organized and provided in a single area. Within any content channel, the content may change automatically, through the interactions of the user, or both. In one embodiment, the interface consists of a multi-dimensional grid of channels. In one embodiment, the author or the narration may configure the size and layout of the channels. In another embodiment, an author may configure the size of the channels, but all channels are of the same size. A channel may present media including video, text, one or more images, audio, web page content, or a combination of these media types. Additional audio, video, image, images, web page content and text may be associated with the channel content and brought to the foreground through interaction by the user.