ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT INFORMATION EXTRACTION

• US 20080065737A1
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wada, Alan, Burke, Eric, Coe, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 9,547,648 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/437 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialisation, adaptation, distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for extracting information from an electronic document, such as, for example, a webpage. An outline, such as, for example, the document object model, of a web page is analyzed for objects of interest, such as, photos, dates, email addresses, etc. The instructions defining which objects are objects of interests can be predetermined by the user and/or the network content provider. The user can be given the option to save objects of interest to their network account and the webpage and/or browser can be augmented with additional content related to identified objects. Objects transmitted to the network content provider are saved with an appropriate network service, for example, photos are saved in an online photo album.

Claims

1. A method of saving network content for a network user having a network account with a network content provider, the method comprising:

transmitting network content provider defined instructions for determining objects of interest in an electronic document displayable at a user computer;

receiving at least one object from the network user, wherein the at least one object is identified by examining an object outline describing the electronic document; and

saving the at least one object in a database associated with the network user, wherein the database is maintained by the network content provider.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network content provider defined instructions are created based on user information stored in the database associated with the network user.

3. The method of claim 1, the network content provider defined instructions are created based on network content provider preferences.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least one network service to which to save the at least one object.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one object is an email address and wherein the network content provider determines that the email address is saved to a contacts service.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one object is a date and wherein the network content provider determines that the date is saved to an online calendar.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one object is an Internet address and wherein the network content provider determines that the Internet address is saved to a shortcuts service.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the object outline is a document object model.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one object is automatically sent to the network content provider.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a request for a browser interface enhancement, wherein the browser interface enhancement is a context menu item.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein communication between the network user and the network content provider is made using a downloadable network toolbar communication protocol.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one object is a target object of a universal resource identifier, and wherein the target object is extensible markup language for real simple syndication.

8. (canceled)

9. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. A network computer operated by a network content provider and configured to save network content for a network user, the network user having a network account with the network content provider, the network computer comprising:

instruction transmission computer code, the instruction transmission computer code being configured to transmit network content provider defined instructions for determining objects of interest in an electronic document displayable at a user computer;

object receiving computer code, the object receiving computer code being configured to receive at least one object from the network user, wherein the at least one object is identified by examining an object outline describing the electronic document; and

object saving computer code, the object saving computer code being configured to save the at least one object in a database associated with the network user, wherein the database is maintained by the network content provider.

18. The network computer of claim 17, wherein the network content provider defined instructions are created based on user information stored in the database associated with the network user.

20. The network computer of claim 17, further comprising determination computer code, the determination computer code configured to determine at least one network service to which to save the at least one object.

21. The network computer of claim 17, wherein the user computer comprises a downloadable toolbar stored thereon and wherein the network computer and the user computer communicate through a downloadable toolbar protocol.

19. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. A graphical user interface for a browser program, the interface comprising:

a user control section, the user control section comprising at least one button, the at least one button being configured to initiate a browser command; and

a browser display area, the browser display area being configured to display an electronic document, the electronic document comprising objects and at least one augmented object selected from the objects that comprise the electronic document, the at least one augmented object being selected based on instructions defined by a network content provider.

24. The graphical user interface of claim 23, wherein the at least one object is augmented by changing the at least one object into a hyperlink.

25. The graphical user interface of claim 23, wherein the augmentation to the at least one object is not visible to a network user until the user interacts with the at least one object.

26. The graphical user interface of claim 23, further comprising a context menu, the context menu comprising an item that can be selected to save the at least one augmented object to a database associated with the network user, wherein the database is maintained by the network content provider.

27. The graphical user interface of claim 26, wherein the user control section comprises a downloadable network toolbar and the additional context menu item is received using a network toolbar communication protocol.

28. The graphical user interface of claim 26, wherein the user control section comprises a downloadable network toolbar and the at least one augmented object is transmitted to the network content provider using a network toolbar communication protocol.

30. The graphical user interface of claim 23, wherein the user control section comprises a downloadable network toolbar, and wherein communication between a user computer and the network content provider is made using a network toolbar communication protocol.

32. The graphical user interface of claim 30, wherein the toolbar comprises a dynamic button, the dynamic button being configured to be a shortcut to one of a plurality of network services offered by the network content provider, the one service being selected based on a last augmented object that a user interacts with.

34. The graphical user interface of claim 23, wherein the at least one augmented object is a real simple syndication feed indicator, and wherein selection of the indicator by a user results in the display of a prompt providing the user with an option to add the real simple syndication feed to the user'"'"'s real simple syndication aggregator, and wherein previous to augmentation, the at least one object was a link to an extensible markup language web page.

29. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

33. (canceled)