Method and apparatus for presenting information in accordance with presentation attribute information to control presentation thereof

• US 6,825,849 B1
• Filed: 09/05/2000
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Umemoto, Azusa, Minakuchi, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): BRIER, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US09/655,072
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: 345/581, 345/589, 345/672, 345/682, 345/467, 345/471, 707/500, 707/517, 707/523, 707/526-529, 715/517, 715/523, 715/526-529
• US Class Current: 345/581
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography

Abstract

In an information presentation apparatus, a documents parser reads out and analyzes desired document data from a documents storage unit to obtain attributes data of the document data, which is stored in a document attributes storage uni. A displaying attributes setting unit uses the document attribute information, or attributes data, stored in the document attributes storage unit to retrieve data from tables of document attributes and displaying attributes, and, based on the retrieval result, sets a displaying attribute for the relevant document data. A displaying data generator determines a displaying manner of the document data according to the displaying attribute thus set, and the document data is displayed on a displaying unit in the determined manner. Accordingly, a user can quickly estimate a document attribute suggested by the content of the document data, not by reading the document data, but only at a glance of the manner in which the document data is being displayed. This allows easy comprehension of the content.

Claims

1. An information presentation apparatus, comprising:

storage means for storing information including at least one document data;

said storage means further storing at least one link string representing said link when at least two said document data are related to each other by a link;

output means having a displaying unit for externally outputting said document data;

displaying attribute determination means for determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting in a prescribed manner, said document data stored within said storage means in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by said document data and said displaying attribute determination means includes link attribute determination means for determining said displaying attribute of said link string stored in said storage means in response to information regarding a first of said document data that is linked with a second of said document data and designated by said prescribed link strings; and

display control means for causing said displaying unit to display said document data according to said displaying attribute determined by said displaying attribute determination means to indicate the document attribute and including link display control means for causing said displaying unit to display said link string according to said displaying attribute determined by said link attribute determination means.

2. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 3, further including select means for selecting said link string from said at least one link string, the apparatus further comprising:

sound control means, responsive to said link string being selected by said select means, for outputting sound corresponding to said document attribute of said document data.

3. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, further including document attribute extracting means that analyzes said document data to extract said document attribute.

4. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information further includes user'"'"'s preference information corresponding to said document attribute.

5. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said preference information is determined based on preference history information indicating how often said document data has been displayed on said displaying unit for reference.

6. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displaying attribute determination means includes

a table in which at least one kind of said document attribute is corresponded to at least one kind of said displaying attribute respectively, and

retrieval means that retrieves from said table said displaying attribute corresponding to said document data.

7. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said displaying attribute determination means calculates and determines said displaying attribute based on said document attribute of said document data.

8. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute includes a font of letters being displayed on said displaying unit.

9. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute includes a displaying color for displaying the document data on said displaying unit.

10. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute is determined according to an outputting manner that is feasible by said output means.

11. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output means further includes a sound output unit for output of sound, the apparatus further comprising:

sound control means for causing said sound output unit to output a sound corresponding to said document attribute of said document data in synchronization with display of said document data in said displaying unit.

12. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said document data is output as speech sound from said sound output unit in synchronization with said sound.

13. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said sound control means includes positioning means for positioning speech sound output from said sound output unit based on said document attribute of said document data.

14. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein various kinds of information related to said document data are output via said output means in synchronization with display of said document data.

15. An information presentation apparatus, comprising:

storage means for storing information including at least one document data;

output means having a displaying unit for externally outputting said document data;

displaying attribute determination means for determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting in a prescribed manner, said document data stored within said storage means in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by said document data; and

display control means for causing said displaying unit to display said document data according to said displaying attribute determined by said displaying attribute determination means to indicate the document attribute wherein, when the information is moved along said displaying unit while being displayed on said displaying unit, said at least one kind of displaying attribute includes a pattern of the movement.

16. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, further including document attribute extracting means that analyzes said document data to extract said document attribute.

17. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said information further includes user'"'"'s preference information corresponding to said document attribute.

18. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said displaying attribute determination means includes

a table in which at least one kind of said document attribute is corresponded to at least one kind of said displaying attribute respectively, and

retrieval means that retrieves from said table said displaying attribute corresponding to said document data.

19. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said displaying attribute determination means calculates and determines said displaying attribute based on said document attribute of said document data.

20. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute includes a font of letters being displayed on said displaying unit.

21. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute includes a displaying color for displaying the document data on said displaying unit.

22. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said at least one kind of displaying attribute is determined according to an outputting manner that is feasible by said output means.

23. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said output means further includes a sound output unit for output of sound, the apparatus further comprising:

sound control means for causing said sound output unit to output a sound corresponding to said document attribute of said document data in synchronization with display of said document data in said displaying unit.

24. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 15, wherein various kinds of information related to said document data are output via said output means in synchronization with display of said document data.

25. An information presentation method comprising:

storing information including at least one document data, relating at least two document data by a link, and storing at least one link string representing said link;

a displaying attribute determination step for determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting document data in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by said document data and determining said display attribute of said stored link string in response to information regarding a first of said document data that is linked with a second of said document data and designated by said prescribed link string; and

a displaying step for displaying said document data according to said displaying attribute information determined by said displaying attribute determination step to indicate the document attribute and displaying said link string according to said displaying attribute determined by said link attribute determination means.

26. A computer readable recording medium with an information presentation program recorded therein for allowing a computer to execute an information presentation method,

said information presentation method comprising:

storing information including at least one document data, relating at least two document data by a link, and storing at least one link string representing said link;

a displaying attribute determination step for determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting document data in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by said document data and determining said display attribute of said stored link string in response to information regarding a first of said document data that is linked with a second of said document data and designated by said prescribed link string; and

a displaying step for displaying said document data according to said displaying attribute information determined by said displaying attribute determination step to indicate the document attribute and displaying said link string according to said displaying attribute determined by said link attribute determination means.

27. An information presentation method comprising the steps of:

storing information including at least one document data;

determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting in a prescribed manner, said document data stored within said storage means in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by the document data; and

displaying the document data at a display unit according to said display attribute determined by said displaying attribute determination to indicate the document attribute by moving the information along the display unit in a pattern of movement which indicates at least one kind of displaying attribute.

28. A computer readable recording medium with an information presentation program recorded therein for allowing a computer to execute an information presentation method, said information presentation method comprising the steps of:

storing information including at least one document data;

determining at least one displaying attribute for outputting in a prescribed manner, said document data stored within said storage means in response to information, said information including document attribute information indicating a document attribute corresponding to a content category being represented by the document data; and

displaying the document data at a display unit according to said display attribute determined by said displaying attribute determination to indicate the document attribute by moving the information along the display unit in a pattern of movement which indicates at least one kind of displaying attribute.