Displaying Advertising Messages in the Unused Portion and During a Context Switch Period of a Web Browser Display Interface
First Claim
1. A method of displaying an intermediate message in an active display area of a network client computer, comprising the steps of:
- identifying an unused display space within the active display area, the unused display space comprising pixels of a uniform value maintained for a first pre-defined time period;
quantifying a size and shape of the unused display space;
monitoring user activity within a region of the display area; and
displaying an intermediate message of appropriate size in the unused display space or in the region of the display area if there is no monitored user activity for a second pre-defined period of time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for displaying intermediate message content over the unused area of a web browser is described. An intermediate message display process is linked to the web browser program executed on a client computer. The process monitors user activity on the client computer and identifies areas of the web browser display area that are not used. Upon detection of an unused clear space within the web browser display area, an intermediate message is displayed in the clear area of the web browser. The intermediate message could be an advertisement display provided by a third party content provider. A timer process and clear space detection routine within the intermediate message display process govern the display of the intermediate message in accordance with specified background pattern and message window dimension parameters.
168 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of displaying an intermediate message in an active display area of a network client computer, comprising the steps of:
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identifying an unused display space within the active display area, the unused display space comprising pixels of a uniform value maintained for a first pre-defined time period;
quantifying a size and shape of the unused display space;
monitoring user activity within a region of the display area; and
displaying an intermediate message of appropriate size in the unused display space or in the region of the display area if there is no monitored user activity for a second pre-defined period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of displaying an intermediate message in an active display area of a network client computer, comprising the steps of:
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identifying an unused display space within the active display area, the unused display space comprising pixels of a uniform value maintained for a first pre-defined time period;
monitoring the state of the active display area to determine if there is a context switch of the active display area to display new content in the active display area;
measuring an idle time representing the time required to effect the context switch of the active display area;
displaying an intermediate message as a full page display during the idle time if there is a context switch of the active display area; and
displaying an intermediate message of appropriate size in the unused display space if there is not a context switch of the active display area. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification