Custom dictionaries for E-books

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9361291-B2
Application number	US-201514663903-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2015
Priority date	Dec 14, 2012
Publication date	Jun 7, 2016
Grant date	Jun 7, 2016

Abstract

A custom dictionary is generated for an e-book. A dictionary management system receives a custom dictionary request from a user client operated by a user, the custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including dictionary management information describing the user. The dictionary management system chooses a group reader profile that has an associated group reading score for the user based on the dictionary management information and candidate words are identified in the identified e-book for inclusion in the custom dictionary. The dictionary management system selects words for inclusion in the custom dictionary from among the candidate words responsive to the associated group reading score for the chosen group reading profile. The dictionary management system generates the custom dictionary using the selected words, and provides the generated custom dictionary to the user client.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method of generating a custom dictionary for an e-book, comprising:
receiving a first custom dictionary request from a user client operated by a user, the first custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including dictionary management information describing the user;
choosing a first reading level threshold for the user based on the dictionary management information;
identifying a first set of candidate words in the identified e-book for inclusion in the first custom dictionary;
selecting words for inclusion in the first custom dictionary from among the first set of candidate words based in part on the first reading level threshold;
generating the first custom dictionary using the selected words and word definition information for each of the selected words; and
providing the generated first custom dictionary to the user client.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the dictionary management information comprises information describing the user's e-book usage.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein choosing the first reading level threshold comprises:
identifying a plurality of group reading profiles each having an associated group reading score;
comparing the dictionary management information describing the user with demographic information associated with the plurality of group reading profiles;
choosing a group reading profile for the user from among the plurality of group reading profiles responsive to the comparison; and
determining the first reading level threshold based on the chosen group reading profile.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein each candidate word has a complexity score that indicates a likelihood that the word is not known by the user, and selecting words from among the first set of candidate words for inclusion in the first custom dictionary comprises selecting candidate words that have complexity scores higher than the reading level threshold.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising:
adjusting a complexity score for a candidate word responsive to the dictionary management information associated with the user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second custom dictionary request from the user client, the second custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including a second reading level threshold that is higher than the first reading level threshold;
selecting a second set of candidate words that have higher complexity scores than the first reading level threshold;
generating a second custom dictionary using the selected second set of candidate words; and
providing the generated second custom dictionary to the user client.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second custom dictionary request from the user client, the second custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including a second reading level threshold that is lower than the first reading level threshold;
selecting a second set of candidate words that have lower complexity scores than the first reading level threshold;
retrieving word definition information for the selected second set of candidate words that was not part of the first custom dictionary; and
providing the retrieved word definition information to the user client.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions for generating a custom dictionary for an e-book, the instructions executable to perform steps comprising:
receiving a first custom dictionary request from a user client operated by a user, the first custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including dictionary management information describing the user;
choosing a first reading level threshold for the user based on the dictionary management information;
identifying a first set of candidate words in the identified e-book for inclusion in the first custom dictionary;
selecting words for inclusion in the first custom dictionary from among the first set of candidate words based in part on the first reading level threshold;
generating the first custom dictionary using the selected words and word definition information for each of the selected words; and
providing the generated first custom dictionary to the user client.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the dictionary management information comprises information describing the user's e-book usage.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein choosing the first reading level threshold for the user comprises:
identifying a plurality of group reading profiles each having an associated group reading score;
comparing the dictionary management information describing the user with demographic information associated with the plurality of group reading profiles;
choosing a group reading profile for the user from among the plurality of group reading profiles responsive to the comparison; and
determining the first reading level threshold based on the chosen group reading profile.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein each candidate word has a complexity score that indicates a likelihood that the word is not known by the user, and selecting words from among the first set of candidate words for inclusion in the first custom dictionary comprises selecting candidate words that have complexity scores higher than the first reading level threshold.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising:
adjusting a complexity score for a candidate word responsive to the dictionary management information associated with the user.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving a second custom dictionary request from the user client, the second custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including a second reading level threshold that is higher than the first reading level threshold;
selecting a second set of candidate words that have higher complexity scores than the first reading level threshold;
generating a second custom dictionary using the selected second set of candidate words; and
providing the generated second custom dictionary to the user client.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving a second custom dictionary request from the user client, the second custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including a second reading level threshold that is lower than the first reading level threshold;
selecting a second set of candidate words that have lower complexity scores than the first reading level threshold;
retrieving word definition information for the selected second set of candidate words that was not part of the custom dictionary; and
providing the retrieved word definition information to the user client.

15. A system for generating a custom dictionary for an e-book, comprising:
a processor configured to execute modules; and
a memory storing the modules, the modules comprising:
a user account manager module configured to receive a first custom dictionary request from a user client operated by a user, the first custom dictionary request identifying the e-book and including dictionary management information describing the user,
a group profiler module configured to choose a first reading level threshold for the user based on the dictionary management information,
a word identifier module configured to identify a first set of candidate words in the identified e-book for inclusion

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Puppin Diego

Classifications

• G06F40/242 Primary

  Dictionaries · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• G09B5/062 Primary

  Combinations of audio and printed presentations, e.g. magnetically striped cards, talking books, magnetic tapes with printed texts thereon · CPC title

• G06F17/2735 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic