Ad controller for use in implementing user-transparent network-distributed advertising and for interstitially displaying an advertisement so distributed

• US 6,314,451 B1
• Filed: 07/13/1999
• Issued: 11/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Andreas Acquisitions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Unicast Communications Corporation (Extreme Reach, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Wei-Yeh, Landsman, Rick W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIN, WEN TAI
• Application Number:
  US09/352,625
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 709/218, 709/217, 709/202, 709/200, 709/201, 709/203, 709/219, 707/103, 707/500, 717/11, 345/326, 345/333, 345/335
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0247 Calculate past, present or future revenues
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0262 during computer stand-by mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0268 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

A technique for implementing in a networked client-server environment, e.g., the Internet, network-distributed advertising in which advertisements are downloaded, from an advertising server to a browser executing at a client computer, in a manner transparent to a user situated at the browser, and subsequently displayed, by that browser on an interstitial basis, in response to a click-stream generated by the user to move from one web page to the next. Specifically, an HTML advertising tag is embedded into a referring web page. This tag contains two components. One component effectively downloads, from a distribution web server and to an extent necessary, and then persistently instantiates an agent at the client browser. The other component is a reference, in terms of a web address, of the advertising management system. The ad management system selects the given advertisement that is to be downloaded, rather than having that selection or its content being embedded in the web content page.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use in rendering an information object, comprising a web advertisement, through an executing web browser and in response to a first web page provided to the browser, the apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a memory connected to the processor and storing both computer executable instructions and the first web page, the first web page having a plurality of computer readable instructions representing page content and code, the code comprising an advertising tag; and

an output device responsive to the processor;

wherein the processor, in response to the executable instructions and the code;

dynamically writes a plurality of predefined applet tags, that collectively implement a script, into the first web page;

downloads in response to subsequent execution of the script, an agent from a corresponding network server into the memory; and

thereafter instantiates and executes the agent under web browser, the agent having an applet, wherein the applet;

issues a request, via a network connection, to a specified network server to download a manifest file for the information object from the specified network server, wherein the manifest file comprises a manifest of names of a plurality of predefined informational files that collectively comprise part of the information object, a network address at which each of the informational files can be accessed and associated configuration information necessary to properly render the information object;

accesses and downloads, to the memory, each informational file, specified in the manifest file, from its corresponding network address, to the extent said each informational file does not then reside within the memory; and

in response to an occurrence of a user-initiated event, as detected by the agent through monitoring a user click-stream, which initiates a transition from the first web page to a second web page and which signifies a start of an interstitial interval;

ceases any further download of the manifest file or any informational file specified in the manifest file, to the extent any downloading of said manifest file or said any informational file is then occurring; and

initiates processing, through the browser, of informational files for a previously downloaded information object so as to render the previously downloaded object during an interstitial interval to the user.

2. The apparatus in claim 1 wherein the applet comprises a download queue and a play queue, wherein, the processor during execution of the applet:

inserts an associated manifest file for a advertisement to be downloaded into an end of the download queue;

downloads advertising files specified in a given manifest file, then situated at a head of the download queue, into browser storage;

once all the advertising files specified in the given manifest file for a corresponding advertisement reside in the browser storage on the computer, removes the given manifest file from the download queue and inserts the given manifest file into an end of the play queue; and

in response to the user-initiated event and during the ensuing interstitial interval, processes advertising files specified in a specific manifest file then situated at a head of the play queue so as to render, through the output device, an advertisement, corresponding to the specific manifest file, to the user.

3. The apparatus in claim 2 wherein the manifest file comprises an Ad Descriptor file.

4. The apparatus in claim 2 wherein the advertising code further comprises a component designating the specified network server.

5. The apparatus in claim 4 wherein the processor, during execution of the applet and in response to the component contained in the code, downloads the manifest file originating from the specified network server designated in the component, the specified network server being an advertising server.

6. The apparatus in claim 2 wherein the agent produces a stop event in response to the user-initiated event and the applet processes the stop event to suspend said downloading of further advertisement files and to render the advertisement associated with the manifest file then situated at the head of the play queue.

7. The apparatus in claim 2 wherein the applet comprises an Ad Controller applet.

8. The apparatus in claim 2 wherein the applet processes each advertisement as a separate thread so as to effectuate pipe-lined processing of different successive advertisements.

9. In apparatus for use in rendering an information object, comprising a web advertisement, through an executing web browser and in response to a first web page provided to the browser, the apparatus having a processor, a memory connected to the processor and storing both computer executable instructions and the first web page, the first web page having a plurality of computer readable instructions representing page content and code, the code containing an advertising tag, and an output device responsive to the processor, a method comprising the steps, performed by the processor in response to the executable instructions and the code, of:

dynamically writing a plurality of predefined applet tags, that collectively implement a script, into the first web page;

downloading in response to subsequent execution of the script, the agent from a corresponding network server into the memory; and

thereafter instantiating and executing the agent under the browser, an agent having an applet, wherein the applet performs the steps of;

issuing a request, via a network connection, to a specified network server to download a manifest file for the information object from the specified network server, wherein the manifest file comprises a manifest of names of a plurality of predefined informational files that collectively comprise part of the information object, a network address at which each of the informational files can be accessed and associated configuration information necessary to properly render the information object;

accessing and downloading, to the memory, each informational file, specified in the manifest file, from its corresponding network address, to the extent said each informational file does not then reside within the memory; and

in response to an occurrence of a user-initiated event, as detected by the agent through monitoring a user click-stream, which initiates a transition from the first web page to a second web page and which signifies a start of an interstitial interval;

ceasing any further download of the manifest file or any informational file specified in the manifest file, to the extent any downloading of said manifest file or said any informational file is then occurring; and

initiating processing, through the browser, of informational files for a previously downloaded information object so as to render the previously downloaded object during the interstitial interval to the user.

10. The method in claim 9, wherein the applet comprises a download queue and a play queue, further comprising the steps, performed by the processor during execution of the applet, of:

inserting an associated manifest file for a advertisement to be downloaded into an end of the download queue;

downloading advertising files specified in a given manifest file, then situated at a head of the download queue, into browser storage;

once all the advertising files specified in the given manifest file for a corresponding advertisement reside in the browser storage on the computer, removing the given manifest file from the download queue and inserting the given manifest file into an end of the play queue; and

in response to the user-initiated event and during the ensuing interstitial interval, processing advertising files specified in a specific manifest file then situated at a head of the play queue so as to render, through the output device, an advertisement, corresponding to the specific manifest file, to the user.

11. The method in claim 10 wherein the manifest file comprises an Ad Descriptor file.

12. The method in claim 10 wherein the advertising code further comprises a component designating the specified network server.

13. The method in claim 12 further comprising the step, performed by the processor during execution of the applet and in response to the component contained in the code, of downloading the manifest file originating from the specified network server designated in the component, the specified network server being an advertising server.

14. The method in claim 10 further comprising the steps, performed by the agent, of:

producing a stop event in response to the user-initiated event; and

processing the stop event to suspend said downloading of further advertisement files and to render the advertisement associated with the manifest file then situated at the head of the play queue.

15. The method in claim 10 wherein the applet comprises an Ad Controller applet.

16. The method in claim 10 further comprising the step, performed by the applet, of processing each advertisement as a separate thread so as to effectuate pipe-lined processing of advertisements.