Link annotation for keyboard navigation

• US 7,689,924 B1
• Filed: 04/12/2004
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Schneider, Fritz
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow; Dennis-Doon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham; Linh K
• Application Number:
  US10/823,050
• Time in Patent Office: 2,178 Days
• Field of Search: 715/501.1, 715/513, 715/728, 715/738, 715/748, 715/749, 715/760, 715/802, 715/764, 715/207, 715/221, 715/224, 715/247, 715/256, 715/719, 715/723, 715/733, 715/856, 715/858, 709/207, 709/204, 709/208, 709/205
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/02 Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof

Abstract

A computer navigation system and method has one or more interactive links displayed on a display connected to a computer appliance, and one or more visual linktags associated with individual ones of the one or more interactive links, the linktags displaying one or more numbers, characters or symbols, the system enabled to initiate an interactive link in the display upon user input of one of the numbers, characters or symbols in a linktag.

Claims

1. A computer navigation system having a microprocessor, comprising:

one or more interactive links displayed on a display connected to a computer device; and

one or more visual linktags associated with particular ones of the one or more interactive links, the one or more visual linktags displaying one or more numbers, characters or symbols,

where the system is enabled to initiate a particular interactive link of the one or more interactive links in the display upon receiving user input of a particular one of the numbers, characters or symbols associated with a particular visual linktag, where the particular visual linktag is separate from and displayed simultaneously with the particular interactive link,

where the one or more numbers, characters or symbols are automatically assigned to the particular ones of one or more interactive links in response to the display containing the one or more interactive links being provided to the computer device,

where display of the one or more visual linktags is initiated by a predefined input and terminated, while the one or more interactive links are displayed, by the predefined input, such that keyboard or voice-controlled navigation is toggled on and off by the predefined input, and

where the one or more visual linktags, if toggled off, are saved and, if toggled on again, re-displayed without re-creation.

2. The system of claim 1, where the user input includes vocal input.

3. The system of claim 1, where receiving the user input includes receiving selection of a key on a keyboard.

4. The system of claim 1, where the one or more visual linktags are associated with particular ones of the one or more interactive links by being displayed adjacent to the particular ones of the one or more interactive links.

5. The system of claim 1, where no two ones of the one or more interactive links are associated with a same one of the one or more visual linktags.

6. The system of claim 1, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through an operating system executed by the computer device.

7. The system of claim 1, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through a web browser application.

8. The system of claim 7, where functionality for display and use of linktags is added to an existing web browser application through a plug-in.

9. The system of claim 1, where functionality for display or use of linktags is provided through javascript code.

10. The system of claim 9, where HTML layering is used in combination with javascript to provide linktags.

11. The system of claim 1, where the one or more interactive links displayed, when initiated, launch applications to be executed on the computer device.

12. The system of claim 1, where the one or more interactive links displayed, when initiated, initiate navigation to a destination defined in a universal resource locator.

13. A method performed by a computer device, the method comprising:

displaying, using a processor associated with the computer device, one or more visual linktags associated with particular ones of one or more interactive links in the interactive display, the one or more visual linktags displaying numbers, characters or symbols separate from, and simultaneously with, particular ones of the one or more interactive links;

automatically assigning, using the processor, the particular ones of the one or more numbers, characters or symbols to the particular ones of the one or more interactive links in response to the interactive display containing the one or more interactive links being provided to the computer device;

initiating, using the processor, a particular one of the one or more interactive links, in response to receiving input of the particular one of the one or more numbers, characters or symbols displayed separate from, and simultaneously with, the particular one of the one or more interactive links,

where display of the one or more visual linktags is initiated by a predefined input and terminated, while the one or more interactive links are displayed, by the predefined input, such that keyboard or voice-controlled navigation is toggled on and off by the predefined input, and

where the one or more visual linktags, if toggled off, are saved and, if toggled on again, re-displayed without re-creation.

14. The method of claim 13, where receiving the user input includes receiving vocal input.

15. The method of claim 13, where receiving the user input includes receiving selection of a key on a keyboard.

16. The method of claim 13, where the one or more visual linktags are associated with particular ones of the one or more interactive links by being displayed adjacent to the particular ones of the one or more interactive links.

17. The method of claim 13, where no two ones of the one or more interactive links are associated with a same one of the one or more visual linktags.

18. The method of claim 13, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through an operating system executed by the computer appliance.

19. The method of claim 13, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through a web browser application.

20. The method of claim 19, where functionality for display and use of linktags is added to an existing web browser application through a plug-in.

21. The method of claim 13, where functionality for display or use of linktags is provided through javascript code.

22. The method of claim 21, where HTML layering is used in combination with javascript to provide linktags.

23. The method of claim 13, where the interactive links displayed, when initiated, launch applications to be executed on the computer device.

24. The method of claim 13, where the interactive links displayed, when initiated, cause navigation defined in a universal resource locator (URL).

25. A storage device having stored thereon a set of instructions executable by one or more processors, the storage device comprising:

one or more instructions to display one or more visual linktags associated with particular ones of one or more interactive links in the interactive display, the one or more visual linktags displaying numbers, characters or symbols separate from, and simultaneously with, particular ones of the one or more interactive links;

one or more instructions to automatically assign particular ones of the numbers, characters or symbols to particular ones of the one or more interactive links in response to the interactive display containing the one or more interactive links being provided to a computer device;

one or more instructions to initiate a particular one of the one or more interactive links associated with a particular one of the one or more visual linktags in response to receiving input of a particular one of the one or more numbers, characters or symbols displayed separate from, and simultaneously with, the particular one of the one or more interactive links; and

where display of the one or more visual linktags is initiated by a predefined input and terminated, while the one or more interactive links are displayed, by the predefined input, such that keyboard or voice-controlled navigation is toggled on and off by the predefined input, and

where the one or more visual linktags, if toggled off, are saved and, if toggled on again re-displayed without re-creation.

26. The storage device of claim 25, where the receiving user input includes receiving vocal input.

27. The storage device of claim 25, where receiving the user input includes receiving selection of a key on a keyboard.

28. The storage device of claim 25, where the linktags are associated with interactive links by being displayed adjacent to the associated interactive link.

29. The storage device of claim 25, where no two ones of the one or more interactive links include a same one of the one or more visual linktags.

30. The storage device of claim 25, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through an operating system executed by the computer device.

31. The storage device of claim 25, where functionality for display and use of linktags is provided through a web browser application.

32. The storage device of claim 31, where functionality for display and use of linktags is added to an existing web browser application through a plug-in.

33. The storage device of claim 25, where functionality for display or use of linktags is provided through javascript code.

34. The storage device of claim 33, where HTML layering is used in combination with javascript to provide linktags.

35. The storage device of claim 25, where the interactive links displayed, when initiated, launch applications to be executed on the computer device.

36. The storage device of claim 25, where the interactive links displayed, when activated, cause navigation defined in a universal resource locator (URL).