Reading product fabrication methodology

• US 7,036,075 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Walker Reading Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Randall C. Walker
• Inventors: Walker, Randall C.
• Primary Examiner(s): BASHORE, WILLIAM L
• Application Number:
  US09/928,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20020091713A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,670 Days
• Field of Search: 715/529, 715/500.1, 704/9, 345/848, 434/169, 434/178
• 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 computer-executable reading product fabrication methodology for producing a reading-product display of a sentence having an author specified character content, and an author specified character-sequence within the character content, wherein the reading-product display includes only author specified character content, said methodology comprising:

a) extracting sentence specific attributes comprising punctuation and parts of speech from said sentence wherein said extracting includes parsing said sentence into punctuation and parts of speech; and

,

b) varying vertical and horizontal positions of portions of characters of the character content of said sentence on a display surface, via application of rules comprising folding rules for dividing said sentence into sentence segments, in accordance with said attributes while maintaining said author specified character-sequence in visual display patterns of said character positions, the reading product display including visual attributes, said rules have inputs and outputs wherein said inputs include said parts of speech and said rule outputs include said visual attributes, said folding rule inputs including punctuation.

2. The reading fabrication methodology of claim 1 wherein said folding rule inputs further include parts of speech.

3. The reading fabrication methodology of claim 2 wherein said visual attributes include the displaying of said sentence segments in a color depending on said parts of speech.

4. The reading fabrication methodology of claim 2 wherein said visual attributes include the displaying of said sentence segments on new lines.