ADMINISTRATION OF WEB PAGE

• US 20170205974A1
• Filed: 04/04/2017
• Published: 07/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Lund, Robert M., Johnson, Steven E.
• Granted Patent: US 10,552,518 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Manipulation of a Web page displayed through a first device as a function of user interaction with a second device is contemplated. The manipulation may include operating the second device as a touchscreen or other gesture-based controllable device and automatically providing corresponding navigation within the Web page as a function of interactions registered through the second device.

Claims

1. A method for remotely controlling a presentation playing within a first Web page of a receiving user agent operating on a first device from a second device operating independently of the first device, the method comprising:

determining one or more of a plurality of objects for a document object model (DOM) generated at the receiving user agent to enable display of the first Web page, the plurality of objects being used with the first Web browser to facilitate playing the presentation within the first Web page, the plurality of objects including a presentation object associated with streaming or downloading the presentation from a Web server to the receiving user agent and a control object associated with controlling playback of the presentation within the first Web page through corresponding manipulation of the presentation object, the presentation control object including a presentation function sufficient to instigate playing of the presentation when set to a first attribute and to pause playing of the presentation when set to a second attribute;

determining the presentation function to be set to the first attribute at the first instance as a function of instructions included in a menu message wirelessly transmitted directly from the receiving user agent to the second device at a fifth instance occurring prior to the second instance such that the menu messages travels from the first device to the second device without being received at and independently of the Web server;

presenting a control menu on a controlling user agent of the second device having one or more selectable buttons with a first button of the one or more selectable buttons indicating the presentation function to be set to the first attribute at a first instance in time;

determining a user actuation of the first button at the second device at a second instance in time occurring after the first instance, the user actuation indicating via the second device a desire to control the presentation function from the first attribute to the second attribute; and

transmitting a control message from the second device to the first device at a third instance in time occurring after the second instance to cause the receiving user agent to change the presentation function from the first attribute to the second attribute, thereby pausing play of the presentation within the first Web page at a fourth instance in time occurring after the third instance.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the control menu and determining the user actuation without contemporaneously displaying the presentation on the second device during any one of the first, second, third and fourth instances.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the first device is a television and the second device is a tablet and the television and the tablet communicate over a local area network (LAN), and wherein the method further comprises transmitting the control message through a connection constructed over the LAN between the first device and the second device such that the control message travels from the tablet over the LAN through the connection for receipt at the television and without traveling further than the LAN.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

transmitting the control message through the connection without the control message being transmitted to the Web server; and

pausing play of the presentation within the first Web page at the fourth instance in response to receipt of the control message and without re-loading the first Web page such that the presentation function changes from the first attribute to the second attribute without the Web server correspondingly specifying the first or second attributes and without the Web server otherwise making adjustments to the plurality of objects.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

transmitting the control message to the receiving user agent from the controlling user agent;

presenting a transfer button within the control menu as one of the one or more selectable buttons;

determining a transfer actuation of the transfer button after the second instance in response to the user engaging the transfer button, the transfer actuation indicating the user desiring to subsequently playback the presentation via the second device;

transmitting a transfer message from the tablet to the television at a fifth instance in time occurring after the fourth instance in response to the transfer actuation, the transfer message causing the television to thereafter transfer the presentation through the connection to the controlling user agent for playback through the tablet such that play of the presentation appears on the tablet to be paused at a sixth instance in time occurring after the fifth instance; and

determining a user actuation at the tablet sufficient to begin playback of the presentation at a seventh instance in time occurring after the sixth instance, and thereafter, instructing the television to continue transferring the presentation over the connection for subsequent playback at the tablet while the presentation is being contemporaneously streamed or downloaded to the television from the Web server, thereby playing the presentation through the tablet without the tablet contemporaneously streaming or downloading the presentation from the Web server.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting the control menu without displaying the presentation object at the second device during any one of the first, second, third and fourth instances.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

presenting the control menu with the first button having a play icon to convey the presentation function as being set to the second value at a sixth instance in time occurring prior to the first and fifth instances;

visually varying the first button from the play icon to a pause icon at a seventh instance in response to receipt of the menu message, the seventh instance occurring after the sixth instance and prior to the second instance; and

determining the user actuation to correspond with user selection of the pause icon presented during the seventh instance.

8. The method claim 6 further comprising visually varying the first button from the pause icon to the play icon at an eighth instance occurring after the seventh instance to indicate the receiving user agent having changed the presentation function from the first attribute to the second attribute.

9. The method claim 7 further comprising varying the first button from the pause icon to the play icon at the eighth instance in response to the second device receiving an updated menu message transmitted from the first device confirming change of the presentation function from the first attribute to the second attribute.

10. The method claim 7 further comprising varying the first button from the pause icon to the play icon at the eighth instance automatically upon transmission of the control message to the first device such that the first button is changed from the pause icon to the play icon without requiring confirmation from the first device of the presentation function being change from the first attribute to the second attribute.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing the presentation function from the first attribute to the second attribute in response to the control message using the receiving user agent, including the receiving user agent changing from the first attribute to the second attribute:

without correspondingly downloading or re-downloading the first Web page from the Web server;

without correspondingly downloading or re-downloading the presentation function from the Web server; and

without correspondingly re-populating the presentation function according to instructions or other information provided from the Web server.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory instructions stored thereon which when executed with a processor are sufficient to facilitate manipulating a receiving user agent operating on a first device, the non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory instructions for:

determining a objects associated with a first Web page being displayed with the receiving user agent, the objects being used by the first Web browser to create a first visual representation of the first Web page;

determining at least a subset of the objects to be controllable objects associated with a presentation object and a presentation control object, the presentation object being associated with a presentation sourced from a Web server and the presentation control object being associated with controlling playback of the presentation through the first Web page;

generating a menu message for transmission from the first device to a second device sufficient for specifying the controllable objects to include the presentation control object;

transmitting the menu message through a connection constructed between the first device and the second; and

altering at least one of the controllable objects according to a control message received at the first device following transmission from the second device, the altering of the at least one of the objects causing the receiving user agent to create a second visual representation of the first Web page, the second visual representation differing from the first visual representation in accordance with the altering of the at least one of the controllable objects.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 further comprising non-transitory instructions for:

determining at least a portion of the plurality of objects to be non-controllable;

specifying the controllable and not the non-controllable objects in the menu message;

transmitting the menu message from the first device to the second device over a local area network (LAN) established therebetween such that the menu message passes directly from the first device to the second device independently of the Web server and without processing or receipt at the Web server; and

determining the control message directly from the second device through communication executed over the LAN such that the control message pass directly from the first device to the second device independently of the Web server and without processing or receipt at the Web server.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 further comprising non-transitory instructions for specifying the controllable objects within the menu message in a manner sufficient for use with a controlling user agent associated operating on the second device to create a third visual representation of the controllable objects, the second device generating the control message in response to a user interacting with one or more of the controllable objects visually represented within the third visual representation, the third visual representation differing from the first and second visual representations.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 further comprising non-transitory instructions for altering one of the controllable objects without re-downloading the first Web page from the Web server, thereby altering one of the controllable objects without requesting the Web server to correspondingly re-populate the controllable objects and without receiving instructions or other information from the Web server to facilitate correspondingly altering one of the controllable objects.

16. A Web browsing system comprising:

a receiving user agent first device configured to enable download of a first Web page from a Web server, the first Web page being sufficient to facilitate playback of a presentation from the Web server, the receiving user agent including;

i) a first Web browser configured to process the first Web page for playing of the presentation;

ii) a first document object model (DOM) having a plurality of first DOM objects associated with rendering the first Web page, at least some of the first DOM objects having controllable attributes and at least some of the first DOM objects having non-controllable attributes, the first DOM operable for varying the presentation playing within the first Web page according to changes in the controllable attributes;

iii) a first human computer interface (HCI) for changing one or more of the controllable attributes as a function of user interaction with the first device;

iv) a first administration agent configured to differentiate the controllable and non-controllable attributes and specify one or more of the controllable attributes within a menu message, including specifying a first value for a first controllable attribute of the one or more controllable attributes; and

v) a first bridge computer interface (BCI) operable for;

(1) transmitting the menu message through a connection; and

(2) changing one or more of the controllable attributes as a function of a control message received through the connection;

a controlling user agent configured to enable download of a second Web page to facilitate controlling playback of the presentation at the first device, the controlling including;

i) a second Web browser configured to process the second Web page for visualizing of a control menu;

ii) a second document object model (DOM) having a plurality of second DOM objects associated with rendering the control menu, at least some of the second DOM objects having controllable menu attributes, the second DOM operable for varying the control menu according to changes in the corresponding controllable menu attributes;

iii) a second HCI operable to facilitate changing one or more of the controllable menu attributes rendered in the control menu as a function of user interaction with the control menu;

iv) a second administration agent configured to;

(1) set one or more of the controllable menu attributes rendered in the control menu to match the controllable attributes specified within the menu message, including setting a first controllable menu attribute of the controllable menu attributes to the first value specified in the menu message;

(2) determining user interaction with the control menu sufficient to change the first controllable menu attribute from the first value specified in the menu message to a second value; and

(3) generate the control message with instructions sufficient for instructing the receiving user agent to change the first controllable attribute from the first value to the second value;

v) a second BCI operable to facilitate receiving the menu message and transmitting the control message through the connection, the control message causing the receiving user agent to change the first controllable attribute from the first value to the second value and correspondingly vary the presentation playing in the first Web page, thereby enabling the controlling user agent to vary the presentation playing in the first Web page without visually presenting or otherwise displaying the presentation.

17. The system of claim 17 wherein the first administration agent changes the first controllable attribute from the first value to the second value without requiring the receiving user agent to contemporaneously download the Web page or the control message from the Web server and without the receiving user agent requesting the Web server to correspondingly re-populate the first DOM objects.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the connection is a Web socket configured to facilitate signaling between the receiving user agent and the controlling user agent independently of the Web server such that the first BCI receives the control message without contemporaneously communicating with the Web server.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the first administration agent is configured to specify the one or more controllable attributes within the menu message and not the non-controllable attributes.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein:

the second HCI displays a transfer button within the second Web page;

the second administration agent transmits a transfer message through the connection upon determining user selection of the transfer button; and

the first administration agent transfers the presentation through the connection for presentation through the second Web page in response to the transfer message, wherein the first administration agent transfers the presentation through the bridge independently of the Web server such that the presentation is presented in the second Web page without being transmitted thereto from the Web server.