U.S. patent application number 16/455700 was filed with the patent office on 2019-10-24 for electronic display of serial text using optimal recognition positions.
This patent application is currently assigned to Spritz Holding LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Spritz Holding LLC. Invention is credited to Matthias Klein, Maik Steffen Maurer, Francis Abbott Waldman.
Application Number | 20190325848 16/455700 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49914042 |
Filed Date | 2019-10-24 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190325848 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Maurer; Maik Steffen ; et
al. |
October 24, 2019 |
ELECTRONIC DISPLAY OF SERIAL TEXT USING OPTIMAL RECOGNITION
POSITIONS
Abstract
Various embodiments are disclosed that relate to electronic
display of serially presented text using techniques for placement
of an optimal recognition position of words at a fixed display
location. In some embodiments, the optimal recognition position is
based on empirically determined optimal recognition positions. In
some embodiments, an optimal recognition position character is
displayed at the fixed display location. In other embodiments, an
optimal recognition proportionate position is displayed at the
fixed display location. Various related techniques for processing
and displaying text are further disclosed herein.
Inventors: |
Maurer; Maik Steffen;
(Stoneham, MA) ; Klein; Matthias; (Otterfing,
DE) ; Waldman; Francis Abbott; (Stoneham,
MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Spritz Holding LLC |
Park City |
UT |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Spritz Holding LLC
Park City
UT
|
Family ID: |
49914042 |
Appl. No.: |
16/455700 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15433983 |
Feb 15, 2017 |
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16455700 |
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14542409 |
Nov 14, 2014 |
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15433983 |
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13547982 |
Jul 12, 2012 |
8903174 |
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14542409 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/10 20200101;
G09G 5/24 20130101; G06F 40/103 20200101; G09G 2340/145 20130101;
G06K 2209/03 20130101; G09G 2340/0464 20130101; G09G 5/32
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G09G 5/32 20060101
G09G005/32; G06F 17/21 20060101 G06F017/21; G09G 5/24 20060101
G09G005/24 |
Claims
1-85. (canceled)
86. A method of displaying text on an electronic display, the text
being dividable into a plurality of respective display elements, at
least some of the plurality of respective display elements
corresponding to respective sets of words, the respective sets of
words comprising no more than 20 characters in length, a word
comprising a recognizable set of one or more characters, at least
some of the respective sets of words having an optimal recognition
position, the method comprising: serially displaying, on the
electronic display, a plurality of respective display elements such
that an optimal recognition position of at least some display
elements of the plurality of respective display elements is
displayed at a substantially same location on the electronic
display, referred to as a fixed display location.
87. The method of claim 86 wherein the at least some display
elements include display elements having a length of greater than
three characters.
88. The method of claim 86 wherein the at least some display
elements include display elements having a length of greater than
four characters.
89. The method of claim 86 further comprising providing a visual
aid to mark the fixed display location.
90. The method of claim 89 wherein the visual aid comprises
vertical lines above and below the fixed display location.
91. The method of claim 89 wherein providing the visual aid
comprises using a different color font for a character displayed at
the fixed display location than is used for other characters.
92. The method of claim 86 wherein a character is at least one of a
group consisting of an alphabetic character, a numeric character,
and a symbolic character.
93. The method of claim 86 wherein the optimal recognition position
is identified as a character within a display element ("an optimal
recognition position character") and the optimal recognition
position character is displayed at the fixed display location.
94. The method of claim 93 wherein if a total number of characters
in the display element is three, four, or five, then the optimal
recognition position character is the second character in the
display element.
95. The method of claim 93 wherein if the total number of
characters in the display element is six, seven, eight, or nine,
then the optimal recognition position character is the third
character in the display element.
96. The method of claim 93 wherein if the total number of
characters in the display element is ten, eleven, twelve, or
thirteen, then the optimal recognition position character is the
fourth character in the display element.
97. The method of claim 96 wherein if the total number of
characters is fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,
nineteen or twenty, then the optimal recognition position character
is the fifth character in the display element.
98. The method of claim 93 wherein the optimal recognition
character is displayed at the fixed display location prior to
display of characters in the display element that are located to
the left and right of the optimal recognition character.
99. The method of claim 86 wherein the optimal recognition position
of a display element of the at least some display elements is
located at a position along a reading direction of the display
element that is a distance in pixels from a beginning of the
display element, the distance in pixels being a proportion of the
display element's pixel width ("optimal proportionate
position").
100. The method of claim 99 wherein the proportion of the display
element's pixel width is a function of at least the display
element's number of characters and an empirically determined
recognition position ratio.
101. The method of claim 100 wherein the proportion of the display
element's pixel width is equal to the empirically determined
recognition position ratio added to a quotient of 0.5 divided by
the number of characters in the display element.
102. The method of claim 101 wherein the empirically determined
recognition ratio is an average position ratio of respective
optimal recognition position characters for respective display
elements from a length of three characters to a length of at least
thirteen characters.
103. The method of claim 102 wherein the average position ratio is
equal or substantially equal to 0.265.
104. The method of claim 99 wherein the distance in pixels from the
beginning of the display element is greater than or equal to 0.20
and less than or equal to 0.45 of the display element's total
width.
105. The method of claim 100 wherein the optimal proportionate
position provides an offset amount for a pixel at the beginning of
the display element ("the beginning pixel"), the method further
comprising displaying the display element such that the beginning
pixel of the display element is at a position that is the offset
amount away from the fixed display location.
106. The method of claim 86 wherein the respective sets of words
comprise one or two words.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/433,983 filed on Feb. 15, 2017, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/542,409 filed
on Nov. 14, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/547,982 filed on Jul. 12, 2012, now U.S.
Pat. No. 8,903,174. The entire disclosures of those applications
are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for
enabling improved reading in an electronic display.
[0003] Despite heavy technological (digital) advances, the
illustration of textual information has not fundamentally changed.
Texts are typically displayed in lines such that the reader's eye
moves sequentially from word to word. With each eye movement
("saccade") time is spent refixating the eye on the new word in
order to recognize and process its meaning. The fixation takes
about 240 milliseconds ("ms") per word on average. Only 20% of the
time for fixation is used for processing the content. It is also
very common that a saccade does not reach the correct fixation
point, so additional eye movement is required for reading a
word.
[0004] One display technique for reducing saccades is Rapid Serial
Visual Presentation, hereinafter referred to as "RSVP." RSVP was
first introduced in the 1970s as a technique for presenting text
one word at a time in a display. Many references since then have
provided information on the use of RSVP in a variety of
applications. Commercially available products based on RSVP include
"Zap Reader" (www.zapreader.com/reader) and "Spreeder"
(www.spreeder.com). Some prior methods exist for improving the
effectiveness of an RSVP by varying the display time of a word in
the display based on word length and word type (see, U.S. Pat. No.
6,130,968 to McIan et al. ("McIan")) and based on word frequency
(see WO/37256 by Goldstein et al. ("Goldstein 2002")). While these
techniques are beneficial in improving comprehension of the
displayed text, none of these teach how to minimize saccade
movement during the presentation of a word or words in the RSVP
display.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] RSVP reduces saccades but does not eliminate them. In
previous references on RSVP, each word (or multiple words in some
implementations) is centered in the display. Previous research on
word recognition, however, has demonstrated that the eye tends to
fixate on characters that are to the left of the center. O'Regan
conducted experiments on the fixation point in words ranging in
length up to 11 characters, clearly showing that word recognition
(naming acuity) depends strongly on the position in the word where
the eye is fixating at the moment the word appears. (See
"Convenient Fixation Location Within Isolated Words of Different
Length and Structure" J. K. O'Regan et al. in Journal of
Experimental Psychology 1984 Vol. 10, No. 2, 250-257) ("O'Regan").
Brysbaert and Nazir ("VISUAL CONSTRAINTS IN WRITTEN WORD
RECOGNITION: EVIDENCE FROM THE OPTIMAL VIEWING POSITION EFFECT,"
paper by Marc Brysbaert, Royal Holloway, University of London and
Tatjana Nazir, Universite Lyon 1, contact address: Marc Brysbaert
Royal Holloway, University of London, Department of Psychology
Egham TW20 OEX, United Kingdom, marc.brvsbaert@rhul.ac.uk)
("Brysbaert and Nazir") determined that there is an optimal viewing
position for maximum reading speed and empirically determined this
viewing position for words of 3, 5, 7, and 9 characters in length.
However, not only was this research never applied to RSVP, it
provides insufficient information for a practical RSVP application.
Therefore, embodiments of the present invention rely on the
inventors having established the ORP character positions for words
of 4, 6, 8, and 10-13 characters in length.
[0006] Words longer than three characters have an optimal fixation
position to the left of the middle character for which the time
required for word recognition is the shortest. For each letter of
deviation from this optimal position, about 20 milliseconds ("ms")
are added to lexical decision time or naming latency. Rayner
conducted similar research that demonstrated that it is possible to
get information about a word from up to 4 characters from the left
side of the fixation position and up to 15 characters to the right
side, resulting in a perceptual span of 20 characters. (See Keith
Rayner et al., "Asymmetry of the effective visual field in
reading," in Perception and Psychophysics, 1980, 27(6), 537-534)
("Rayner 1980"). Hyrskytar (see Hyrskykari, Aulikki, "Eyes in
Attentive Interfaces: Experiences from Creating iDict, a Gaze-Aware
Reading Aid", Academic Dissertation, Department of Computer
Sciences, University of Tampere, in Dissertations in Interactive
Technology, Number 4, Tampere 2006, pg 49) and Danhaene (see
Dehaene, Stanislas, "Les Neurones de la Lecture", Editions Odile
Jacob, France, September 2007) have also taught that the maximum
character length of a word without saccade movement is 20
characters. However, further research by Rayner demonstrated that
comprehension of the word was significantly less if the total
number of characters is greater than 13 characters. (See Rayner, K.
"Eye movements and cognitive processes in reading, visual search,
and scene perception." In J. M. Findlay, R. Walker, & R. W.
Kentridge (Eds.), Eye movement research: Mechanisms, processes and
applications (pp. 3-22). Amsterdam: North Holland, 1995) ("Rayner
1995").
[0007] Therefore, it is possible to have good recognition of words
of up to 13 characters in length from a single fixation that is
positioned on a specific character that is off center toward the
beginning of the word (e.g., to the left of the middle character
for languages that are read from left to right). Words are rarely
greater than 13 characters (according to Sigurd, only 0.4% of the
words in the English language are longer than 13 characters--see
Sigurd, B. et al, "Word Length, Sentence Length and Frequency--ZIPF
Revisited", Studia Lingustica 58(1), pp 37-52, Blackwell Publishing
Ltd, Oxford UK, 2004) and therefore, for the vast majority of
words, it is preferable to limit the number of characters to the
right side of the fixation point to 8 characters.
[0008] None of the previous research on word recognition has been
applied to RSVP. In a conventional RSVP, the optimal fixation
position will shift as words of differing lengths are sequentially
displayed in the center of the display, resulting in saccade
movements as the eyes shift to the optimal fixation position. The
reader has to refocus on the display every time a new word appears
that is of a different length than the previous word. The reader's
eyes will move from one character to the next to find the optimal
position, which is also referred to as a recovery saccade. In
addition, when a longer word follows a shorter one, the saccadic
movement direction will be from right to left. When reading text in
lines in a traditional paragraph display, most saccadic movement is
from left to right so the reader is accustomed to this type of eye
movement. Only occasionally, if the optimal fixation position is
not found directly, the reader may have to move back from right to
left. Thus conventional RSVP forces the reader to experience
saccades which are not normal. Conventional RSVP approaches offer
no solution to these problems.
[0009] In order to prevent or minimize recovery saccades in an
RSVP, it is preferable to display each word such that the optimal
fixation position does not shift in the display. The focal point of
the reader can then remain fixed on the optimal fixation position,
which is a specific point in each word that is determined by the
total number of characters or width of the word. This optimal
recognition position, hereinafter referred to as the "ORP," can be
identified in the display such that the reader's eyes are directed
to focus there as the words are serially presented. An RSVP which
incorporates an ORP is hereinafter referred to as "ORP-RSVP." With
an ORP-RSVP, text can then be presented at a faster rate because no
saccades occur during the presentation. In addition, the
elimination of saccades reduces eye fatigue and makes it more
comfortable, resulting in a better reading experience for the
user.
[0010] Many application areas benefit from an ORP-RSVP which
enables more information to be presented faster in a very small
display. It can be utilized not just on computers for faster
reading of long texts, but preferably also on portable electronic
devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, multi-media players,
e-readers, tablet/touchpad or laptop PCs, and other communication
devices.
[0011] One embodiment of the present invention provides a method
for serially displaying text on an electronic display comprising
identifying an optimal recognition position for a plurality of
words to be displayed and serially displaying the plurality of
words such that the optimal recognition position of each word is
displayed at a fixed display location on the electronic display. In
one embodiment, the optimal recognition position is identified as a
character in the word. In another embodiment, the optimal
recognition position is identified as a proportionate position
relative to the width of the word in pixels. In some embodiments,
visual aids are used to mark the fixed display location (e.g., hash
marks) and/or an optimal recognition position within the word
(e.g., different colored font).
[0012] Some embodiments of the invention further comprise using a
relative display multiplier for each word based at least in part on
word length, the relative display multiplier being used in
determining a display time for the word. In some embodiment of the
invention, blank elements are inserted between first and second
sentences and displayed for a length of time that varies based on a
word length of the first sentence. In some embodiments of the
invention, words over thirteen characters long are displayed such
that a first portion of the word is displayed (along with a hyphen)
as a first display element and a second portion of the word is
displayed as a second display element.
[0013] Some embodiments comprise a computer program product
including instructions for displaying text in accordance with
principles of the present invention. Some embodiments comprise a
computer program product including instructions for preparing and
streaming text to be displayed in accordance with principles of the
present invention. Some embodiments comprise an apparatus
configured to carry out serial text display in accordance with
principles of the present invention. Some embodiments comprise an
apparatus configured to prepare and stream text to be displayed in
accordance with principles of the present invention.
[0014] These and other embodiments are more fully described
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The novel features of the invention are set forth in the
appended claims. However, for purpose of explanation, several
aspects of a particular embodiment of the invention are described
by reference to the following figures.
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a text display system in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIGS. 2a-d illustrate the display portion of the embodiment
of FIG. 1. FIGS. 2a and 2b show examples of the display area before
presentation of text, and FIGS. 2c and 2d show two examples of
displayed words of different lengths.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an architectural block diagram of an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 provides a flow chart architectural diagram of the
embodiment of FIG. 3.
[0020] FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate display time multipliers for
display elements (text and blank elements).
[0021] FIG. 6 is a flow chart diagram of text pre-processing in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram of text display processing
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a flow chart diagram of processing and display of
text according to an alternative embodiment of the present
invention.
[0024] FIG. 9 shows a display in accordance with an embodiment of
the present invention, including user controls and indicators.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The following description is presented to enable any person
skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided
in the context of particular applications and their requirements.
Various modifications to the exemplary embodiments will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles
defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus,
the present invention is not intended to be limited to the
embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope
consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a text display system 2000 in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
the text display system is implemented on an end user device 210,
which is configured by computer program product 211 to implement an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] End user device 210 includes a display 205. Computer program
product 211 configures device 210 to serially present text in a
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ("RSVP") display area 200 on
display 205 (for convenience, referenced herein simply as "RSVP
display 200"). User device 210 may include any type of electronic
device capable of controlling text display. Some examples include
desktop computers and portable electronic devices such as mobile
phones, smartphones, multi-media players, e-readers,
tablet/touchpad, notebook, or laptop PCs, and other communication
devices. In some implementations (e.g., a smart phone or e-reader),
the display 205 may be packaged together with the rest of device
210. However, in other implementations, a separate display device
(e.g., a monitor) maybe be attached to device 210. While the
illustrated embodiment shows a graphical border around RSVP display
200, RSVP display 200 simply refers to a region (e.g., a window) on
display 205 where text is serially presented in accordance with an
embodiment of the presentation and in particular implementations,
RSVP display 200 may or may not be outlined by a graphical
border.
[0028] In one embodiment, user device 210 has typical computer
components including a processor, memory and an input/output
subsystem. In the illustrated embodiment, computer program product
211 is loaded into memory (not separately shown) to configure
device 210 in accordance with the present invention. In one
embodiment, text data may be loaded into memory for text processing
and display processing by device 210 as will be further described
herein. Text data loaded into memory for text processing and
display processing may be retrieved from persistent storage on a
user device such as device 210 and/or may be received from one or
more server computers 101 through a connection to Internet 102 (or
other computer network). In an alternative embodiment, at least
some processing/pre-processing of text data for display in
accordance with the principles illustrated herein may be carried
out by one or more remote computers such as server computers 101
and then sent to end user device 210 for display on RSVP display
200 on display 205. In such an alternative, some or all of a
computer program product such as computer program product 211 for
implementing an embodiment of the present invention may reside on
one or more computers such as server computers 101 that are remote
from end user device 210. In some embodiments, the entire computer
program product may be stored and executed on remote computers and
the results presented within a browser application component (e.g.
a media player application) of user device 210 (browser application
and media player application not separately shown).
[0029] In an embodiment of the invention, text (which includes, for
example, strings of characters--e.g., letters, numbers, symbols,
etc.--which constitute words, numeric figures, and combinations of
both with punctuation marks and symbols) is presented serially (for
example, one word at a time) within RSVP display 200. As referenced
herein, a "display element" will refer to a group of text data that
is displayed at one time within RSVP display 200. In other words,
display elements are displayed serially. In the primary embodiment
discussed herein, a display element will generally consist of one
word. However, in alternative embodiments, two words may be
presented as a single display element. Also, in the primary
embodiment, two words are sometimes part of a single display
element such as, for example, when a number e.g., "9," is displayed
together with a unit, e.g. "feet," so that, for example, the text
"9 feet" may be constitute a single display element and be
presented together.
[0030] Also, in some embodiments, a word having a length of greater
than thirteen characters is divided into first and second display
elements such that a first portion of the word is displayed first
(along with a hyphen) and then the second portion of the word is
displayed next.
[0031] In some embodiments of the present invention, an empirically
determined optimal recognition position ("ORP") of each display
element is presented at a fixed location of the RSVP display 200.
For example, each word of a plurality of words is serially
presented and positioned in the display such that the ORP is
displayed at a fixed display location within display 200 and this
enables recognition of each word in succession with minimal saccade
by the reader.
[0032] In a first embodiment, hereinafter referred to as the ORP
character position method, the optimal recognition position has
been determined empirically by positioning the word such that a
specific character is located in the ORP. This character is
hereinafter referred to as the ORP character, whose position is
specified from the beginning of the word. Brysbaert and Nazir had
provided recommendations for the ORP character position only for
words of 3, 5, 7, and 9 characters in length. Certain embodiments
of the present invention rely on having determined ORP character
positions for words of 4, 6, 8, and 10-13 characters in length. A
ratio based on the ORP character position was created in order to
interpolate between the established values for words of 3, 5, 7,
and 9 characters in length, and to extrapolate for words of 10-13
characters in length. This ORP character position ratio is
determined by the following formula:
ORP Character Position Ratio=(ORP Character Position-1)/Total
Number of Text Characters
The values of the ORP character position for words of 4, 6, 8, and
10-13 characters in length are determined by keeping the ORP
character position ratio between 0.20 to 0.33 and applying the
above formula. The resulting values of the ORP character positions,
which are summarized in TABLE I, were empirically tested and
confirmed by the inventors with 20 subjects utilizing texts
displayed according to this embodiment. TABLE I summarizes the ORP
character position as the total number of text characters ranges
from 3 characters to preferably 13 characters, but not more than 20
characters (note that "characters" in this context--i.e. for
purposes of counting the number of characters in a word display
element-only include parts of the word itself, e.g., letters, and
do not include punctuation characters, even though, as explained in
the context of FIG. 6, text may be parsed such that a punctuation
mark is included as part of the same display element as a word).
Note that the ORP character position shifts progressively further
from the middle of the word as the total number of characters
increases beyond three characters.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Total Number of Text ORP Character ORP
Character Position Characters Position Ratio 3 2 0.33 4 2 0.25 5 2
0.20 6 3 0.33 7 3 0.29 8 3 0.25 9 3 0.22 10 4 0.30 11 4 0.27 12 4
0.25 13 4 0.23 14-20 5 NA
[0033] While TABLE I specifies a set of values for the ORP based on
whole characters, it is possible to have other embodiments in which
the ORP is determined as a proportion of the display element's
pixel width. In one such alternative (described in detail in the
context of FIG. 8) an offset is calculated indicating the pixel
offset from the fixed display location for placing a first pixel at
the beginning edge of the display element. ("Beginning" refers to
the beginning from the perspective of a reader reading in a reading
direction of the language associated with the word, e.g., for
English, the left edge of the display element is the
"beginning.")
[0034] The average of the ORP character position ratio values in
TABLE I yields an average ORP character position ratio of 0.265.
This can be used to determine the ORP offset to position a text in
terms of pixels from the ORP to the first pixel in the text,
according to the following formula:
ORP Offset=(Width*Average ORP Character Position
Ratio)+(0.5*Average Character Width)
where Width is the total width of the text (e.g., a word to be
displayed) in pixels and Average Character Width is the Width
divided by the total number of characters in the text. This will
account for the use of proportionally spaced fonts, as both the
Width and Average Character Width will change depending upon
various combinations of characters. Different formulas or different
distributions for the values of the ORP character position can be
incorporated into other embodiments. Note that in the ORP position
ratio method (sometimes referenced herein as the offset method),
the optimal recognition position is at a position that can be
determined to be at a specific proportion of the display element's
width from the beginning of the word. This position will be
referenced herein as the "optimal proportionate position."
[0035] Note that although, as used herein, "length" is generally
used to reference the length of words in terms of characters and
the length of sentences in terms of words, "width" on the other
hand is generally used to refer to the width of characters and
words in terms of pixels. However, "width" and "length" in these
contexts both refer to the same "dimension" of words and characters
in the sense that they refer to the dimension extending parallel to
the direction of reading.
[0036] FIG. 2a shows a basic ORP-RSVP display 200 in accordance
with the first embodiment of the present invention. The ORP-RSVP
display 200 can accommodate text of up to 20 characters in length
without saccades, although it is preferred to limit the display to
13 characters for improved comprehension. Words longer than 13
characters can be hyphenated and displayed as two consecutive
segments. Research has confirmed that approximately two-thirds of
the users preferred the hyphenated technique over the single
display of the full word. Fixed display location 201 is positioned
within the display 200 to accommodate at least four characters to
its left and can be identified with hash marks 202. Other
identifiers such as circles, colors or textures may be used. FIG.
2b shows how a circulating arrow 203 can be used to direct the
user's eye to focus at fixed display location 201 before the words
are serially presented. A countdown indicator 204 may also be
utilized to indicate the amount of time before the words begin to
be serially presented.
[0037] FIG. 2c illustrates positioning of the word "present" in
ORP-RSVP display 200. When the serial presentation begins, the
first word is displayed in the ORP-RSVP display 200 such that ORP
character 205 is positioned at fixed display location 201. In the
example in FIG. 2c, the total number of characters in the word
"present" is seven and so, from TABLE I, the 3.sup.rd character "e"
is positioned at fixed display location 201. A colored font, such
as a red font, may be utilized to emphasize the ORP character 205
as shown in FIG. 2c. FIG. 2d shows the display of the longer word
"presentation", where the 5.sup.th character is the ORP character
205 and is displayed at fixed display location 201.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of computer application 300 in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention to be
utilized on an electronic device which includes a digital
processor, memory, and a display (and/or that is adapted for
communication with a separate display). Computer application 300 is
designed to accomplish text display in an ORP-RSVP display such as
ORP-RSVP display 200 on a display such as display 205. User
interface subsystem 301 provides features for user interaction via
a graphical windowing system, including, in certain cases, windows,
menus, dialogs, and similar features, as well as input selection
means from an input device such as a mouse, keypad, touchpad, touch
stick, joy stick, touch-screen, natural user interface, or voice
recognition system. User interface 301 enables the user to select
text to be displayed, either in standard formats or text that has
been pre-processed into the necessary ORP display format, as well
as to make or change display settings. Text to be processed by
application 300 may be stored in memory 302 in a variety of
standard formats, such as xml, txt, pdf, and doc. The ORP text
processor subsystem 303 converts the stored text into the format
necessary for display by ORP display processor 307. It contains
text parser subsystem 304, display element constructor 305, and
data repository 306 which stores the processed text as display
elements with display parameters. ORP display processor subsystem
307 accesses the text from the in-memory data repository 306 or
from a stored ORP file 311 and prepares it for RSVP presentation in
the ORP-RSVP display 200 on the electronic device display 205. The
ORP display processor 307 also includes, in this example, display
settings module 308, which enables the user to make or change
display settings such as the overall speed in average
words-per-minute or average display time of words.
[0039] FIG. 4 provides a high level flow chart of processing 400
which implements information processing of computer application 300
of FIG. 3. A user provides user manual input 401 which is received
by user interface 301 (see FIG. 3). In response to user manual
input 401, step 402 selects the text to be presented. For example,
a selection of a text file from a list may be made using a mouse,
keypad, or touch-screen. A selection may also be made from within a
full text that is currently displayed. In this example, it is
assumed text selected to be displayed is stored on the electronic
device. Step 403 retrieves the stored text data. However, in
alternative examples, the text may be retrieved from a remote
device. ORP text processor 303 then initiates step 404 to load the
data and uses text parser 302 to parse the text to identify
sections (such as paragraphs, chapters, etc.), sentences, words,
numeric figures, and punctuation marks. Display element constructor
305 then initiates step 405 to create an array sequence of display
elements, including the insertion of a blank element at the end of
each sentence.
[0040] Step 405 also calculates parameters for the display time of
each display element. While, in alternative embodiments, it is
possible to display each element for the same amount of time, it
has been demonstrated empirically that a longer display time is
beneficial for comprehension of longer words. It has also been
demonstrated empirically that a longer pause between sentences is
beneficial for comprehension of longer sentences.
[0041] FIG. 5a provides a set of recommended values for a text
element display multiplier 502 as a function of the text element
character length 501. FIG. 5b provides a set of recommended values
for the blank element display multiplier 504 as a function of the
number of text elements in the sentence 503. The calculated display
parameters are then stored for each display element in the array to
create the in-memory representation 406, which may also be stored
as a file 311 in non-volatile memory.
[0042] Returning to the description of FIG. 4, step 408 adjusts the
display time parameter of each display element based on a setting
of the overall speed which has been selected at step 407 based on
user manual input 401. As referenced above, the ORP display
processor 307 includes display settings module 308 which stores the
display settings, including a profile that has been previously
selected by the user. In addition to the overall speed setting, the
display settings may also include options for other settings, for
example the initial display speed (providing a ramp from a lower
speed at the start to the higher overall speed setting), the color
of the display background, the color or texture of the ORP
indicators, and the text font type and size. The ORP display
processor 307 then carries out step 409 to display each display
element sequentially for its adjusted display time with its ORP
character positioned at fixed display location 201 in ORP-RSVP
display 200 on the electronic device display 205 if using the ORP
character position method. If using the ORP ratio position method,
the ORP display processor 307 carries out step 409 to display each
display element sequentially for its adjusted display time with the
first character positioned at a distance from fixed display
location 201 equal to the amount of the ORP offset calculated for
that specific display element.
[0043] FIG. 6 provides a flow chart of processing 600 which
illustrates further details of processing carried by computer
application 300 of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Specifically,
processing 600 is carried out by OPR text processor 303 of FIG. 3.
Step 601 receives text. Step 602 creates an empty array of ordered
pairs for display elements and their display parameters. Counters
for words-in-text ("wit"), and relative text duration ("rtd") are
initialized at 0. Step 603 parses the text to split it into
sentences and inserts blank elements at the end of each sentence.
Step 604 selects the sentence to be processed by step 605 (which is
either the first sentence on an initial processing loop, or a next
sentence in response to step 625). For that sentence, step 605
spits it into words and initializes the counter for
words-in-sentence ("wis") at zero. Step 606 selects the word to be
processed by step 607 (which is either the first word on an initial
processing loop for a particular sentence, or a next word in
response to step 616). For that word, step 607 calculates the word
length ("wl") with punctuation trimmed from that word. In this
embodiment, wl is calculated without including punctuation for
purposes of calculating a display multiplier and determining an
optimal recognition position character or offset (described later).
However, alternative embodiments may utilize punctuation (or
certain types of punctuation) for calculating certain display
parameters, particularly to the extent particular empirical results
dictate that factoring in punctuation can benefit reading
results.
[0044] Steps 608 then set the multiplier ("m") based on the value
of wl, progressively testing wl until the appropriate value of m is
selected. The values of m specified in steps 608 have been
determined empirically, but different values could be utilized in
other embodiments to provide for additional display time for words
of varying length. Step 609 determines if wl is greater than
thirteen. If the result of step 609 is yes, then step 610 sets m to
1.6; if the result of step 609 is no, then step 611 determines
whether wl is greater than seven. If the result of step 611 is yes,
then step 612 sets m to 1.3; if the result of step 611 is no, then
step 613 sets m to 1.0. Once m is set (step 610, 612, or 613), step
614 then tests to see if the display element is a blank element
(wl=0); if the result of step 614 is no, then step 615 increments
the wis and wit counters by 1 and increments the rtd counter by the
value of m. Step 616 then directs selection of the next word and
processing 600 returns to step 606 so that the next word can be
processed.
[0045] If the result of step 614 is yes, (i.e., the current display
element is a blank element), the end of a sentence has been reached
(step 603 inserts blank elements between sentences). Steps 617 then
set the blank element multiplier based on the value of wis,
progressively testing the value until the appropriate value of m is
selected. The values of the wis thresholds and corresponding values
of m specified in steps 617 have been determined empirically but
different values could be utilized in other embodiments to provide
for additional display time of the blank element for sentences of
varying length. Step 618 determines whether wis is greater than
twenty-two. If the result of step 618 is yes, then step 619 sets m
to 3.3. If the result of step 620 is no, then step 620 determines
whether wis is greater than seven. If the result of step 620 is
yes, then step 621 sets m to 2.2. If the result of step 620 is no,
then step 622 sets m to 1.0. Once m is set for the end-of-sentence
blank element (step 619, 621, or 622), step 623 stores all display
elements (including word display elements processed by steps 608
and the end-of-sentence blank display element processed by steps
618) for that sentence in pairs with corresponding multiplier
values in the array 306. Step 624 determines whether the end of the
text has been reached. If the result of step 624 is no, then
processing 600 returns to step 604 so that the next sentence can be
processed. If the result of step 624 is yes, then text processing
ends at step 626.
[0046] FIG. 7 provides a flow chart of processing 700 which
illustrates further details of processing carried by computer
application 300 of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Specifically,
processing 700 is carried out by OPR display processor 307 of FIG.
3. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, ORP display processor
307 implements the ORP character position method previously
described. In particular, an ORP character is identified and placed
at fixed display location 201. Processing 700 begins at step 701
which receives processed text from ORP text processor 303 or from
stored text data 311.
[0047] Step 702 selects and loads the word-multiplier pair to be
processed for display (which is either the first pair in the stored
array referenced in 623 of FIG. 6 on an initial processing loop, or
a next pair in response to step 721). Step 703 determines the
length in characters ("word length" or "wl") of the word to be
displayed. As previously discussed in the context of FIG. 6, the
word length in this embodiment is the number of characters
excluding punctuation. Note that, in alternative embodiments, the
word length calculated at step 607 of FIG. 6 could be stored in the
word array (along with the display element and the word multiplier)
so that it does not have to be recalculated in step 703.
[0048] Steps 704 then sets the ORP character ("orpc") based on the
value of wl, progressively testing the length until the appropriate
value of orpc is selected for that word, in accordance with the
recommendations in TABLE I. Step 705 determines if wl=1. If the
result of step 705 is yes, then step 706 sets the orpc to 1 and
processing 700 proceeds to step 714. If the result of step 705 is
no, then step 707 determines if wl is greater than 1 and less than
6. If the result of step 707 is yes, then step 708 sets the orpc to
2 and processing 700 proceed to step 714. If the result of step 707
is no, then step 709 determines if wl is greater than 5 and less
than 10. If the result of step 709 is yes, then step 710 sets the
orpc to 3 and processing 700 proceeds to step 714. If the result of
step 709 is no, then step 711 determines if wl is greater than 9
and less than 14. If the result of step 711 is yes, then step 712
sets the orpc to 4 and processing 700 proceeds to step 714. If the
result of step 711 is no, the step 713 sets the orpc to 5 and
processing 700 proceeds to step 714.
[0049] Step 714, displays ORP character (as selected by step 706,
608, 710, 712, or 713) at fixed display location 201 in ORP display
200 (as illustrated by way of example in the window just to the
right of step 714 in FIG. 7). Step 715 then displays the characters
to the left of the ORP character one by one with the offset defined
by the font width (as illustrated by way of example in the window
just to the right of step 715 in FIG. 7). Step 716 then displays
characters to the right of the ORP character are then displayed in
the same manner (as illustrated by way of example in the window
just to the right of step 716 in FIG. 7).
[0050] Step 717 then tests to see if the end of the text has been
reached. If the result of step 717 is no, then step 718 calculates
the average word relative duration ("awdr") by dividing the rtd by
the wit. Step 710 then calculates the default update time ("dut")
by dividing the update time ("ut") (which is retrieved from display
settings module 308 of FIG. 3) by the awdr. Step 720 then sets a
timer and the word is displayed for a time equal to the product of
the relative time multiplier and the dut. Step 721 directs that
that the next word-multiplier pair is selected and processing 700
returns to step 702 so that the next word-multiplier can be
processed. If the result of step 717 is yes, then display
processing ends at step 722.
[0051] FIG. 8 provides a flow chart of processing 800 in accordance
with an alternative to the embodiment of FIG. 7 for the processing
of ORP display processor 307. Specifically, in the embodiment of
FIG. 8, the ORP ratio position method described earlier is used.
Rather than using an identified ORP character, processing 800
utilizes a proportionate position for the optimal recognition
position which, multiplied by the word with, provides an offset
value from the fixed display location for placing a pixel that is
at the beginning of the word.
[0052] Step 801 receives text from the ORP text processor 303 or
from text data store 311. Step 802 selects and loads the
word-multiplier pair to be processed for display (which is either
the first pair in the stored array referenced in 623 of FIG. 6 on
an initial processing loop, or a next pair in response to step
721). Step 803 then calculates the total width of the word ("ww")
in pixels and the average character width ("acw") in pixels. As
previously discussed, the word "width" in this context is
calculated along the same dimension (in line with the reading
direction) as is the word "length" referenced in the context
earlier figures. The difference is that as used herein, "ww" is
measured in pixels and "wl" is measured in number of
characters.
[0053] Step 804 then determines the first pixel position for the
display of the word in ORP-RSVP display 200 (an exemplary ORP
display 200 is shown just to the left of step 805 in FIG. 8) by
calculating the ORP ratio offset ("ORPRO"). In step 805, the word
is displayed with the first pixel of the first character located at
the ORPRO position 806 (which is a distance in pixels equal to the
ORPRO from the fixed display location 201). This may be referenced
as the "beginning pixel" of the word from the perspective of a
reading direction of a reader of the display. Note that, for left
to right languages, the beginning pixel is at the left edge of the
word. Depending on the shape of the beginning character, there may
be multiple pixels located a distance of ORPRO from the fixed
display location (for example, in many fonts, the letter "b" would
include several pixels at the left most edge of the word). As used
herein, the "beginning pixel" will simply refer to any pixel at the
beginning edge of the word.
[0054] When the beginning pixel is displayed at the ORPRO from
fixed display location 201, the ORP of the word, which in this case
is identified as the optimal proportionate position along the width
of the word (rather than being identified as a particular
character), will be displayed at fixed display location 201.
[0055] Step 807 tests to see if the end of the text has been
reached. If the result of step 807 is no, then step 808 calculates
the average word relative duration ("awdr") by dividing the rtd by
the wit. Step 809 then calculates the default update time ("dut")
by dividing the update time ("ut"), which is retrieved from the
display settings module 308, by the awdr. Step 810 then sets a
timer and the word is displayed for a time equal to the product of
the relative time multiplier and the dut. Step 811 directs that the
next word-multiplier pair is selected and processing 800 returns to
step 802 so that the next word-multiplier can be processed. If the
result of step 807 is yes, then display processing 800 ends at step
812.
[0056] The example of FIG. 8 uses the average position ratio of
character position ratios based on the values in TABLE I. However,
as previously indicated other values could be used while still
achieving benefits of the present invention. Such values may result
in somewhat different proportions of a word being displayed to the
left (for left to right languages) of the fixed display location.
In some alternative embodiments, the proportion of a word (in
particular, at least words that are greater than four characters in
length) that is displayed from the word's beginning to the fixed
display location is greater than or equal to 0.2 and less than or
equal to 0.45.
[0057] As an alternative to processing all text before beginning
the display processing, it is possible to display each display
element (e.g., a word) after it has been processed. Referencing
such an alternative in the context of modifying the processing
order of steps shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 (which implements the ORP
character position method), the order of steps would be modified as
follows: After step 615, the processing would proceed to step 703.
After step 720, then the processing would return to step 606 in
order to prepare the next word for display. If step 614 determined
that it is a blank element, then step 617 would proceed in order to
prepare the blank element for display in step 714. Then the
processing would return to step 624 to continue the processing of
the next sentence or it reaches the end of text processing and
display processing.
[0058] Referencing such an alternative in the context of modifying
the processing order of steps shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8 (which
implements the ORP ratio position offset method), after step 615,
the next step would be step 803. After step 810, the processing
would then return to step 606 in order to prepare the next word for
display. If step 614 determined that it was a blank element, then
step 617 would proceed in order to prepare the blank element for
display in step 810. Then the processing returns to step 624 to
continue the processing of the next sentence or it reaches the end
of text processing and display processing.
[0059] In serial text display, saccades are most noticeably a
problem for words that are five or more characters in length.
Therefore, a preferred embodiment of the present invention places
the ORP at the fixed display location at least for display elements
that are five or more characters in length. For such display
elements (and for display elements of length four), the optimal
recognition position is off-center toward the beginning of the
display element (from the perspective of a reader of the display).
However, while display of the ORP at the fixed display location for
words that are fewer than five characters length is not necessary
for achieving the benefits of particular embodiments of the
invention, in a preferred embodiment, words of lengths four or less
are also displayed using the ORP character position method or the
ratio position offset method (which, for word lengths of three or
less, will not necessarily result in the fixed display location
being off center toward the beginning of the word). However, when
such words (length four or less) are displayed at the fixed display
location, exactly which character or proportionate position of
these words is displayed at the fixed display location is not
necessarily critical for minimizing saccades. At the same time,
however, displaying words of length four or less such that their
optimal recognition position is at the fixed display location does
provide some smoothing benefit in that eye displacement from one
word to the next is reduced, and therefore a preferred embodiment
places an optimal recognition portion of all words, including words
of length four or less at the fixed display location.
[0060] FIG. 9 illustrates several features that can be added to a
basic embodiment of the present invention to improve its
effectiveness. User interface 301 and ORP display 200 can be
enhanced to enable the user to interact with the display process.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, standard controls including starting
control 901, pausing control 904, repeating control 905, and fast
forwarding control 906 to control display of the text can be
provided. A visual indicator 902 can be provided to indicate the
progress of the display as a fraction of the total amount of text
to be displayed. A slider 903 could also be used to enable jumping
to any point in the text. An indicator 907 of the display speed in
average words per minute could be provided, which could also enable
the user to change the speed during the presentation. A bookmark
icon 909 could enable the user to click and set a bookmark during
the presentation, and provide the means to restart the presentation
at the point that the bookmark was set. A settings icon 908 could
be provided to enable the user to change for preferences for the
presentation, such as the initial display speed, the color of the
display background, the color or texture of the ORP indicators, and
the text font type and size.
[0061] Other embodiments would enable the invention to be deployed
on a variety of electronic devices, such as various computer
operating systems, mobile phone operating systems, video gaming
platforms, and portable electronic devices such as digital watches,
cameras, and music players. While the basic embodiment described
herein provides for ORP processing of text that is stored locally
on the electronic device, it is possible that the text in a
standard format or preprocessed ORP format could be streamed to the
electronic device from a server via a wired or wireless network
connection. While a preferred embodiment of the present invention
is the display of text on small displays, if a large display is
available then it would be possible to display the full text in a
companion display, such that the progress through the text can be
indicated by a moving highlight that corresponds to the word being
currently display in the ORP Display.
[0062] While the present invention has been particularly described
with respect to the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated
that various alterations, modifications and adaptations may be made
based on the present disclosure and are intended to be within the
scope of the present invention. While the invention has been
described in connection with what are presently considered to be
the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be
understood that the present invention is not limited to the
disclosed embodiment but, on the contrary, is intended to cover
various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within
the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *