Cooperative processing for portable reading machine

• US 8,626,512 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2011
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Federation of the Blind
• Original Assignee: K-NFB Reading Technology Inc.
• Inventors: Kurzweil, Raymond C., Albrecht, Paul, Gibson, Lucy
• Primary Examiner(s): Godbold, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US13/270,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 704/260, 704/270, 704/271, 382/321
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/127 with the intervention of an operator
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/141 using multiple overlapping images; Image stitching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/146 Aligning or centring of the image pick-up or image-field
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/166 Normalisation of pattern dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A handheld device includes an image input device capable of acquiring images, circuitry to send a representation of the image to a remote computing system that performs at least one processing function related to processing the image and circuitry to receive from the remote computing system data based on processing the image by the remote system.

Claims

1. A system comprises:

a handheld device, including;

a computing device;

a keypad; and

an image input device for acquiring images;

the computing device configured to;

send a representation of at least one acquired image; and

send a navigation command based on user entries made on the keypad; and

an external, remote computing system communicating with the handheld device, the external, remote computing system configured to;

receive the representation of the acquired image;

perform at least one processing function on the received representation of the image to provide a result that is processed according to the navigation command; and

send the result processed according to the navigation command to the handheld device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the handheld device has mobile phone capability and communicates with the external, remote device over a wireless communication connection.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the handheld device reads aloud recognized text from the image and with the at least one processing function being text-to-speech processing.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing to provide a text file of recognized text that the external, remote computing device sends to the handheld device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing to provide a text file of recognized text that the external, remote computing device sends to the handheld device;

and the handheld device is further configured to;

perform text-to-speech processing on the text file.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing to provide a text file of recognized text that the external, remote computing device sends to text-to-speech processing in the external, remote computing device and produces a speech file that is sent to the handheld device.

8. A handheld device comprises:

an image input device for acquiring images;

a keypad;

circuitry to determine user navigation commands from user entered data from the keypad;

circuitry to send a representation of at least one image acquired by the image input device to an external, remote computing system that performs at least one processing function related to processing of the image and to send the navigation commands; and

circuitry to receive from the external, remote computing system, data based on processing of the image by the external remote system that provides a result that is processed by the external, remote computing system according to the navigation commands.

9. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the handheld device has mobile phone capability and communicates with the external, remote device over a wireless communication connection.

10. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the at least one processing function is text-to-speech processing.

11. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing.

12. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the handheld device is configured to cause the external, remote computing system to:

apply optical character recognition processing as the at least one processing function on a portion of the received image according to the navigation command to provide a text file of recognized text;

receive the text file from the external, remote computing device; and

perform text-to-speech processing on the text file.

13. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing.

14. The handheld device of claim 8 wherein the handheld device is configured to:

apply optical character recognition as the at least one processing function on a portion of the image according to the navigation command to provide a text file of recognized text

send the text file to text-to-speech processing in the external remote computing device to produce a speech file;

receive the speech file.

15. A system comprises:

an remote computing server system in communication with a handheld device, the remote computing system comprising;

a processor and memory, and the remote computing server system configured to;

receive a representation of an image;

receive a navigation command from the handheld device, and

perform at least one processing function on the received image, to provide a result that is processed according to the navigation command.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the remote computing server system communicates with the handheld device over a wireless communication connection.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one processing function is text-to-speech processing.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing that provides a text file of recognized text, which the remote computing server system sends to the handheld device.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing that provides a text file of recognized text, which the remote computing server system sends to the handheld device and wherein the handheld device performs text-to-speech processing on the text file.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the at least one processing function is optical character recognition processing that provides a text file of recognized text, which the remote computing server system sends to text-to-speech processing in the remote computing server system and produces a speech file that is sent to the handheld device.