Progressive reference system, method and apparatus

摘要

A written document (hereinafter referred to as a “work,” on electronic format which includes, stories, novels, education texts, biographies, compilations, collections, anthologies, tracts, and any other traditional format for relatively extensive texts) provides access to reference, bibliography and/or definition material through an electronic software capability associated with the work. Depending upon reader access information or characteristics (e.g., age, grade, proficiency, or position within the work or any other identifiable reader characteristic or access limitation), any request for reference material, definitions, explanations, translations, or other material provided in the associated software capability is automatically limited by system acknowledgement of the reader access information or characteristics. As the reader's access information or characteristics change, the quality and/or quantity and/or format of requested information with respect to a work changes.

主权项

1. A reading device for displaying an electronic text and for accessing information relevant to the electronic text, comprising:
a display screen; a processor coupled to a memory, the memory storing the electronic text and a software program; wherein the processor is programmed to access information relevant to the electronic text by: displaying at least a portion of the electronic text on the display screen; responsive to a selection from the display screen of a word or phrase from the electronic text on the display screen in situ, identifying only a selected word or phrase in the electronic text immediately previous to the selected word or phrase on the display screen and determining a location of the selected word or phrase in the electronic text immediately previous to the selected word or phrase on the display screen; and automatically displaying a sentence in which the selected word or phrase in the electronic text immediately previous to the selected word or phrase on the display screen appears.