Dynamically delivering, displaying document content as encapsulated within plurality of capsule overviews with topic stamp

• US 6,865,572 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2003
• Issued: 03/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Wong, Yin Yin, Boguraev, Branimir, Bellamy, Rachel Katherine Emma
• Primary Examiner(s): CHANNAVAJJALA, SRIRAMA T
• Application Number:
  US10/371,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 747 Days
• Field of Search: 717 1- 10, 717100-1061, 717200-205, 706 45- 50, 345820-840, 707501-513, 707 1- 5, 707100-1041, 715/500.1, 715510-513, 715/902, 715/907
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/345 Summarisation for human users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/917 Text
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/956 Hierarchical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method and system for the dynamic presentation of the contents of a plurality of documents on a display is disclosed. The method and system comprises receiving a plurality of documents and providing a plurality of topically rich capsule overviews corresponding to the plurality of documents. Each capsule overview is a representation of the core content of the corresponding document. The method and system also includes displaying each of the plurality of capsule overviews and dynamically delivering document content encapsulated in the plurality of capsule overviews.

Claims

1. A method for the dynamic presentation of the contents of a plurality of documents on a display;

comprising the steps of;

a) receiving a plurality of documents;

b) providing a plurality of capsule overviews corresponding to the plurality of documents, wherein each capsule overview is a representation of the core content of a corresponding document of the plurality of documents and includes a containment hierarchy of information-bearing units that provide different levels of abstractions of the document, wherein the abstractions comprise at least one topic stamp which is embedded within a plurality of layers of progressively more informative text fragments related to the document; and

c) displaying each of the plurality of capsule overviews and dynamically delivering document content as encapsulated within each of the plurality of capsule overviews.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least topic stamp is highly salient.

3. The method of claim 2 in which the document content is delivered via a TopicsTicker viewer.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the containment hierarchy is accessed automatically.

5. The method of claim 4 in which the document content is delivered via a ViewTool viewer.

6. The method of claim 4 which the document content is delivered via a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation viewer.

7. The method of claim 6 in which the Rapid Serial Presentation viewer comprises the cycling through a plurality of topic stamps and their associated relational contexts for the plurality of documents.

8. The method of claim 7 in which the cycling step comprises:

a) selecting a document from the plurality of documents;

b) selecting a topic stamp from the capsule overview corresponding to the selected document;

c) selecting a relational context relating to the topic stamp from the capsule overview;

d) retrieving a canonical form of the topic stamp from the capsule overview;

e) displaying the topic stamp in background and the relational content in the foreground for a time period that is calculated automatically; and

f) repeating steps a-e for the plurality of documents.

9. The method of claim 8 in which the time period for display is calculated based on amount of the relational context.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the topic stamp and relational context are displayed at different intensities.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the topic stamp is dark and relational context is translucent.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the topic stamp and relational context zoom in and out.

13. The method of claim 1 in which the containment hierarchy is accessed manually.

14. The method of claim 13 in which the document content is delivered via a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation viewer.

15. The method of claim 13 in which the document content is delivered via a VeiwTool viewer.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the data is displayed via screen saver.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the data is displayed on large screen projection.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the data is displayed in a background window on a computer.

19. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for dynamically presenting the contents of a plurality of documents on a display;

comprising the steps of;

a) receiving a plurality of documents;

b) providing a plurality of capsule overviews corresponding to the plurality of documents, wherein each capsule overview is a representation of the core content of a corresponding document of the plurality of documents and includes a containment hierarchy of information-bearing units that provide different levels of abstractions of the document, wherein the abstractions comprise at least one topic stamp which is embedded within a plurality of layers of progressively more informative text fragments related to the document; and

c) displaying each of the plurality of capsule overviews and dynamically delivering document content as encapsulated within each of the plurality of capsule overviews.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the at least one topic stamp is highly salient.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 20 further comprising the instruction for cycling through a plurality of topic stamps and their associate relational contexts for the plurality of documents.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the cycling instruction comprises:

a) selecting a document from the plurality of documents;

b) selecting a topic stamp from the capsule overview corresponding to the selected document;

c) selecting a relational context relating to the topic stamp from the capsule overview;

d) retrieving a canonical form of the topic stamp from the capsule overview;

e) displaying the topic stamp in background and the relational context in the foreground for a time period that is calculated automatically; and

f) repeating steps a-e for the plurality of documents.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the time period for display is calculated based on amount of the relational context.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the containment hierarchy is accessed automatically.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the containment hierarchy is accessed manually.

26. A system for dynamically presenting the contents of a plurality of documents on a display comprising:

means for receiving a plurality of documents;

memory for storing the plurality of documents;

a processor coupled to the memory function to provide a plurality of capsule overviews corresponding to the plurality of documents, wherein each capsule overview is a representation of the core content of a corresponding document of the plurality of documents and includes a containment hierarchy of information-bearing units that provide different levels of abstractions of the document, wherein the abstractions comprise at least one topic stamp which is embedded within a plurality of layers of progressively more informative text fragments related to the document; and

a display for displaying each of the plurality of capsule overviews and dynamically delivering document content as encapsulated within each of the plurality of capsule overviews.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the system is a server in communication with a plurality of client systems via a network.