INTERNET ACCESSED TEXT-TO-SPEECH READING ASSISTANT
An electronically accessible server that on demand provisions program elements to be locally controlled by a subscriber's device. Upon termination of work session the server deactivates all provisioned elements and the subscriber becomes free to reinitiate program elements to be controlled by the same or another computer.
This non provisional application claims the benefit and is a continuation of the non provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/430,859 that has a filing date of May 10, 2006, but claims the benefit of the provisional patent application of Ser. No. 60/681,350, filed 2005 May 16 by the present inventor. Each application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCHNot Applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAMNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer software systems and, more particularly, to an internet system providing a service to subscribers in which a server delivers as requested text-to-speech capabilities to the subscriber's computer.
2. Prior Art
Advances in computer technology have generated exceptional software systems providing fast text-to-speech algorithms that faithfully synthesize audio renditions of text materials suited to the requirements of many people. Programs such as the Kurzweil Reading system (6199042), the web based WYNN Wizard and TextAloud are examples of these programs. The teaching environment, in particular, could profit by widespread use of this technology. People learn best using multiple sensory inputs and these systems not only present the text as a visual stimulus but present the audio rendition as an additional stimulus. This combination strongly focuses the reader's attention on the material and can provide a much steadier reading and comprehension rate. The current programs are installed on stand-alone computer systems connected to a peripheral reader or scanner device and are not conveniently portable between computers or computer systems. The current programs have a high up-front cost. Except for some installed individual reading stations and a few individual computer readers, the technology has not proliferated in teaching situations as it could have been expected to because of the cost of licensing and installing reading programs on the different computers used by a student in the classroom, in the library or at his home. Neither is there a convenient method of coordinating or organizing teaching or training group projects or interactive projects with such individual based systems. Because of these impediments, the text-to-speech technology has made no impact in teaching, neither for the disabled or dyslexic student nor for the mainstream student or trainee in spite of the fact that computers, both desk and laptops, are ubiquitous in and around the classroom.
3. Objects and Advantages
The disadvantages and problems associated with current techniques have been substantially reduced or eliminated by the Internet Accessed Text-To-Speech Reading Assistant.
In view of the above, the present invention is advantageous in that it allows an Internet accessed server that distributes or downloads text-to-speech program elements to a subscriber's computer and conditionally activates the programs upon a subscriber's request. This feature provides ready entree to the useful capabilities of text-to-speech programs for all subscribers with Internet access. The text-to-speech program algorithms are downloaded and, through subscriber control, locally process the text-to-speech session. The programs are customized to the operating system of the computer on which the subscriber logged onto the server. This feature provides complete portability of the text-to-speech capability independent of the location of the subscriber (e.g. classroom, library, home, away from home) or of the type of computer system (e.g. Mac, PC, etc.) on which the subscriber is working.
The Reading Assistant is advantageous in that upon session completion, the text-to-speech program is deactivated on the computer platform used by the subscriber. The text and position at which the text-to-speech is terminated is recorded as a bookmark by the server and the subscriber is logged off the system. This insures that only one computer is activated at any given time by a single subscriber. In the case where the computer is not registered by a subscriber or a subscriber group, the program elements are also de-installed from the computer at the end of the session. This feature insures that the text-to-speech software does not clutter the memory facilities of unregistered computers. Because the program elements remain installed on registered computers, only program activation has to be accomplished in any subsequent sessions saving time and bandwidth. Because of current high speed internet connections, the additional time required to reinstall program elements on non-registered computers presents only a slight increase in access time.
The Reading Assistant is advantageous in that the subscriber, whose status is off, can subsequently request another text-to-speech session through the Internet system server on the same or any other computer platform and resume with the last partially read text or with new material as desired. The use of the system is completely portable with regard to place and computer. For groups of subscribers (e.g. a classroom of students, a class of trainees, etc) prescribed reading material (i.e. teacher's lesson plan) can be stored on the server and be available to student at the most convenient computer available. Student reading progress could also be available to the teacher. All aids to the understanding of the material, Dictionaries, Thesaurus and even translation into other languages can be available to act on subscriber highlighted words in the text. Other features will also be available allowing participant to notate specific sections of the reading material for future reference, to take notes on the reading material and have available a spell and grammar checker to aid in this process. The service cost for the Reading Assistant is based on a per subscriber fee and not on a per computer license fee and because subscriber activation times are likely to be much less than 100%, software license fee can be shared.
Other aspects and advantages of the Reading Assistant will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.
SUMMARYIn accordance with the present invention an internet system provides a service to subscribers in which a server delivers as requested text-to-speech capabilities to a subscribes computer.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following drawings, in which:
The preferred embodiment of the Reading Assistant is best understood with reference to
The server 300 supports all active subscribers, validating each subscriber and logging the subscriber on and off the system, provisioning each subscriber's computer with compatible text-to-speech software, activating the software for a predetermined work period, and providing requested text or lessons.
The internet 200 provides bidirectional communication between the subscribers 1OOA, . . . , 1OON and the server 300. The internet 200 provides adequate capacity, as those versed in the art can appreciate, to support thousands of active subscribers.
The server 300 includes an agent 310, a home page 350, subscriber data file 360, plug-in module file 370, E-text library 380, and lesson library 390. The agent 310 is the software that coordinates all required server functions. The home page 350 facilitates all communications between the subscriber and agent through which log-in is initiated, requests for e-text material or stored lessons are submitted, and work sessions are terminated. Subscriber data file 360, includes all necessary subscriber identification for validation purposes, a list of subscriber registered computers, current subscriber status whether on or off line, and bookmarks for previously requested materials. Plug-in module file 370 includes all text-to-speech plug-in program modules that can be down-loaded and have versions that are compatible with the full array of computers used by the subscriber population enabling all text-to-speech activities on any of these computers, E-text library 380 contains classic books or textbooks in digital format that can be requested by subscribers. Subscriber text-to-speech activities are not limited to these materials; they form only one source of text materials. Any e-text materials, e-mails, web generated text materials, word processor reports, books from other on-line sources, and any scanned materials can serve as a source for the Reading Assistant. The lessons library 390 contains downloadable lesson materials for specific subscriber groups (school classes, training groups) which can be accessed only by members of that particular group.
A more detailed description of a subscriber interface 100 is continued with reference to
The composition of the plug-in module file 370 is detailed with reference to
The operation of the Reading Assistant is embodied in the actions of the agent 310. The specific actions of the agent 310 to a subscriber request to log-on to the Reading Assistant are accomplished according to the flow chart detailed in
Actions of agent 310 are continued with reference to
Actions of agent 310 are continued with reference to
Actions of agent 310 are continued with reference to
Actions of agent 310 are continued with reference to
From the description above, a number of advantages of my Reading Assistant become evident:
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- (a) A subscriber can access the program from any computer running any of the current operating systems that has interne access.
- (b) All text-to-speech programs features are immediately available, to the subscriber, upon his surrendering his token, from any computer and at any time.
- (c) The service provides a one subscriber fee for service instead of the conventional one computer license fee for each computer provisioned.
- (d) A wide variety of e-books, textbooks and lesson materials are available with synchronized renditions of text and audio versions of the material.
- (e) Printed material, web based textual material, e-mail and computer documents can all be processed by the text-to-speech program.
- (f) Each subscriber can choose a preferred reading rate and the system stores bookmarks for any book or lesson material that records the subscriber's reading progress in the material.
- (g) Groups such as a class or a training group can all have access to teacher supplied assignments of reading materials and feedback to the teacher of the students' progress can be provided.
Accordingly, the reader will see that the Reading Assistant provisions and activates text-to-speech programs in any subscriber utilized computer. These programs provide the subscriber with the capabilities of the text-to-speech program and local control of the program on any computer that proves convenient. Furthermore, the Reading Assistant has the additional advantage in that
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- It is organized to cater to the requirements of groups including school classes or training groups because all subscribers interact at the initiation and completion of each reading session with the server via the internet. Subscribers can be associated with groups and gain access to lesson materials specifically organized for a particular group.
- A teacher can develop a class lesson plan and execute it by providing the reading material through the server. The teacher can also monitor class progress by monitoring the statistics collected by the server.
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.
Claims
1) A system comprising:
- a. an electronically accessible computing server configured to allow a subscriber to locally control at least one electronically executable requested program using a subscriber-accessed apparatus, even when the subscriber-accessed apparatus is disconnected from the server.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 16, 2013
Publication Date: Aug 1, 2013
Inventor: Noah John SZCZEPANEK (Washington, DC)
Application Number: 13/742,558
International Classification: H04L 29/08 (20060101);