Controlling the order in which content is displayed in a browser

• US 6,657,647 B1
• Filed: 09/25/2000
• Issued: 12/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2000
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Xoucin, Inc.
• Inventors: Bright, Walter G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vu, Kieu D.
• Application Number:
  US09/670,226
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: 345/760, 345/764, 345/856, 345/862, 345/157, 345/160, 345/859, 345/619, 715/513, 715/514, 715/515
• US Class Current: 715/856
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A main document and referenced frame documents to be rendered by a browser for a display page are parsed by the browser to identify where text and graphics objected are to be located. The location of a cursor that is used by the user to interact with the browser is tracked, and the object nearest to the cursor is determined. This object is then rendered prior to the rendering of other objects in the display page that would normally be rendered prior to the nearest object under conventional rendering schemes. Optionally, objects related to the nearest objects may be rendered the same time, and various other objects may be rendered or partially rendered while data corresponding to the nearest object is being received by the browser.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an order in which objects are rendered on a display page by a browser, comprising

requesting a main document corresponding to the display page from a network server, said main document comprising code defining a layout of internal objects included in the main document and external objects referenced by the main document, said external objects including any frame documents referenced in the main document;

parsing said code of the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document to identify locations where said internal and external objects are to be rendered on the display page;

identifying a location of a cursor relative to the display page;

identifying an internal or external object nearest the location of the cursor;

rendering the internal/external object that is identified to be nearest the cursor; and

rendering other internal and external objects to complete rendering of the display page.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprise facilitating a user to select whether internal and external objects in the display page are to be rendered using a conventional ordering scheme without considering the location of the cursor, or are to be rendered as defined in claim 1.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user is enabled to made said selection by a user-interaction with a pointing device that interacts with the browser.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising rendering internal/external objects related to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects in the display page.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising rendering a portion of the internal objects included in the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document while data corresponding to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor are being received by the browser from the network server or another network server.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if the cursor has been moved, and that it is nearest an internal/external object that has yet to be rendered on the display page; and

rendering the internal/external object nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects if it is determined that the cursor has been moved.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising rendering placeholders corresponding to where graphic internal/external objects are to be rendered on the display page prior to such graphic internal/external objects being rendered.

8. A system for controlling an order in which objects are rendered on a display page, comprising:

a memory in which machine instructions comprising a browser computer program are stored;

a processor coupled to the memory for executing the machine instructions;

a display, coupled to the memory and processor; and

said processor implementing a plurality of functions when executing the machine instructions, including;

requesting a main document corresponding to the display page from a network server, said main document comprising code defining a layout of internal objects included in the main document and external objects referenced by the main document, said external objects including any frame documents referenced in the main documents;

parsing said code of the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document to identify locations where said internal and external objects are to be rendered on the display pages;

identifying a location of a cursor relative to the display page;

identifying an internal or external object nearest the location of the cursor;

rendering the internal/external object that is identified to be nearest the cursor; and

rendering other internal and external objects complete rendering of the display page.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of facilitating a user to select whether internal and external objects in the display page are to be rendered using a conventional ordering scheme without considering the location of the cursor, or are to be rendered as defined in claim 8.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of enabling the user to made said selection by a user-interaction with a pointing device that interacts with the browser.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of rendering internal/external objects related to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects in the display page.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of rendering a portion of the internal objects included in the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document while data corresponding to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor are being received by the browser from the network server or another network server.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of:

determining if the cursor has been moved, and that it is nearest an internal/external object that has yet to be rendered on the display page; and

rendering the internal/external object nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects if it is determined that the cursor has been moved.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein execution of the machine instructions by the processor further implements the function of rendering placeholders corresponding to where graphic internal/external objects are to be rendered on the display page prior to such graphic internal/external objects being rendered.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein said system is a selected one of a desktop computer, a set top box, a notebook sized computer, a palm sized personal digital assistant, and a wireless cell phone.

16. An article of manufacture for controlling an order in which objects are rendered on a display page, comprising:

a memory media adapted to be used with a computer;

a plurality of machine instructions stored on the memory media, said machine instructions effecting a plurality of functions when executed by the computer, including;

requesting a main document corresponding to the display page from a network server, said main document comprising code defining a layout of internal objects included in the main document and external objects referenced by the main document, said external objects including any frame documents referenced in the main documents;

parsing said code of the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document to identify locations where said internal and external objects are to be rendered on the display page;

identifying a location of a cursor relative to the display page;

identifying an internal or external object nearest the location of the cursor;

rendering the internal/external object that is identified to be nearest the cursor; and

rendering other internal and external objects to complete rendering of the display page.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of facilitating a user to select whether internal and external objects in the display page are to be rendered using a conventional ordering scheme without considering the location of the cursor, or are to be rendered as defined in claim 16.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of enabling the user to made said selection by a user-interaction with a pointing device that interacts with the browser.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of the function of rendering internal/external objects related to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects in the display page.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of the function of rendering a portion of the internal objects included in the main document and any frame documents referenced by the main document while data corresponding to the internal/external object determined to be nearest the cursor are being received by the browser from the network server or another network server.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of the function of:

determining if the cursor has been moved, and that it is nearest an internal/external object that has yet to be rendered on the display page; and

rendering the internal/external object nearest the cursor prior to rendering other internal/external objects if it is determined that the cursor has been moved.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein said functions effectuated when executed by the computer further include the function of the function of rendering placeholders corresponding to where graphic internal/external objects are to be rendered on the display page prior to such graphic internal/external objects being rendered.