Accelerated content delivery in bandwidth-constrained networks

• US 10,387,919 B1
• Filed: 04/12/2016
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Baluja, Shumeet, Garrett, Maryam, Beust, Cedric, Gil, Elad
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US15/096,898
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics

Abstract

A communications device for providing content to a user is discussed. The device includes a communications interface configured to communicate with a remote server over a bandwidth-constrained wireless network having an inherent delay, a cache, a graphical display, and a content coordinator configured to obtain content. The content includes first content, and second content predicted by the remote server system as being directed to a category of a future information request. The content coordinator is also configured to store the received second content in the cache, receive a second information request, determine that the second information request is a request for content related to the specified category, identify some of the stored second content that corresponds to the specified category, and to display some of the identified stored second content during retrieval of responses to the second information request in less time than the inherent delay.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising:

a communications interface configured to communicate with a remote server over a bandwidth-constrained wireless network having an inherent delay;

a cache;

a graphical display to present information to a user of the device; and

a content coordinator configured to;

obtain, over the bandwidth-constrained wireless network and with the delay inherent in the bandwidth-constrained wireless network, content that comprises;

first content determined by the remote server system to be directly responsive to a first information request, and

second content predicted by the remote server system, based on the first information request, as being directed to a specified category of a future subsequent information request, wherein at least some of the second content is of a size that requires an amount of download time that exceeds the inherent delay, wherein the content coordinator is configured to predict the specified category based on queries that were submitted by other users following submission of the first information request by the other users;

display at least some of the received second content along with the first content on the graphical display;

store at least a portion of the received second content in the cache;

receive a second information request from the user after;

(i) receiving the second content from the remote server system over the bandwidth constrained wireless network and with the inherent delay, and (ii) displaying a portion of the received second content along with the first content on the graphical display, wherein;

the first information request includes a first textual search query and the second information request includes a second textual search query; and

the first textual search query is not included in the second textual search query;

determine that the second information request is a request for content related to the specified category;

identify some or all of the stored second content that corresponds to the specified category, and to display on the graphical display, without the inherent delay and in response to the second information request, all or some of the identified stored second content during the retrieval of the responses to the second information request, so the identified stored second content is displayed in less time than the inherent delay.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the cache stores information that identifies categories of the second content.

3. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the first information request comprises a search request, and the content coordinator is configured to retrieve additional content using the first information request or the specified category while the first content is being presented.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second information request comprises a search request, the first content is a set of search results, and the second content is one or more advertisements.

5. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second content includes a hyperlink that permits the user to obtain additional information about the second content and an element that initiates a phone call in response to user interaction with the element.

6. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the first information request comprises a spoken query, and the first content includes a phrase that matches one or more terms in the first information request.

7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second content is associated with a word that matches a term in the second information request.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second content is selected in response to the first information request by a server separate from the remote device.

9. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second content is displayed while the communication device is retrieving additional content relating to the second information request from the remote server.

10. The communication device of claim 8, wherein the content coordinator is configured to perform operations comprising replacing the presentation of the identified stored second content with all or some of the responses to the second information request.

11. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the stored second content is identified based on a level of match between each piece of second content and the specified category.

12. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the second content is ranked at the communication device and is selected at the remote server system.

13. An electronic content distribution system comprising:

one or more server computing devices;

one or more computer-readable media coupled to the one or more server computing devices and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more server computing devices, cause the one or more server computing devices to perform operations comprising;

receiving, over a bandwidth-constrained wireless network having an inherent delay, from a part of a mobile computing device, a first information request having a subject to which the first information request is directed;

identifying one or more first content items comprising first content as being directly responsive to the first information request;

predicting a specified category of a future subsequent information request based on queries that were submitted by other users following submission of the first information request by the other users;

identifying, based on the first information request, one or more second content items predicted as being directed to the specified category of the future subsequent information request, wherein at least some of the second content items are of a size that requires an amount of download time that exceeds the inherent delay;

providing, over the bandwidth-constrained wireless network and with a delay inherent in the bandwidth-constrained wireless network, to a part of the mobile computing device, the identified first content items and the identified second content items; and

receiving, at the remote server system, a second information request from the part of the mobile computing device after providing the identified second content items over the bandwidth-constrained wireless network and with the inherent delay, the request directed to information managed by the remote server system;

wherein the first information request includes a first textual search query, the second information request includes a second textual search query, and the first textual search query is not included in the second textual search query; and

one or more computer-readable media coupled to the one or more mobile computing devices and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more mobile computing devices, cause the one or more mobile computing devices to perform operations comprising;

displaying, at the mobile computing device, at least some of the provided second content items along with at least some of the provided first content items;

storing, at the mobile computing device, at least a portion of the provided second content items;

determining that the second information request is a request for content related to the specified category; and

presenting, without the inherent delay and after;

(i) displaying at least some of the provided second content items along with at least some of the provided first content items, (ii) receiving the second information request, and (iii) determining that the second information request is a request for content related to the specified category, one or more of the stored second content items while retrieving data responsive to the second information request from one or more of the server computing devices over the bandwidth-constrained network and with the inherent delay, wherein the stored second content items are presented before presenting content received from one or more of the server computing devices that is responsive to the second information request, so that presentation of the stored second content items occurs in less time than the inherent delay.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the stored second content items are presented while the mobile computing device is retrieving information from the server computing device over the bandwidth-constrained wireless network.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the stored second content items comprise a graphical item and a related non-graphical item.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the graphical item comprises a logo and the non-graphical item comprises text.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the graphical item is retrieved from the stored second content items and presented while the non-graphical item is being retrieved from the server computing device over the bandwidth-constrained wireless network.