Method and apparatus for displaying text based upon attributes found within the text

• US 6,279,017 B1
• Filed: 02/02/1998
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Walker Reading Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Randall C. Walker
• Inventors: Walker, Randall C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kindred, Alford W.
• Application Number:
  US09/016,902
• Time in Patent Office: 1,296 Days
• Field of Search: 707/529, 707/526, 707/530, 704/2-3, 704/8, 704/200, 704/207-208, 704/235, 704/245-246, 704/233, 345/358, 345/359, 345/162
• US Class Current: 715/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/211 Syntactic parsing, e.g. based on context-free grammar [CFG] or unification grammars
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 17/04 for increasing the rate of reading; Reading rate control
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems

Abstract

A text enhancement method and apparatus for the presentation of text for improved human reading. The method includes extracting text specific attributes from machine readable text and varying the text presentation in accordance with the attributes. The preferred embodiment of the method: extracts parts of speech and punctuation from a sentence, applies folding rules which use the parts of speech to determine folding points, and presents text segments each on a new line and having a determined horizontal displacement based on the text specific attributes. One method displays text over bent curves having a shape based on text content. Another method includes displaying relative text position within a hierarchy using alternating vertically and horizontally tiled planes. Another method supports reading text segments across opposed pages without waiting for paging. Yet another method displays text to allow reading from bottom to top as though from front to back. Still another method displays words in colors reflecting the relationships between the words and the larger text segments of which they are apart.

Claims

1. A method for displaying text including words, phrases, and sentences to produce a text display comprising:

having a reader-performer read the text aloud, wherein said reader-performer performs actions are selected from the group consisting of speaking, hand movement, eye movement, head movement, and mouth movement;

electronically recording said actions of said reader-performer corresponding to said text;

displaying said text;

varying said text display in accordance with said reader-performer actions;

wherein said actions are recorded and said text display is varied in accordance with said actions; and

wherein said spoken speech attributes are selected from the group consisting of pitch, tone, volume, and pauses between words.

2. A method for displaying text as recited in claim 1 wherein said wherein said text display has display attributes varied in accordance with said spoken speech attributes and said display attributes are selected from the group consisting of font, intensity, font line thickness, font character height, inter-character spacing, inter-word spacing, inter line spacing and inter-sentence spacing.

3. A method for displaying text as recited in claim 1 wherein said hand gestures are recorded and said text display is varied in accordance with said hand gestures.

4. A method for displaying text as recited in claim 3 wherein said hand gestures include hand position and orientation and finger position and orientation.

5. A method for displaying text as recited in claim 3 wherein said text display includes modifying the horizontal displacement of said text as a function of the horizontal displacement of said hands and said text display includes modifying the vertical displacement as a function of said hand vertical displacement.

6. A method for displaying as recited in claim wherein said facial gestures are recorded and said text is displayed in accordance with said facial gestures.

7. A method for displaying text as recited in claim 6 wherein said recorded facial gestures are selected from the group consisting of eye shape, eye openness, eyebrow position, and mouth shape.

8. A method for displaying text having an original sequence comprising:

segmenting said text into a plurality of segments; and

displaying said segments on a plurality of lines,

wherein reading said text from bottom to top substantially reserves said original sequence,

wherein said text is displayed in a perspective view such hat text segments above other segments appear to be further away from the reader, such that in reading said text from bottom to top said text appears to be reading from front to back; and

further comprising placing a partially translucent virtual lens over text above the lower line being read, such that text above said lower line is visible but less easily read then the text below the line.

9. A method for displaying text having an original sequence comprising:

segmenting said text into a plurality of segments; and

displaying said segments on a plurality of lines,

wherein reading said text from bottom to top substantially preserves said original sequence,

wherein said text is displayed in a perspective view such that text segments above other segments appear to be further away from the reader, such that in reading said text from bottom to top said text appears to be reading from front to back; and

wherein the text above said certain line is less bright than the text line being read.

10. A method or displaying text having an original sequence comprising:

segmenting said text into a plurality of segments; and

displaying said segments on a plurality of lines,

wherein reading said text from bottom to top substantially preserves said original sequence,

wherein said text is displayed in a perspective view such that text segments above other segments appear to be further away from the reader, such that in reading said text from bottom to top said text appears to be reading from front to back; and

wherein said text in a line being read is removed after indicated as read and a line of text immediately behind said line being read is displayed to appear closer to the reader, such that the reader appears to be moving forward through the text being read.

11. A method as recited in claims 8, 9, and 10 wherein said text is displayed in a font decreasing in size from bottom lines to top lines of text.