Browser program for performing table-layout

• US 20060168506A1
• Filed: 02/13/2004
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Inventors: Uematsu, Michimasa, Endo, Masaya
• Granted Patent: US 7,512,876 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

There is provided a method of laying out contents targeted for a first device having a first screen size on a screen of a second device having a second screen size smaller than the first screen size. The method includes analyzing a table width of the table in accordance with a predetermined criterion; and performing in response to a result of the analyzing step one of layout operations of: (p1) laying out the table using a typical technique in accordance with the second screen size, and (p2) laying out a row of cells in the table so that at least two cells arranged adjacently in a horizontal direction in the row of the table are aligned horizontally on the screen of the second device based on a predetermined algorithm.

Claims

1. A method of laying out contents targeted for a first device having a first screen size on a screen of a second device having a second screen size smaller than the first screen size, comprising:

analyzing a table defined by a tag <

table>

in the contents to determine a table width of the table in accordance with a predetermined criterion; and

performing in response to a result of said analyzing step one of layout operations of;

(p1) laying out the table using a typical technique in accordance with the second screen size, and

(p2) laying out a row of cells in the table so that at least two cells arranged adjacently in a horizontal direction in the row of the table are aligned horizontally on the screen of the second device based on a predetermined algorithm.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the layout operations further includes:

(p3) scaling down the table configured to be a combinational image having a plurality of partial images so that the combinational image can be contained in the screen of the second device at least in a horizontal direction.

3. The method according to claim 2,

wherein the predetermined criterion includes a first criterion that whether or not a condition:

(a minimum table width)>

(a width of the screen of the second device)

is satisfied, the minimum table width of the table being a width of a row in the table when cells of the row of the table is minimized,

wherein when the first criterion is not satisfied, the operation of (p1) is performed,

wherein when the first criterion is satisfied, one of the operations of (p2) and (p3) is performed.

4. The method according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined criterion includes a second criterion that a number of carriage returns of characters in at least one of cells of a row of the table is greater than a certain value when the cells of the row of the table are minimized,

wherein when the second criterion is satisfied, one of the operations of (p2) and (p3) is performed even if the first criterion is not satisfied.

5. The method according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined criterion includes a third criterion that a ratio of a vertical size to a horizontal size of at least one of cells of a row of the table is grater than a certain ratio when the cells of the row of the table are minimized,

wherein when the third criterion is satisfied, one of the processes of (p2) and (p3) is selected even if the first criterion is not satisfied.

6. The method according to claim 3,

wherein the predetermined criterion includes a fourth criterion that a width of at least one of cells having characters in a row of the table is less than or equal to a certain value when the cells of the row of the table are minimized,

wherein when the forth criterion is satisfied, one of the operations of (p2) and (p3) is performed even if the first criterion is not satisfied.

7. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether the table is configured to be the combinational image,

wherein the operation (p3) is performed when the table is determined to be the combinational image by said determining step.

8. The method according to claim 7,

wherein, in said determining step, when a ratio of a number of cells having images to a number of all cells of the table is greater than a certain ratio, the table is determined to be the combinational image.

9. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the predetermined algorithm includes operations of:

(a1) aligning the at least two cells arranged adjacently in the horizontal direction in the row of the table on a row of the screen of the second device,

(a2) aligning remaining cells of the at least two sells, that can not be aligned on the row of the screen of the second device, on another row of the screen of the second device, and

(a3) performing the operations of (a1) and (a2) with respect to all rows of the table.

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein the minimum table width is a sum of widths of images in cells of the row of the table, a maximum of widths of characters in each cell of the row of the table, and widths of borders between adjacent cells of the row of the table.

11. The method according to claim 2,

wherein the operation (p3) includes:

(b1) scaling down cells of the table by the same scaling factor in accordance with the second screen size, and

(b2) scaling down each of partial images of the cells of the table in accordance with a width of a corresponding scaled down cell.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

converting in advance a frameset to a table in accordance with a predetermined conversion algorithm if the frameset exists in the contents.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining in advance the contents through a network.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining in advance the contents through the Internet.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contents includes a document described by a markup language.

16. A computer program product providing a set of instructions executed by a terminal device, the terminal device executing the instructions functioning as laying out contents targeted for a device having a first screen size on a screen of the terminal device having a second screen size smaller than the first screen size, the computer program product comprising functions of:

obtaining the contents through a network;

analyzing a table defined by a tag <

table>

in the contents to determined a table width of the table in accordance with a predetermined criterion; and

performing, in response to a result of said analyzing, one of layout operations of;

(p1) laying out the table using a typical technique in accordance with the second screen size, and

(p2) laying out a row of cells in the table so that at least two cells arranged adjacently in a horizontal direction in the row of the table are aligned horizontally on the screen of the terminal device based on a predetermined algorithm.

17. A terminal device for laying out contents targeted for a device having a first screen size on a screen of said terminal device having a second screen size smaller than the first screen size, comprising:

an analyzing system that analyzes a table defined by a tag <

table>

in the contents to determined a table width of the table in accordance with a predetermined criterion; and

a layout system that performs in response to a result of an analysis of said analyzing system one of layout operations of;

(p1) laying out the table using a typical technique in accordance with the second screen size,

(p2) laying out a row of cells in the table so that at least two cells arranged adjacently in a horizontal direction in the row of the table are aligned horizontally on the screen of said terminal device based on a predetermined algorithm, and

(p3) scaling down the table configured to be a combinational image having a plurality of partial images so that the combinational image can be contained in the screen of said terminal device at least in a horizontal direction.

18. The terminal device according to claim 17, further comprising an obtaining system that obtains the contents through a network.