Automatically generate and displaying metadata as supplemental information concurrently with the web page, there being no link between web page and metadata
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of presenting information that augments the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:
- receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for automatically generated metadata, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information, the metadata server being different from the server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request, the automatically generated metadata including at least one link to a web page provided by a third party.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus that displays metadata about a web page currently being displayed by a browser. While the web browser is communicating with a web server to obtain the requested web page, client software communicates with a database metadata server to obtain metadata about the requested page. After the browser receives its requested information from the web server, it displays the requested web page in a conventional manner. The client concurrently displays its received metadata on the same computer as the web page, and concurrently with the web page. A preferred embodiment of the present invention opens a button bar in conjunction with the web page display. This button bar allows the user to view various portions of the metadata for the displayed web page.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of presenting information that augments the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:
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receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for automatically generated metadata, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information, the metadata server being different from the server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request, the automatically generated metadata including at least one link to a web page provided by a third party. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
wherein the receiving step is performed by a first instance window of the browser connected with the web site, wherein the sending step is performed by a second instance window of the browser, and wherein the displaying step is performed by the second instance window of the browser communicating with the metadata server, the metadata server being distinct from the web site. -
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying, to supplement the web page being displayed, “
- Where you are”
metadata, the “
Where you are”
metadata not being provided by the web page.
- Where you are”
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16. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying, to supplement the web page being displayed, “
- Where to go next”
metadata, the “
Where to go next”
metadata being based on usage trails in the world wide web, and not being provided by the web page.
- Where to go next”
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17. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying metadata about the web page being displayed obtained from a third party in addition to metadata about the web page being displayed obtained from the metadata server.
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18. The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting step includes the steps of:
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receiving a URL of a web page of metadata for the displayed page, the web page of metadata being distinct from the web page being displayed;
requesting the web page of metadata for the displayed page, receiving a web page of metadata for the displayed page, and wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying the web page of metadata via the browser.
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19. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata is based on data mining operations performed prior to the requesting step, the metadata being provided by the metadata server, not by the web page.
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20. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata identifies at least one web page that points to the displayed web page, the metadata not being provided by the displayed web page, and not being provided by the pointing web page.
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21. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata includes a number of web pages that point to the displayed web page, the metadata not being provided by the displayed web page, and not being provided by the pointing web pages.
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22. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata identifies at least one web page to which the displayed web page points, the metadata not being provided by the displayed web page, and not being provided by the web page to which the displayed web page points.
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23. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata includes a number of web pages to which the displayed web page points, the metadata not being provided by the displayed web page, and not being provided by the web page to which the displayed web page points.
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24. The method of claim 1, further including the step of requesting information as to whether the web page has been previously archived;
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if the web page has been previously archived, indicating that fact on the display screen.
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25. The method of claim 24, further including the step of allowing the user to decide whether to view an archived version of the web page.
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26. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying “
- Where to go next”
metadata, in accordance with the received information, wherein the “
Where to go next”
metadata is based on analysis of the content of pages in the world wide web and is not provided by the web page.
- Where to go next”
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27. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying step includes the step of displaying “
- Where to go next”
metadata, in accordance with the received information, wherein the “
Where to go next”
metadata is based on information relating to the organization or individuals associated with the displayed web page and is not provided by the web page.
- Where to go next”
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28. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
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examining, by the metadata server, all parent web pages above the web page in the web site hierarchy; and
classifying metadata of a parent of the web page as also being metadata of the web page.
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29. A method of directing a user to at least one web page related to a web page displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:
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receiving information describing the contents of the displayed web page;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for an automatically generated identification of the related web page in accordance with the contents of the displayed web page, the metadata server being different from the server providing the displayed web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, automatically generated metadata about the web page including at least one link directing a user to a web page related to the web page being displayed, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, but instead received from the metadata server in response to the request, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A computer program product, on a computer readable medium, which presents information augmenting the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, the computer program product comprising:
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program code for receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed;
program code for sending, to a metadata server, a request for automatically generated metadata, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information, the metadata server being different from the server providing the web page; and
program code for displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request, the automatically generated metadata including at least one link to a web page provided by a third party. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. An apparatus for augmenting the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, the apparatus comprising:
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a software portion configured to receive information identifying the web page to be displayed;
a software portion configured to send, to a metadata server, a request for automatically generated metadata, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information, the metadata server being different from the server providing the web page; and
a software portion configured to display, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request, the automatically generated metadata including at least one link to a web page provided by a third party. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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36. A computer program product on a computer readable medium which directs a user to at least one web page related to a web page displayed on a display device by a browser, the computer program product comprising:
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program code for receiving information describing the contents of the displayed web page;
program code for sending, to a metadata server, a request for an automatically generated identification of the related web page in accordance with the contents of the displayed web page, the metadata server being different from the server providing the displayed web page; and
program code for displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata about the web page including at least one link directing a user to a web page related to the web page being displayed, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, but instead received from the metadata server in response to the request, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information.
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37. An apparatus for directing a user to at least one web page related to a web page displayed on a display device by a browser, the apparatus comprising:
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a software portion for receiving information describing the contents of the displayed web page;
a software portion for sending, to a metadata server, a request for an automatically generated identification of the related web page in accordance with the contents of the displayed web page, the metadata server being different from the server providing the displayed web page; and
a software portion for displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata about the web page including at least one link directing a user to a web page related to the web page being displayed, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, but instead received from the metadata server in response to the request, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information.
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38. A method of presenting information augmenting the information on a web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:
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determining the address of the web page currently being displayed;
sending, to a metadata server the address of the web page currently being displayed, and a request for automatically generated metadata describing the web page currently being displayed, the automatically generated metadata being supplemental information about the web page being displayed, the automatically generated supplemental information not being provided by the web server and not being provided by a member of a group to which a viewer of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the automatically generated supplemental information, the metadata server being different from the server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request, the automatically generated metadata including at least one link to a web page provided by a third party.
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39. A method of presenting information that augments the information on any web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising:
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receiving a request from a user to display a first web page;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for metadata indicating which web page a substantial number of previous users viewed next after viewing the requested first web page, the metadata not being provided by the first web page and not being provided by a member of a group to which the requesting user of the first web page belongs, there being no link between the first web page and the metadata, the metadata server being different from a server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the first web page and concurrently with the first web page, the requested metadata indicating which web page a substantial number of previous users viewed next after viewing the requested first web page. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43)
gathering information about which web page a substantial number of previous users viewed next after viewing the first web page.
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41. The method of claim 39, wherein the information about which web page a substantial number of previous users viewed next after viewing the requested first web page includes a plurality of links to the web pages that were most often viewed next.
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42. The method of claim 39, further including allowing the user to add a one-way link to the metadata that specifies a “
- where to go”
page for the first web page.
- where to go”
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43. The method of claim 39, further including allowing the user to add a two-way link to the metadata that specifies another page as a “
- where to go”
page for the first web site and that specifies the first web site as a “
where to go”
page for the other page.
- where to go”
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44. A method of presenting information that augments the information on any web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising:
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receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for metadata, the metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the supplemental information being automatically generated thy a computer program associated with the metadata server, the metadata not being provided by the web page to be displayed and not being provided by a member of a group to which the requesting user of the web page belongs, there being no link between the web page and the metadata, the metadata server being different from a server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and concurrently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request.
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45. A method of presenting information that augments the information on any web page being displayed on a display device by a browser, comprising:
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receiving information identifying the web page to be displayed;
sending, to a metadata server, a request for metadata, the metadata being supplemental information about the web page to be displayed, the supplemental information comprising at least one link to a web page provided by a third party, the link being automanticaly generated by a computer program associated with the metadata server, there being no link between the web page and the metadata, the metadata server being different from a server providing the web page; and
displaying, on the same display device as the web page and courently with the web page, the automatically generated metadata received from the metadata server in response to the request. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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Specification