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United States Patent: 6,411,973
| United States Patent |
6,411,973
|
|
Yianilos
|
June 25, 2002
|
Method for facilitating user access to stored information in an electronic
text
Abstract
A technique for providing simplified and more flexible text recovery in an
electronically stored text. The text storage device is of the hand-held
type and may accommodate the text of the entire bible, for example. The
user may access the stored text in a read or search mode. The device is
programmed to perform certain functions automatically, such as: selecting
search or read mode; accommodating different syntax formulations;
providing a fixed screen map of respective different portions of the text;
and visually indicating specific words of a search to which a search will
be limited. Expanded flexibility is also programmed into the device which
includes: optionally expanding searches to cover both different forms of
the same words and unrelated words having the same meaning; providing
assistance to the user upon request which takes into account the current
operational phase; and providing the capability of tagging a preselected
location in the text for simplified access during reacquisition.
| Inventors:
|
Yianilos; Peter Nicholas (Princeton, NJ)
|
| Assignee:
|
Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (Burlington, NJ)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
767220 |
| Filed:
|
December 16, 1996 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
707/512; 707/507; 707/514; 707/529 |
| Intern'l Class: |
G06F 015/00 |
| Field of Search: |
395/800,145
364/419
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4625295 | Nov., 1986 | Skinner | 364/DIG.
|
| 4773009 | Sep., 1988 | Kucera et al. | 364/419.
|
| 4799191 | Jan., 1989 | Yoshimura | 364/900.
|
| 4855725 | Aug., 1989 | Fernandez | 340/706.
|
| 4864502 | Sep., 1989 | Kucera et al. | 364/419.
|
| 4879648 | Nov., 1989 | Cochran et al. | 364/300.
|
| 4974191 | Nov., 1990 | Amirghodsi et al. | 364/900.
|
| 4985697 | Jan., 1991 | Boulton | 340/750.
|
| 5083268 | Jan., 1992 | Hemphill et al. | 364/DIG.
|
| 5111398 | May., 1992 | Nunberg et al. | 364/DIG.
|
| 5146552 | Sep., 1992 | Cassorla et al. | 395/145.
|
| 5199104 | Mar., 1993 | Hirayama | 395/145.
|
| 5210689 | May., 1993 | Baker et al. | 364/419.
|
| 5239665 | Aug., 1993 | Tsuchiya | 395/800.
|
| 5265242 | Nov., 1993 | Fujisawa et al. | 395/600.
|
Primary Examiner: Banankhah; Majid A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Reed Smith LLP
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/497,636, filed Jun. 30,
1995 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/153,869, filed
Nov. 16, 1993 now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser.
No. 07/529,867, filed May 29, 1990 now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of providing user access to stored textual information in an
electronic book having a digital memory, entry keys, a display screen and
a microprocessor for implementing the method, said stored textual
information being comprised of sections of textual information, each of
said sections being identified by a respective section identifier, said
method comprising the steps of:
receiving a user entry from a user of said electronic book;
parsing said user entry by recognizing said user entry as a read mode
request if said user entry corresponds to any one of said section
identifiers, and by recognizing said user entry as a search mode request
if said user entry does not correspond to any one of said section
identifiers,
displaying, when said user entry is recognized as a read mode request, at
least a portion of said section of textual information having said section
identifier to which the user entry corresponds; and
searching, when said user entry is recognized as a search mode request,
through each of said sections of textual information for at least one
occurrence of said user entry, displaying on said display screen of said
electronic book a list of the section identifiers of those sections of
textual information in which said at least one occurrence of said user
entry is found, receiving a second user entry from said user, and
displaying a portion containing the first user entry of the section of
textual information having said section identifier to which the second
user entry corresponds.
2. A method of providing user access to stored textual information in an
electronic book having a digital memory, entry keys, a display screen and
a microprocessor for implementing the method, said stored textual
information being comprised of sections of textual information, each of
said sections being identified by a respective section identifier, said
method comprising the steps of:
receiving a user entry from a user of said electronic book,
parsing said user entry by recognizing said user entry as a read mode
request if said user entry corresponds to any one of said section
identifiers and said user entry is not included within any of said
sections of textual information, by recognizing said user entry as a
search mode request if said user entry does not correspond to any one of
said section identifiers, and prompting said user to indicate whether the
user entry is a read mode request or a search mode request when said user
entry corresponds to one of said section identifiers and said user entry
is included within at least one of said sections of textual information,
displaying, when said user entry is recognized as a read mode request, at
least a portion of said section of textual information having said section
identifier to which the user entry corresponds; and
searching, when said user entry is recognized as a search mode request,
through each of said sections of textual information for at least one
occurrence of said user entry, and displaying on said display screen of
said electronic book a list of the section identifiers of those sections
of textual information in which said at least one occurrence of said user
entry is found.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving is carried out by
receiving from said user a single line of textual information as said user
entry.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said sections of stored textual
information is comprised of a respective plurality of chapters of textual
information, each of said chapters of each section being identified by a
respective chapter identifier;
said section of textual information having said section identifier to which
the user entry corresponds is a selected section; and
said step of displaying when said user entry is recognized as a read mode
request is carried out:
by displaying, when said user entry further corresponds to one of said
chapter identifiers of the chapters included within the selected section,
a portion of said chapter within the selected section having said chapter
identifier to which the user entry further corresponds, and
by displaying, when said user entry does not further correspond to any one
of said chapter identifiers of the chapters included within the selected
section, a portion of a first of said chapters within the selected
section.
5. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of displaying, when
said user entry is recognized as either a read mode request or a search
mode request, on said display screen a map of different fixed locations
corresponding to respective different portions of the textual information.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of expanding the
searching performed during said searching step to include different words
having similar meaning to selected words included in said user entry.
7. An electronic book for providing user access to stored textual
information, comprising:
a digital memory having stored therein sections of textual information,
each of said sections being identified by a respective section identifier;
means for receiving a user entry from a user;
parsing means for parsing said user entry by recognizing said user entry as
a read mode request if said user entry corresponds to any one of said
section identifiers, and by recognizing said user entry as a search mode
request if said user entry does not correspond to any one of said section
identifiers;
display means for displaying, when said user entry is recognized as a read
mode request, at least a portion of said section of textual information
having said section identifier to which the user entry corresponds; and
means for searching, when said user entry is recognized as a search mode
request, through each of said sections of textual information for at least
one occurrence of said user entry, and for controlling said display means
to display a list of the section identifiers of those sections of textual
information in which said at least one occurrence of said user entry is
found,
wherein said means for receiving is operable, when said list of section
identifiers is displayed, to receive a second user entry from said user;
and said display means displays a portion containing the first user entry
of the section of textual information having said section identifier to
which the second user entry corresponds.
8. An electronic book for providing user access to stored textual
information, comprising:
a digital memory having stored therein sections of textual information,
each of said sections being identified by a respective section identifier;
means for receiving a user entry from a user;
parsing means for parsing said user entry by recognizing said user entry as
a read mode request if said user entry corresponds to any one of said
section identifiers and said user entry is not included within any of said
sections of textual information, and by recognizing said user entry as a
search mode request if said user entry does not correspond to any one of
said section identifiers, said parsing means including means for prompting
said user to indicate whether the user entry is a read mode request or a
search mode request when said user entry corresponds to one of said
section identifiers and said user entry is included within at least one of
said sections of textual information;
display means for displaying, when said user entry is recognized as a read
mode request, at least a portion of said section of textual information
having said section identifier to which the user entry corresponds; and
means for searching, when said user entry is recognized as a search mode
request, through each of said sections of textual information for at least
one occurrence of said user entry, and for controlling said display means
to display a list of the section identifiers of those sections of textual
information in which said at least one occurrence of said user entry is
found.
9. The electronic book of claim 7, wherein said means for receiving
receives from said user a single line of textual information as said user
entry.
10. The electronic book of claim 7, wherein each of said sections of stored
textual information is comprised of a respective plurality of chapters of
textual information, each of said chapters of each section being
identified by a respective chapter identifier;
said section of textual information having said section identifier to which
the user entry corresponds is a selected section;
said display means displays, when said user entry is recognized as a read
mode request and said user entry further corresponds to one of said
chapter identifiers of the chapters included within the selected section,
a portion of said chapter within the selected section having said chapter
identifier to which the user entry further corresponds; and
said display means displays, when said user entry is recognized as a read
mode request and said user entry does not further correspond to any one of
said chapter identifiers of the chapters included within the selected
section, a portion of a first of said chapters within the selected
section.
11. The electronic book of claim 7, wherein said display means displays,
when said user entry is recognized as either a read mode request or a
search mode request, a map of different fixed locations corresponding to
respective different portions of the textual information.
12. The electronic book of claim 7, further comprising means for expanding
the searching performed by said means for searching so as to include
different words having similar meaning to selected words included in said
user entry.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Reference is made to the application entitled "Electronic Text" by the same
inventor filed simultaneously herewith and bearing application Ser. No.
529,868, now granted as U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,831. The contents of that
application are incorporated herein by reference.
Microfiche Appendix
A microfiche appendix forms part of this application which includes 6
sheets and 311 frames of microfiche.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to techniques for accessing textual
information stored in an electronic memory and for providing simplified
and more flexible text accessing techniques to the user.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronically
stored text in a hand-held device having a keyboard and screen wherein
various keys in distinct sequences may be actuated to interactively
provide different modes for analyzing the text. The device is programmed
to minimize user interaction in a number of such modes.
Electronic devices for providing word-related operation and manipulation
are known. Such devices, such as the Electronic Spelling Machine disclosed
in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,618, include a keyboard, screen and permanent
electronic storage, i.e., a read-only memory. Techniques for the retrieval
of individual words, however, are not necessarily appropriate when dealing
with electronic storage of a complete comprehensive text.
When considering the presentation of a full text, such as the Bible, in a
hand-held machine intended for personal and repeated use, it is important
to provide techniques which avoid excessive keyboard manipulation and at
the same time provide a variety of approaches for accessing, using and
reusing the stored text.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simplified but varied
and effective technique for accessing electronically stored textual
information.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such technique
in a hand-held text storage machine.
In accordance with the invention, in a method for providing user access to
stored textual information in an electronic book, the method having search
and read modes of access, the improvement comprises providing simplified
and more flexible user operation steps. These steps include selecting
search or read mode automatically, accommodating different syntax
formulations of an entry word or phrase in the read mode, optionally
expanding searches to cover different forms of the same word and unrelated
words having the same meaning, providing the capability of tagging a
preselected location in the text for simplified access during
reacquisition of textual information, providing a map of different fixed
locations on the screen corresponding to respective different portions of
the text, providing assistance to the user upon request which takes into
account the current operational phase and visually indicating specific
words of a search request to which a search will be limited.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to
the following description and accompanying drawings while the scope of the
invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to the drawings,
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2a is a flow chart illustrating automatic mode selection in accordance
with the invention;
FIG. 2b provides a flow chart illustrating the operation of electronic
bookmarks in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2c is a flow chart illustrating three levels of linguistic range in a
cco rdance with the invention;
FIG. 2d is a flow chart illustrating the use of a display map in "read" and
"search" modes in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2e is a simplified flow chart illustrating how a search request may be
limited in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2f is a flow chart illustrating a context-sensitive "Help" system in
accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 2g is a flow chart illustrating how linguistic range expansion is
"pruned" by the lexicon in accordance with the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, incorporates, as
stored text, the King James version of the Holy Bible.
The device 10 includes a keyboard 11 and screen 12. The keyboard 11
presents the standard keys of an ordinary typewriter and other more or
less standard operating keys of a word processor. The latter include the
CLEAR, MENU, HELP, ENTER, EXIT and CURSOR CONTROL KEYS. An ON/OFF control
is also included.
The user of any stored textual material may desire to read designated
sections, e.g., chapter and verse of the Bible, or may desire to find a
specific section by entering a key word or words (by searching).
Automatic Mode Selection
In the device of the present invention, these two basic functions, "read"
and "search", are determined automatically without requiring user mode
selection. This is done by the device 10, by parsing the input string (the
word or words entered on the screen) and switching into the appropriate
mode.
Specifically, the user need only press the ON/OFF switch, type in the
inquiry, press ENTER and get a result. The results will require further
steps such as selection within the result (discussed below) or advancing
the text in order to read the text presented. The important thing is that
the user obtains the result after entering the inquiry without having to
select a mode.
The parsing operation is defined as follows.
The user's query is submitted to the parser, which tries to parse it as a
read-mode request. Read-mode requests consist of a "book" (with optional
"volume" specifier attached), an optional "chapter", and (if a chapter has
been specified) a "verse". If a query fails to parse as a read-mode
request, the parser BAILS OUT and treats it as a search request.
The parser starts at the beginning of the query. If it manages to isolate a
book/volume name, it moves past this and then, from its new position in
the query, attempts to isolate a chapter specification, etc.
A flow chart of the automatic mode selection step is presented in FIG. 2a.
There are certain situations in which the input is inherently ambiguous as
to whether the "search" mode or "read" mode is required. Thus, for
example, if an individual enters LUKE, it is not clear as to whether the
individual wishes to read the books of LUKE or wishes to locate all of
those positions in the Bible where the name "Luke" appears. In such
situation, the machine will ask the user to select whether to "read" or
"search" by selecting one of two keys (e.g. 1 for read or 2 for search)
Bookmark Function
The device provides the user with the ability to electronically "tag" a
certain number of text locations much like a bookmark for quickly and
automatically returning to those locations.
The preferred embodiment provides four such bookmark locations. To set a
bookmark at a particular location, the "MENU" key is pressed followed by
the "B" key. After setting of the bookmark, when the MENU key is pressed,
the various set bookmarks appear on the screen. Any one may be selected by
pressing the "B" key followed by the numerical key (1 or 2 or 3 or 4) for
the desired bookmark.
A flow chart is presented in FIG. 2b illustrating the logical steps for
setting a bookmark and for going to a marked location.
Syntax Accommodations
A significant simplification provided by device 10 is the internally
programmed provision to accommodate a wide variety of formulations in the
"read" mode. For example, I KINGS or KINGS I will get the reader to same
place in the text. The device has a grammar of syntaxes such that all of
the following will result in the same read position being brought up on
the screen:
IKG
KING I
KG1
FIRST KINGS
I KINGS
The following table illustrates the scope of these syntactical
accommodations (=space character(s)):
TABLE I
I. Booknames:
1. Books without
"volume number" May be specified by the
full name or any two-or-more
character abbreviation that
begins with the first character
of the name, and omits letters
at the user's discretion.
The abbreviation will work,
provided it is unique to one
book.
e.g. for the book "MATTHEW", the
following are adequate:
MT, MAT, MATT, MW, MTW, etc. but
not MH, since this could also
stand for "MICAH".
2. Books with
a "volume number" The book name exclusive of
the volume number may be
abbreviated as described above.
The understood formats for
volume number are illustrated
below for the book "2
CORINTHIANS"
ROMAN NUMERALS: II COR COR II
IICOR
(CORII not
recognized)
SPELLED OUT SECOND COR COR SECOND
VOLUME #: SECONDCOR CORSECOND
CARDINAL NUMBERS: 2 COR COR 2
2COR COR2
ORDINAL NUMBERS: 2ND COR COR 2ND
2NDCOR COR2ND
II. Chapter Specification:
Recognized Formats: 1. "1" "5" "26", etc. (simple
cardinal numbers)
2. "CHAPTER 5"
"CHAP 5", "CHAP5"
III. Verse Specification:
Recognized Formats: 1. "1", "5", etc.
2. "VERSE 5", "VERSE5"
(Note we have used the "COR" abbreviation for "CORINTHIANS". Any
abbreviation legal according to section 1 will work).
Final note:
The book/volume name, chapter specification, and verse specification may
but need not be separated from each other by space characters in the
user's query.
Exception:
Cardinal numerals (0-9) may not be adjacent if they do not belong to the
same number; i.e. the chapter number and verse number must be separated by
at least one space if there is no "VERSE" string in between.
Triple Level of Linguistic Range (Search Expansion)
The device will, in the first instance, search a designated word, and its
possessive, and its capitalized forms (level 1). An example of a level 1
search is that a search for the word KING will cause a search for the
following: king, king's, King, King's, KING. A total of 5 forms are
searched simultaneously. It should be noted that level 1 obviates the need
for having apostrophe and "shift" keys on the keyboard.
This search may be expanded in two additional ways. A second expanded level
(level 2) of a search is provided by pressing the single "?"key, which
choice is listed on the MENU (following the pressing of the MENU key). The
device expands the search by using all forms (inflections as well as other
syntactically related words) of the entered words. For example, the entry
of the words MOVE WATER will initially find no correspondence in the
search of the bible text. By expansion to include "moved" and "waters", a
number of locations in the text corresponding to variations of these words
will be found. The search could be started by first entering "MOVE?
WATER?" to indicate that all forms of the words are to be searched in
level 2. If "move water" were entered initially with no "?"s, a rapid way
of adding the "?"s to each word without retyping is to press the MENU key
and then the "?" key.
A further level of search expansion (level 3) will expand the search by
utilizing words which are different but similar in meaning such as
provided in a Thesaurus. For example, "water" and "sea" would be
equivalent words from this point of view. This is particularly helpful in
searching for passages on a given theme in an electronic text or for words
recalled from a different translation of the text source. In order to do
this, the user is required to insert a double question mark following each
word of the search phrase. For example, a phrase which may be entered is
"VOICE ?? CALL ?? DESERT ??". This would eventually develop among the
various places to be read the following at Isaiah 40:3:
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
A more experienced user may wish to mix different search levels in his or
her search request. This may be done freely on different words of the
query, for example: "VOICE CRY? DESERT??" will also find Isaiah 40.3 (cf.,
with p. 9, lines 23ff). All three search levels are expressed in this
request.
FIG. 2c is a flow chart illustrating the three levels of linguistic range
possible with the device.
In a further variation of search expansion, the expansion terms may be
added or rejected one by one in a non-automatic manual mode. This is known
as the "Approvals" mode obtained by first pressing the MENU key followed
by the designated key for approvals ("A").
Display Map
In the Biblical embodiment for the electronically stored text, each book
that may have text relevant to the entry word or phrase is displayed at a
fixed location on the screen. Thus all of the books of the Bible have
their own separate positional display location on the screen. The screen
location of each book is always fixed. Only those books which are relevant
are displayed at any time after a query is submitted by the user. This
includes displaying which books contain matches to the user's query. A
"flashing" icon representing a particular book selection serves as a
cursor to assist the reader to indicate which book the user is in while
reading the text. The display map in essence is an animated map of the
stored text and provides a continuous "image" of the operational state of
the device. The fixed display location for each book and the "flashing"
icon representing a book while its text is being read greatly facilitate
utilization of the device by the user.
FIG. 2d is a flow chart illustrating the use of the display map in both
"read" and "search" modes.
Search Denotation
A further programmed simplification is that the device will designate, by
underlining, which words of a phrase will be searched in the "search"
mode. For example, when the phrase "the meek shall inherit the earth" is
entered, only the significant terms "meek ", "inherit" and "earth" are
actually searched. These words are underlined so that the user knows that
the search is limited to those three words significant. The device then
performs a search limited to only these words of the phrase.
FIG. 2e is a simplified flow chart illustrating how the device will limit a
search request.
Context-Sensitive "Help" System
In prior techniques involving reading or searching electronically stored
material, the pressing of a "HELP" key would provide descriptive
assistance to the user on the screen. Such assistance, however, was of a
predetermined, fixed form and was not related to the then current
operating situation.
In the present device, by distinctly defining the internal operational
phases, user assistance is provided which is directly related to the
current operational point reached by the user. The user is provided with
appropriate options related to the operational point reached.
FIG. 2f provides a flow chart for illustrating this context-sensitive
"Help" system.
"Pruning" of Linguistic Range Expansion
The flow charts (2c, 2g) make reference to "the lexicon", (well defined in
the simultaneously filed application incorporated by reference herein),
i.e., the product's internal lexicon of words making up the text.
Linguistic range expansion is always, at each step, "pruned" by the
lexicon, as further illustrated in flow chart 2g. This pruning happens
quasi-automatically as programmed into the device.
If any word in the user's query is not found in the lexicon of the text, a
series of steps is performed as follows:
1. The device has a list of "missing root words ". These are words which
have inflected forms that occur in the text, but the simplest form does
not; e.g. the word "babble " is not in the Bible, but "babbler" is. If the
user's word is one of the "missing roots" (like babble), a single ? is
added absolutely automatically by the device, which generates a level 2
search with no keystrokes pressed.
2. If the word does not match the missing root list, then it is checked to
see if it occurs in the thesaurus. If it occurs, a double ? is added,
generating an automatic level 3 search.
3. If both steps 1 and 2 fail, then the device assumes a misspelling, and
the spelling corrector is run.
The Annexed Listings (Appendix A)
Appendix A is a microfiche version of all of the listings required for
programming a complete electronic book (Bible) including the inventive
features described above. the listings are in two parts: a Program Listing
(approximately 200 pages) of the internal operations of the device and a
Primary Compression Method Listing (approximately 92 pages) for
compression of the Biblical text. The inventive features of the present
application are included in the first listing together with other
functions (e.g. display, enter etc.) not forming part of this invention.
The Appendix A listing is primarily in C code with a small amount of
assembly code.
The above embodiment of an electronic text, the Bible, is only one example
of the general case of electronic stored text information. The "book,
chapter and verse" reflects, in terms of the Biblical embodiment, the fact
that in a text, locations are often specified with multiple components
(some of them omittable).
While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred
embodiments of the present invention, it will be obvious to those skilled
in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein
without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
* * * * *
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