US20090083621A1

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Publication number: US20090083621A1
Application number: US12/277,778
Authority: US
Inventors: Bahram G. Kermani
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-01-19
Filing date: 2008-11-25
Publication date: 2009-03-26
Also published as: US7475334B1

Abstract

A method and computer implemented system may be used to abstract an electronic document. A user is prompted to select at least one abstracted version of the electronic document. A set of instructions is selected for abstracting the electronic document, and the abstracted version is created by executing the selected set of instructions. The instructions may be generic or particularized to the electronic document. The abstracted version of the electronic document is then outputted in a predetermined format.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/487,522, filed Jan. 19, 2000, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ABSTRACTING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electronic documents, and more specifically to a method and system for abstracting an electronic document to at least one level of abstraction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Electronic documents comprise a vast portion of all documents created and transferred in today's world. For example, electronic mail, news releases, text books, encyclopedias, articles, studies, and novels, to name a few, are widely disseminated as electronic documents. These documents are created as low level texts, those texts that have not been manipulated at all, i.e., they exist in their original full text form with all of their grammatical detail stored in an electronic format.

Today's increasingly complex world often places significant time constraints on individuals, particularly in today's corporate world. Thus, it is often inefficient or impractical for an individual to read an entire electronic document. As speed readers have long recognized, an individual often does not have to read all of the details of a document to discern the desired information. For example, many speed readers are taught to focus on groups of words, not individual words, in order to discern a word cluster's meaning and to progress down a page of text while reading instead of left to right across a page of text. Many people, however, do not know how to utilize these techniques or are not capable of using these techniques.

Several software packages are available that teach speed reading. Also, software packages exist that display electronic documents in varied formats. Some software packages utilize Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) techniques to present electronic text serially at rapid speeds. The full low level version of the text, though, is presented with RSVP techniques. Also, some software packages exist that display text to the reader using a technique called Tachistoscopic Scroll Presentation. This technique presents the full low level version of the text to the reader in flashes of text in a conventional left to right reading manner in order to train users to read faster.

Systems have also been developed that create summaries or abstracts of an electronic document. One such example is disclosed in Pedersen et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,543). Pedersen discloses a method of scoring regions of and electronic document according to importance based upon predetermined parameters contained in a computer program. An abstract of the electronic document may be created based upon the scores.

There is still a need, though, for a flexible method of abstracting and electronic document. The level at which one chooses to read an electronic document may depend on the nature of the underlying text. For example, one may choose to read a scientific text at its full text level because of the apparent significance of each word. The same individual, however, may choose to read an electronic mail or a newspaper article at a level of abstraction in order to increase the speed at which the document can be read. Conversely, a person may be interested in particular subject matter contained in an electronic document covering a broad interspersed subject matter. Thus, there is a need for a new method and system for abstracting electronic documents that allows a reader to choose between various levels of abstraction for electronic documents, thereby permitting that reader to read the electronic document according to his or her personal needs, preferences or time constraints.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of abstracting an electronic document. A user of the electronic document is prompted to select at least one abstracted version of the electronic document. A set of instructions for abstracting the electronic document is selected. The selected abstracted version of the electronic document is created by executing the selected set of instructions. The selected abstracted version of the electronic document is then outputted in a predetermined format.

The above and other advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for abstracting an electronic document.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of abstracting an electronic document.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of generic abstraction of an electronic document.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of particularized abstraction of an electronic document.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows asystem10 for abstracting an electronic document.FIG. 2 shows an exemplary method according to the invention for abstracting an electronic document. A user is prompted to select at least one abstracted version of the electronic document. A set of instruction is selected, and the abstracted version is created by executing the selected set of instructions. The abstracted version of the electronic document is then outputted in a predetermined format. The invention is particularly advantageous in that it permits users of electronic documents to select a version of the electronic document that most nearly meets the user's need for that electronic document. The invention thus facilitates both an economic and flexible use of one's time. The implementation of this method is discussed below.

Referring toFIG. 1, aconventional computer20 ofsystem10 executes a computer program. Thecomputer program30amay be stored on a computer-readable medium encoded with computer program code for executing the steps of the method of abstracting an electronic document. The computer-readable medium for storing the computer program may be any conventional storage medium, such ashard drive30 ofcomputer20. The computer program may also be stored on a remote storage device, such asstorage device55 located on local access network (LAN)50,storage device44 ofhost server40 ofsystem10 or a storage device located on a wide area network. Conversely, the computer readable medium for storing thecomputer program30amay be a conventional CD-ROM60 ordiskette70.

Thesystem10 also includes a storage device that may be any computer-readable medium, such ashard drive30, for storing anelectronic document30b, a set ofinstructions30cfor abstracting theelectronic document30b, and abstractedversions30dof theelectronic document30b. It should be understood that thecomputer program30a,electronic document30b, set ofinstructions30c, and abstractedversions30dof theelectronic document30bneed not be located on the same computer-readable medium. Any conventional computer-readable medium may be used to store the aforementioned files shown stored onhard drive30. The medium may be remote fromcomputer20, such asstorage device44 orstorage device55.

Embodiments of the invention may be used to abstract electronic documents such as electronic mails (emails), word processing documents, books, articles, encyclopedias, and other documents stored in electronic form. Further, theelectronic document30bmay be formatted in any conventional electronic document format. For example, theelectronic document30bmay be stored as an ASCII file, Portable Data File (pdf), Word Perfect file, or the like.

FIG. 1 also showscomputer20 attached toLAN50.LAN50 includes aconventional storage device55 that may have stored therein thecomputer program55aimplementing the method of abstracting an electronic document, anelectronic document55b, a set ofinstructions55cfor abstracting theelectronic document55b, andabstracted versions55dof theelectronic document55b.

Host server

40 attached toInternet100 may include astorage device44 that is a any conventional computer-readable medium.Storage device44 may include anelectronic document44b, thecomputer program44afor implementing the method of abstracting an electronic document, a set ofinstructions44cfor abstracting theelectronic document44b, andabstracted versions44dofelectronic document44b.Internet100 is also attached tocomputer20 andLAN50.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of the method of abstracting an electronic document insystem10 ofFIG. 1. Atstep200, a user ofcomputer20 is prompted to select a version of theelectronic document30bfor use by the user. The use may be any conventional use such as for display onmonitor21, for printing toprinter22, or for recording ondiskette70. Atstep210, a set ofinstructions30cis selected for abstractingelectronic document30b. Atstep220, the version of theelectronic document30bselected by the user is created by executing the selected set ofinstructions30cfor abstractingelectronic document30bwithcomputer program30a. Atstep230, the abstracted version ofelectronic document30bis outputted in a predetermined format for use by the user. The predetermined format may be any conventional format such as outputting to monitor21, printing toprinter22, or recording ondata diskette70 in an electronic document format. If the output device atstep230 isstorage device30, theabstracted version30dis preferably recorded at another memory location so as to preserve non-abstractedelectronic document30bfor abstracting according to a different set of instructions.

FIG. 2 shows a method of abstracting an electronic document insystem10 ofFIG. 1. It should be understood that the method may be executed with reference to the other blocks ofsystem10, besideshard drive30, namelyhost server40 andLAN50, as well as among the blocks ofsystem10. For example, a user ofcomputer20 may accesshost server40 throughInternet100. The user may then be prompted to select a version ofelectronic document44b. The set ofinstructions44cfor abstractingelectronic document44bmay be selected, andcomputer program44amay create the selected version ofelectronic document44bby executing the selected set ofinstructions44c. The abstracted version may then be sent in a conventional manner tocomputer20 overInternet100, where the abstracted version may be outputted to, for example,computer monitor21.

Conversely, theelectronic document44bmay be stored instorage device44, along withinstruction set44c. The computer program may be stored instorage device30a. The user may download theinstruction set44candelectronic document44bfromstorage device44 overInternet100. The selected abstracted version may then be created by executing the set ofinstructions44cwithcomputer program30a.

It should be apparent that several variations for the storage locations for the electronic document, computer program, and set of instructions are available and are within the scope of the invention. For example, thecomputer program30amay be stored onhard drive30 along withelectronic document30b. A set of instruction40cor a set of instructions50cmay then be downloaded from a remote location for execution bycomputer program30a.

In one embodiment of the invention the set ofinstructions30cmay include a generic set ofinstructions30ca. The generic set ofinstructions30caare not specific to any particular electronic document. The generic set ofinstructions30camay be instructions for removing grammatical articles (e.g., a, an, the), removing grammatical adjectives (e.g., big, high, heavy), removing grammatical adverbs (e.g., always, very, shortly), contracting grammatical verb clauses (e.g., is not, are not, would not), abbreviating well known phrases, bodies, governments or entities (e.g., United States, Internal Revenue Service, New York), and other sets of instructions that may be executed to abstract electronic documents generally. Execution of the generic set of instructions creates an abstracted electronic document that may be read quicker than a full text version of the electronic document. One or more sets of availablegeneric instructions30camay be executed on the electronic document, depending on the level of abstraction desired by the user.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the creation of an abstracted version of an electronic document when a generic set of instructions is selected atstep210a. Atstep221, a loop begins that is run until the end of the electronic document is reached. The end of the electronic document is represented instep221 as “x,” the total number of words in the electronic document. A word (W_i) of the electronic document is examined atstep222 and compared atstep223 with a stored list of words specific to the selected generic set of instructions being executed. For example, if the generic set of instructions for removing articles is selected, W_iis compared with a list of articles instep223 that may be stored in the set of instructions for removing grammatical articles. Atstep224, W_iis removed from the electronic document if it matches a word stored in the generic set of instructions being executed. Conversely, atstep224, words may be replaced when the set of instructions so requires, such as when the set of instructions contracts verb clauses or abbreviates words or phrases. It should be apparent that if word phrases are to be replaced, groups of words are examined using the method ofFIG. 3. For example, if W_imatches the word “United,” then W_i+1is examined to see if it matches the word “States,” and so forth. If a match for “United States” is found, that phrase is removed and replaced with its abbreviation, namely “U.S.” Atstep230a, the abstracted version of the electronic document is outputted.

The generic set ofinstructions30camay be stored as aseparate file30cas shown inFIG. 1. Conversely, thecomputer program30amay include the generic set of instructions. This embodiment of the invention is advantageous because the generic set of instructions are operable on electronic documents generally. Inclusion of the generic instructions in thecomputer program30aalleviates the need to separately store the generic set of instructions.

The set ofinstructions30cmay include a set ofinstructions30cbparticularized to an electronic document, such aselectronic document30b. Anelectronic document30bmay be abstracted by removing words, sentences, paragraphs, sections and the like, thereby shortening the electronic document and allowing economic uses of the electronic document. In one embodiment of the invention, the set ofinstructions30cbmay be particularized to anelectronic document30bby using a weighting scheme. Different levels of abstraction for theelectronic document30bmay be created by weighting individual parts of theelectronic document30baccording to their relative importance. Paragraphs may be weighted, for example, with weights ranging from 1 through 9, with 9 being a very important paragraph and 1 being a non-important paragraph. Each paragraph in the electronic document may be assigned a relative weight, according to a predetermined subjective decision on relative weights. Conversely, each paragraph may be weighed using a scoring method such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,543, et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated here by reference. A set of instructions for abstracting an electronic document may be particularized to an electronic document by including the predetermined weights for each paragraph of the electronic document. The particularized set ofinstructions30dmay be, for example, a list of the weights of each paragraph ofelectronic document30b. The electronic document may be abstracted to one version of the electronic document by removing, for example, all paragraphs with assigned weights of 1. Similarly, a higher level of abstraction may be created for the electronic document by removing all paragraphs with assigned weights below 6, leaving paragraphs weighted 6, 7, 8, and 9. This weighting scheme may be used for different elements of the electronic document, such as sections, sentences, words, and the like. Also, the range of weights is not limited to any particular number of levels or numerical value for any individual weight.

A similar weighting approach may be used to distinguish elements of the electronic document in any manner of ways. For example, the elements of an electronic document may again be weighted with weights ranging from 1 to 9. These weights, however, are not representative of relative importance, but rather of subject matter. Assume that the electronic document is a year-end stock market summary. Level 8 may represent any element of the electronic document related to the computer industry. Level 7 may represent the textile industry and so forth. A user may then abstract the electronic document to his or her particular needs by eliminating undesired levels.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the creation of an abstracted electronic document by executing a particularized set ofinstructions30cbaccording to the invention. Atstep210b, a set of particularized instructions is selected to be executed. Atstep225, the user is prompted to select a level “A” of abstraction for theelectronic document30b. Atstep226, a loop begins that is run for values of i from 1 to x, where “x” represent the total number of weighted elements (WE_i), such as sections, paragraphs, sentences, words and the like. Atstep227, WE_iis examined to determine its relative weight. The relative weights of each WE_iare stored in the particularized set of instructions. Atstep228, the relative weight of WE_iis compared to input level A, and if the weight of WE_iis less than A, WE_iis removed from the electronic document atstep228a. The loop is continued until the end of the electronic document is reached (i.e., there are not more elements to be examined) and all weighted elements with relative weights less than the inputted level A are removed. The abstracted electronic document is outputted in a predetermined format atstep230b

If in the method ofFIG. 4, a user desires to use particular subject matter levels of an electronic document, such as in the above year-end market summary example, all levels besides the levels entered atstep225 are eliminated. If levels 7 and 8 are selected, then a user desires to abstract the electronic document by eliminating all elements other than elements related to the computer and textile industries. In this example,levels 1 through 6 and level 9 are removed, leaving the selected abstracted version.

The particularized set ofinstructions30cbmay be stored inseparate file30cas shown inFIG. 1. Since the set ofinstructions30cbis particularized to an electronic document, for exampleelectronic document30b, the particularized set ofinstructions30cbmay be attached to the electronic document in a conventional manner, such as is common with electronic mail. The particularized set of instructions may exist, though, as a separate set ofinstructions30cbthat may be transmitted independent of theelectronic document30b. Indeed, there may be a plurality of particularized sets of instructions for one electronic document. For example,instruction set30cb,instruction set44cb, andinstruction set55cbmay all be particularized to one electronic document, such aselectronic document30b, but represent different abstraction instructions.

The set ofinstructions30cmay include a description of the levels of abstraction for the electronic document capable of being created by executing a particularized set of instructions, such as30cb. These descriptions may be used, for example, as prompts atstep225 of the method ofFIG. 4, thereby informing a user of the significance of each level of abstraction and permitting a user to select a level analogous to his or her individual needs for the electronic document. A description of level 9 may disclose, for example, that the complete textual version will be outputted. A description of level 8 may disclose that all background paragraphs have been removed, and so forth. Similarly, in the year-end market summary example, the description may describe which market sectors correspond to each level.

Abstracted versions

44dof theelectronic document44bmay be stored onstorage device40 ofFIG. 1. The abstracted versions may be created using the methods as shown inFIGS. 2,3, and4. The abstracted versions of the electronic document may be recorded on any computer-readable medium, such asstorage device30,storage device44, orstorage device55, and retrieved when selected by a user. Recording the abstracted versions of the electronic document, particularly when the abstracted versions may be accessed by several users, such as when the abstracted versions are made available onhost server40,LAN50, or a wide area network, may save processing time because the versions do not have to be created each time that a request for an abstracted version of an electronic document occurs. Essentially, the abstracted version of the electronic document may be created by a user using the methods ofFIGS. 2,3, and4 who desires to make a version of an electronic document available to other users. Then, when a user selects a version of anelectronic document55bfrom, forexample LAN50, the selected version fromversion55dmay be outputted rather that executing a set ofinstructions55cwithcomputer program55a.

It should be understood that thecomputer program30aimplementing the method of abstracting an electronic document onhard drive30 may be encoded in a computer data signal embodied in a carrier frequency wave. This computer data signal may be transferred to thecomputer20 through a data line, such as when electronic information is sent from one computer to another over theInternet100.

A means for storing an electronic document and a means for storing a set of instructions may be a CD-ROM, floppy diskette, hard drive, programmable-ROM, RAM, CD-RW drive, file server or their equivalents. Also, a means for outputting an abstracted version of the electronic document may be a computer monitor, printer, floppy diskette, hard drive, programmable-ROM, RAM, CD-RW drive, file server or their equivalents. Further, a means for abstracting the electronic document may be a machine capable of executing a set of instructions for abstracting the electronic document, such as a computer or its equivalent.

The present invention can be embodied in the form of methods and apparatus for practicing those methods. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of program code embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a machine, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such a over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code segments combine with the processor to provided a unique device that operates analogously to specific logic circuits.

Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claim should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of abstracting an electronic document, comprising:

responsive to a subject matter of interest selection, creating an abstracted version of the electronic document by executing a set of instructions corresponding to the electronic document;

wherein the set of instructions comprise a plurality of weights assigned to respective portions of the electronic document, including weights based upon a correlation between the subject matter of interest selection and the contents of each portion; and

outputting the abstracted version of the electronic document in a predetermined format.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions are attached to the electronic document.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for removing grammatical articles.

4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for removing grammatical adverbs.

5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for removing grammatical adjectives.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for contracting verb clauses.

7. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising:

responsive to a selection of a desired abstracted version of said electronic document from a plurality of available abstracted version choices, executing a set of instructions for abstracting said electronic document, said set of instructions adapted to create the desired abstracted version when executed.

8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the set of instructions further comprise a description of at least one abstracted version capable of being created by executing the set of instructions.

9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein said executing step comprises identifying a subset of said plurality of weights, said subset associated with said selected abstracted version to be created, and removing portions of said electronic document based on said subset.

10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the subject matter of interest is selected from a defined group of pre-defined subject matter choices.

11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the set of instructions further comprises:

a subset of instructions for searching for terms related to the selected subject matter.

12. A system for abstracting an electronic document comprising:

means for creating an abstracted version of the electronic document by executing a set of instructions corresponding to the electronic document responsive to a subject matter of interest selection;

wherein the set of instructions comprise a plurality of weights assigned to respective portions of the electronic document, including weights based upon a correlation between the selected subject matter of interest and the contents of each portion; and

means for outputting the abstracted version of the electronic document in a predetermined format.

13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the set of instructions are attached to the electronic document.

14. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for removing grammatical articles, removing grammatical adverbs or a combination thereof.

15. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for removing grammatical adjectives.

16. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the set of instructions comprise instructions for contracting verb clauses.

17. The system ofclaim 12 further comprising:

means for receiving a selection of a desired abstracted version of said electronic document from a plurality of available abstracted version choices; and

means for executing a set of instructions for abstracting said electronic document, said set of instructions adapted to create the desired abstracted version when executed.

18. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the set of instructions further comprise a description of at least one abstracted version capable of being created by executing the set of instructions.

19. The system ofclaim 17, wherein said set of instructions further comprises:

means for identifying a subset of said plurality of weights, said subset associated with said selected abstracted version to be created; and

means for removing portions of said electronic document based on said subset.

20. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the subject matter of interest is selected from a defined group of pre-defined subject matter choices.

21. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the set of instructions further comprises:

22. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed perform the following steps: