U.S. patent application number 14/622724 was filed with the patent office on 2015-08-06 for electronic reading position management for printed content.
The applicant listed for this patent is Audible, Inc.. Invention is credited to Douglas Cho Hwang.
Application Number | 20150220479 14/622724 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50545221 |
Filed Date | 2015-08-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150220479 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hwang; Douglas Cho |
August 6, 2015 |
ELECTRONIC READING POSITION MANAGEMENT FOR PRINTED CONTENT
Abstract
Features are disclosed for facilitating content consumption
among various formats or representations of a content item. An
electronic device may be used to maintain a current content
position when consuming a physical printed representation of a
content item, either alone or in conjunction with an electronic
representation of the content item. The electronic device may be
used to retrieve, from a network-accessible server, a user's last
position within the content item. The user may then turn to the
location within the physical printed representation that
corresponds to the last position within the electronic
representation. Highlights, comments and other content interactions
may be maintained by the electronic device and stored at the
network accessible server. From there, content interaction data may
be subsequently obtained by the user when resuming content
consumption, either from the same device or a different device.
Inventors: |
Hwang; Douglas Cho; (New
York, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Audible, Inc. |
Newark |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50545221 |
Appl. No.: |
14/622724 |
Filed: |
February 13, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13662321 |
Oct 26, 2012 |
8959345 |
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14622724 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/230 ;
715/776 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 1/00331 20130101;
G06F 15/0291 20130101; G06F 16/00 20190101; H04N 1/00795 20130101;
G06F 16/9562 20190101; H04N 2201/0084 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/02 20060101
G06F015/02; H04N 1/00 20060101 H04N001/00 |
Claims
1-32. (canceled)
33. A device comprising: a data store configured to store
computer-executable instructions; and one or more processors in
communication with the data store, the one or more processors
configured by the computer-executable instructions to at least:
receive a request for data regarding a location within a physical
version of a book from which to resume reading; obtain a
machine-readable representation of information associated with the
physical version of the book; determine, using the information
associated with the physical version of the book, a book identifier
of the physical version of the book; transmit the book identifier
to a computing system separate from the device; receive, from the
computing system, the data regarding the location within the
physical version of the book from which to resume reading, wherein
the location within the physical version of the book from which to
resume reading corresponds to a previously-reached location in an
electronic version of the book; and cause presentation of the
data.
34. The device of claim 33, wherein the previously-reached location
in the electronic version of the book is identified by the
computing system using at least the book identifier.
35. The device of claim 33, wherein presentation of the data
regarding the location within the physical version of the book from
which to resume reading comprises display of a page position
indicator that indicates a position on a page of the physical
version of the book, the position corresponding to the location
within the physical version of the book.
36. The device of claim 33, wherein the one or more processors are
further configured by the computer-executable instructions to at
least: obtain a page number of a page of the printed version of the
book; determine, using the page number, a location reached within
the physical version of the book; and transmit, to the computing
system, the book identifier and the location reached within the
physical version of the book.
37. The device of claim 33, further comprising a microphone in
communication with the one or more processors, wherein the one or
more processors are further configured by the computer-executable
instructions to at least: receive, via the microphone, audio data
for an annotation to a portion of the physical version of the book;
and transmit, to the computing system, the book identifier and at
least a portion of the audio data.
38. A computer-implemented method comprising: under control of a
computing device configured to execute specific instructions,
receiving a request for a location within a physical version of a
content item from which to resume reading; transmitting a content
identifier to a computing system, wherein the content identifier
identifies the physical version of the content item; receiving,
from the computing system, data regarding the location within the
physical version of the content item, wherein the location within
the physical version of the content item corresponds to a
previously-reached location in an electronic version of the content
item, and wherein the previously-reached location in the electronic
version of the content item is identified by the computing system
using at least the content identifier; and causing presentation of
the data regarding the location within the physical version of the
content item.
39. The computer-implemented method of claim 38, wherein the data
regarding the location with the physical version of the content
item comprises at least one of a page number, a location of a
paragraph, a location of a sentence, or a position on a page.
40. The computer-implemented method of claim 38, wherein the
presentation of the data regarding the location with the physical
version of the content item comprises a display of a page position
indicator that indicates a position on a page of the physical
version of the content item, the position on the page corresponding
to the location within the physical version of the content
item.
41. The computer-implemented method of claim 38, further comprising
causing an image sensor to record an image of at least a portion of
the physical version of the content item.
42. The computer-implemented method of claim 41, further comprising
determining the content identifier from at least a machine-readable
representation of information present in the image.
43. The computer-implemented method of claim 41, further
comprising: determining a location reached in the physical version
of the content item from at least a page number present in the
image; and transmitting data regarding the location reached in the
physical version of the content item to the computing system.
44. The computer-implemented method of claim 38, further comprising
causing presentation of content item options, wherein a first
content item option of the content item options corresponds to the
content item, and wherein receiving the request for the location
within the physical version of the content item comprises receiving
input regarding selection of the first option.
45. The computer-implemented method of claim 38, further
comprising: receiving, from a microphone, a content annotation; and
transmitting data regarding the content annotation to the computing
system.
46. A non-transitory computer storage medium which stores a
computer-executable module that configures one or more processors
to at least: transmit a content identifier to a computing system,
wherein the content identifier identifies a physical version of a
content item; receive, from the computing system, data regarding a
location within the physical version of the content item from which
to resume reading, wherein the location within the physical version
of the content item corresponds to a previously-reached location in
an electronic version of the content item, and wherein the
previously-reached location in the electronic version of the
content item is identified by the computing system using at least
the content identifier; and cause presentation of the data
regarding the location within the physical version of the content
item.
47. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 46, wherein
the data regarding the location with the physical version of the
content item comprises at least one of a page number, a location of
a paragraph, a location of a sentence, or a position on a page.
48. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 46, wherein
the presentation of the data regarding the location with the
physical version of the content item comprises a display of a page
position indicator that indicates a position on a page of the
physical version of the content item, the position on the page
corresponding to the location within the physical version of the
content item.
49. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 46, wherein
the computer-executable module further configures the one or more
processors to at least obtain machine-readable information
associated with at least a portion of the physical version of the
content item.
50. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 46, wherein
the computer-executable module further configures the one or more
processors to at least determine the content identifier from at
least a machine-readable representation of information present in
the image.
51. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 50, wherein
the computer-executable module further configures the one or more
processors to at least: determine a location reached in the
physical version of the content item from at least a page number
present in the image; and transmit data regarding the location
reached in the physical version of the content item to the
computing system.
52. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 50, wherein
the computer-executable module further configures the one or more
processors to at least: cause presentation of content item options,
wherein a first content item option of the content item options
corresponds to the content item; and receive input regarding
selection of the first option, wherein the input corresponds to a
request for the location within the version of the content
item.
53. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 46, wherein
the computer-executable module further configures the one or more
processors to at least: receive, from a microphone, a content
annotation; and transmit data regarding the content annotation to
the computing system.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/662,321, entitled ELECTRONIC READING
POSITION MANAGEMENT FOR PRINTED CONTENT and filed Oct. 26, 2012,
the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Computing devices, including personal and mobile devices,
may be used to read books and other textual content, and to listen
to audio books and other aural content. The content consumed on
such computing devices, whether in visual or audio format, may be
electronic representations of content with a corresponding physical
representation, such as a printed book, magazine, newspaper, or the
like. In one application, various computing devices associated with
a user or a user account have access to different representations
of the content provided by content providing entities. For example,
a user may be associated with a wireless computing device
corresponding to an electronic book reader ("ebook reader") that
has obtained a digital representation of content (e.g., a digital
publication that can be presented on an ebook reader) via a
communication network (e.g., a wireless communication network). The
same user may also be associated with a personal computing device
that has obtained a separate representation of the same content
(e.g., a copy of the digital publication that can be presented on a
display associated with the ebook reader) via the same or a
different communication network. In addition, the user may be
associated with a digital audio player that has also obtained a
separate representation of the same content (e.g., an audio book
that can be audibly presented via headphones/speakers) from the
same or a different communication network. Still further, the user
may also be associated with a physical representation of the same
content (e.g., a printed book).
[0003] Depending on the capabilities and functionality associated
with each respective device and the specific nature of the content,
a user accesses content via a presentation interface provided, or
otherwise associated, with a specific device (e.g., a display on a
wireless ebook reader device). In some devices, the user can
provide, or associate, additional information with the content,
such as annotations, bookmarks, excerpts, etc., during the
presentation of the content on a specific device. However, the
state/progress of the presentation of the specific representation
of the content at any one of the specific devices, as well as any
additional information provided by the user during the
presentation, is not readily provided to the user while consuming a
copy of the content in non-electronic format (e.g., a physical
book).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to
indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings
are provided to illustrate example embodiments described herein and
are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
[0005] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative networked
content consumption environment including several devices for
tracking content consumption and a content access management
system.
[0006] FIG. 2A is a diagram of an illustrative device for
presenting content positions, comments, annotations and other
related data to a reader of a printed book.
[0007] FIG. 2B is a diagram of the reverse of the illustrative
device of FIG. 2A showing the capture of an indicator of the
current printed book.
[0008] FIG. 2C is a diagram of the reverse of the illustrative
device of FIG. 2A showing the capture of the current content
position.
[0009] FIG. 2D is a diagram of the illustrative device of FIG. 2A
showing the input of the current content position.
[0010] FIG. 3A is a user interface diagram of two illustrative
mobile computing device interfaces for obtaining content
consumption information.
[0011] FIG. 3B is a user interface diagram of two illustrative
mobile computing device interfaces for indicating and submitting
content consumption information.
[0012] FIG. 3C is a diagram of an illustrative mobile computing
device showing the capture of the current content position.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for
obtaining content consumption information.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for
retrieving and optionally converting content consumption
information.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for
submitting content consumption information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Introduction
[0016] Generally described, the present disclosure relates to
consumption of physical printed representations and electronic
representations of a content item. Aspects of the present
disclosure relate to the use of an electronic device for
maintaining a current content position when consuming a physical
printed representation of a content item, either alone or in
conjunction with an electronic representation of the same content
item. For example, a user may begin consuming an electronic
representation of a content item (e.g., an ebook or audio book) and
later wish to resume content consumption with a physical printed
representation (e.g., a hardbound or softbound book) of the content
item. An electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone or a purpose-built
device, such as an electronic bookmark) may be used to retrieve,
from a network-accessible server, the user's last position within
the content item. The server may be programmed to convert or
translate the position from one format to another in order to
provide an accurate position regardless of which format is
currently being consumed (e.g., from a progress indication
associated with an electronic format to a page number associated
with a physical printed format). The user may then turn to the
location within the physical printed representation that
corresponds to the last position within the electronic
representation. When the user wishes to stop reading the physical
printed representation, the user may submit the current position to
the server via the electronic device. When the user next desires to
resume consuming the content item, the position may again be
retrieved via the electronic device or, if the user desires to
resume with an electronic representation of the content, via an
electronic consumption device (e.g., an ebook reader).
[0017] Additional aspects of the present disclosure relate to
submission and retrieval of highlights, comments, annotations and
other content interactions associated with the content item. For
example, a user may annotate an ebook while consuming it on an
ebook reader. Annotations may be submitted to a network-accessible
server for storage and distribution to other content consumption
devices and computing devices associated with the user. When
subsequently consuming a physical printed book, the user may access
those annotations via an electronic device, in a manner similar to
accessing the current content position. In addition, the user may
create and submit annotations via the electronic device while
reading the physical printed book so that the annotations may be
available later when the user resumes content consumption with the
ebook reader, an audio player, a different copy of the physical
printed book, etc.
[0018] Although aspects of the embodiments described in the
disclosure will focus, for the purpose of illustration, on features
provided by a central content access management system in
conjunction with a personal computing device or purpose-built
device, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the techniques
disclosed herein may be applied to any number of devices and/or
software processes or applications. Further, although various
aspects of the disclosure will be described with regard to
illustrative examples and embodiments, one skilled in the art will
appreciate that the disclosed embodiments and examples should not
be construed as limiting. Various aspects of the disclosure will
now be described with regard to certain examples and embodiments,
which are intended to illustrate but not limit the disclosure.
[0019] With reference to an illustrative example, a user may
consume content, such as a book, magazine, newspaper, or some other
content, in a number of different formats. For example, a user may
consume The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as an ebook, an audio book and
as a printed book. The user may listen to the book in audio book
format while driving, and may read the ebook or printed book at
other times depending on the location, convenience to the user and
other usability factors. As a user listens to the audio book or
reads the ebook, data regarding the user's position within the book
(e.g., an elapsed playback time of the audio book, or an index
position of the ebook) may be transmitted to a content access
management system. The management system may store the position
data or process it into a format-agnostic position indicator for
storage and access from different devices. In addition, the user
may highlight passages and add annotations to the ebook, or add
audio comments to the audio book. Data regarding these and other
content interactions may also be transmitted to the content access
management system for storage and access from different
devices.
[0020] Users typically consume ebooks, audio books, printed books,
and other lengthy content items over the course of multiple
consumption sessions. For example, the user may begin consuming The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer with an audio book, as described above,
and stop after a period of time. The user may wish to resume
consumption with a physical printed copy of The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer. While ebooks and audio books, and the devices used to
consume them, may keep track of the user's last position within the
respective copies of the content, many ebooks and audio books do
not indicate a page number or some other position that can be used
to locate the corresponding content position within a printed copy.
In addition, some content items, such as The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, are available in many different printed versions (e.g.,
various hardbound and softbound versions from different
publishers), and each version may incorporate different pagination.
Further, the user may not have access, at the time the user wishes
to resume consumption with a printed copy, to the device on which
the audio book or ebook was last consumed. The user may utilize an
electronic device, such as a purpose-built electronic bookmark, to
access current position data and resume reading The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer with a printed copy at the same location the user left
off in an audio book or ebook version.
[0021] The electronic bookmark may access the content access
management system via a network connection, such as a wireless
connection to the internet, and submit user account data and an
indicator corresponding to the printed copy of The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer that the user wishes to read. The indicator may be
obtained by scanning a barcode on the printed copy, keying in a
title or code, speaking a voice command, performing character
recognition on a portion of the text, etc. The content access
management system can determine whether the user has a valid
account, and if so, determine a position within the user's printed
copy that corresponds to the last position received from a device
associated with the user. For example, the user may have last
listened to an audio book of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and
stopped playback at a particular elapsed time (e.g., one hour,
forty five minutes, thirty two seconds). The content access
management system may access a cross-reference database, third
party service, or some other means of converting the elapsed time
into a page number for the user's printed copy. If the content
access management system is successful, the page number may be
transmitted to the electronic bookmark, where it is displayed
visually or indicated aurally. In some embodiments, more specific
location information may be available, such as the paragraph,
sentence, or vertical position on the indicated page that
corresponds to the elapsed time of the audio book. Such information
may also be presented via the electronic bookmark, and the user may
use the presented information to locate the specific position on
the page.
[0022] Annotations, comments, highlights and other content
interactions by the user (or by other users) may be received in
similar fashion, and presented to the user visually (e.g., via a
display embedded into or associated with the electronic bookmark)
or aurally (e.g., via text-to-speech software). The user may wish
to highlight portions of text, add comments and otherwise interact
with the content while reading the printed copy. By using the
electronic bookmark to record the content interactions, they may be
saved and made available to the user when the user subsequently
consumes the content in other formats. For example, the user may
key in a comment or record a spoken comment with the electronic
bookmark.
[0023] When the user wishes to stop reading the printed copy, the
user may submit the current position to the content access
management system so that the user may resume the content in any
desired format at a later time. For example, the user may utilize a
camera or scanner of the electronic bookmark to input the page
number, key the page number in, scan a page of the text or speak a
voice command. The user may also indicate a specific location on
the page in a similar manner. Data regarding the position within
the printed copy may then be transmitted to the content access
management system, such as via a wireless internet connection.
[0024] In some embodiments, the user may access the features
described above or other similar features via a different device,
such as a mobile phone, media player, or portable gaming system.
For example, a mobile phone may provide a camera or scanner to
submit book indicators and page locations, a display for presenting
position data and user content interactions, a microphone for
submitting voice commands, a speaker for presenting data aurally
and a number of other input or output components commonly included
with mobile phones. The features may be provided as a stand-alone
software module that is installed on the mobile phone. In addition,
a mobile phone may provide different hardware and software
capabilities that are not available to an electronic bookmark
(e.g., faster processor, larger display), and such capabilities may
be used to provide the features described above and other features
in a different manner.
Networked Content Consumption Environment
[0025] Prior to describing the electronic bookmark and other
embodiments in detail, an example networked content consumption
environment in which the features may be implemented will be
described. FIG. 1 illustrates a networked content consumption
environment including a content access management system 102 and
various user devices 104-110 communicating over a communication
network 120. The communication network 120 may be any wired
network, wireless network, or combination thereof. In addition, the
network 120 may be a personal area network, local area network,
wide area network, cable network, satellite network, cellular
telephone network, or combination thereof. For example, the
communication network 120 may be a publicly accessible network of
linked networks, possibly operated by various distinct parties,
such as the Internet. In some embodiments, the communication
network 120 may be a private or semi private network, such as a
corporate or university intranet. The communication network 120 may
include one or more wireless networks, such as a Global System for
Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, or some
other type of wireless network. Protocols and components for
communicating via the Internet or any of the other aforementioned
types of communication networks are well known to those skilled in
the art of computer communications and thus, need not be described
in more detail herein.
[0026] The user devices 104-110 can correspond to a wide variety of
electronic devices. In some embodiments, one or more user devices
104-110 are mobile devices that include one or more processors and
a memory which may contain software applications executed by the
processors. User devices 104-110 may include speakers and/or
displays for presenting content. In addition, the user devices
104-110 may be configured with one or more wireless network
antennae or wired ports to facilitate communication with other
devices and with the shared consumption management system 102. The
software of the user devices 106 may include components for
establishing communications over the communication network 120. In
addition, the software applications may include multimedia
applications which play or otherwise execute audio programs such as
music or audio books, video programs such as movies or television
shows, and video games. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the user devices
may include a tablet computing device or electronic book reader
104, an electronic bookmark 106, a mobile phone 108, or a personal
audio player 110. However, those skilled in the art will recognize
that user devices may also include, without limitation, laptop
computers, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
hybrid PDA/mobile phones, set-top boxes, cameras, digital media
players, video game consoles, kiosks, televisions, gaming devices,
processors, integrated components for inclusion in computing
devices, appliances, electronic devices for inclusion in vehicles,
gaming devices, etc.
[0027] The content access management system 102 illustrated in FIG.
1 may correspond to a computing device configured to manage content
consumption among the user devices 104-110. For example, the
content access management system 102 may include one or more
processors and a computer storage or memory which contains software
applications or modules executed by the processors. The services
provided by the content access management system 102 can include
receiving data regarding the current content position on individual
user devices, determining a current content position for one
version of the content (e.g., an audio book) from a position
associated with a different version of the same content (e.g., a
printed book), and maintaining a single set of highlights and other
content interactions for a user regardless of the specific version
with which the content interaction was originally associated.
[0028] In some embodiments, the content access management system
102 may correspond to a logical association of one or more
computing devices, such as an application server for converting
content consumption positions, and a database server for storing
data regarding users, content positions, content interactions and
the like. In some embodiments, the features and services provided
by the content access management system 102 may be implemented as
one or more web services consumable via the communication network
120. In further embodiments, the content access management system
102 is provided by one more virtual machines implemented in a
hosted computing environment. The hosted computing environment may
include one or more rapidly provisioned and released computing
resources, which computing resources may include computing,
networking and/or storage devices. A hosted computing environment
may also be referred to as a cloud computing environment.
[0029] In some embodiments, the networked content consumption
environment may include additional or fewer components that those
illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the networked content
consumption environment may include two or more content access
management systems 102 configured for load balancing, redundancy,
or to operate independently of each other. As another example, the
networked content consumption environment may not include a
separate content access management system 102. Rather, the features
of the content access management system 102 may be implemented by a
user device, such as a desktop computer, that is also used to
consume content and submit content interactions.
[0030] The content access management system 102 may execute a
position synchronization module 202 and a content interaction
module 204. In addition, the content access management system 102
may include an accounts data store 206, a content position
cross-reference data store 208 and a content interactions data
store 210. Each module of the content access management system 102
may be implemented on a separate computing device, such as a server
computing device, or one or more of the modules may be implemented
on the same computing device. In addition one or more of the data
stores 206-210 may be remote from the content access management
system 102 and/or may be implemented as a web service itself. In
some embodiments, the content access management system 102 may
include additional or fewer modules and/or data stores than those
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0031] The position synchronization module 202 can obtain data
regarding the current content position from one or more user
devices and save the data in the accounts data store 206. In some
embodiments, the position synchronization module 202 may convert
the current content position into a format-agonistic content
position by using data in the position cross-reference data store
208. The position synchronization module 202 may also provide
current content position data to the user devices when a user
connects to the content access management system 102 and requests a
current content position in order to resume content consumption. If
the current content position in the accounts data store 206 is
format-specific, it may be converted for use with the format in
which the user presently wishes to consume the content prior to
transmission of the current content position to the user
device.
[0032] Generally speaking, a current content position may refer to
any information that reflects a current playback, reading, or other
presentation position of a content item, or to any measurement of
an amount of content consumed by a user. For example, a current
content position of an audio book may be indicated by a timestamp,
a counter, a chapter, a last spoken word, etc., or any combination
thereof. A current content position of an electronic book may be
indicated by a page number, embedded position indicator, last word
highlighted or made visible on the display, etc. A current position
of a printed book may be indicated by a page number, line number,
vertical position on the page, etc. In some embodiments, a current
content position may be reflected as a percentage (e.g., a point
representing 25% of the content has been consumed). In other
embodiments, a current content position may be reflected as an
absolute value (e.g., 2 hours, 30 minutes and 5 seconds into an
audio book or 13,595 words into an electronic book). A current
content position may be reflected by any combination of the above
information, or any additional information reflective of current
consumption position within a content item. In some embodiments,
data regarding the current content position may reflect the play
position at which a device has stopped presenting content or will
stop presenting the content. If a user device is playing back
streaming content from another system, the position synchronization
module 202 optionally obtains the current content position from the
system streaming the content. One example of a system for
maintaining current content positions of client devices is
disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/273,473, filed on
Nov. 18, 2008 and titled SYNCHRONIZATION OF DIGITAL CONTENT, the
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
[0033] The content interaction module 204 may receive comments,
highlights, annotations and other content interactions; store data
regarding the content interactions in the content interactions data
store 210; distribute the communications to one or more user
devices in response to a subsequent request by the user; and the
like. Upon receipt of data from the content interaction module 204,
user devices may display, play, or otherwise present the content
interactions or indications that content interactions are
available. User devices with visual displays (e.g., tablet
computers; electronic book readers) may be provided with visual
representations of the content interactions. For example, recorded
audio of user comments may be converted to text using speech
recognition components. The content interaction module 204 may
provide user devices that include audio output components (e.g.,
personal audio players) with aural representations of content
interactions. For example, textual comments may be converted to
audio format using text-to-speech components.
[0034] In some embodiments, multiple users may be associated with
an account or permitted to access the account. For example, a group
of users, such as students in a class, may share a content position
and a common set of content interactions. The uses may each access
the account from a single device or from separate devices. The
users can contribute comments, highlight passages and the like, and
such content interactions can also be made available to other users
of the group. In some embodiments, rather than share a single
account, multiple users with individual accounts may share content
interactions regarding a particular content item with each other.
In such cases, the users need not share access to a single
account.
Example Electronic Bookmark
[0035] Turning now to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D, an illustrative
electronic bookmark will be described. With reference to FIG. 2A,
an electronic bookmark 106 may include a display 160 to present
data regarding the current content position 162, comments and
annotations 161, 164; highlights 163; and other content
interactions. For example, the display 160 may be a liquid crystal
display (LCD) or an electronic paper display (EPD). In addition,
the electronic bookmark 106 may also include a speaker 165 and a
microphone 166. The speaker 165 may be used to aurally present
information, such as the current content position and recorded
comments. The microphone 166 may be used to issue voice commands
and to record comments. In some embodiments, the electronic
bookmark 106 may not have a display, but rather may present and
receive data through the speaker 165 and microphone 166 or some
other input or output device. Although not shown, the electronic
bookmark 106 may also include other hardware components, such as a
processor, memory, a power supply, and a network communication
antenna, as well as an operating system to manage the hardware
components, application software modules to implement the features
described herein and the like.
[0036] In operation, the electronic bookmark 106 may connect to a
network, such as the internet, and retrieve data from the content
access management system 102 regarding the content item to be
consumed. For example, a user may speak a voice command into the
microphone 166. The voice command may indicate which printed book
version of the content item the user would like to read, as well as
user account information. The voice command, or data derived from
the voice command, may be transmitted over the communication
network 120 to the content access management system 102. The
content access management system 102 may authenticate and authorize
the user, retrieve the current content position for the content
item, convert the content position into a page number or some other
position indicator for use with the printed book version, and
return the information to the electronic bookmark 106 via the
communication network 120. The electronic bookmark 106 may display
the current content position on the display 160, as shown in FIG.
2A. The current content position may include a page number, as seen
near the top of the display 160, and also a vertical page position
indicator 162. When the user turns to the proper page in the
printed book version of the content and positions the electronic
bookmark 106 on or next to the indicated page, the user may locate
the current content position by identifying the line corresponding
to the vertical page position indicator 162. For example, the
vertical page position indicator 162 may provide an accurate or
estimated vertical position within the page when the electronic
bookmark 106 is aligned with the bottom of the page, the top of the
page, centered on the page, or placed in a predetermined position
with respect to the page of the printed book version of the
content. In some embodiments, such as those with a limited display
160 or without a display 160, the current content position may be
presented to the user aurally via a speaker 165, instead of or in
addition to a visual presentation on a display 160.
[0037] As described above, some content items, such as The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, may have more than one printed book
version. Therefore, a means for inputting a unique identifier of
the printed book version that the user wishes to read is desirable.
In some embodiments, a user may submit a printed book version
indicator through a picture or a scan of the barcode or
international standard book number (ISBN) instead of using a voice
command. As seen in FIG. 2B, the electronic bookmark 106 may
include a camera 167. The camera 167 may be used to take a picture
or scan of a barcode 172, typically corresponding to an ISBN and
located on the back cover 171 of printed book versions of content.
Alternatively, the camera 167 may be used to capture an image of
the title page of the book, the front cover of the book, or to
otherwise capture an image that may be used to identify the printed
book version. In additional embodiments, the electronic bookmark
may provide other input devices that the user may use to input the
ISBN or some other identifier of the printed book version instead
of or in addition to using a voice command or a camera image. For
example, the electronic bookmark 106 may include a barcode scanner,
a touch screen input, a full or partial keyboard input (e.g., a
numeric keypad) and the like.
[0038] Returning to FIG. 2A, an electronic bookmark 106 may also
receive data regarding content interactions from the content access
management system 102. For example, comments and highlights that
the user has entered on an electronic book reader may be saved at
the content access management system 102 in the content
interactions data store 210 and transmitted to the electronic
bookmark 106 along with or separately from the current content
position. The display 160 may be used to visually present comments,
for example as information balloons 161, 164 that may also point to
or otherwise indicate the portion of the page to which the comment
applies. As shown in FIG. 2A, comments from other users, such as
those in the user's social network, or those which are considered
to be popular or representative of comments from a number of
different users, may also be presented. Information balloon 164
illustrates one example of such a comment. In addition, the user
may have highlighted a passage of the content while reading the
content on a tablet computer or some other device. While such
highlights may not be presented on the page 170 of the printed book
version itself, a highlight indicator 163 may be presented on the
display 160, such as an arrow pointing to the portion of the page
that has been highlighted. In some embodiments, the text of the
highlighted passage may be presented on the display 160 instead of
or in addition to a highlight indicator 163.
[0039] A user may also wish to highlight text of the printed book
version, make comments, and have those highlights, comments and
other content interactions available if the user subsequently
resumes content consumption on anther device, such as an electronic
book reader. The user may speak voice commands into the microphone
166 regarding the content interaction, such as "highlight page 31
line 3," "highlight" followed by the passage to be highlighted,
"add comment to page 31 line 3" followed by the comment to be
added, etc.
[0040] In some embodiments, the user may use the camera 167 to
indicate the current page of the printed book version instead of
the using a voice command. As seen in FIG. 2C, the user may place
the camera 167 over the page number in order to capture an image of
the page. For example, the camera 167 may include a macro lens for
close up image capture of the page number such that the electronic
bookmark 160 may be placed directly on the page with the camera 167
over the page number for ease of use. The user may then add a
comment, highlight, or some other content interaction to the page
for transmission to the content access management system 102. As
described above, the highlight or content may be added through a
voice command. Alternatively, content interactions may be added
through a touch screen display or keyed display, similar to entry
of the printed book version identifier described above. As seen in
FIG. 2D, the user 168 may touch a touch screen display 160 to
indicate the vertical position 169 of a passage to be highlighted
or to be associated with a spoken or typed comment. Data regarding
the content interaction, including the content position and any
text associated with the content interaction, may be transmitted to
the content access management system 102 via the communication
network 120.
[0041] When the user wishes to stop reading the printed book
version, methods similar to those described above for submitting
content interactions may be used to submit the current page
position to the content access management system 102. For example,
the user may issue a voice command, capture an image of the page
number, use a touch screen display to enter a page number or
identify a vertical page position, etc.
Other Embodiments
[0042] The features described above, among others, may optionally
be provided via devices other than electronic bookmarks 106. For
example, mobile phones, personal media players, portable gaming
systems, PDAs and the like may be programmed to provide current
content positions and content interactions from a content access
management system 102 to a user for use when reading a printed
version of content, and for submitting current content positions
and content interactions to the content access management system
102 for use when consuming other versions of the content. FIGS. 3A,
3B and 3C illustrate one such embodiment.
[0043] As seen in FIG. 3A, a mobile phone 108 may present a user
interface 108a for selecting a content item to consume. For
example, a user may use the mobile phone 108 to submit user account
authentication data to the content access management system 102.
The authentication information may be provided via a voice command
or it may be keyed in through a touch screen display or a keypad.
The content access management system 102 may return data to the
mobile phone 108 indicating one or more content items that have
content positions associated with the user or which the user may
otherwise access. The user interface 108a may display a content
list 181 of the content items to the user, and the user may select
a content item from the list 181. Information about the content
items may be displayed to the user in the list 181, in a content
information area 182 or in some other manner. The information may
include the current content position converted into a page number
for use when reading a printed version of the content item, a
passage of the content that the user may use to locate the current
content position on the indicated page and other data. In addition,
the mobile phone 108 or other device may present information about
highlights, comments and other content interactions. For example, a
user interface 180b may be presented to the user with a portion of
the content item and indicators corresponding to various content
interactions. Information balloons or other indicators may be used
to present comments 183 or information 184 about the current
content position 185. The current content position 185 may be
highlighted, outlined, underlined, presented in a different color
or font, or otherwise presented so as to be more easily located by
the user. Similar methods may be used to present highlights or
other content interactions to the user.
[0044] FIG. 3B illustrates a user interface 180c that may be
presented to a user in order to input a current content position.
The interface 180c may be used in conjunction with another user
interface, such as the user interface 180d, in order to further
indicate a specific passage associated with the current content
position, or to add a comment, highlight or other content
interaction. For example, the user may input a page number 186 and
submit the page number to the content access management system 102
to be saved or converted into a format-agnostic content position.
In addition, the user may indicate a word or passage 188 on the
same user interface or a separate user interface 180d to be used
when saving or converting the current content position. In some
embodiments, a user may submit current content positions and
content interactions through the use of voice commands in a manner
similar to the electronic bookmark embodiments described above.
[0045] In some embodiments, the user may capture a picture of the
current content page or a portion thereof to submit as a current
content position either by itself or in conjunction with data
regarding a content interaction. FIG. 3C illustrates the use of a
mobile phone 108 configured with a camera capturing an
image/picture of a content item 170. The mobile phone 108 may
utilize optical character recognition (OCR) to determine the text
corresponding to the image, and may transmit the text to the
content access management system 102 for use when saving or
converting the current content position. In some embodiments, the
mobile phone 108 may utilize OCR to determine the page number. In
some embodiments, the mobile phone 108 may determine the current
content position through the use of OCR and data regarding the
content item 170 in order to submit the current content position to
the content access management system 102 rather than submitting a
picture or portion of the content item itself.
Content Position and Content Interaction Transfer Processes
[0046] FIG. 4 illustrates a sample process 400 for obtaining a
current content position for use when reading a printed version of
a content item. While the description of the process 400 which
follows focuses on an electronic bookmark implementation, other
user devices may also be configured to perform the process 400 or a
variant thereof for obtaining and presenting current content
positions and content interactions. The process 400 can be
implemented as a software module or collection of modules residing
within non-transitory computer storage, such as RAM, ROM, a hard
disk, or the like, of an electronic bookmark or other user device.
One or more processors of the user device can execute the software
module.
[0047] The process 400 begins at block 402. The process 400 may be
instantiated upon device power up, or in response to a command
entered or otherwise provided by a user. For example, a user may
wish to read a printed version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and
may wish to resume from the position at which the user left off
when reading an ebook version or listening to an audio book
version. The user may power on an electronic bookmark and initiate
the process 400.
[0048] At block 404, the user may identify the printed version of
the content that is to be consumed. As described above, this may
include scanning a barcode on the cover of a printed book, speaking
a voice command, keying in an ISBN, or otherwise inputting an
identifier of the printed version into the electronic bookmark or
other user device. In some embodiments, identifying a printed
version of a content item may include selecting a content item from
a list of available content items.
[0049] At block 406, the electronic bookmark may transmit account
authentication information and a book identifier to the content
access management system 102. As described above, the account
information may be provided through the use of voice commands,
keyed entry, or other manual techniques. In some embodiments, an
identifier of the electronic bookmark or other user device may be
provided to the content access management system 102. The content
access management system 102 may then determine a user account
associated with the user device.
[0050] At decision block 408, the electronic bookmark may wait for
a current content position to be received from the content access
management system 102. If a current content position is received,
the process 400 may proceed to block 410. Otherwise, if no current
content position is received, the process may proceed to block 416,
where the process 400 terminates. Optionally, the process may
return to block 406 or some earlier block to retry the current
content position retrieval operation if no current content position
is received at decision block 408.
[0051] At block 410, the electronic bookmark may present or
otherwise indicate the current content position to the user. As
described above, presentation of the current content position may
include displaying a page number and/or a passage on a display. In
embodiments utilizing user devices with large displays, such as
some mobile phones, an image of the current page or a large amount
of text corresponding to a substantial portion of the current page
may be presented, and a word, sentence or passage correspond the
current content position may be indicated to the user through the
use of various visual treatments (e.g., highlights, underlines). In
some embodiments, the current content position may be presented
aurally through a speaker.
[0052] At decision block 412, the electronic bookmark may determine
whether highlights, comments, or data regarding other content
interactions has been received from the content access management
system 102. If data regarding content interactions is received, it
may be presented to the user at block 414. For example, data
regarding content interactions may be received concurrently with
the current content position, or such data may be received at a
different time. The content interaction data may include content
position data corresponding to each content interaction, and a text
or audio representation of the content interaction. The electronic
bookmark may then display an indication corresponding to one or
more content interactions that correspond to content positions on
the same page that user is currently reading, or are substantially
close to the current content position that was received as
described above. Content interactions that correspond to prior or
subsequent pages may be presented when the user updates the current
content position, when the electronic bookmark detects that the
user has turned the page, or in response to another event.
[0053] FIG. 5 illustrates a sample process 500 for determining a
current content position and otherwise responding to a request
received from a user device such as an electronic bookmark, for
content consumption data corresponding to a particular content
item. While the description of the process 500 which follows
focuses an implementation by a content access management system
102, the other systems and devices may also be configured to
perform the process 500 or a variant thereof. The process 500 can
be implemented as a software module or collection of modules
residing within non-transitory computer storage, such as RAM, ROM,
a hard disk, or the like, of a content access management system
102. One or more processors of the content access management system
102 or a computing device associated therewith can execute the
software module.
[0054] The process 500 begins at block 502. At block 504, the
content access management system 102 may receive an account
identifier and a content identifier from a user device. The account
identifier may include a username and password, an account number,
a device identifier or some other identifier. A content identifier
may include a title, barcode, ISBN or some other identifier, as
described above. For example, a user may wish to read a printed
version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and may wish to resume
from the position at which the user left off when reading an ebook
version or listening to an audio book version. The user may power
on an electronic bookmark and submit a username, a password and an
ISBN corresponding to the particular printed version of The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer that the user wishes to read. The data may
be transmitted to, and received by, the content access management
system 102 in a single communication transaction, or in separate
transactions.
[0055] At decision block 506, the content access management system
102 may determine whether the user's account is valid. Returning to
the example above, the content access management system 102 may
verify that the username exists in the accounts data store 206, and
that the password matches the password in the accounts data store
206 corresponding to the username. In addition, the content access
management system 102 may verify other account-related information,
such as payment status, service agreements and the like. If the
account is determined to be valid, the process 500 may proceed to
block 508. Otherwise, the process 500 may terminate at block
520.
[0056] At block 508, the content access management system 102 may
retrieve the last known content position for the content identified
in the initial request from the user. For example, the last known
current content position may be stored in the accounts data store
206 or some other data store associated with the content access
management system 102.
[0057] At decision block 510, the position synchronization module
202 or some other module or component of the content access
management system 102 may determine whether the last known current
content position corresponds to a different content version or
format than the printed book for which the user is currently
requesting the current content position. For example, if the last
known current content position was stored in a format-agnostic
manner, or stored in a specific format such as the elapsed time of
an audio book, the position synchronization module 202 can convert
the current position to a page number or a more specific content
position at block 512. The position synchronization module 202 may
consult a content position cross-reference data store 208, or some
other module or component in order to convert the current position
into a format that will be usable with a printed book version.
[0058] In some cases, portions of a printed representation may not
correspond to portions of an electronic representation. For
example, a printed book may refer to the "reader" and to "reading,"
while an audio book version of the same book may refer to a
"listener" and to "listening." In such cases, most of the remaining
content in the printed book corresponds to content in the audio
book. Any gaps can be linked such that the positions of references
to the "reader" in the printed book correspond to the positions of
references to the "listener" in the audio book. In other cases,
larger portions of content may be different, such as when a book is
available in different editions, different languages or in abridged
and unabridged versions. For example, a new edition of a book may
have an additional chapter that an older edition does not. A user
may begin consuming the book via an audio book version of the new
edition, and may stop listening at some point during the new
chapter. Later, the user may wish to read a printed version of the
book, but may only have access to the older edition. In such cases,
the conversion of the position from the audio book to the printed
book version may choose the last position in the audio book that
corresponds to a position in the printed book (e.g., before the new
chapter) or the next position in the audio book that corresponds to
a position in the printed book (e.g., after the new chapter). In
some embodiments, an option may be presented to the user to choose
whether to use the last corresponding position or the next
corresponding position.
[0059] At decision block 514, the content interaction module 204 or
some other module or component of the content access management
system 102 may determine whether there are comments, highlights, or
other content interactions associated with the content item that
are to be sent to the user. Such content interactions may be the
user's own interactions, or they may be entered or shared by other
users. If the content interaction module 204 determines that
content interactions are available, data regarding the content
interactions may be retrieved at block 516. As described above, the
content interaction data may include one or more content positions
corresponding to the portion of the content to which the
interaction applies. The content interaction data may also include
text or audio presentations of comments or annotations.
[0060] At block 518, data may be transmitted to the user device.
The data may include a current content position, converted for use
with the printed version of the content item that the user wishes
to read. The data may also include data regarding content
interactions. After the transmission of data to the user device,
the process 500 may terminate at block 520.
[0061] FIG. 6 illustrates a sample process 600 for updating the
current content position and any new content interactions during a
reading session or after a reading session. While the description
of the process 600 which follows focuses on an electronic bookmark
implementation, other user devices may also be configured to
perform the process 600 or a variant thereof. The process 600 can
be implemented as a software module or collection of modules
residing within non-transitory computer storage, such as RAM, ROM,
a hard disk or the like, of an electronic bookmark or other user
device. One or more processors of the user device can execute the
software module.
[0062] The process 600 begins at block 602. The process 600 may be
executed at various times through a reading session, such as on a
regular or irregular schedule, or in response to certain events
such as the addition of a comment. The process 600 may also be
executed at the end of a reading session. For example, a user may
be reading a printed book version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
and may wish to stop reading. The user may wish to save the current
content position for use with the user resumes consuming The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, either as a printed book version or as an
electronic version, such as an ebook or audio book.
[0063] At block 604, an electronic bookmark or other user device
may determine the specific version of the content item that the
user is currently reading (e.g., the ISBN of a printed book). As
described above, the determination may be made in conjunction with
a scan or other capture of a barcode on the cover of the book, a
voice command, or some other entry of an identifier associated with
the printed version. For example, the user may have begun reading a
printed book from the first page, without any communication with a
content access management system 102. The user may wish to stop and
save the current content position in order to resume consumption
with a different format, or with the same printed version. The user
may scan the barcode associated with the printed book in order to
identify the book to the electronic bookmark and the content access
management system 102. As another example, the user may have
resumed content consumption by retrieving a current content
position via the electronic bookmark, and therefore the electronic
bookmark may already have access to an identifier for the printed
version of the content item from the initial retrieval of the
current content position.
[0064] At block 606, the electronic bookmark may determine the page
at which the user has stopped reading. As described above, the user
may identify the page by keying in text, speaking a voice command
or capturing an image of the page number. At block 608, the
electronic bookmark can determine the position on the page at which
the user stopped reading. The user may identify the position by
keying in text of the passage at which the user stopped reading,
speaking a voice command, capturing an image of the passage or
selecting a vertical position of the page by tapping on a touch
screen display.
[0065] At decision block 610, the electronic bookmark may determine
whether any comments, highlights or other content interactions have
been added or modified during the reading session. If so, the
electronic bookmark may determine a content position for each
content interaction at block 612, and create data regarding the
content interaction, such as a voice recording, a textual input,
speech recognition conversion of a voice recording into text, a
stop position for a highlight and the like. Similarly, the
electronic bookmark or content access management system 102 may
determine whether any other material exists that includes
references to the content position associated with the reading
session.
[0066] At block 614, the electronic bookmark may transmit an
account identifier (e.g., a username or account number) and the
consumption data (e.g., the current content position and data
regarding content interactions) to the content access management
system 102. The content access management system 102 may save the
data in various data stores, convert content positions into
format-agnostic versions and the like. At block 616, the process
600 may terminate. As described above, if the process 600 is
executed on a schedule or in response to an event other than the
end of a reading session, the process 600 may be repeated as many
times as necessary in a single reading session.
[0067] In some embodiments, user devices may submit content
position data automatically, such as upon initialization of a
process to add or modify a content interaction. In some
embodiments, the user device may establish a network connection
with the content access management system 102, and the content
access management system 102 may request the current content
position. In some embodiments, the user may manually submit the
current content position to the content access management system
102.
TERMINOLOGY
[0068] Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or
functions of any of the processes or algorithms described herein
can be performed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or
left out altogether (e.g., not all described operations or events
are necessary for the practice of the algorithm). Moreover, in
certain embodiments, operations or events can be performed
concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing, interrupt
processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or on other
parallel architectures, rather than sequentially.
[0069] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, routines
and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments
disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware,
computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate
this interchangeability of hardware and software, various
illustrative components, blocks, modules and steps have been
described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether
such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends
upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on
the overall system. The described functionality can be implemented
in varying ways for each particular application, but such
implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a
departure from the scope of the disclosure.
[0070] The steps of a method, process, routine, or algorithm
described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can
be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by
a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can
reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory,
EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or
any other form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage
medium. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to the processor
such that the processor can read information from, and write
information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage
medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the
storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user
terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium
can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
[0071] Conditional language used herein, such as, among others,
"can," "could," "might," "may," "e.g.," and the like, unless
specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the
context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain
embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include,
certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional
language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements
and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or
that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for
deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these
features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed
in any particular embodiment. The terms "comprising," "including,"
"having," and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in
an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements,
features, acts, operations and so forth. Also, the term "or" is
used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so
that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the
term "or" means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.
[0072] Conjunctive language such as the phrase "at least one of X,
Y and Z," unless specifically stated otherwise, is to be understood
with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term,
etc. may be either X, Y or Z, or a combination thereof. Thus, such
conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that
certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y
and at least one of Z to each be present.
[0073] While the above detailed description has shown, described
and pointed out novel features as applied to various embodiments,
it can be understood that various omissions, substitutions and
changes in the form and details of the devices or algorithms
illustrated can be made without departing from the spirit of the
disclosure. As can be recognized, certain embodiments of the
inventions described herein can be embodied within a form that does
not provide all of the features and benefits set forth herein, as
some features can be used or practiced separately from others. The
scope of certain inventions disclosed herein is indicated by the
appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All
changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of
the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
* * * * *