Obtaining and using data associating annotating activities with portions of recordings

#The present invention relates to techniques for obtaining and using data that associate annotating activities with portions of recordings.

#U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,063 discloses a notetaking system based on a notepad computer with an integrated audio/video recorder, whereby a document is created or retrieved. As the user types on the computer's keyboard or writes with a stylus on a touchscreen, each character or stroke that is input by the user is invisibly time-stamped by the computer. The audio/video stream is continuously time-stamped during recording. To play a section of the recording back, the user selects part of the note and invokes a “playback selection” command. The computer then examines the time-stamp and winds the records to the corresponding place in the audio/video recording, where it starts playing, so that the user hears and/or sees what was being recorded at the instant the selected text or strokes were input.

#Whittaker, S., Hyland, P., and Wiley, M., “Filochat: Handwritten Notes Provide Access to Recorded Conversations”, Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI '94 Conference Proceedings, ACM, 1994, pp. 271-277, describe a semi-portable device that integrates handwriting and recorded audio using a write-on tablet connected to a PC. It allows users to access particular points in recorded speech via handwritten notes using temporal indexing. The system co-indexes notes and recorded speech. Users could later identify what was said about a particular topic by selecting a seek option on an audio menu and then gesturing at the part of their notes taken at the time the topic was discussed; the system would play back what was said at the exact time that the original notes were taken.

#FIG. 1 illustrates components of a document printed on a coded substrate.

#FIG. 2 shows schematically a sample of zones, and the disposition of machine readable markings, on a coded substrate.

#FIGS. 3 and 4 show how digital data can be encoded in markings printed in a zone of the type illustrated in FIG. 2.

#The following definitions are helpful in understanding the broad scope of the invention, and the terms defined below have the indicated meanings throughout this application, including the claims.

#A “processor” or “processing circuitry” is a component that responds to input signals by performing processing operations on data and by providing output signals. The input signals may, for example, include instructions, although not all processors receive instructions. The input signals to a processor may include input data for the processor's operations. The output signals similarly may include output data resulting from the processor's operations. A processor or processing circuitry may include one or more central processing units or other processing components.

#A processor or processing circuitry performs an operation or a function “automatically” when it performs the operation or function independent of concurrent human intervention or control.