Aggregation of highlights

• US 9,087,032 B1
• Filed: 01/26/2009
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Killalea, Tom, Hamaker, Janna, Kalenkovich, Eugene, Dimson, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bloomquist, Keith
• Application Number:
  US12/360,089
• Time in Patent Office: 2,367 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/137 Hierarchical processing, e.g. outlines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

Highlights from a community of users highlighting portions of an electronic digital work may produce aggregated highlights. Users may have access to public and purchase versions of the aggregated highlights. Reconciliation of highlights across multiple versions of the same digital work may also take place, with the reconciled highlights incorporated into the aggregated highlights.

Claims

1. A method of generating aggregated highlights of a digital book from a plurality of highlights, the method comprising:

obtaining raw highlight intervals of a digital book from a plurality of users;

reconciling the raw highlight intervals across a plurality of versions of the digital book, the reconciling comprising synchronizing the versions of the digital book and consolidating the raw highlight intervals of the synchronized versions of the digital book, at least two of the plurality of versions of the digital book differing at least without regard to the raw highlight intervals;

selecting aggregated highlight intervals based on the reconciled highlight intervals using a highlight selection rule, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises;

computing an overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights, or

generating elementary highlight intervals from reconciled highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

creating a public version of the selected aggregated highlight intervals;

creating a purchase version of the selected aggregated highlight intervals, the purchase version differing from the public version and made available based at least in part on additional compensation with respect to the public version; and

displaying the public version or the purchase version of selected aggregated highlight intervals to users.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising an electronic book reader configured to display the public version or the purchase version of the selected aggregated highlight intervals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the reconciled highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value by counting the intersections of overlapping highlights.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the reconciled highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value;

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

detecting an overlap between a first desired highlight interval and subsequent desired highlight intervals; and

truncating overlapping subsequent desired highlight intervals to a nearest non-overlapping interval.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals from the reconciled highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building the elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

sorting the elementary highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

choosing elementary highlight intervals until a pre-determined highlight threshold is reached;

merging chosen elementary highlight intervals with adjacent intervals until the merged intervals meet or exceed a pre-determined minimum threshold; and

discarding all unchosen highlight intervals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals from reconciled highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

comparing elementary highlight intervals against the reconciled highlight intervals and truncating reconciled highlight intervals overlapping the elementary highlight intervals, the truncating comprising;

selecting elementary highlight intervals with overlapping interval values less than a minimum overlapping interval value threshold;

truncating the reconciled highlight intervals by removing the overlapping selected elementary highlight intervals;

removing undesired highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing elementary highlight intervals that meet or exceed a minimum overlapping interval value threshold;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value.

7. A method of generating highlight intervals of a digital work, the method comprising:

obtaining a plurality of highlight intervals in a digital work from a plurality of user devices;

selecting highlight intervals from the obtained plurality of highlight intervals using a highlight selection rule, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises;

computing an overlapping interval value for the raw highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

or

generating elementary highlight intervals from the raw highlight intervals by placing start and end values of all intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and

building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

creating a public version of the selected highlight intervals;

creating a purchase version of the selected highlight intervals to be offered for purchase, the purchase version differing from the public version and made available based at least in part on additional compensation with respect to the public version; and

providing for display the public version or the purchase version of selected highlight intervals.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the digital work comprises an electronic book.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selecting further comprises:

reconciling highlight intervals across a plurality of versions of the digital work, the reconciling comprising synchronizing the versions and consolidating the highlight intervals of the synchronized versions, at least two of the plurality of versions differing at least without regard to the highlights; and

the selecting highlight intervals using the highlight selection rule selecting from the reconciled highlight intervals.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the raw highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the raw highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the raw highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the raw highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value,

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

detecting an overlap between a first desired highlight interval and subsequent desired highlight intervals; and

truncating overlapping subsequent desired highlight intervals to a nearest non-overlapping interval.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals from the raw highlight intervals by placing start and end values of all intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building the elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

sorting the elementary highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

choosing elementary highlight intervals until a pre-determined highlight threshold is reached;

merging chosen elementary highlight intervals with adjacent intervals until the merged intervals meet or exceed a pre-determined minimum threshold; and

discarding all unchosen highlight intervals.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals from raw highlight intervals by placing start and end values of all intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building the elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

comparing elementary highlight intervals against the raw highlight intervals and breaking or truncating raw highlight intervals overlapping the elementary highlight intervals, wherein the truncating comprises;

selecting elementary highlight intervals with overlapping interval values less than a minimum overlapping interval value threshold;

truncating the raw highlight intervals by removing the overlapping selected elementary highlight intervals;

removing undesired highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the digital work is stored in a digital locker.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein creating the public version of selected highlights comprises:

accessing the selected highlight intervals;

setting a public presentation threshold defining a maximum amount of the body of the work is displayable as public highlight intervals;

sorting selected highlight intervals by ranking, the ranking comprising highest ranked highlight intervals being most commonly highlighted of the selected highlight intervals to lowest ranked highlight intervals being least commonly highlighted of the selected highlight intervals; and

generating the public version, the public version comprising highlight intervals up to the public presentation threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the public presentation threshold is less than or equal to two percent of a body of the digital work.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein creating the purchase version of selected highlights comprises:

accessing the selected highlight intervals;

setting a purchase presentation threshold defining a maximum amount of the body of the work is displayable as purchase highlight intervals;

sorting selected highlight intervals by ranking, the ranking comprising highest ranked highlight intervals being most commonly highlighted of the selected highlight intervals to lowest ranked highlight intervals being least commonly highlighted of the selected highlight intervals; and

generating the purchase version, the purchase version comprising highlight intervals up to the purchase presentation threshold.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the private presentation threshold is less than or equal to a percentage of a body of the digital work, the percentage being defined by a user.

19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing instructions that when executed instruct a processor to perform acts comprising:

obtaining one or more highlights of a digital work from a plurality of user devices;

reconciling the obtained highlights across a plurality of versions of the digital work, at least two of the plurality of versions differing at least without regard to the highlights;

determining, from the reconciled highlights, commonly highlighted passages in the digital work;

generating selected highlights from the highlights, based on the determined commonly highlighted passages, wherein generating selected highlights comprises;

computing an overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

or

generating elementary highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list

creating a public version of the selected highlights;

creating a purchase version of the selected highlights, the purchase version differing from the public version and made available based at least in part on additional compensation with respect to the public version; and

providing for display the public version or the purchase version of selected highlights.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein the providing for display includes providing the selected highlights for display in a highlight user interface.

21. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein generating selected highlights comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the reconciled highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value.

22. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein generating selected highlights comprises:

computing the overlapping interval value for the reconciled highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

removing undesired highlight intervals from the reconciled highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having an overlapping interval value less than a pre-determined minimum overlapping interval value;

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

detecting an overlap between a first desired highlight interval and subsequent desired highlight intervals; and

truncating overlapping subsequent desired highlight intervals to a nearest non-overlapping interval.

23. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein generating selected highlights comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

sorting the elementary highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value;

choosing elementary highlight intervals until a pre-determined highlight threshold is reached;

merging chosen elementary highlight intervals with adjacent intervals until the merged intervals meet or exceed a pre-determined minimum threshold; and

discarding all unchosen highlight intervals.

24. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein generating selected highlights comprises:

generating the elementary highlight intervals from reconciled highlight intervals by placing start and end values of intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building the elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

computing the overlapping interval value for the elementary highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

comparing elementary highlight intervals against the reconciled highlight intervals and truncating reconciled highlight intervals overlapping the elementary highlight intervals, the truncating comprising;

selecting elementary highlight intervals with overlapping interval values less than a minimum overlapping interval value threshold;

truncating the reconciled highlight intervals by removing the overlapping selected elementary highlight intervals;

removing undesired highlight intervals to leave only desired highlight intervals, the removing comprising;

removing elementary highlight intervals that meet or exceed a minimum overlapping interval value threshold;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length greater than a pre-determined maximum length;

removing overlapping highlight intervals having a length less than a pre-determined minimum length; and

sorting the desired highlight intervals in descending order by the overlapping interval value.

25. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein the reconciling highlights across the plurality of versions of the digital work comprises synchronizing the plurality of versions of the digital work with one another and tagging each highlight with the version or versions the highlight appears in.

26. A method of generating aggregated highlights of a book from a plurality of highlights, the method comprising:

obtaining raw highlight intervals of a book from a plurality of users from highlights in an digital work, or highlights scanned from a physical document, or both;

reconciling the raw highlight intervals across a plurality of versions of the book, the reconciling comprising synchronizing the versions of the book and consolidating the raw highlight intervals of the synchronized versions of the digital book, at least two of the plurality of versions differing at least without regard to the highlight intervals;

selecting aggregated highlight intervals based on the reconciled highlight intervals using a highlight selection rule, wherein the highlight selection rule comprises;

computing an overlapping interval value for the raw highlight intervals by counting the intersections of at least partially overlapping highlights;

or

generating elementary highlight intervals from the raw highlight intervals by placing start and end values of all intervals on an interval list, sorting the interval list, removing duplicates from the interval list, and building elementary highlight intervals from the resulting sorted list;

creating a public version of the selected aggregated highlight intervals;

creating a purchase version of the selected aggregated highlight intervals, the purchase version differing from the public version and made available based at least in part on additional compensation with respect to the public version; and

displaying the public version or the purchase version of selected aggregated highlight intervals to users.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising characterizing highlights scanned from a physical document by color of highlight, or underline, or both.