System and method for providing information, and recording medium

• US 20020038354A1
• Filed: 09/20/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 81 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Ogasawara, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,209,944 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/07 Guided tours
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

To provide a system and a method for providing information and a recording medium, by which communications cost and network traffic are reduced in a system which provides a plurality of pages including successive contents via a communication network. A story provider site 100 generates user ID for identifying a reader terminal 300 and reader information which includes information representing a last page, and transmits web page data segments based on the reader information together with the user ID to the reader terminal 300 concerned. The reader terminal 300 requests the pages with transmitting the user ID. The story provider site 100 transmits web page data segments based on the reader information corresponding to the returned user ID. The story provider site 100 updates the reader information based on the transmitted web page.

Claims

1. A system for providing information being connected to a communications network, which provides web page data segments representing a plurality of pages which include successive description via said communications network, comprising:

a web page storage unit which stores the web page data segments;

an ID information managing unit which receives a request for the web pages, generates ID information for identifying the source of the request and additional information representing a last page represented by the web page data segment which has been transmitted to the request source, and stores the generated ID information and additional information so that the ID information and additional information are associated with each other;

a web page providing unit which retrieves the web page data segments corresponding to the additional information from said web page storage unit, and transmits the retrieved web page data segments to the request source together with the corresponding ID information;

a provision progress managing unit which updates the additional information if said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments; and

an ID information receiver which receives the ID information returned from the request source, wherein

said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments based on the additional information corresponding to the ID information received by said ID information receiver.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said provision progress managing unit updates the additional information if said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments representing pages following to a page represented by the additional information.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein if the request source requests said system to transmit web page data segments representing pages following to a page represented by the additional information, said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments representing predetermined number of pages following to the page represented by the additional information.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein if the request source requests said system to transmit web page data segments representing pages from a head page to a page which is predetermined number of pages behind a page represented by the additional information, said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments representing pages from the head page to the page which is predetermined number of pages behind the page represented by the additional information to the request source.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the additional information includes date/time information representing date and time when the additional information is updated, and

said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments representing pages from a head page to a page which is predetermined number of pages behind a page represented by the additional information to the request source, if the request source requests the pages after a predetermined time period has lapsed since date/time represented by the additional information.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said web page providing unit cancels the additional information and/or ID information for the request source if the request source has not requested the web pages for a predetermined time period or more since date/time represented by the additional information.

7. A method for providing information by which an information providing apparatus provides a plurality of terminals with web page data segments representing a plurality of pages including successive description, comprising the steps of:

generating ID information for identifying said terminal in response to request for providing web pages from said terminal, and of generating additional information representing a last page represented by the web page data segments which has been provided to said terminal;

transmitting web page data segments corresponding to the additional information together with the corresponding ID information to the terminal which requested the web pages;

receiving the ID information from said terminal together with the page request;

transmitting web page data segments to said terminal based on the additional information corresponding to the received ID information; and

updating the additional information in a case where the web page data segments representing a page corresponding to the additional information and/or in a case where the web page data segments representing pages following to the page corresponding to the additional information.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said web page data transmitting step transmits web page data segments representing predetermined number of pages following to the page represented by the additional information, if said terminal requests said apparatus to transmit web page data segments representing pages following to the page represented by the additional information.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said web page data transmitting transmits the web page data segments representing pages from a head page to a page which is predetermined number of pages behind a page corresponding to the additional page to the terminal, if the terminal requests the apparatus to provide the web page data segments representing the pages from the head page to the page which is predetermined number of pages behind the page corresponding to the additional information.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein

the additional information includes date/time information representing date and time when said terminal requests the web page data, and

said web page data transmitting step transmits web page data segments representing pages from a head page to a page which is predetermined number of pages behind a page corresponding to the additional information to said terminal, if said terminal requests the web pages after a predetermined time period has lapsed since the date/time represented by the additional information.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said web page data transmitting step cancels the additional information and/or ID information corresponding to the terminal which has not requested the web page data for a predetermined time period or more since the date/time represented by the additional information.

12. A system for providing information which comprising an information providing apparatus being connected to a communications network, and a plurality of terminals each of which receives web page data segments representing a plurality of pages including successive description from said apparatus via said communications network, wherein

said terminal comprises:

a web page browser which receives web page data segments and ID information for identifying said terminal from said information providing apparatus, and outputs the received web page data segments; and

an additional information generator which generates additional information which designates a last page of the pages output by said web page browser, and transmits the generated additional information to said information providing apparatus together with the ID information when requesting the web pages, and

said information providing apparatus comprises;

a storage unit which stores the ID information and additional information provided by said terminal so that the ID information and additional information are associated with each other; and

a transmitter which transmits the web page data segments to said terminal designated by the ID information corresponding to the additional information.

13. A recording medium storing a program which causes a computer to function as:

a web page storage unit which stores the web page data segments representing a plurality of pages including successive description;

an ID information managing unit which generates ID information for identifying a source of request for the web pages and additional information representing a last page represented by the web page date which has been transmitted to the request source, and stores the generated ID information and additional information so as to be associated with each other;

a web page providing unit which retrieves the web page data segments based on the additional information from said web page storage unit, and transmits the retrieved web page data segments together with the corresponding ID information to the request source via a communications network;

a provision progress managing unit which updates the additional information each time said web page providing unit transmits the web page data segments representing the pages corresponding to the additional information and/or transmits the web page data segments representing pages following to the page corresponding to the additional information; and

an ID information receiver which receives the ID information returned from the request source.