Wireless communication device with markup language based man-machine interface

• US 7,228,340 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2003
• Issued: 06/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Access Company Limited
• Inventors: De Boor, Adam, Eggers, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barot; Bharat
• Application Number:
  US10/688,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709217-219, 709227-229, 709/230, 707 9- 10, 715/501.1, 715/513, 705/14, 705/27
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9562 Bookmark management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/56 including a user help function
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A wireless communications device with a markup language based man-machine interface provides a user interface for telecommunications functionality, including dialing telephone numbers, answering telephone calls, creating messages, sending messages, receiving messages, establishing configuration settings defined in markup language such as HTML, and accessed through a browser program executed by the wireless communication device. This feature enables direct access to Internet and World Wide Web content, such as Web pages, to be directly integrated with telecommunication functions of the device, and allows Web content to be seamlessly integrated with other data types, since all data presented to the user via the user interface is presented via markup language-based pages. The browser processes an extended form of HTML that provides new tags and attributes that enhance the navigational, logical, and display capabilities of conventional HTML, and particularly adapt HTML to be displayed and used on wireless communication devices with small screen displays.

Claims

1. A computer program product for use on a communication device, the communication device including a memory for storing the computer program product, a screen display, and a processor for executing the computer program product and controlling for operating the communication device, the computer program product comprising:

a shell for receiving a URL having a protocol component and a data component, the data specifying a command to be executed or content to be fetched, the shell providing the data component to a protocol handler according to the protocol component, and the fetched content to a content handler for processing;

a plurality of protocol handlers, each protocol handler communicatively coupled to the shell to receive a URL and either fetch content specified by the data component and provide the fetched content to the shell, or execute the command specified by the data component; and

a plurality of content handlers including at least one markup language content handler and an advertising content handler,

the markup language content handler being communicatively coupled to the shell to receive fetched markup language content and process the fetched markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device,

the advertising content handler choosing an advertising page to be displayed when the communication device is idle and instructing the markup language content handler to display the advertising page chosen by the advertising content handler.

2. A communication device, comprising:

a screen display;

a processor coupled to the screen display;

a shell executed by the processor for receiving a URL having a protocol component and a data component, the data specifying a command to be executed or content to be fetched, the shell providing the data component to a protocol handler according to the protocol component, and the fetched content to a content handler for processing;

a plurality of protocol handlers, each protocol handler executed by the processor and coupled to receive a tIRL from the shell and either fetch coatent specified by the data component and provide the fetched content to the shell, or execute the command specified by the data component;

at least one markup language content handler executed by to processor and coupled to the shell that receives markup language content and processes the markup language content to display displays the content on the screen display; and

the advertising content handler choosing an advertising page to be displayed when the communication device is idle and instructing the markup language content handler to display the advertising page chosen by the advertising content handler.

3. A computer implemented method of displaying an advertising page for a communication device having a memory and a screen display, the method including the steps of:

receiving a URL having a protocol component and a data component, the data specifying a command to be executed or content to be fetched;

fetching markup language content specified by the data component in accordance a protocol specified by the protocol component,

receiving fetched markup language content and processing the fetched markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device,

choosing an advertising page to be displayed when the communication device is idle; and

displaying the advertising page as chosen on the screen display of the communication device.

4. A computer implemented method of displaying an advertising page for a communication device having a memory and a screen display, the method including the steps of:

receiving a markup language content and processing the markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device,

choosing an advertising page to be displayed when the communication device is idle; and

displaying the advertising page as chosen on the screen display of the communication device.

5. A browser program product for controlling the operation of a communication device by execution of the browser program product by a processor of the communication device having a memory for storing the browser program product and a screen display, the browser program product comprising:

a markup language content handler that receives a markup language content and processing the markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device;

an advertising content handler that displays an advertisement on the screen display of the communication device; and

an advertising manager that prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

6. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a user responds to the advertisement.

7. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when the advertisement has been displayed a predetermined number of times.

8. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a more important advertisement is to be displayed.

9. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager is capable of marking an advertisement as temporary, the marked advertisement being not stored on a URL history stack so that the advertisement is never rerun.

10. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager looks at a set of advertisements available and chooses one of the advertisements to display.

11. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertising manager checks whether a currently displayed advertisement is marked for deletion, the advertisement manager deleting the advertisement if it is marked for deletion.

12. The browser program product according to claim 11, wherein the advertising manager passes a string to the markup language content handler as user has responded to the advertisement after it is marked for deletion.

13. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein any key press that is not bound ih the advertisement causes the advertisement to disappear.

14. The browser program product according to claim 13, wherein the key press that is not bound in the advertisement causes the key press to be reprocessed by the page that was active before the advertisement appeared.

15. The browser program product according to claim 5, wherein the advertisement is a page described using a markup language and including an advertising content.

16. A communication device, comprising:

a screen display; and

a processor coupled to the screen display,

the processor executing a browsing operation which realizes functions of;

a markup language content handler that receives a markup language content and processes the markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device;

an advertising content handler that displays an advertisement onto screen display of the communication device; and

an advertising manager that prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

17. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a user responds to the advertisement.

18. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when the advertisement has been displayed a predetermined number of times.

19. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein the advertising manager prevents the advertisement from being displayed when a more important advertisement is to be displayed.

20. The communication device according to claim 16, wherein the advertisement is a page described using a markup language and including an advertising content.

21. A computer implemented method of displaying an advertisement for a communication device having a screen display, the method including the steps of:

receiving a markup language content and processing the markup language content to output the content to the screen display of the communication device;

displaying an advertisement on the screen display of the communication device; and

preventing the advertisement from being displayed when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the advertisement is prevented from being displayed when a user responds to the advertisement.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the advertisement is prevented from being displayed after having been displayed a predetermined number of times.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the advertisement is prevented from being dislayed when a more important advertisement is to be displayed.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein the advertisement is a page described using a markup language and including an advertising content.

26. A computer implemented method for automatically displaying data to a user, comprising:

receiving a markup language page containing a tag including advertising data in a header portion of the page; and

displaying a body portion of the markup language page in a window having a title bar area and the advertising data in the title bar area.

27. A computer pogram product for use on a communication device, the communication device including a memory for storing the computer program product, a sceen display and, a processor for executing the computer program product to conrol for a operation of the communication device, the computer program product including:

instructions to receive a markup language page containing a tag including advertising data in a header portion of the page; and

instructions to display a body portion of the markup language page in a windown having a title bar area and the advertising data in the title bar area.

28. A communication device, comprising:

a display; and

a processor coupled to the display,

the processor executing operations of;

receiving a markup language page containing a tag including advertising data in a header portion of the page; and

displaying a body portion of the markup language page in a window having a title bar area and the advertising data in the title bar area on the display.