Electronic Book Pagination via Printed Page Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic books lack page numbering, making it difficult to correlate locations within them with printed versions, as they are often specified in byte, character, or word offsets, leading to navigation and citation challenges.
Innovation Solution
A system that images a printed version of an electronic book, processes the pages using OCR to extract text and page labels, and creates a page/position map to cross-reference page numbers with electronic book positions, allowing users to navigate and cite using page numbers matching the printed version.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If electronic books use byte/character/word offsets to indicate locations, then the electronic book can be stored and processed digitally, but it becomes difficult to navigate and cite locations compared to printed versions with page numbers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mapping system that translates between byte/character offsets and page numbers. This mapping layer acts as a mediator between the digital representation (offsets) and the user-friendly representation (page numbers), allowing users to navigate using familiar page numbers while the system internally processes digital offsets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the printed book's pagination structure within the electronic book format. By preserving page number assignments and structural divisions from the printed version, the electronic book maintains the familiar navigation paradigm while benefiting from digital storage and processing capabilities.
2Adaptability or versatility
If electronic books are formatted with dynamic page divisions based on display size and font settings, then the book is adaptable to different devices and user preferences, but page numbers no longer correspond to printed version pages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the electronic book into fixed-page versions and continuous-scroll versions. The fixed-page version maintains static page divisions that correspond to the printed version, while the continuous-scroll version provides dynamic reflow. This segmentation allows users to choose the appropriate view mode based on their need for correspondence vs. adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic page rendering that adjusts layout, font size, and line spacing based on display characteristics, while maintaining the underlying page number structure. The pagination system dynamically calculates optimal rendering parameters for each device while preserving the logical page divisions that correspond to the printed version.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic book can be paginated by reference to a print version of the same book. Pages of the print version are scanned to obtain text strings and page labels corresponding to each of the pages. The text strings are then compared to the electronic book to find the best matching positions within the electronic book. The matching positions within the electronic book are then associated with the page numbers of the pages from which the matching text strings were obtained. Autocorrelation can be used to determine matching positions.