System and method for displaying text

• US 8,418,057 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cambridge Reading Project LLC
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Reading Project LLC
• Inventors: Knight, David H., Knight, Andrew D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blackwell, James H
• Application Number:
  US11/142,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20060277464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,869 Days
• Field of Search: 715200-201, 715/205, 715243-256, 715/273, 434/169, 434178-179, 704/9, 345/471
• US Class Current: 715/243
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191

Abstract

A method for displaying text arranged into word clusters on an electronic display including the steps of providing a text, arranging the text into a plurality of word clusters, where a plurality of clusters includes at least two lines and each line includes at least two words, and where at least one word can be emphasized. The provided text has a plurality of paragraphs with a plurality of sentences arranged into clusters each limited to a thought group based on a word or a plurality of words linked by commonality having an end defined by a text element. Cluster size can be constrained by an estimate of reader apprehension span and/or a readability analysis of the provided text based on word complexity which can take into account reader comprehension. An automated program configured to identify thought groups using such linguistic criteria can be employed to carry out the method.

Claims

1. A method for displaying text comprising the steps of:

providing a text, said text having a plurality of paragraphs each having a plurality of sentences comprised of a plurality of words;

determining a word cluster size based on a reading level complexity, said word cluster size defining a word cluster having a plurality of lines with a plurality of the lines each having a plurality of words;

arranging said text into a plurality of separated and centered word clusters based on said determined word cluster size having (a) adjacent lines of each word cluster vertically spaced apart by a cluster line spacing that is substantially the same, (b) each pair of consecutive centered word clusters vertically aligned and spaced apart by a cluster spacing that is greater than said line spacing, and (c) each word of each one of said word clusters presented in a typeface having a serif with at least one word in the last line of at least one word cluster having a serif larger in size than a remainder of said words of said at least one word cluster; and

displaying said plurality of word clusters on an electronic display medium.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying at least one content word in at least one word cluster and emphasizing said at least one content word by altering a typeface, changing a font, changing a font size, or changing a color of said at least one content word.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of identifying at least one function word in said at least one word cluster and deemphasizing said at least one function word by lightening, narrowing, or decreasing a size of at least one of a typeface or a font of said at least one function word.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said electronic display medium is configured to display a page at a time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said reading level complexity is based on a complexity of words within said word cluster.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said word cluster size is further based on a reader of average skill.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said word cluster size is determined based on said word cluster being comprehended by a reader of average skill.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said word cluster size is constrained by one of an estimate of reader apprehension span and a predetermined word cluster line length and word cluster line number limit.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of word clusters are defined by identifying a plurality of thought groups in said provided text comprised of a plurality of words linked by a commonality.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said commonality linking said plurality of words comprising one of said word clusters comprises a name, a noun or verb which relies on a modifier for understanding, or a phrase, and wherein the end of said thought group of the one of said word clusters is defined by a comma, a colon, or a semicolon.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said commonality linking said plurality of words comprising one of said word clusters comprises a name, a noun or verb which relies on a modifier for understanding, or a phrase, and wherein the end of said thought group of the one of said word clusters is defined by a period, question mark or exclamation point.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein each one of said thought groups corresponds to one of said word clusters.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein all of said words located in the last line of said at least one word cluster have a serif larger than the remainder of said words of said at least one word cluster.

14. A method for displaying text comprising the steps of:

providing a text comprised of a plurality of paragraphs each having a plurality of sentences with each sentence having a plurality of words;

arranging said text into a plurality of vertically centered and vertically aligned word clusters having a vertical cluster spacing between consecutive word clusters, each word cluster having a plurality of horizontally extending lines having a vertical line spacing between consecutive lines smaller than said vertical cluster spacing with each line having one or more words, and wherein each word cluster is formed of a thought group defined by a plurality of words linked by a commonality and constrained by an estimate of reader apprehension span, and wherein at least one word in the last line of at least one word cluster has a serif larger than a remainder of said words of said at least one word cluster; and

displaying said plurality of word clusters on an electronic display medium.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said commonality linking said plurality of words comprising one of said word clusters comprises a name, a noun or verb which relies on a modifier for understanding, or a phrase, and wherein the end of said thought group of the one of said word clusters is defined by a comma, a colon, or a semicolon.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said commonality linking said plurality of words comprising one of said word clusters comprises a name, a noun or verb which relies on a modifier for understanding, or a phrase, and wherein the end of said thought group of the one of said word clusters is defined by a period, question mark or exclamation point.

17. The method of claim 14, the further step of determining a size of the plurality of word clusters based on a reading level complexity and during said arranging step, arranging said text into said plurality of word clusters based on said determined word cluster size.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein all of said words in a single the last line of said at least one word cluster have said larger serif.

19. A method for displaying text comprising the steps of:

providing a text comprised of a plurality of paragraphs each having a plurality of sentences with each sentence having a plurality of words;

arranging said text into an plurality of vertically centered and vertically aligned word clusters having a vertical cluster spacing between consecutive word clusters, each word cluster having a plurality of horizontally extending lines having a vertical line spacing between consecutive lines smaller than said vertical cluster spacing with each line having a plurality of words, and wherein each word cluster is formed of a thought group defined by a plurality of words linked by a commonality and constrained by one of an estimate of reader apprehension span and a predetermined cluster line length and cluster line number limit with each pair of adjacent word clusters separated by a vertical space larger than the vertical space between adjacent lines of said adjacent word clusters, and wherein each word of each one of said word clusters is presented in a typeface having a serif with at least one of said words in the last line of at least one of said word clusters having a serif larger than a remainder of said words of said at least one word cluster; and

displaying said plurality of word clusters on an electronic display medium.