Systems and methods for improving the readability of content

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for improving readability of content wherein content is organized into segments that are each displayed on a respective row on a display device. Each segment is made up of characters such as letters and punctuation. The text in a particular row, the reading row, on the display device is displayed differently than the text in the other rows. Each row is consecutively displayed in the reading row until the user has seen each segment of the content presented in the reading row. Users are able to configure the display of the reading row text and text in other rows independently.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory computer readable medium for improving readability of content on a display device, comprising instructions stored thereon, which when executed on a processor, perform the steps of:
 displaying a pane on the display, the pane having a stationary reading row associated with a first readability parameter and a plurality of stationary background rows associated with a second readability parameter different than the first readability parameter;   organizing content into a plurality of segments;   displaying a first one of the segments in the stationary reading row in accordance with the first readability parameter;   displaying other ones of the segments respectively in the stationary background rows in accordance with the second readability parameter; and   in response to a transition prompt, displaying one of the other segments in the stationary reading row in accordance with the first readability parameter.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein each of the first readability parameter and the second readability parameter includes at least one of a background color, a text color, a font size, a font type, and a contrast ratio. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the transition prompt is generated in response to a signal received from an input device. 
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the transition prompt is generated at a set time after generation of a previous transition prompt. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the first segment on a stationary background row in response to the transition prompt. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the step of displaying one of the other segments in the stationary reading row includes scrolling the other segment from a stationary background row to the stationary reading row. 
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 6 , wherein the scrolling is performed in accordance with a scrolling mode. 
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the scrolling mode includes one of a horizontal scrolling mode, a vertical scrolling mode and a stepped scrolling mode. 
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 8 , wherein the scrolling mode is selected in accordance with a signal received from an input device. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of a word or character of the first segment displayed in the stationary reading row; and   displaying a signifier associated with the selected word or character.   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for improving the readability of content, comprising:
 a display;   a processor operatively coupled to the display;   a memory operatively coupled to the processor;   executable instructions stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the executable instructions operable to perform the steps of:
 displaying a pane on the display, the pane having a stationary reading row associated with a first readability parameter and a plurality of stationary background rows associated with a second readability parameter different than the first readability parameter; 
 organizing content into a plurality of segments; 
 displaying a first one of the segments in the stationary reading row in accordance with the first readability parameter; 
 displaying other ones of the segments respectively in the stationary background rows in accordance with the second readability parameter, and 
 in response to a transition prompt, displaying one of the other segments in the stationary reading row in accordance with the first readability parameter. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein each of the first readability parameter and the second readability parameter includes at least one of a background color, a text color, a font size, a font type, and a contrast ratio. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising an input device, wherein the transition prompt is generated in response to a signal received from the input device. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the transition prompt is generated at a set time after generation of a previous transition prompt. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the executable instructions are operable to perform the additional step of displaying the first segment on a stationary background row in response to the transition prompt. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the step of displaying one of the other segments in the stationary reading row includes scrolling the other segment from a stationary background row to the stationary reading row. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the scrolling is performed in accordance with a scrolling mode. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the scrolling mode includes one of a horizontal scrolling mode, a vertical scrolling mode and a stepped scrolling mode. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , further comprising an input device, wherein the scrolling mode is selected in accordance with a signal received from the input device. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the executable instructions are operable to perform the additional steps of:
 receiving a selection of a word or character of the first segment displayed in the stationary reading row; and   displaying a signifier associated with the selected word or character.