Abstract:
Systems and methods of the present technology generally provide computer implemented assistance for data summary, including organizing and generating a summary of data selected form source documents. In accordance with the present technology, a user identifies a subset of information from one or more source documents, assigns an identifier to the user-identified information, and may add custom information. The user can repeat the identification and assignment steps using multiple source documents, as many times as desired. The system then analyzes and prioritizes the user-identified information and any custom information, and generates a formatted summary.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/793,717, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, currently pending, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present technology generally relates to computer-aided data summary systems and methods that assist users with analyzing data and, more particularly, to a method and system for obtaining, analyzing, labeling, organizing, combining, modifying, and/or summarizing data using single- and multi-action operations. 
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Professionals and students often require the analysis and manipulation of data and information. Such individuals may practice or study in, without limitation, the fields of law, business, finance, medicine, legal education, business education, medical education, graduate education, undergraduate education, and K-12 education. 
         [0004]    Existing technology generally requires users to: (i) either obtain pre-sorted data in excess of usability requirements or manually search for, gather, and organize multiple documents from various sources, (ii) obtain and utilize several tools to label and annotate such data, and/or (iii) manually organize, integrate, and summarize the original data with user-created data. 
         [0005]    A need exists for a system and/or method that organizes information from multiple sources, allows users to easily and efficiently label such information, allows users to modify such information, allows users to combine and separate such information with other information, and displays all such information in a user-friendly format. Such a system, by automating and streamlining many labor-intensive steps involved in the above processes, would reduce the amount of work for, and increase the efficiency of users. 
         [0006]    The systems and methods of the present technology can be used to automate and streamline many of these steps involved in these processes, through, but not limited to, single-action functionality. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Examples of the present technology can include components of a cloud-based (or other Internet-based) or device-based (such as a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or other device) platform that provides a user with a streamlined interface/display with the functionality to display, label, organize, integrate, modify, and/or summarize information. Additional functionality includes, but is not limited to, simplified information selection, copying, cutting and pasting, labeling/tagging, separation of annotations from information, integration of information, sorting through and displaying similar information or distinguishing dissimilar information, and other functions, either through single-action operation or otherwise, to provide an efficient user experience. 
         [0008]    In one aspect, a data summary system is provided that includes at least one user device, at least one system server, and a communication link that operatively connects the at least one user device and the at least one system server. The at least one user device can include at least one user device processor and at least one user device non-transitory computer readable medium. The at least one system server can include at least one system server including at least one system processor and at least one system non-transitory computer readable medium. Program instructions can be stored on the at least one system non-transitory computer readable medium, which can be executed by the at least one system processor. When executed, the program instructions can cause the system server to perform steps of: receiving a first dataset from the at least one user device, the first dataset including user-identified information, a unique identifier associated with the user-identified information, and a user identifier; storing the user-identified information and the unique identifier in a user profile based on the user identifier; receiving subsequent datasets if necessary; storing subsequent information; and generating a summary including the user-identified information. 
         [0009]    Additionally, or alternatively, the user device can include offline capability, allowing a user to use the user device to enter and store data, and even generate summaries, such as in examples where the communications link is not immediately available when the user uses the system. Accordingly, program instructions can be stored on the at least one user device non-transitory computer readable medium, which can be executed by the at least one user device processor. When executed, the program instructions can cause the user device to perform steps of: receiving a first dataset entered by a user, the first dataset including user-identified information, a unique identifier associated with the user-identified information, and a user identifier; storing the first dataset; receiving subsequent datasets if necessary; storing the subsequent datasets; generating a summary including the user-identified information; and synchronizing information on the at least one system server when the communications link is available. 
         [0010]    In another aspect, a method is provided that can be implemented by a data summary system comprising at least one user device, at least one system server, and a communication link that operatively connects the at least one user device and the at least one system server. The method can include steps of the at least one system server receiving a first dataset from the at least one user device via the communication link, the first dataset including user-identified information, a unique identifier associated with the user-identified information, and a user identifier; the at least one system server storing the user-identified information and the unique identifier in a user profile based on the user identifier; receiving subsequent datasets if necessary; storing subsequent information; and the at least one system server generating a summary including the user-identified information and custom information. 
         [0011]    In an example where the communications link is not immediately available when the user uses the system, the method can include the steps of: the at least one user device receiving a first dataset entered by a user and storing the first dataset, the first dataset including user-identified information, a unique identifier associated with the user-identified information, and a user identifier; the at least one user device receiving and storing subsequent datasets if necessary; the at least one user device generating a summary including the user-identified information and custom information; and the at least one user device synchronizing information on the at least one system server when the communications link is available. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Specific examples have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates a diagram of hardware system components for one example of a data summary system of the present technology. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a diagram of one example of software system components that can be used in the system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a data summary method of the present technology. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of how a user could associate user-identified information with a unique identifier. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates one example of user-identified information before single-action operation. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates one example of a summary created by single-action operation. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates one embodiment of how a user can aggregate, manipulate, and distinguish information from multiple summaries. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates a merged view showing one embodiment of the linking between  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of the of merging summary data with original content. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrates an embodiment of the system architecture of one example of a data summary system  100  of the present technology. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the data organizing system includes at least one user device  102  and at least one system server  104 , and a communication link  106 , through which the user device  102  and system server  104  are operatively connected. The term “operatively connected” as used herein means that the at least one user device  102  and the at least one system server  104  can send and receive data to one another through the communication link  106 . The communication link  106  can include a wired connection or a wireless connection, and can be via a local area network (LAN) connection, or via a wide area network (WAN) connection, such as the Internet. 
         [0023]    The hardware components of each of the user device  102  and the system server  104  include at least one processor, and at least one non-transient computer readable storage medium, such as a memory. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the user device  102  includes at least one user device processor  108  and at least one user device memory  110 , and the system server includes at least one system processor  112  and at least one system memory  114 . The user device  102  can also include an input device  134 , that the user can use to input commands to the user device  102 , such as selection of user-identified information. The input device  134  can include one or more of a keyboard, a mouse, an electronic pointing device, a touch screen, or any other suitable device. 
         [0024]    Examples of system architecture components of each of the user device  102  and the system server  104  are illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0025]    As shown, the user device  102  includes a browser  116 , which is assigned a unique user identifier  118 . The user identifier  118  is an identifier that identifies the user device  102  to the server system  104 . The user identifier may be stored in a file referred to as a “cookie.” In one example, the server system  104  can assign and send the user identifier  118  to the user device  102  once, when the user device  102  first interacts with the server system  104 . Once the user device  102  receives the user identifier  118 , the user device stores the user identifier  118 , such as in the user device memory  110 , and provides it with every message sent to the server system  104 . The server system  104 , which can have communication links with any number of user devices, can thus identify the user device  102  as being the source of the message. 
         [0026]    As also shown in  FIG. 2 , the system server  104  can include a server engine  120 , user profile database  122  including a stored user profile  132  associated with each user identifier, a website database  124  including web pages, a unique identifier database  126 , a user-identified information database  128 , and a custom information database  130 . Each database of the server system  104  can be stored in the system memory  114 . The server engine  120  can include at least the system processor  112 . 
         [0027]    In the illustrated example, the server system  104  associates, and operatively links, each user identifier  118  with a user profile  132  stored in the user profile database  122 , unique identifiers, user-identified information identified by the user device  102 , and custom information received from the user device  102 . 
         [0028]    In some examples, the server engine  120  receives HTTP requests from a user device  102  to access web pages identified by URLs, and provides the requested web pages from the website database  124  to the user device  102 . However, one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the summary techniques described herein could be used in various environments other than the Internet. For example, the summaries could also be in an electronic mail environment. Also, a server system  104  or user device  102  may include any combination of hardware or software suitable for performing the methods described herein. For example, a user device  102  may comprise any combination of hardware or software that can interact with the server system  104 . Either the user device  102  or the server system  104  can include one or more handheld devices, personal computers or television- or tablet-based systems, or various consumer computer products through which information may be generated. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates one example of a data summary method of the present technology. At step  202 , a user uses the user device  102  to identify user-identified information in a source document. The source document can be any electronic document, such as digital text, media, web pages, or other content to be included in the summary. The user can identify the user-identified information by selecting a subset of text in a source document, such as by highlighting the text and clicking a mouse to select the text. Once the user has selected the user-identified information, the user may be prompted to associate such user-identified information with a unique identifier. At step  204 , the user associates a unique identifier with the user-identified information. The user can select the unique identifier associated with the user-identified information from a plurality of predefined unique identifiers, such as a listing of unique identifiers presented in a drop-down menu. Alternatively, the unique identifiers can be customized by the user. At step  206 , the summary system allows the user to input or modify additional custom information under the unique identifier. The user device  102  then sends a first dataset to the server system  104  via the communication link  106 . The first data set includes the user identifier  118 , the user-identified information, and the unique identifier associated with the user-identified information. The server system  104  receives the first dataset, recognizes the user identifier, and stores the user-identified information in the user&#39;s profile. If the user did not input or modify additional custom information, the server system  104  saves the user-identified information under the unique identifier chosen by the user. However, if the user did modify or input custom information, the server system  104  saves the new or modified custom information, along with the user-identified information. 
         [0030]    At step  210 , the summary system determines whether the user is done creating user-identified information. If the user is not done, the method repeats steps  202  through  208 , with the user selecting user-identified information from any one or more source documents, which can be the same or different from the original source document and each other. If the user has completed identifying user-identified information, the method progresses to step  212 . 
         [0031]    At step  212 , the server system enables the generation of a data summary. In some examples, the user can cause the server system  104 , or the user device  102 , to generate the summary with a single action. For example, the user can enter a single command, such as a mouse click on a button in a selection box displayed by the user device  102 , which the user device  102  sends to the system server  104 , in order to cause the server system  104  to create a summary of the user-identified information and any custom information. In an example where the user device is being used offline, the user can enter the single command in order to cause the user device  102  to create a summary of the user-identified information and any custom information. If the user enters the command, summary system  100  proceeds to step  214 , where the summary system  100 , either through the server system  104  or the user device  102 , reformats the user-identified information and the associated unique identifier, and reformats the information in order to generate a summary. Generating a summary includes prioritizing and formatting the information received from the user. For example, if custom information is present under a unique identifier, the summary system  100  can format the custom information in the summary, including prioritizing the custom information relative to, such as above or below, the user-identified information for any given unique identifier at step  216 . Additionally, at step  218 , the system formats the user-identified information into the summary. In generating the summary, the summary system  100  can link the summarized information to the original information and vice versa at step  220 . Finally, at step  222 , the summary system  100  can provide the generated summary to the user. If the server system  104  generated the summary, the summary can be provided to the user by sending the generated summary to the user device  102  via the communication link  106 . 
         [0032]    In examples where the user can cause the summary to be generated with a single action, once the user initiates the single-action (via a mouse click, keystroke, or otherwise), the system generates a formatted summary. The summary system  100  can also allow the user to modify the generated summary. In general, the user need only enter the user-identified information, and any custom information, under each unique identifier, and then execute the single action in order to generate a summary. Such systems can allow the user to efficiently and reliably generate a summary of digital text, media, web pages, or other content. 
         [0033]    In alternative examples, a multi-action operation can be used, which can include defining a custom summary format through multiple mouse clicks and/or keystrokes prior to generating the summary. 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of how the user can assign a unique identifier  300  to a selection of user-identified information  302 . In this example, once the user-identified information  302  is selected by the user, a unique identifier selection box  304  is displayed by the user device  102 , providing the user with various predefined or common unique identifiers  300 . These may include, as examples only, Fact, Issue, Procedure, Reasoning, Rule, Holding, Notes. The user can then select the unique identifier  300  to be associated with the user-identified information  302  through a single action (via a mouse click or otherwise) or multiple actions. Once a particular unique identifier  300  is selected by the user (via a mouse click or otherwise), the summary system  100  associates that unique identifier  300  with the particular selection of user-identified information  302 , and saves such association for possible further processing. The summary system  100  can allow the user to modify and customize the unique identifiers  300  and the unique identifier selection box  304 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  illustrates one example of content where the user has identified user-identified information  400 , and associated the user-identified information  400  with unique identifiers  402  and the system has saved such information under the user&#39;s profile. In some instances, the user has input custom information  404  under the unique identifiers. The summary system  100  stores the user-identified information  400 , the unique identifiers  402 , and the custom information  404  in the system server  104  in association with the user identifier  118 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  illustrates one example of a summary  500  generated by the system server  104  of the summary system  100 . The summary  500  includes a listing of each unique identifier  502 . Under each unique identifier  502 , any custom information  504  and user-identified information  506  associated with the unique identifier  502  are listed. The custom information  504  is illustrated as being prioritized over the user-identified information  506  for each unique identifier  502 . The system can, however, be customized to prioritize custom and user-identified information in any order. 
         [0037]    The summary system  100  can also aggregate multiple summaries, and allow the user to view user-identified information and/or custom information by unique identifier across multiple summaries.  FIG. 7  illustrates one example of how multiple summaries  600  can be aggregated and how unique identifiers can be used to filter and/or distinguish information from multiple summaries. In this example, a unique identifier activation box  602  is used to allow the user to select desired unique identifiers  604 , by checking the indicated selection box(es). The summary system  100  generates a display of all of the user-identified information  606  and custom information  608  associated with the selected unique identifiers  602 . An information type selection box  610  can be used to display user-identified information  606 , custom information  608 , or both. In this example, the information type selection box  610  differs from the unique identifier activation box  602  in that the information type selection box  610  allows the user to choose to display either user-identified information  606  or custom information  608 , or both, across multiple summaries, while the unique identifier activation box  602  allows the user to choose to display information (either user-identified information  606  or custom information  608 , or both) associated with certain unique identifiers (and exclude others) across multiple summaries  600 . Thus, a compilation of summaries can be created by the summary system  100 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 8  illustrates an integrated view of source document  702  and a summary  704  in a split-screen display  700 . The source document  702  includes the original digital text, media, web pages, or other content. As shown, the summary system can link the summarized information to the original information in the source document, and vice versa. This example also includes a notes area  706 , for the user to input additional information. 
         [0039]      FIG. 9  is a flow diagram of a process for generating the split screen view of  FIG. 8 . At step  802 , the server system  104  generates the summary, which can be in accordance with the process illustrated in  FIG. 3 . At step  804 , the summary system enables the user to select a split view, such as by displaying a selection box to the user via the user device and sending a user selection to the system server  104 . At step  806 , the split screen is generated by the server system  104 , and sent to the user device  102  to be displayed to the user. In generating the split screen, the summary system  100  can maintain the links between the source document and the user-identified information. Additionally, at step  808 , the summary system can also generate the notes area  706 , which can be sent to the user device  102  to be displayed to the user, where the user can input additional information. 
         [0040]    From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that although specific examples have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to particularly point out and distinctly claim the claimed subject matter.