Graphical search engine visual index

• US 6,271,840 B1
• Filed: 09/24/1998
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hyper Search LLC (IPValuation Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bryan F. Pelz, James Lee Finseth, Jerry Hermel
• Inventors: Pelz, Bryan F., Hermel, Jerry, Finseth, James Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAY, MICHAEL K
• Application Number:
  US09/160,633
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 345/968, 345/348, 345/349, 345/357, 707/3, 707/104, 707/501, 707/4, 707/513
• US Class Current: 715/236
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

A visual index method provides graphical output from search engine results or other URL lists. Search engine results or a list of URLs are passed to a web crawler that retrieves the web page and other media information present at the associated URL. The web crawler then passes this information to a page renderer which also receives image scale and format information regarding the web pages present at the URLs. The graphical information as well as other media information is then rendered into a reduced graphical form so that the page may be summarily reviewed by the user. Media, visual, or other information may also be downwardly scaled as appropriate or rendered in its original as appropriate (such as with audio data streams). A variety of convenient formats allows the user to quickly and readily scan the presentation at the URL web pages or other data present. Image maps associated with the reduced images may also provide hyperlink access to the linked web page and/or multimedia allowing the links present on the web page in its original to be accessed through the reduced image provided by the web page renderer.

Claims

1. A browser interface for rendering summary graphic information regarding at least one Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL), comprising:

a web crawler, said web crawler receiving a first URL from a source of URLs, said web crawler retrieving data associated with said first URL and transmitting said data as output; and

a web page renderer, said web page renderer receiving as input said retrieved data associated with said first URL transmitted as output by said web crawler, said web page renderer also receiving as input image scale and format information, said web page renderer transmitting as output a reduced image of said data associated with said first URL, said web page renderer transmitting said reduced image with an embedded hyperlink embedded in said data and referring to a second URL separate from said first URL with which said data is associated;

whereby

the browser interface delivers to a viewer said reduced image as a graphical summary of said data, allowing said viewer to more easily determine content presented at said URL without having said data occupy an entire computer screen.

6. The browser interface of claim 1, wherein said output of said web page renderer further comprises:

a hyperlink list having a first number hyperlinks;

a set of reduced images generated by said web page renderer; and

a one-to-one association of said hyperlinks with said reduced images;

whereby

when a cursor or mouse pointer overlays a hyperlink in said hyperlink list, a graphical screen space displays an associated reduced image such that at any one time, only one reduced image is displayed in said graphical screen space.

2. A browser interface for rendering summary graphic information regarding at least one Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL), comprising:

a web crawler, said web crawler receiving a first URL from a source of URLs, said web crawler retrieving data associated with said first URL and transmitting said data as output; and

a web page renderer, said web page renderer receiving as input said retrieved data associated with said first URL transmitted as output by said web crawler, said web page renderer also receiving as input image scale and format information, said web page renderer transmitting as output a reduced image of said data associated with said first URL, said web page renderer transmitting said reduced image with an embedded hyperlink, said embedded hyperlink including an embedded hyperlink carried by an image map having clickable, or mouse-designatable, areas of said reduced image corresponding to similar areas of said data associated with said first URL;

whereby

the browser interface delivers to a viewer said reduced image as a graphical summary of said data, allowing said viewer to more easily determine content presented at said URL without having said data occupy an entire computer screen.

3. The browser interface of claim 2, wherein said clickable areas further comprise hyperlinks.

4. The browser interface of claim 2, wherein said image map further comprises:

an image map obtained by;

rendering a virtual image of said retrieved data in memory;

identifying areas in said virtual image of sufficient size to be reasonably representable and available to said viewer;

scaling said virtual image according to said image scale and format information;

determining coordinates of said identified areas and scaling said identified areas according to said scaling of said virtual image;

storing said determined coordinates in said image map in association with said reduced image; and

storing linking URL information related to said identified areas in association with said reduced image;

whereby

said reduced image maintains clickable hyperlinks in a manner similar to that of said retrieved data despite reduced size of said reduced image.

5. The browser interface of claim 4, wherein said virtual image is a high resolution abstraction of said retrieved data as it would normally be presented to a viewer.

7. A browser interface for rendering summary graphic information regarding at least one Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL), comprising:

a source of URLs, said source of URLs selected from the group consisting of local Internet search engines, remote Internet search engines, and databases;

a web crawler, said web crawler receiving a first URL from said source of URLs, said web crawler retrieving data associated with said first URL, including all associated visible media associated with said first URL if said first URL points to a page, and transmitting said data as output; and

a web page renderer, said web page renderer receiving as input said retrieved data associated with said first URL transmitted as output by said web crawler, said web page renderer also receiving as input image scale and format information from said source of URLs, said web page renderer transmitting as output a reduced image of said data associated with said first URL, said web page renderer transmitting said reduced image with an embedded hyperlink to said first URL, said embedded hyperlink including a hyperlink embedded in said data referring to a second URL separate from said first URL with which said data is associated;

whereby

the browser interface delivers to a viewer said reduced image as a graphical summary of said data, allowing said viewer to more easily determine content presented at said URL without having said data occupy an entire computer screen and allowing said view to more quickly review such data.

8. A browser interface for rendering summary graphic information regarding at least one Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL), comprising:

a source of URLs, said source of URLs selected from the group consisting of local Internet search engines, remote Internet search engines, and databases;

a web crawler, said web crawler receiving a first URL from said source of URLs, said web crawler retrieving data associated with said first URL, including all associated visible media associated with said first URL if said first URL points to a page, and transmitting said data as output; and

a web page renderer, said web page renderer receiving as input said retrieved data associated with said first URL transmitted as output by said web crawler, said web page renderer also receiving as input image scale and format information from said source of URLs, said web page renderer transmitting as output a reduced image of said data associated with said first URL, said web page renderer transmitting said reduced image with an embedded hyperlink to said first URL, said embedded hyperlink including an embedded hyperlink carried by an image map having clickable, or mouse-designatable, areas of said reduced image corresponding to similar areas of said data associated with said first URL;

whereby

the browser interface delivers to a viewer said reduced image as a graphical summary of said data, allowing said viewer to more easily determine content presented at said URL without having said data occupy an entire computer screen and allowing said view to more quickly review such data.

9. The browser interface of claim 8, wherein said clickable areas further comprise hyperlinks.

10. The browser interface of claim 8, wherein said image map further comprises:

an image map obtained by;

rendering a virtual image of said retrieved data in memory;

identifying areas in said virtual image of sufficient size to be reasonably representable and available to said viewer;

scaling said virtual image according to said image scale and format information;

determining coordinates of said identified areas and scaling said identified areas according to said scaling of said virtual image;

storing said determined coordinates in said image map in association with said reduced image; and

storing linking URL information related to said identified areas in association with said reduced image;

whereby

said reduced image maintains clickable hyperlinks in a manner similar to that of said retrieved data despite reduced size of said reduced image.

11. The browser interface of claim 10, wherein said virtual image is a high resolution abstraction of said retrieved data as it would normally be presented to a viewer.

12. A browser interface for rendering summary graphic information regarding at least one Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL), comprising:

a source of URLs, said source of URLs selected from the group consisting of local Internet search engines, remote Internet search engines, and databases;

a web crawler, said web crawler receiving a first URL from said source of URLs, said web crawler retrieving data associated with said first URL, including all associated visible media associated with said first URL if said first URL points to a page, and transmitting said data as output; and

a web page renderer, said web page renderer receiving as input said retrieved data associated with said first URL transmitted as output by said web crawler, said web page renderer also receiving as input image scale and format information from said source of URLs, said web page renderer transmitting as output a reduced image of said data associated with said first URL, said web page renderer transmitting said reduced image with an embedded hyperlink to said first URL;

said output of said web page renderer including;

i. a list of hyperlinks;

ii. a set of reduced images generated by said web page renderer; and

iii. a one-to-one association of said hyperlinks with said reduced images;

whereby

iv. when a cursor overlays a hyperlink in said hyperlink list, a dedicated graphical screen space displays an associated reduced image such that at any one time, only one reduced image is displayed in said graphical screen space;

whereby

the browser interface delivers to a viewer said reduced image as a graphical summary of said data, allowing said viewer to more easily determine content presented at said URL without having said data occupy an entire computer screen and allowing said view to more quickly review such data.

13. A method for summarizing web data content, the steps comprising:

receiving a first Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL);

retrieving data associated with said first URL;

obtaining image scale and format information for said first URL data;

scaling said data according to said image scale and format information to render a reduced image generally resembling said data associated with said first URL;

embedding or associating a hyperlink with said reduced image, including embedding a hyperlink to a second URL separate from said first URL; and

transmitting said reduced image as output;

whereby

said reduced image provides a graphical and visual summary of said data associated with said first URL, allowing rapid and preliminary review of said data by a viewer.

14. A method for summarizing web data content, the steps comprising:

receiving a first Uniform/Universal Resource Locator (URL);

retrieving data associated with said first URL;

obtaining image scale and format information for said first URL data;

scaling said data according to said image scale and format information to render a reduced image generally resembling said data associated with said first URL;

embedding or associating a hyperlink with said reduced image;

creating an image map, including;

i. rendering a virtual image of said retrieved data in memory;

ii. identifying areas in said virtual image of sufficient size to be reasonably representable and available to said viewer;

iii. scaling said virtual image according to said image scale and format information;

iv. determining coordinates of said identified areas and scaling said identified areas according to said scaling of said virtual image;

v. storing said determined coordinates in said image map in association with said reduced image; and

vi. storing linking URL information related to said identified areas in association with said reduced image;

whereby

vii. said reduced image maintains clickable, or mouse-designatable, hyperlinks in a manner similar to that of said retrieved data despite reduced size of said reduced image;

embedding said hyperlink in said image map; and

transmitting said reduced image as output;

whereby

said reduced image provides a graphical and visual summary of said data associated with said first URL, allowing rapid and preliminary review of said data by a viewer.

15. The method for summarizing web data content of claim 14, wherein said step of rendering a virtual image of said retrieved data further comprises:

rendering a high resolution abstraction of said retrieved data as said retrieved data would normally be presented to a viewer accessing said first URL.