# US 2017/0255353 A1 · Accessible Reading Mode Techniques For Electronic Devices > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2017/0255353 A1 - Document ID: US20170255353A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/601,153 - Filed: 2017-05-22 - Published: 2017-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2012-07-20 - Assignees: Nook Digital, LLC - Applicants: Nook Digital, LLC - Inventors: Harold E. Cohn; Luis D. Mosquera; Matthew Pallakoff - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170255353A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/0483: Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor - G06F 3/0482: Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus - G06F 3/04883: for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract Techniques are disclosed for providing accessible reading modes in electronic computing devices. The user can transition between a manual reading mode and an automatic reading mode using a transition gesture. The manual reading mode may allow the user to navigate through content, share content with others, aurally sample and select content, adjust the reading rate, font, volume, or configure other reading and/or device settings. The automatic reading mode facilitates an electronic device reading automatically and continuously from a predetermined point with a selected voice font, volume, and rate, and only responds to a limited number of command gestures that may include scrolling to the next or previous sentence, paragraph, page, chapter, section or other content boundary. For each reading mode, earcons may guide the selection and/or navigation techniques, indicate content boundaries, confirm user actions or selections, or to otherwise provide an intuitive and accessible user experience. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device, comprising: a touch sensitive surface for allowing user input; and an accessible user interface facilitating use of the touch sensitive surface by a visually impaired user, the accessible user interface including an automatic reading mode that activates in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the automatic reading mode configured to: automatically and continuously aurally present textual content from a predetermined point; disregard all contacts on the touch sensitive surface other than touch gestures to transition out of the automatic reading mode, and touch gestures to at least one of scroll by sentence, scroll by page, and scroll by chapter; and create a virtual bookmark on a currently displayed page if a gesture is performed to scroll to another chapter, and the currently displayed page is not at a beginning of a chapter; and transition between the automatic reading mode and a manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, the manual reading mode configured to aurally present textual content at a current read point that is selected by a corresponding selection gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the virtual bookmark prompts an additional stop on a corresponding bookmarked page in response to a subsequent chapter scrolling gesture to proceed over the bookmarked page. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the accessible user interface is further configured to transition between the automatic reading mode and the manual reading mode in response to a transition gesture received anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the automatic reading mode is further configured to perform one or more of: scroll by paragraph and scroll by sentence in response to a corresponding swipe gesture detected at any location on the touch sensitive surface acting as a single control feature. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first block of textual content starting at a current read point in the textual content in response to a first manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, and to aurally present a second block of textual content starting at an end point of the first block in response to a second manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein a block of textual content is one or more sentences. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to aurally present a first sentence of textual content in response to a first horizontal swipe gesture, and a second sentence of textual content that directly follows the first sentence in response to a second horizontal swipe gesture. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive surface is a touch screen display. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the manual reading mode is further configured to select a word in response to a first tap gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface after the word is aurally presented, and in response to one or more subsequently gestures detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, cause an action to be performed by the device on at least the selected word. ### Claim 9 A device, comprising: a touch sensitive surface for allowing user input; and an accessible user interface facilitating use of the touch sensitive surface by a visually impaired user, the accessible user interface configured to activate an automatic reading mode in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the automatic reading mode configured to: automatically and continuously aurally present textual content from a predetermined point in a current line of textual content; and responsive to a skip gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, skip the automatic and continuous aural presentation of a portion of the current line of textual content and start automatic and continuous aural presentation of one of a previous line preceding the current line or a subsequent line following the current line. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the skip gesture detected by the accessible user interface to skip the remaining portion of the current line and start the automatic and continuous aural presentation of the previous line preceding the current line is a leftward horizontal drag gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the skip gesture detected by the accessible user interface to skip the remaining portion of the current line and start the automatic and continuous aural presentation of the subsequent line following the current line is a rightward horizontal drag gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the previous line immediately precedes the current line and the subsequent line immediately follows the current line. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the skipped portion of the current line comprises at least one word in the current line. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, the automatic reading mode further configured to create a virtual bookmark on a currently displayed page if a gesture is performed to scroll to another chapter or to multiple pages away from the currently displayed page, and the currently displayed page is not at a beginning of a chapter. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, the automatic reading mode further configured to transition to a manual reading mode in response a manual reading mode activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the manual reading mode configured to aurally present a first block of textual content starting at a current read point in response to a first manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, and to aurally present a second block of textual content starting at an end point of the first block in response to a second manual read gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, wherein a block of textual content is one or more sentences. ### Claim 16 A computer program product including at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause a process to be carried out, the process comprising: enabling an accessible user interface facilitating use of a computing device having a touch sensitive surface by a visually impaired user, the accessible user interface configured to activate an automatic reading mode in response to an activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, the automatic reading mode configured to: automatically and continuously aurally present textual content from a predetermined point in a current line of textual content; and responsive to a skip gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface, skipping the automatic and continuous aural presentation of a portion of the current line of textual content and start automatic and continuous aural presentation of one of a previous line preceding the current line or a subsequent line following the current line. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the skip gesture detected by the accessible user interface to skip the remaining portion of the current line and start the automatic and continuous aural presentation of the previous line preceding the current line is a leftward horizontal drag gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the skip gesture detected by the accessible user interface to skip the remaining portion of the current line and start the automatic and continuous aural presentation of the subsequent line following the current line is a rightward horizontal drag gesture detected anywhere on the touch sensitive surface. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the previous line immediately precedes the current line and the subsequent line immediately follows the current line. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the skipped portion of the current line comprises at least one word in the current line.