PERSONALIZED MULTI-SERVICE COMPUTER ENVIRONMENT

• US 20070143439A1
• Filed: 08/28/2006
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommWorks Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alberti Anemometer LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Young, William, Stevens, Andrew, Elliott, Seth, Szabo, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 7,596,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9562 Bookmark management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

A system and method for tracking a user history, for presentation thereof within a browser display. An executable software construct operates at a client machine to trap object references, which are then transmitted to a server. The server analyzes the object references and organizes them into a display structure. The display structure is then displayed within the browser, including hyperlinks to allow the user to select a prior system state to which he seeks to return. Preferably, the software construct also manages objects associated with the object reference, for example cookies associated with URLs, in order to assure full definition of the desired state. The display structure may also be provided to browsers distinct from the originating browser.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

(a) forming a composite object representing a path dependent object as an ordered sequence of communications between an object browser and a web server, to achieve a sequence of states;

(b) presenting the object through the object browser to a user; and

(c) executing at least the ordered sequence of communications to retrieve the path dependent object.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composite object is formed by automatically logging a series of hyperlink-interaction related communications which define the path dependent object.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the path dependent object is inaccessible through communication of a single universal resource locator.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising presenting a plurality of composite objects to a user through the object browser.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the executing triggers execution of a script.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composite object comprises a state-independent script for obtaining the path dependent object regardless of starting state.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of logging a user activity to define the ordered sequence of communications.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said logging is performed by an applet supported by the object browser.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising representing a plurality of composite object as user interface elements in the object browser, said plurality of user interface elements being arrayed according to a chronology.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the user interface elements each comprise a representation of a duration of browsing.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a user interface for editing the composite object.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of persistently storing a composite object, for deferred execution.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of communicating at least one composite object from a first object browser for execution in conjunction with a second object browser.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composite object is represented as a user interface element in the object browser comprising a hyperlink to a server for controlling the sequence of communications.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining an importance of the path dependent object, and presenting the composite object through the browser in dependence on the determined importance.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of associating supplemental commercial information with the composite object, and accounting for a commercial subsidy based on one or more of (a) a display of the commercial information;

(b) a selection of the commercial information; and

(c) a transaction conducted relating to the commercial information.

17. The method according to claim 1, comprising the steps of loading a Web page from a cooperative server in a first object browser frame;

identifying a desired URL with the object browser to request an Internet resource in a second object browser frame, providing a script in the first object browser frame to capture the identified URL in the second object browser frame and transmit it to the cooperative server, and downloading, from the cooperative server to the first object browser frame, a sequence of identified URLs.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the cooperative server provides commercial information to the object browser distinct from the sequence of identified URLs.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the composite object comprises commercial advertising information distinct from a browsing path of the user.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sequence of communications traverses states comprising commercial advertising information distinct from a browsing path of the user.

21. A computer-readable software medium, containing therein a program executable on a general purpose computer for performing the method of claim 1.

22. An apparatus for transforming path dependent object to path independent objects, comprising:

(a) a memory, storing identifiers of a sequence of states, the sequence of states being achieved by an ordered sequence of communications between an object browser and a web server to define a path dependent object;

(b) a processor for automatically forming a composite object representing the path dependent object defined by at least the sequence of states;

(c) an output, for communicating the composite object to a user.