System and method for clipping, repurposing, and augmenting document content

• US 20060041589A1
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Helfman, Jonathan, Denoue, Laurent, Churchill, Elizabeth F., Nelson, Lester D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,519,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system and method for repurposing and augmenting document content by clipping, annotating, and reassembling portions of documents, and which may be used in an online or collaborative environment. As used herein the term “repurposing” includes packaging the online information in a manner so that it can be re-used by subsequent users for subsequent applications. An input device or menu referred to herein as a “clipbar” may be provided within a software application or in a kiosk environment that allows users to clip and annotate portions of online or other documents, while retaining both the document fragment'"'"'s rendered image and its underlying structure. The clips thus created may be stored as collections (together with their associated user-specified and system-specified meta-data) in a form compatible with the other input documents. The collections can be immediately made available to other users in a collaborative fashion, and re-clipped as desired.

Claims

1. A system for dynamic capturing and publishing of clipped document content, comprising:

a clip capture logic that receives, via a graphical user interface, a request from a user to select a portion of a displayed image within an application, said displayed image being the graphical rendering of a content structure;

an application mapping logic that determines elements of the content structure that correspond with the portion of the displayed image selected by the user; and

a database that stores, as a plurality of clips, the selected portions of the displayed image, together with their associated elements of the content structure.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each selected portion of displayed image is stored, together with its associated elements, as a clip.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the application mapping logic uses an application program interface to determine the elements of the content structure that correspond with the selected portion of the displayed image.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the application mapping logic uses analytical means to determine the elements of the content structure that correspond with the selected portion of the displayed image.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said analytical means include any of character recognition and image segmentation of the selected portion of the displayed image.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the graphical user interface is operated at a client, and wherein the application mapping logic and database are stored and executed at a server.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the graphical user interface is operated at a client, and wherein the clip capture logic is stored and executed at a client, and wherein the application mapping logic and database are stored and executed at a server.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the system allows for clipping of online content, wherein the graphical user interface is a Web browser, wherein the graphical online content is Web content displayed within said browser, and wherein the content structure is the html code associated with the Web content.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the Web browser includes controls for operation by the user in selecting portions of content to be stored as clips.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the system includes extensions for use by said application mapping logic to recognize an application'"'"'s content structure, and wherein additional extensions may be added for new application types.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the selected portions of the displayed image are stored as rendered fragments of the original displayed image.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a publishing logic that publishes said clips as online content for subsequent viewing and selection by the user.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising:

a touch screen display that display published clips as online content for subsequent viewing and selection by a user.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein clips may be published to a specified collection, and wherein that collection is displayed on the touch screen display

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the display is automatically updated with new clips as clips are published to the collection.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein annotations may be added by the user and stored with a clip.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein clips can be combined to form collections.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein clips can be re-clipped to form additional clips.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein clips can be stored with system-specified or user-specified metadata.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein the content structure is XML code.

39. The method of claim 1 wherein clips can be stored with system-specified or user-specified metadata.

40. The method of claim 1 wherein the content structure is XML code.

21. A method for dynamic publishing of clipped online content, comprising the steps of:

receiving, via a graphical user interface, a request from a user to select a portion of a displayed image within an application, said displayed image being the graphical rendering of a content structure;

determining elements of the content structure that correspond with the portion of the displayed image selected by the user; and

storing, as a plurality of clips, the selected portions of the displayed image, together with their associated elements of the content structure.

22. The method of claim 21 including storing each selected portion of displayed image, together with its associated elements, as a clip.

23. The method of claim 21 including using an application program interface to determine the elements of the content structure that correspond with the selected portion of the displayed image.

24. The method of claim 21 including using analytical means to determine the elements of the content structure that correspond with the selected portion of the displayed image.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said analytical means include any of character recognition and image segmentation of the selected portion of the displayed image.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein the graphical user interface is operated at a client, and wherein the application mapping logic and database are stored and executed at a server.

27. The method of claim 21 wherein the graphical user interface is operated at a client, and wherein the clip capture logic is stored and executed at a client, and wherein the application mapping logic and database are stored and executed at a server.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein the system allows for clipping of online content, wherein the graphical user interface is a Web browser, wherein the graphical online content is Web content displayed within said browser, and wherein the content structure is the html code associated with the Web content.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the Web browser includes controls for operation by the user in selecting portions of content to be stored as clips.

30. The method of claim 21 including using to recognize an application'"'"'s content structure, and wherein additional extensions may be added for new application types.

31. The method of claim 21 wherein the selected portions of the displayed image are stored as rendered fragments of the original displayed image.

32. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

publishing said clips as online content for subsequent viewing and selection by the user.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

displaying on a touch screen display published clips as online content for subsequent viewing and selection by a user.

34. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

publishing the clips to a specified collection, and wherein that collection is displayed on the touch screen display

35. The method of claim 33 further comprising:

automatically updating the display with new clips as clips are published to the collection.

36. The method of claim 21 wherein annotations may be added by the user and stored with a clip.

37. The method of claim 21 wherein clips can be combined to form collections.

38. The method of claim 21 wherein clips can be re-clipped to form additional clips.

41. An online information storage system, comprising:

a user display device, including a graphical user interface for displaying thereupon an application having a displayed image, and that allows a user to select a portion of said displayed image, wherein said said displayed image is the graphical rendering of a content structure; and

a storage system including

an application mapping logic that determines the particular elements of the content structure that are correspond with the portion of the displayed image selected by the user; and

a database that stores, as a plurality of clips, the selected portions of the displayed image, together with each of their associated elements of the content structure.

42. A collaborative online content system, comprising:

a plurality of user display devices, including upon each user display device a graphical user interface for displaying thereupon a displayed image, and wherein each graphical user interface allows a user to select a portion of the displayed image; and

a collaborative publishing system including

an application mapping logic that determines the particular elements of the content structure that correspond with the portion of the displayed image selected by the user,

a database that stores, as a plurality of clips, the selected portions of the displayed image, together with each of their associated elements of the content structure, and

a publishing logic that dynamically publishes said clips as modified online content upon said plurality of user display devices for subsequent viewing and selection by the users.