Method, proxy and system to support full-page web browsing on hand-held devices

• US 7,584,423 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2005
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SoftView LLC
• Original Assignee: Gary B. Rohrabaugh
• Inventors: Sherman, Scott A., Rohrabaugh, Gary B.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, THU V
• Application Number:
  US11/045,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20050132286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/238, 715/243
• US Class Current: 715/238
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• 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 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1048 Scalability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/24 Generation of individual character patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 : specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

Method, proxy, and system for enabling users of hand-held devices to perform full page browsing of Web pages with zooming and panning. A proxy or proxy server is used to process HTML-based Web content corresponding to requested Web pages in their original form and generate translated content that is configured to be processed by a browser client running on hand-held devices to support full page browsing of the Web pages with zooming and panning support while preserving the original page layout and design of the Web pages. Thus, users are enabled to use their hand-held devices to browse their favorite Web pages in a similar manner to which they are accustomed when using their desktop browser. Moreover, since the original form of the HTML-based Web content is employed, hand-held device users are enabled to browse from among billions of Web pages available via the Internet.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a mobile phone hosting a browser client to access a Web page having content comprising a plurality of objects including text objects and image objects and having an original format comprising HTML-based Web content defining an original page layout and design of the content on the Web page;

routing the request through a proxy server associated with the browser client that is configured to retrieve and translate HTML-based Web content associated with the Web page into translated content that supports a scalable resolution-independent representation of the Web page that preserves the original page layout and design of the Web page content for each of multiple zoom levels employing respective scale factors when the translated content and/or content derived therefrom is scaled and rendered on the browser client, wherein the translated content is configured to be received and processed by the browser client to enable a user of the mobile phone to perform full page browsing of the web page with zooming and panning while preserving the original page layout and design of the Web page content; and

facilitating, at least in part, return of the translated content to the mobile phone.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for the Web page including a URL (uniform resource locator) for the Web page; and

routing the request for the Web page to the proxy server rather than an Internet site corresponding to the URL.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the translated content from the proxy server; and

sending the translated content to the mobile phone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the proxy server is operated by a service provider for the mobile phone.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the proxy server is operated by a third party separate from a service provider for the mobile phone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the translated content includes scalable page layout information defining a layout location for each of the plurality of objects.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the translated content includes scalable vector-based graphics content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the HTML-based Web content comprises cascaded style sheet data defining aspects of the original page layout and design of the Web page, and the translated content is configured, when processed by the browser client, to preserve the original Web page and design aspects associated with the cascaded style sheet data at each zoom level and panned view.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from a hand-held wireless device running a browser client to access a Web page having content comprising a plurality of objects including text objects and image objects and having an original format comprising HTML-based Web content defining an original page layout and design of the content on the Web page;

sending a request to a proxy associated with the browser client to provide translated content associated with the Web page and generated from the HTML-based Web content and configured to be received and processed by the browser client to produce a scalable resolution-independent representation of the Web page that preserves the original page layout and design of the Web page content for each of multiple zoom levels employing respective scale factors when the translated content and/or content derived therefrom is scaled and rendered by the browser client to enable a user of the hand-held wireless device to perform full page browsing of the web page with zooming and panning while preserving the original page layout and design of the Web page content;

receiving the translated content from the proxy; and

sending the translated content to the hand-held wireless device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the request from the hand-held wireless device includes information identifying a type of translated content capable of being rendered by the browser client.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying a proxy capable of providing translated content of the type identified by the information; and

sending the request to provide the translated content to the proxy that is identified.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the Web page includes at least one hyperlink, and the translated content is configured to enable the hyperlink to be selected from a Web page rendered via the browser client when in a zoomed state.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the request for accessing the Web page from the hand-held wireless device includes indicia used to route the request to a proxy server operated by the proxy, the method further comprising routing the request to the proxy server based on the indicia.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

maintaining information identifying a type of translated content capable of being rendered by the browser client; and

requesting translated content from the proxy corresponding to the type of translated content capable of being rendered by the browser client.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the translated content includes scalable page layout information defining a layout location for each of the plurality of objects.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the translated content includes scalable vector-based graphics content.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the Web page includes HTML-based code defining an original page layout of display content within the Web page, wherein the original page layout defines a layout location for the plurality of objects, including text objects, graphic layout objects, and image objects included in the Web page, and wherein the translated content includes, for each object, a scalable vector identifying a layout location of an object datum associated with the object.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the translated content further includes scalable data defining a bounding box for the content associated with each object.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein the Web page includes an image, and the translated content includes a compressed form of the image.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein a portion of the HTML-based Web content comprises cascaded style sheet data defining aspects of the original page layout and design of the Web page, and the translated content is configured, when processed by the browser client, to preserve the original Web page and design aspects associated with the cascaded style sheet data at each zoom level and panned view.

21. A method for providing translated content associated with a Web page to mobile clients serviced by a mobile service provider, each mobile client comprising a hand-held device, the method comprising:

receiving, via mobile telecommunications infrastructure operated by the mobile service provider, a request from a mobile client to access a Web page, the Web page having display content comprising a plurality of objects including text objects and image objects and including HTML-based code defining an original page layout and design of the display content within the Web page, the request including a URL for the Web page;

forwarding a translation request to a proxy to provide translated content associated with the Web page, the translated content including object content and scalable page layout information associated with the object content derived from the HTML-based code, the translation request identifying the URL for the Web page;

receiving the translated content from the proxy; and

sending the translated content to the mobile client,

wherein the translated content is configured to be received and processed by a browser client associated with the proxy and running on the mobile client to enable a user of the mobile client to perform full page browsing of the web page with zooming at multiple zoom levels employing respective scale factors and panning while preserving the original page layout and design of the Web page display content.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the translated content includes scalable page layout information, text content, and image content, the method further comprising:

sending the scalable page layout information and text content to the mobile client prior to sending the image content.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving a first request from a first mobile client to access a Web page;

forwarding a corresponding translation request to the proxy to provide translated content associated with the Web page;

receiving the translated content from the proxy;

caching the translated content;

receiving a second request from a second mobile client to access the Web page; and

sending the translated content that is cached to the second mobile client to service the second request.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein a portion of the HTML-based Web content comprises cascaded style sheet data defining aspects of the original page layout and design of the Web page, and the translated content is configured, when processed by the browser client, to preserve the original Web page and design aspects associated with the cascaded style sheet data at each zoom level and panned view.

25. A method, comprising:

at a proxy server, and in response to a request originating at a browser client associated with the proxy server to access a Web page, the Web page having content comprising a plurality of objects including text objects and image objects and comprising HTML-based Web content having an original format defining an original page layout and design of the content on the Web page,

retrieving the HTML-based Web content and processing the HTML-based Web content to generate translated content that is configured to be processed via the browser client to support full page browsing on a hand-held device running the browser client under which a user of the hand-held device is enabled to browse the Web page at various zoom levels and panned positions while the original page layout and design of the Web page content is preserved; and

performing at least one of initiating return of or returning the translated content to the browser client.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the Web page includes at least one hyperlink, the method further comprising:

in response to receiving information from the browser client identifying a selection of a hyperlink made by the user via the browser client,

retrieving and translating Web content associated with the hyperlink at the proxy server to produce additional translated content; and

performing at least one of initiating return of or returning the additional scalable translated to the browser client.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the translated content is configured to enable the Web page to be displayed at different resolutions via the browser client by re-rendering a display of the Web page using different respective scale factors, wherein the original page layout and design of the Web page content are preserved at each of the different resolutions.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the Web page includes at least one column and the translated content includes column layout information that is configured to be employed by the browser client to enable a user to zoom on a column of the Web page via a corresponding user input.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the translated content includes image layout information that is configured to be employed by the browser client to enable a user to zoom on an image of the Web page via a corresponding user input.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein the Web page includes at least one paragraph of text content and the translated content includes paragraph layout information that is configured to be employed by the browser client to enable a user to zoom on a paragraph of the Web page via a corresponding user input.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising

sending translated content corresponding to the text objects to the browser client via a first connection;

and

sending content corresponding to at least one image to the browser client via a second connection.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the hand-held device comprises a mobile phone.

33. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

retrieving an image associated with the Web page in an original format that is not scalable;

converting the image into a scalable format; and

including the scalable format of the image as part of the translated content.

34. The method of claim 25, further comprising using an encryption-based security scheme in communications between the proxy server and the browser client.

35. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

generating translated content corresponding to a Web page in response to a first access request for the Web page originating from a first browser client;

caching the translated content at the proxy server; and

in response to a second access request for the Web page originating from a second browser client;

returning an instance of the translated content that is cached to the second browser client.

36. The method of claim 25, wherein a portion of the HTML-based Web content comprises cascaded style sheet data defining aspects of the original page layout and design of the Web page, and the translated content is configured, when processed by the browser client, to preserve the original Web page and design aspects associated with the cascaded style sheet data at each zoom level and panned view.

37. The method of claim 25, wherein the proxy server is configured to retrieve and translate HTML-based Web content associated with billions of respective Web pages to generate corresponding translated content to enable users of browser clients to browse, zoom, and pan the billions of Web pages in a manner that preserves the original layout and design of the HTML-based Web page content of each Web page.

38. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

parsing HTML-based code corresponding to the Web page to determine the original page layout of display content within the Web page, wherein the original page layout defines a layout location for the plurality of objects included in the Web page;

for each object,

defining object vector data corresponding to the layout location for the object; and

creating a reference that links the object to the object vector data that is generated; and

including the object vector data and the references in the translated content.

39. The method of claim 25, wherein a portion of the translated content comprises vector-based content.

40. The method of claim 25, further comprising providing the browser client to a user.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the translated content includes scalable text content, and the browser client is configured to scale a scalable font to render the scalable text content.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the browser client is configured to perform operations via execution of Java-based instructions.

43. The method of claim 25, wherein the translated content has a size that is reduced by at least 50% relative to the HTML-based content corresponding to the Web page in its original format.

44. The method of claim 25, wherein the translated content has a size that is reduced by at least ⅔

relative to the HTML-based content corresponding to the Web page in its original format.

45. A system, comprising:

a proxy server comprising a computer system having at least one processor; and

a browser client, associated with the proxy server;

wherein the proxy server is configured to execute software on said at least one processor to enable the proxy server to,

receive a request originating at the browser client to access a Web page, the Web page having content comprising a plurality of objects including text objects and image objects and comprising HTML-based Web content having an original format defining an original page layout and design of the content on the Web page; and

retrieve the HTML-based Web content and process the HTML-based Web content to generate translated content that is configured to be processed via the browser client,

and wherein the browser client is configured to run on a hand-held device and process the translated content to support full Web page browsing with zooming and panning by enabling a user of the hand-held device to browse the Web page at multiple zoom levels employing respective scale factors and at various panned positions while the original page layout and design of the Web page content is preserved.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein a portion of the HTML-based Web content comprises cascaded style sheet data defining aspects of the original page layout and design of the Web page, and the translated content is configured, when processed by the browser client, to preserve the original Web page and design aspects associated with the cascaded style sheet data at each zoom level and panned view.

47. The system of claim 45, wherein the proxy server is configured to retrieve and translate HTML-based Web content associated with billions of respective Web pages to generate corresponding translated content to enable users of browser clients to browse, zoom, and pan the billions of Web pages in a manner that preserves the original layout and design of the HTML-based Web page content of each Web page.