Method and apparatus for summarizing content of a document for a visually impaired user

• US 20030164848A1
• Filed: 03/01/2001
• Published: 09/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Rabindranath, Ramamoorthy, Karthikeyan
• Application Number:
  US09/798,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20030164848A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/729
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user. A summary of the Web page is generated. The summary of the Web page is then presented in a manner other than visually prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the method comprising:

generating a summary of the Web page; and

audibly presenting the summary of the Web page prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises:

selecting a first sentence from each paragraph in the Web page.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises:

identifying sentences containing a word appearing less than a selected number of times within the Web page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a length of the summary is less than twenty five percent of the Web page.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

presenting the summary of the Web page in a tactile form prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating and audibly presenting steps are located in a browser.

7. A method in a data processing system for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the method comprising:

generating a summary of the Web page; and

presenting the summary of the Web page in a manner other than visually prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the summary is presented in an audible form.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the summary is presented in a tactile form.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the generating and presenting steps are located in a browser.

11. A data processing system for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the data processing system comprising:

generating means for generating a summary of the Web page; and

audibly means for audibly presenting the summary of the Web page prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

12. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the generating means comprises:

selecting means for selecting a first sentence from each paragraph in the Web page.

13. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the generating means comprises:

identifying means for identifying sentences containing a word appearing less than a selected number of times within the Web page.

14. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein a length of the summary is less than twenty five percent of the Web page.

15. The data processing system of claim 11 further comprising:

presenting means for presenting the summary of the Web page in a tactile form prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

16. The data processing system of claim 11, wherein the generating means and audibly presenting means are located in a browser.

17. A data processing system for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the data processing system comprising:

generating means for generating a summary of the Web page; and

presenting means for presenting the summary of the Web page in a manner other than visually prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

18. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the summary is presented in an audible form.

19. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the summary is presented in a tactile form.

20. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the generating and presenting means are located in a browser.

21. A data processing system comprising:

a bus system;

a communications unit connected to the bus, wherein data is sent and received using the communications unit;

a memory connected to the bus system, wherein a set of instructions are located in the memory; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system,

wherein the processor unit executes the set of instructions to generate a summary of the Web page; and

audibly present the summary of the Web page prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

22. The data processing system of claim 21, wherein the generating step comprises:

selecting a first sentence from each paragraph in the Web page.

23. The data processing system of claim 21, wherein the generating step comprises:

identifying sentences containing a word appearing less than a selected number of times within the Web page.

24. The data processing system of claim 21, wherein a length of the summary is less than twenty five percent of the Web page.

25. The data processing system of claim 21 further comprising:

presenting the summary of the Web page in a tactile form prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

26. The data processing system of claim 21, wherein the generating and audibly presenting steps are located in a browser.

27. A data processing system comprising:

a bus system;

a communications unit connected to the bus, wherein data is sent and received using the communications unit;

a memory connected to the bus system, wherein a set of instructions are located in the memory; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system,

wherein the processor unit executes the set of instructions to generate a summary of the Web page; and

present the summary of the Web page in a manner other than visually prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

28. The data processing system of claim 27, wherein the summary is presented in an audible form.

29. The data processing system of claim 27, wherein the summary is presented in a tactile form.

30. The data processing system of claim 27, wherein the generating and presenting steps are located in a browser.

31. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions for generating a summary of the Web page; and

second instructions for audibly presenting the summary of the Web page prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

32. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the first instructions comprises:

instructions for selecting a first sentence from each paragraph in the Web page.

33. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the first instructions comprises:

instructions for identifying sentences containing a word appearing less than a selected number of times within the Web page.

34. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein a length of the summary is less than twenty five percent of the Web page.

35. The computer program product of claim 31 further comprising:

third instructions for presenting the summary of the Web page in a tactile form prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

36. The computer program product of claim 31, wherein the first instructions and second instructions are located in a browser.

37. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for presenting a Web page to a visually impaired user, the computer program product comprising:

first instructions for generating a summary of the Web page; and

second instructions for presenting the summary of the Web page in a manner other than visually prior to presenting other portions of the Web page.

38. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the summary is presented in an audible form.

39. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the summary is presented in a tactile form.

40. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the first instructions and the second instructions are located in a browser.