Integrated multilingual browser

• US 7,716,038 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2007
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Flanagan, Mary A., Lammers, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth; David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spooner; Lamont M
• Application Number:
  US11/935,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 704 2- 8, 715/264, 715205-208, 715/234, 717/136, 707 2- 5
• US Class Current: 704/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/131 Fragmentation of text files, e.g. creating reusable text-blocks; Linking to fragments, e.g. using XInclude; Namespaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/221 Parsing markup language streams streaming G06F40/149
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/47 Machine-assisted translation, e.g. using translation memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

The disclosed system translates into different languages HTML documents available through the World Wide Web. HTML documents are translated by machine translation software bundled in a browser. Alternatively, documents are retrieved as needed, translated, and stored on a Web server so user requests are serviced with a document that has been translated from a different language. The disclosed invention expands usage of the Internet for non-English speakers.

Claims

1. A method for providing translated web pages to a web browser computer user comprising:

(a) determining the user'"'"'s preferred language;

(b) receiving a request from the web browser for a first web page, the first web page comprising text in a source language and at least one link to a second web page comprising text in the source language;

(c) preserving said link during translation of said first web page from said source language to said user'"'"'s preferred language;

(d) providing to the user'"'"'s web browser a first translated web page comprising the text of the first web page translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language, the first translated web page including the at least one link to the second web page preserved during translation of said first web page;

(e) receiving a request from the user'"'"'s web browser for the second web page when the link to the second web page is selected; and

(f) providing to the user'"'"'s web browser a second translated web page comprising text translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a first translated web page comprising text translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language is performed at a computer selected from the group consisting of a user'"'"'s computer and a server.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising caching the first translated web page.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a first or second translated web page comprises providing a first or second translated web page from a cache of translated web pages.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a first or second translated web page comprises translating the first or second web page when the user'"'"'s selection of the web page is determined.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the user'"'"'s preferred language is specified by the user via the web browser.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein providing a first translated web page comprising text translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language comprises:

pre-processing the first web page to identify codes in the web page not to be translated;

translating the text of the web page from the source language into the user'"'"'s preferred language; and

post-processing the translated web page to integrate the untranslated codes into the translated text in the user'"'"'s preferred language.

8. A system for providing translated web pages to a web browser user of a computer network comprising:

at least one computer on the network;

(a) determining the user'"'"'s preferred language;

(b) receiving a request from the user'"'"'s web browser for a first web page, the first web page comprising text in a source language and at least one link to a second web page comprising text in the source language;

(c) preserving said link during translation of said first web page from said source language to said user'"'"'s preferred language;

(d) transmitting to the user'"'"'s web browser a first translated web page comprising the text of the first web page translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language, the first translated web page including the at least one link to the second web page preserved during translation;

(e) receiving a request from the user'"'"'s web browser for the second web page when the link to the second web page is selected; and

(f) transmitting to the user'"'"'s web browser a second translated web page comprising text translated from the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language; and

at least one user computer with a web browser;

(g) transmitting requests for a first web page and a second web page in a source language; and

(h) receiving a first translated web page and a second translated web page, the translated web pages comprising the text from the first and second web pages translated to the user'"'"'s preferred language.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the computer on the network for receiving user requests from the user'"'"'s computer for web pages in a source language and transmitting to the user'"'"'s computer translated web pages is selected from the group consisting of the user computer and a server on the network.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the first and second translated web pages are transmitted to the user computer from a storage area.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the storage area comprises a cache of translated web pages that have been accessed previously.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the storage area comprises pre-translated documents.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the user'"'"'s preferred language is selected by the user via the web browser.

14. A method for providing translated web pages to a web browser computer user comprising:

(a) receiving at a computer a request for a web page in a user'"'"'s preferred language;

(b) retrieving the requested web page from a web server, the requested web page comprising text in a source language and at least one link to another web page;

(c) creating a translated web page by translating the text of the requested web page in the source language to the user'"'"'s preferred language and preserving in the translated web page the link in the requested web page; and

(d) transmitting the translated web page to the web browser computer user.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(e) adding the requested web page to a cache; and

(f) adding the translated web page to the cache.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(g) receiving at the computer a second request for the web page in the user'"'"'s preferred language;

(h) retrieving the translated web page from the cache; and

(i) transmitting the translated web page to the web browser of a computer user requesting the web page.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein creating a translated web page is performed at a computer selected from the group consisting of a user'"'"'s computer and a server.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the user'"'"'s preferred language is specified by the user via the web browser.