Soundtrack for electronic text
First Claim
1. A method for displaying electronic text and synchronizing the playback of a soundtrack for the electronic text, the soundtrack comprising multiple audio regions configured for playback during corresponding text regions of the electronic text, each audio region being recited in audio data comprises:
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text comprising to where playback of the audio track is to cease, comprising;
displaying at least a portion of the electronic text on an electronic display, the display having an associated operable user interface that is configured to receive user input to enable user interaction with the display;
sensing and tracking a tracing movement of user input relative to the displayed electronic text that is generated by the operable user interface as it is controlled by the user for a tracking period initiated by the user, the tracing movement of the user input representing the user'"'"'s reading position on the display as the user traces their reading word-by-word or line-by-line on the displayed electronic text using the operable user interface;
generating data indicative of the quantity of text traversed and time taken for the tracing movement;
calculating a measurement of reading speed based on the quantity of text read during the tracing movement and the time taken for the tracing movement;
updating a user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed based on the calculated measurement of reading speed;
maintaining a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on the updated user reading speed variable; and
controlling playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack over an audio output system based on the audio data and reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions with the user'"'"'s estimated reading position.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A soundtrack creation method and user playback system for soundtracks synchronized to electronic text. Synchronization is achieved by maintaining a reading speed variable indicative of the user'"'"'s reading speed. The system provides for multiple channels of audio to enable concurrent playback of two or more partially or entirely overlapping audio regions so as to create an audio output having, for example, sound effects, ambience, music or other audio features that are triggered to playback at specific portions in the electronic text to enhance the reading experience.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method for displaying electronic text and synchronizing the playback of a soundtrack for the electronic text, the soundtrack comprising multiple audio regions configured for playback during corresponding text regions of the electronic text, each audio region being recited in audio data comprises:
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text comprising to where playback of the audio track is to cease, comprising;displaying at least a portion of the electronic text on an electronic display, the display having an associated operable user interface that is configured to receive user input to enable user interaction with the display; sensing and tracking a tracing movement of user input relative to the displayed electronic text that is generated by the operable user interface as it is controlled by the user for a tracking period initiated by the user, the tracing movement of the user input representing the user'"'"'s reading position on the display as the user traces their reading word-by-word or line-by-line on the displayed electronic text using the operable user interface; generating data indicative of the quantity of text traversed and time taken for the tracing movement; calculating a measurement of reading speed based on the quantity of text read during the tracing movement and the time taken for the tracing movement; updating a user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed based on the calculated measurement of reading speed; maintaining a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on the updated user reading speed variable; and controlling playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack over an audio output system based on the audio data and reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions with the user'"'"'s estimated reading position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
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9. A method for displaying electronic text and synchronizing the playback of a soundtrack for the electronic text, the soundtrack comprising multiple audio regions configured for playback during corresponding text regions of the electronic text, each audio region being recited in audio data comprises:
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text comprising to where playback of the audio track is to cease, comprising;displaying at least a portion of the electronic text on a display; detecting a first user reading position input indicative of a first reading text position identifying any arbitrary word in a portion of the displayed electronic text the user is reading at the time of the first user reading position input, and generating data indicative of the arbitrary first reading text position; detecting a second subsequent user reading position input indicative of a second reading text position identifying any arbitrary word in a portion of the displayed electronic text the user is reading at the time of the second user reading position input, and generating data indicative of the arbitrary second reading text position; calculating the quantity of text read between the arbitrary first and second reading text positions based on their respective generated indicative data; calculating an estimate of the user'"'"'s reading speed based on the calculated quantity of text read and the time period between the arbitrary first and second user reading position inputs; updating a user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed based on the calculated estimate of the user'"'"'s reading speed; maintaining a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on the updated user reading speed variable; and controlling playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack over an audio output system based on the audio data and reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions with the user'"'"'s estimated reading position, and wherein the detected arbitrary first and second user reading position inputs are not indicative of page turn events of the displayed electronic text. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
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17. A method for displaying electronic text and synchronizing the playback of a soundtrack for the electronic text, the soundtrack comprising multiple audio regions configured for playback during corresponding text regions of the electronic text, each audio region being recited in audio data comprises:
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text comprising to where playback of the audio track is to cease, comprising;displaying at least a portion of the electronic text on a display; displaying a visual moving reading position indicator on the display which identifies the current text position that is estimated as being read based on an initial user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s estimated reading speed, the visual moving reading position indicator moving relative to the text at a rate based on the user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed; providing a user adjustment interface that is operable by a user to increase or decrease the user reading speed variable; and updating the user reading speed variable according to any user adjustment to thereby modify the rate of movement of the visual moving reading position indicator to match the updated user reading speed variable, wherein the user adjustment interface is operable simultaneously as the electronic text and visual moving reading position indicator are displayed during playback such that the user can view in real-time the effect of any adjustment of the reading speed variable on the rate of movement of the visual moving reading position indicator; maintaining a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the counter incrementing at a rate at least partly based on the updated user reading speed variable; and controlling playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack over an audio output system based on the audio data and reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions with the user'"'"'s estimated reading position. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
- an audio track for playback in the audio region, a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio track is to begin; and
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22. A system for displaying electronic text and controlling playback of a soundtrack synchronized to the reading speed of a user comprising:
an electronic display configured to display the electronic text; an operable user interface configured to receive user input to enable user interaction with the system; an audio output system that is operable to generate audio output for the user to hear; an electronic text display module configured to process electronic text data representing the electronic text and control display of the electronic text on the display in response to user input from the operable user interface; a reading position module configured to generate a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated current text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the reading position counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on a configurable user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed; a soundtrack playback module configured to process soundtrack data representing the soundtrack to control playback of the soundtrack over the audio output system, the soundtrack data defining multiple audio regions for the soundtrack, each audio region being recited in audio data comprising; an audio track for playback in the audio region; a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to begin; and a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to cease; and wherein the soundtrack playback module is configured to coordinate playback of the audio regions based on the reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack with the user'"'"'s reading of the electronic text; and wherein the system further comprises a reading speed adjustment module that is configured to sense and track a tracing movement of user input relative to the displayed electronic text that is generated by the operable user interface as it is controlled by the user for a tracking period initiated by the user, and which calculates and updates the user reading speed variable based on the quantity of text traversed during the tracing movement and the time taken for the tracing movement, the tracing movement of the user input representing the user'"'"'s reading position on the display as the user traces their reading word-by-word or line-by-line of the displayed electronic text using the operable user interface. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for displaying electronic text and controlling playback of a soundtrack synchronized to the reading speed of a user comprising:
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an electronic display configured to display the electronic text; a user interface configured to receive user input to control the system; an audio output system that is operable to generate audio output for the user to hear; an electronic text display module configured to process electronic text data representing the electronic text and control display of the electronic text on the display in response to user input from the user interface; a reading position module configured to generate a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated current text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the reading position counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on a configurable user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed; a soundtrack playback module configured to process soundtrack data representing the soundtrack to control playback of the soundtrack over the audio output system, the soundtrack data defining multiple audio regions for the soundtrack, each audio region being recited in audio data comprising; an audio track for playback in the audio region; a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to begin; and a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to cease; and wherein the soundtrack playback module is configured to coordinate playback of the audio regions based on the reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack with the user'"'"'s reading of the electronic text; and
the system further comprising a reading speed adjustment module that is configured to;detect a first user reading position input indicative of a first reading text position identifying any arbitrary word in a portion of the displayed electronic text the user is reading at the time of the first user reading position input, and generate data indicative of the arbitrary first reading text position; detect a second subsequent user reading position input indicative of a second reading text position identifying any arbitrary word in a portion of the displayed electronic text the user is reading at the time of the second user reading position input, and generate data indicative of the arbitrary second reading text position; calculate the quantity of text read between the arbitrary first and second reading text positions based on their respective generated indicative data; calculate an estimate of the user'"'"'s reading speed based on the calculated quantity of text read and time period between the arbitrary first and second user reading position inputs; and update the configurable user reading speed variable based on the calculated estimate of the user'"'"'s reading speed, and wherein the detected arbitrary first and second user reading position inputs are not indicative of page turn events of the displayed electronic text. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A system for displaying electronic text and controlling playback of a soundtrack synchronized to the reading speed of a user comprising:
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an electronic display configured to display the electronic text; a user interface configured to receive user input to control the system; an audio output system that is operable to generate audio output for the user to hear; an electronic text display module configured to process electronic text data representing the electronic text and control display of the electronic text on the display in response to user input from the user interface; a reading position module configured to generate a reading position counter corresponding to the estimated current text position indicative of a word in the electronic text that the user is currently reading, the reading position counter incrementing at a rate based at least partly on a configurable user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed; a soundtrack playback module configured to process soundtrack data representing the soundtrack to control playback of the soundtrack over the audio output system, the soundtrack data defining multiple audio regions for the soundtrack, each audio region being recited in audio data comprising; an audio track for playback in the audio region; a start text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to begin; and a stop text position indicative of a word in the electronic text corresponding to where the playback of the audio region is to cease; and wherein the soundtrack playback module is configured to coordinate playback of the audio regions based on the reading position counter to synchronize playback of the audio regions of the soundtrack with the user'"'"'s reading of the electronic text; and
the system further comprising a reading speed adjustment module that is configured to;display a visual moving reading position indicator on the display which identifies the estimated current text position that is estimated as being read based on the reading position counter, the visual moving reading position indicator moving relative to the text at a rate based on the user reading speed variable representing the user'"'"'s reading speed; provide a user adjustment interface that is operable by a user to increase or decrease the configurable user reading speed variable; and update the user reading speed variable according to any user adjustment to thereby modify the rate of movement of the visual moving reading position indicator to match the updated user reading speed variable, and wherein the user adjustment interface is operable simultaneously as the electronic text and visual moving reading position indicator are displayed during playback such that the user can view in real-time the effect of any adjustment of the user reading speed variable on the rate of movement of the visual moving reading position indicator. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification