World wide web document distribution system to receiving web display stations with tracking at the receiving station of the extent of usage of documents previously accessed and stored at receiving station

• US 20050005007A1
• Filed: 07/01/2003
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Keohane, Susann Marie, McBrearty, Gerald Francis, Shieh, Johnny Meng-Han, Murillo, Jessica Kelley, Mullen, Shawn Patrick
• Application Number:
  US10/611,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20050005007A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

The tracking of usage of pre-accessed Web documents that are browsed off-line. The combination of apparatus for storing previously accessed network documents, e.g. Web pages, at a receiving display station; and at said receiving display station for tracking data on the extent of usage of these previously accessed documents. The previously accessed and stored Web pages may be hypertext documents that have a plurality of hyperlinks to other previously accessed and stored Web pages, and the tracking of data tracks the number of times that each of said hyperlinks is used to access the stored Web document linked to said hyperlink. In addition, there may be an implementation for transmitting the means for tracking the extent of usage of the previously accessed Web document to said receiving display station along with said previously accessed Web document. The tracking function may, for example, be transmitted to the receiving station in the form of a program routine or applet that accompanies these pre-accessed Web pages.

Claims

1. In a computer managed communication network with user access via a plurality of receiving computer display stations connected through network server computers to network documents transmitted to said receiving stations from remote resource locations on said network, a system for tracking the usage of previously accessed and stored network documents comprising:

means for storing a previously accessed network document at a receiving display station; and

means at said receiving display station for tracking data on the extent of usage of said previously accessed document.

2. The network system of claim 1 wherein:

said network is the World Wide Web;

said remote resource locations are Web sites; and

said documents are Web documents.

3. The World Wide Web system of claim 2 wherein said means for tracking data track the extent of usage of sections of said previously accessed and stored Web document.

4. The World Wide Web system of claim 2 wherein:

said previously accessed and stored Web document is a hypertext document having a plurality of hyperlinks to other previously accessed and stored Web documents; and

said means for tracking data tracks the number of times that each of said hyperlinks is used to access the stored Web document linked to said hyperlink.

5. The World Wide Web system of claim 2 further including means for transmitting said means for tracking said extent of usage of said previously accessed Web document to said receiving display station along with said previously accessed Web document.

6. The World Wide Web system of claim 4 further including:

means associated with a network server computer for collecting said tracked data; and

means for transmitting said tracked data to said means for collecting said data.

7. The World Wide Web system of claim 6 wherein said receiving display terminal is a mobile personal palm-type display computer.

8. The World Wide Web system of claim 7 wherein:

said personal palm-type computer is connected to the World Wide Web through periodic synchronization with an associated receiving display station connected to the Web; and

said means for transmitting transmits said tracked data to said means for collecting said data during such periodic synchronization.

9. In a computer managed communication network with user access via a plurality of receiving computer display stations connected through network server computers to network documents transmitted to said receiving stations from remote resource locations on said network, a method for tracking the usage of previously accessed and stored network documents comprising:

storing a previously accessed network document at a receiving display station; and

tracking, at said receiving display station, data on the extent of usage of said previously accessed document.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

said network is the World Wide Web;

said remote resource locations are Web sites; and

said documents are Web documents.

11. The World Wide Web method of claim 10 wherein the extent of usage of sections of said previously accessed and stored Web document is tracked.

12. The World Wide Web method of claim 10 wherein:

said previously accessed and stored Web document is a hypertext document having a plurality of hyperlinks to other previously accessed and stored Web documents; and

the number of times that each of said hyperlinks is used to access the stored Web document linked to said hyperlink is tracked.

13. The World Wide Web method of claim 10 further including the step of transmitting a program for tracking said extent of usage of said previously accessed Web document to said receiving display station along with said previously accessed Web document.

14. The World Wide Web method of claim 12 further including the steps of:

collecting said tracked data in association with a network server computer; and

transmitting said tracked data from said receiving display station for said collection.

15. The World Wide Web method of claim 14 wherein said receiving display station is a personal palm-type computer and including the steps of:

connecting said personal palm-type computer to the World Wide Web through periodic synchronization with an associated receiving display station connected to the Web; and

transmitting said tracked data for collection during such periodic synchronization.

16. A computer program having code recorded on a computer readable medium for tracking the usage of previously accessed and stored Web documents in a World Wide Web network with user access via a plurality of receiving display stations connected through Web server computers to Web documents transmitted to said receiving stations from remote Web sites on said network, said computer program comprising:

means for storing a previously accessed Web document at a receiving display station; and

means at said receiving display station for tracking data on the extent of usage of said previously accessed Web document.

17. The computer program of claim 16 wherein said means for tracking data track the extent of usage of sections of said previously accessed and stored Web document.

18. The computer program of claim 16 wherein:

said previously accessed and stored Web document is a hypertext document having a plurality of hyperlinks to other previously accessed and stored Web documents; and

said means for tracking data tracks the number of times that each of said hyperlinks is used to access the stored Web document linked to said hyperlink.

19. The computer program of claim 16 further including means for transmitting said means for tracking said extent of usage of said previously accessed Web document to said receiving display station along with said previously accessed Web document.

20. The computer program of claim 19 further including:

means associated with a Web server computer for collecting said tracked data; and

means for transmitting said tracked data to said means for collecting said data.

21. The computer program of claim 20 wherein:

said receiving display terminal is a mobile personal palm-type display computer connected to the World Wide Web through periodic synchronization with an associated receiving display station connected to the Web; and

said means for transmitting transmits said tracked data to said means for collecting said data during such periodic synchronization.