DOM based media viewer

• US 8,181,110 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2009
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I-Fax.com Incorporated
• Original Assignee: I-Fax.com Incorporated
• Inventors: Worthington, Cristian Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao “Kevin”
• Application Number:
  US12/558,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235765A1
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/733, 715750-753, 715851-855, 715719-723, 715726-728, 715736-738
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A system by which a computer user can view or listen to selected media objects, such as videos or podcasts or Internet radio, located in the Document Object Model (“DOM”) of a web page. The system is able to isolate the media objects selected by a user or the media objects stipulated in a database containing a description of the location of the objects. The system has the ability to display the specified media objects in a toolbar or console. The system is able to play multiple media objects concurrently and to independently control the sound produced by multiple media objects and also has the capability of performing a pre-recorded set of instructions to cause an object in the DOM to execute, such as playing a video or opening a file.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for a user provided with a computer to select and play media objects in the Document Object Model (“

DOM”

) of a web page displayed on a user'"'"'s computer, wherein each user'"'"'s computer has a memory and a computer display able to provide a user interface and being accessible via the Internet to web pages containing said media objects using a web browser, a media player and user input means comprising a user pointing device for manipulating a displayed pointer, the method comprising;

i) identifying each Media Object in the DOM rendered by said web browser for a displayed web page;

ii) providing means to visually identify each said Media Object in the DOM to said user;

iii) receiving a selection of a Media Object for a user to view, made with said pointing device;

iv) assembling and storing in memory a Vector Record for said selected Media Object in the DOM, wherein said Vector Record contains;

a. a URL associated with each selected Media Object in the DOM;

b. information about the location of the selected Media Object, selected from the group consisting of;

i. the URL of the surrounding web page on which the selected Media Object is found;

ii. the title of the selected Media Object;

iii. the ordinal position of the selected Media Object in source order as the selected Media Object appears in the DOM;

iv. the ID associated with the selected Media Object on the web page;

v. the file type of the selected Media Object;

vi. the tag name of the selected Media Object;

vii. the position of the pointer in the DOM during said selection step; and

viii. the most recent series of selection events prior to said selection step;

v) retrieving the Vector Record for the selected Media Object and obtaining the URL for the web page and the location of the selected Media Object on the web page from said Vector Record;

vi) opening a window or frame within which to display the selected Media Object;

vii) starting a browser session as a background process;

viii) loading the web page containing the selected Media Object into the background session of the browser using the URL obtained from the Vector Record;

ix) navigating to the location of the selected Media Object on the web page loaded in the background browser using the information obtained from the Vector Record;

x) scaling the selected Media Object to fit the window or frame; and

xi) displaying the selected Media Object in said window or frame;

wherein a plurality of Media Objects are selected, each selection using a unique computer-implemented process having a unique process ID; and

each said unique computer-implemented process is adapted to write sound records to the operating system of the user'"'"'s computer, said sound records each being identified by one of said unique process IDs corresponding to the source of the sound record.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said means to visually identify each said Media Object in the DOM to said user comprises a graphic element adapted to be displayed when said pointing element is sufficiently close to said Media Object.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said graphic element comprises a Play button.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said selection of a Media Object to view is done by a mouse click.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the Media Object is played in a toolbar or console.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple media objects are selected from one or more web pages, steps ii) through xi) are carried out for each selected Media Object, wherein a unique background browser session is implemented for each said selected Media Object;

and wherein a system manager is provided which puts a place holder inside software applications into which the multi-media content can be directed; and

directs the multi-media content to any software application running in the foreground that contains a place holder to thereby play said multiple media objects simultaneously.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein a plurality of said multiple media objects emit sound, and said system manager controls whether sound is on or off for each of said multiple media objects individually.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein software is inserted around each Media Object in a “

div”

that enables the system to display one or more targets comprising one or more graphic elements to the user when the user places the pointer over the Media Object in the DOM, and the software inserted into the DOM records instances where the user clicks on said one or more graphic elements for a specific Media Object.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said one or more graphic elements initiate either the playing of said Media Object or saving said Media Object in a Media List.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the end of the media is detected when it stops playing by carrying out the following steps:

i) the computer-implemented means for carrying out the method of claim 1 plays a video or audio media object and passes the output to an end-detecting process that looks for the end of the media object file;

ii) the end-detecting process samples the image and/or audio and stores said sample in a table in memory;

iii) the table contains records of the last “

n”

number of observations captured by the end-detecting process;

iv) the end-detecting process analyses the records in the table to determine whether images and/or audio are recurring in a pattern that indicates the Media Object has ended;

v) the end-detecting process continues execution if similarity cannot be found or ends the execution of the Media Object;

vi) upon ending the execution of the Media Object, the end-detecting process starts the next Media Object in a Media List.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the system detects when a Media Object has been deleted or the web page layout changed.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said selected Media Object includes pre-recorded instructions for playing said selected Media Object, and wherein said pre-recorded instructions are obtained from the actions of said user in playing said Media Object in association with the position of the pointer in the DOM during said selection step, and the most recent series of selection events prior to said selection step;

and said pre-recorded instructions are stored in said Vector Record of said selected Media Object in association with the position of the pointer in the DOM during said selection step and the most recent series of selection events prior to said selection step and said pre-recorded instructions are executed in order to display said selected Media Object.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the sound emitted by each Media Object is controlled by altering the sound records written to the operating system of the user'"'"'s computer using said one of said unique process IDs to identify the source of the sound.

14. A computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon, wherein the program code, when executed by a computer, performs the method of claim 1.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having a computer readable code thereon, said computer program product permitting a user provided with a computer to select and play media objects in the Document Object Model (“

DOM”

) of a web page displayed on a user'"'"'s computer, wherein each user'"'"'s computer has a memory and a computer display able to provide a user interface and being accessible via the Internet to web pages containing said media objects using a web browser, a media player and user input means comprising a user pointing device for manipulating a displayed pointer, the computer program product comprising;

i) computer readable code to identify each Media Object in the DOM rendered by said web browser for a displayed web page;

ii) computer readable code to visually identify each said Media Object in the DOM to said user;

iii) computer readable code for said User to select with said pointing device a Media Object to view;

iv) computer readable code for assembling and storing in memory a Vector Record for said selected Media Object in the DOM, wherein said Vector Record contains;

a. a URL associated with each selected Media Object in the DOM;

b. information about the location of the selected Media Object, selected from the group consisting of;

I. the URL of the surrounding web page on which the selected Media Object is found;

ii. the title of the selected Media Object;

iii. the ordinal position of the selected Media Object in source order as the selected Media Object appears in the DOM;

iv. the ID associated with the selected Media Object on the web page;

v. the file type of the selected Media Object;

vi. the tag name of the selected Media Object;

vii. the position of the pointer in the DOM during said selection step; and

viii. the most recent series of selection events prior to said selection step;

v) computer readable code for retrieving the Vector Record for the selected Media Object and obtaining the URL for the web page and the location of the selected Media Object on the web page from said Vector Record;

vi) computer readable code for opening a window or frame within which to display the selected Media Object;

vii) computer readable code for starting a browser session as a background process;

viii) computer readable code for loading the web page containing the selected Media Object into the background session of the browser using the URL obtained from the Vector Record;

ix) computer readable code for navigating to the location of the selected Media Object on the web page loaded in the background browser using the information obtained from the Vector Record;

x) computer readable code for scaling the selected Media Object to fit the window or frame; and

xi) computer readable code for displaying the selected Media Object in said window or frame;

and further comprising computer readable code for selecting a plurality of Media Objects, each selection using a unique computer-implemented process having a unique process ID; and

wherein each said unique computer-implemented process is adapted to write sound records to the operating system of the user'"'"'s computer, said sound records each being identified by one of said unique process IDs corresponding to the source of the sound record.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein said means to visually identify each said Media Object in the DOM to said user comprises a graphic element adapted to be displayed when said pointing element is sufficiently close to said Media Object.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein said graphic element comprises a Play button.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein said selection of a Media Object to view is done by a mouse click.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the Media Object is played in a toolbar or console.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising computer readable code for selecting multiple media objects from one or more web pages, for implementing a unique background browser session for each said selected Media Object;

and for providing a system manager which puts a place holder inside software applications into which the multi-media content can be directed; and

directs the multi-media content to any software application running in the foreground that contains a place holder to thereby play said multiple media objects simultaneously.

21. The computer program product of claim 20 wherein a plurality of said multiple media objects emit sound, and said computer readable code permits said system manager to control whether sound is on or off for each of said multiple media objects individually.