SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR GENERATING AND DISPLAYING WEBPAGES
20210304251 · 2021-09-30
Inventors
Cpc classification
International classification
Abstract
A method of operating a user computing device to display webpages to a user is described herein. The method includes a processor executing a web browser program to perform the steps of receiving webpage data associated with the initial webpage from the web server and displaying the initial webpage on the display, transmitting an advertisement page request to a pi-tramping server upon detecting a predefined user input command via the input device, the advertisement page request including the received URL and a user ID associated with the user, receiving a plurality of URLs associated with advertising webpages from the pi-tramping server in response to the advertisement page request, requesting advertising webpages associated with each of the received plurality of URLs from a plurality of advertising servers, and generating an advertisement page from data received from the plurality of advertising servers, and displaying the advertisement page on the display.
Claims
1. A method of operating a user computing device to display webpages to a user, the user computing device including a processor coupled to a memory device, an input device, and a display, the memory device storing a web browser program including a routine programmed into the browser or operating system by which the user, while viewing any particular page on the internet, can communicate with a pi-tramping server, maintained by a pi-tramping service, which is a specialized server of three webpages of additional materials, perhaps including ads, composed on the fly for any existing webpage on the internet on request by a person viewing the webpage, the method comprising the processor executing a web browser program to perform the steps of: receiving an initial webpage request from the user via the input device to display an initial webpage identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) and transmitting the initial webpage request to a webserver based on instructions included in the received URL; receiving webpage data associated with the initial webpage from the webserver and displaying the initial webpage on the display including a browser address bar; transmitting a request for a page of additional materials to the pi-tramping server upon detecting a first predefined user input command via the input device, the request for a page of additional materials to include current contents of the browser address bar and a user ID associated with the user; and displaying successively up to three webpages of additional materials received from the pi-tramping server in response to successive additional page requests.
2. The method of claim 1, including the processor performing the steps of: displaying a sequence of three pages of additional materials received from the pi-tramping server in a predefined sequential order upon detecting successive instances of the first predefined user input command programmed into the browser; and displaying the sequence of pages of additional materials received from the pi-tramping server in reverse of the predefined sequential order upon detecting successive instances of a second previously defined user input command programmed into the browser.
3. The method of claim 1, including the processor performing the steps of: displaying the plurality of pages of additional materials each constituting a marketplace for placing additional materials, the contents of each page selected and arranged for by one of three agents including: the owner or publisher of the original web page on display, a pi-tramping service, and the person viewing the web page on display; wherein, the additional materials from each of the three agents is segregated on one of the three different full page displays of additional materials and do not visually compete with each other; and wherein the three pages of additional materials are: a generic page of additional materials related to content of the initial webpage and arranged for by an owner or a publisher of the initial webpage; a neighborhood page of additional materials related to content of the initial webpage and arranged for by the pi-tramping service which maintains the pi-tramping server and a database used to decide which additional materials are sent to which users and composed into the HTML code for the pages of additional materials; and an individual page of additional material including other content conforming to personally identified categories of interests requested by the user.
4. The method of claim 1, including the processor performing the steps of: transmitting to the pi-tramping server requests for pages of additional material while the initial webpage is displayed and on which no sign of the pages of additional materials at all is visible on the display of the initial webpage, and none of the initial webpage is visible on the display of the pages of additional materials.
5. The method of claim 1 for moving the browser from one full screen display of a webpage of additional materials to another by using one of the two predefined user input commands, is a third method different from the two previously existing traditional methods which are the use of links provided in a webpage by a webpage owner, and the use of a browser history generated by the user's activity on the browser.
6. A method of operating a user computing device to display webpages to a user, the user computing device including a processor coupled to a memory device, and input device, and a display, the method comprising the processor executing a web browser program to perform the steps of: receiving a first webpage request from a user via the input device to display an initial webpage identified by a uniform resource locator (URL) and transmitting the first webpage request to a first webserver based on instructions included in the received URL; receiving webpage data associated with the initial webpage from the first webserver and displaying the initial webpage on the display; transmitting a second type of webpage request to a pi-tramping server upon detecting a movement of an on-screen cursor to a right edge of a screen of the display, the second type of webpage request including the received URL of the initial webpage and a user ID associated with the user in response to which the pi-tramping service will compose a file of appropriate HTML code, which may contain URLs from a plurality of secondary webservers, and return it to the requester for display; receiving a plurality of files of HTML code representing secondary webpages from the pi-tramping server in response to further second type of webpage requests; requesting a plurality of secondary webpages from the pi-tramping server; generating a plurality of secondary webpages from data received in HTML files returned by the pi-tramping server, the plurality of secondary webpages including a generic page of content related to the initial webpage and arranged for by the owner of the initial webpage, a neighborhood page of content related to the initial webpage and arranged for by the pi-tramping service itself, and an individual page of content conforming to personally identified categories of interests requested by the user; and displaying the plurality of secondary webpages in a predefined sequential order including, from left-to-right, the generic page, the neighborhood page, and the individual page upon detecting subsequent movement of the on-screen cursor to the right edge of the screen of the display.
7. The method of claim 6, including the processor preforming the steps of: displaying a previous secondary webpage in the predefined sequential order upon detecting a movement of the on-screen cursor to a left edge of the screen of the display.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0015]
[0016]
[0017]
[0018]
DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0019] 100—An Internet connected computer display device (here after simply referred to as a Display Device) showing on its screen some Internet page. [0020] 110—Any page of the Internet may serve as a Foundation Page. [0021] 110a—Any page from the Internet is displayed as a Foundation page from which other pages of advertising associated with it may be accessed and placed on display. [0022] 120—A first page of advertising that would traditionally have been placed directly on the Foundation page, is called here the G-Page, for Generic advertising. Before it is displayed, it is a virtual page that only exists as a file in the computers of the PI-TRAMPING Service. [0023] 120a—The G-Page of advertising after it is put on the screen of a Display Device. [0024] 130—A second page of advertising is called here the N-Page (for Neighborhood advertising) which has been arranged for by the PI-TRAMPING Service and is only displayed after the traditional advertising arranged for by the owner of the Foundation-Page. [0025] 140—A third page of advertising is called here the I-Page (for Individual Page) which has been arranged for by the PI-TRAMPING Service and is tailored to match the interests of whatever individual is using the Display Device at the time. [0026] 200—The PI-TRAMPING Service Module contains programming to implement the transitions between the Foundation-Page and its associated pages of advertising. [0027] 201—Internet connections between the Display Device and the Foundation Page Server. [0028] 202—Internet connections between the Display Device and the PI-TRAMPING Service. [0029] 203—Internet connections between the Display Device and Information Utility Servers of which there may be several. [0030] 204—Internet connections between the Display Device and Advertising Servers of which there may be several. [0031] 210—A Foundation Page Server from which an Internet page may be requested and downloaded for display. There are many such Servers, but for the discussion here we need only consider a single example. [0032] 220—The PI-TRAMPING Service is here represented by as a Server which sends pages of advertising in response to requests from Display Devices running the PI-TRAMPING Service Module. [0033] 224—Internet connections between the PI-TRAMPING Service and the Information Utility Servers to arrange for material more attractive than advertising to appear on the N-Page and I-Page in order to lure viewers into accessing them. [0034] 225—Internet connections between the PI-TRAMPING Service and the Advertising Servers for arranging for the presentation of advertisements on the pages that will be sent out by the PI-TRAMPING Service. [0035] 230—The Database the PI-TRAMPING Service will maintain to match advertisements to the individual interests of the viewers of it serves. [0036] 240—Information Utility Servers provide material more attractive than advertising to appear on the N-Page and I-Page in order to lure viewers into accessing them. [0037] 250—Advertising Servers provide the files from which the advertising pages are built. [0038] 301—The Page Flag is used by the PI-TRAMPING Service Module to keep track which of the PI-TRAMPING pages is currently on display. [0039] 302—The User ID retains the identity of the person currently viewing Internet pages on the Display Device. [0040] 303—The Password retains a password to help verify the identity of the current user. [0041] 304—The Foundation Page Address retains the Internet address of the Foundation Page most recently displayed. [0042] 310—For any particular Display Device there is an Operating System that the PI-TRAMPING Service Module will have to use, in particular to get input commands from someone viewing Internet pages on that Display Device. [0043] 311—The channel or means by which the Operating System informs the PI-TRAMPING Service Module about relevant user actions. [0044] 320—For any particular Display Device there is an Internet Browser that the PI-TRAMPING Service Module will have to use, in particular to exchange information with the various Servers it will need to access. [0045] 321—The channel or means by which the Internet Browser informs the PI-TRAMPING Service Module when the user moves to another Foundation Page. [0046] 330—The Initialization the PI-TRAMPING Service Module must perform so it will be notified when relevant actions are taken by the Operating System or Internet Browser. [0047] 331—The channel by which the PI-TRAMPING Service informs the Operating System which user actions it needs to know about. [0048] 332—The channel by which the PI-TRAMPING Service informs the Internet Browser what user actions it needs to know about. [0049] 333—After Initialization, the PI-TRAMPING Service Module makes this transition to a state in which it waits for events to which it must respond. [0050] 340—This part of the PI-TRAMPING Service Module is activated by a command from a human user to move on to a different page, or be notificated that a new Foundation page has been displayed. [0051] 341—The PI-TRAMPING Service Module makes this transition to a routine that decides which page to display next. [0052] 350—This part of the PI-TRAMPING Service Module keeps track which page is being displayed, decides which page to display next, and sends appropriate commands to the Internet Browser. [0053] 351—The channel by which the PI-TRAMPING Service tells the Internet Browser what page to display next. [0054] 352—After loading a next page, the PI-TRAMPING Service Module makes this transition back to Wait for Command.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0055] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one having ordinary skill in the art that the specific detail need not be employed to practice the present invention. In other instances, well-known materials or methods have not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.
[0056] As shown in
[0057] The N-Page 130 is meant to display a wider neighborhood of advertisements that will be arranged for through a company that supports the PI-TRAMPING Service. The I-Page 140 is meant to be a page of advertisements, amusements, and utilities that will serve to lure the human viewer across the other advertising pages to get to them. These three pages are created, sent through the Internet, and displayed just like any other Web page, the main difference being how the human viewer chooses to have them displayed. In this embodiment moving the on-screen cursor to the extreme right of the display will trigger the display of the next page in the sequence from Foundation through G-, N-, and I pages; and moving the on-screen cursor to the extreme left of a displayed page will trigger the display of the previous page in the said sequence. Moving the on-screen cursor to the extreme left of the Foundation Page Displayed 110a will do nothing, and moving the cursor to the extreme right of the I-Page will do nothing.
[0058] The larger context within which the PI-TRAMPING invention works, is shown in
[0059] The PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 is what ensures the orderly transitions between the Foundation Page 110 and its associated G-Page 120, N-Page 130, and I-Page 140. In this embodiment it is created in any Display Device 100, by a Script for which the URL is downloaded with the HTML source for the Foundation Page 110. When the Internet Browser executes the Script, it will begin performing the functions of the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200.
[0060]
[0061] The Wait for Command 340 routine is essentially a dormant state which does nothing until sent information from the Operating System 310 through one of its regular channels 311 that the human user has done something to signal that a new PI-TRAMPING page should be put on screen. In this embodiment that would be moving the on-screen cursor to the far right or far left of the screen. If a Foundation Page 110 is currently displayed and the on-screen cursor is on the far left of the screen, or, if an I-Page is currently displayed and the cursor is on the far right of the screen, the Wait for Command 340 routine does nothing but continue to wait. Otherwise, if the on-screen cursor is on the right of the screen, the Page Flag 301 is changed from its current value to a value representing the next page in this sequence: Foundation Page, G-Page, N-Page, I-Page. And if the on-screen cursor is on the left of the screen, the Page Flag 301 is changed from its current value to a value representing the next page in this sequence: I-Page, N-page, G-Page, Foundation Page. On the other hand, when the Internet Browser 320 sends a signal by way of one of its regular communication channels 321 to report that the human viewer has chosen to view an entirely different Web page, then the Page Flag 301 will be set to its Foundation Page setting and the address of the page that is about to be displayed will be retrieved from the Web Browser 320 and saved as the new value of the Foundation Page Address 304. Then the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 will remain in its Wait for Command 340 routine while the Internet Browser proceeds to put the new Foundation Page on the screen. Only when the Page Flag 301 is changed does the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 transition control 341 to its routine to Display Next Page 350
[0062] The Display Next Page 350 routine constructs an Internet address for the next page to be displayed and sends it through the normal channel 351 to instruct the Internet Browser 320 to retrieve that page and display it on screen. Then the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 returns to its Wait for Command 340 routine. The Page Flag 301 is examined and if the next page to be displayed is the Foundation Page 110 then the Foundation Page Address 304 is retrieved from memory and sent to the Internet Browser 320 for retrieval from the Internet and display. If the next page to be displayed is one of the advertising pages then a string of characters is constructed by concatenating the Internet address of the PI-TRAMPING Service 220 with the values stored in the Foundation Page Address 304, the Page Flag 301, the User ID 302, and the Password 303. In the concatenated string the five pieces are separated by appropriate characters. This string is sent to the Internet Browser 320 through the normal channel 351 to have it retrieved and displayed. Then the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 returns to its Wait for Command 340 routine.
[0063] Operation for this Embodiment:
[0064] In
[0065] In
[0066] The display of the correct pages of advertising is managed between the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 and the PI-TRAMPING Service 220 itself. In response to the user's cursor motions the PI-TRAMPING Service Module 200 directs the Internet Browser 320 to retrieve an advertising page by sending 351 it an Internet address to use which is a string of characters constructed from the Internet address of the PI-TRAMPING Service 220 with data appended as parameters from the Foundation Page Address 304, the Page Flag 302, the User ID 302, and the Password 303. With this much information the PI-TRAMPING Service 220 could select and stitch together the HTML code for suitable advertisements for the various pages of advertising. This HTML code would contain the URLs for the advertisements and when sent back to the requesting Display Device 100 this would be enough for the said device to fill out the display of the advertising pages by requesting the files designated by the said URLs directly from the Advertising Servers 250 and Information Utility Servers 240 themselves.
[0067] And Finally, it would be useful, and normal practice for users to be able to contact the PI-TRAMPING Service 220 directly through the Internet and sign up for their own User IDs and Passwords and to indicate their particular interests in what kind of advertising they might want to see, and what kind of utilities they might want on their own individual I-Page 140.
[0068] In some embodiments, present invention includes a Programmed Immediate—Target Requested Advertising Media Presentation on individual, Neighborhood, and Generic pages, including a method, scheme, program, or device for giving the viewer of an Internet Web page single movement control over the presentation of advertising associated with that Web page, thereby replacing in-your-face advertising with at-your-command advertising.
[0069] Envision a Web page clean and clear of any advertising, call it the Foundation page. A small discrete trademark might indicate the availability of PI-TRAMPING pages. Moving the cursor off page to the right (or some other voluntary action by the viewer) slides onto the first, Generic page (G-page) of advertising related specifically only to the Foundation page (alternatively, an ad page might come on as an overlay to the Foundation page or in some other way replace it). Continuing on to the second page (with the viewer action repeated) brings on a Neighborhood page (N-page) of advertisers related to the Foundation page and aimed or tailored more specifically to the current viewer (as betrayed by browsing history, cookies, Internet Service Provider, time of day, and other tracking which we need not say). Continuing on to the third page brings on an Individual's page (I-page) of advertisers conforming to personally identified categories of interests (and thereby invited advertisers) actually requested by the current viewer, presently or as registered in the past. A reversal of the viewer actions returns to the ad-free Foundation page.
[0070] The final Individual's page is composed of ads related both to the Foundation page and to topics the current individual viewer has specifically expressed an interest in (for example, honest banks, oxymorons, laptop computers that use standard size batteries). The viewer is logged on for a browsing session and identifies self with an online PI-TRAMPING identity and one of several passwords to control what might be presented while browsing. The viewer may, at some time, give key words or fill in forms to specify interests and preferences (such as minimum print size or language), or at any time make multi-key clicks anywhere on any Web page to register current specific interests which are maintained by the PI-TRAMPING Service which is itself paid by the advertisers and pays a share to the owner of the Foundation page and is responsible for composing and hosting the I-page, and for protecting the privacy of the individual viewer registered with the PI-TRAMPING Service even while mining the market data represented by the set of all individual viewers' requests. Without access to each individual viewer's account, advertisers may study the declared interests and preferences of the set of all viewers to satisfy groups of them with ads for offers, coupons, products, or whatever (which could then be passed on to appropriate I-pages of individual viewers by the PI-TRAMPING Service). To encourage participation, an individual viewer need not even be physically identifiable or addressable, so as to feel certain to be free of uninvited molestation; an individual viewer should feel safe, secure, empowered, and in charge on that viewer's own I-page, a kind of personal home page for advertising where all viewers can, at will, change or clear out their own interests and information collected about them—their power over their own I-page will draw them repeatedly back to it from Foundation pages they find interesting. They may be given various options to customize the look and feel of their I-page; they may sign in and sign out on it; they may prohibit from the start, or veto certain ads or advertisers or topics from appearing again on it; they may choose information services, such as weather or news, to appear on it; they may register, through the PI-TRAMPING Service to the advertiser, approval or disapproval of specific ads. They might exchange messages with other viewers with similar interests. There might be a button on their I-page which would randomly select and show some other viewer's recently displayed I-page without violating the other viewer's anonymity.
[0071] They might even designate a favorite charity which would receive a small fraction of the PI-TRAMPING Service's revenue generated by their viewing activity, point being that it should be pretty easy to attract viewers to their I-pages.
[0072] The middle Neighborhood page has ads related to the Foundation page and targeted at the current viewer irrespective of that viewer's explicitly expressed interests but using only passively shed information about interests (cookies, history, etc.). The PI-TRAMPING Service is paid by the advertisers and pays a share to the owner of the Foundation page and is responsible for composing and hosting the N-page. Also, the PI-TRAMPING Service and the Foundation page owner might share management of this page; G-page advertising could be fine tuned for the current viewer and reappear on the N-page, or even the I-page if it qualifies; on behalf of G-page advertisers, the Foundation page owner could exclude certain categories of ads on the N-page.
[0073] The initial Generic page is composed of ads targeted at any and all viewers of the Foundation page, who volunteer by moving the cursor off page. The owner of the Foundation page is paid by the advertisers and pays a share to the PI-TRAMPING Service, and composes the G-page. Hosting may be shared. It is here that all traditional advertising is to be done, even while the total space available for advertising is more than tripled and a clear view of the Foundation page free of advertising is made available.
[0074] The Foundation page owner must agree to have no other advertising associated with that page; this incites the viewer's curiosity and wonder. This form of advertising will be much more effective since the viewer will have actually requested it and invested some active interest in it and so be psychologically prepared to accept it. It will also be much more efficient and reduce bandwidth use by not broadcasting unwanted advertising. There may be many fewer viewings, but each viewing will be much more effective. The scheme may be implemented within the Foundation page itself, by scripts called in by the Foundation page, or eventually as an installed or permanent part of the Web browser. The availability of the ads may be enforced by the Foundation page refusing to display otherwise. Alternatively, the generic ads may appear on the Foundation page unless or until the viewer logs on with a PI-TRAMPING online id.
[0075] The PI-TRAMPING Service will keep the database of viewers' interests (registered and deduced), advertisers' targets, and Foundation pages' key words which will be used to select advertisements for the I- and N-pages. With successive views or on command from the viewer, the contents of the I- and N-pages might be changed. To maintain interest in, and fill space on the I- and N-pages some results of ordinary Internet searches using terms from the PI-TRAMPING database might be displayed as well as other non-advertising content that might draw the viewer's attention. Some number of online identities for any viewer's use may be reserved for general interests which require no individual registration (democrat, republican, independent, slavish, doctor, artist, sweet sixteen, teetotaler, sport, worker, rich, poor, male, female, ignoramus, cognoscenti, . . . ) and would have no associated I-page.
[0076] Blank ad pages can be skipped but each I-, N-, or G-page should be clearly identified as such. The order of presentation, G, N, I, is important to motivate Foundation page owners and their advertisers to participate—their ads on the G-page come first and get viewed again last on the way back to the Foundation page. It is also important to motivate viewers at least to move through the G- and N-pages to get to their own tailored I-page which comes last. The availability of the I-, N-, and G-pages and their relative sizes compared to the Foundation page might be suggested, on the page or amongst the browser's features, by a tickler trademark in the form of a four colored pie chart on which the sizes of the colored segments might change while the Foundation page is examined by the viewer and the I- and N-pages composed; such subtle changes may act as an enticement to view the advertising. Presentation of the Foundation page with no advertising will be faster, and the time spent studying the Foundation page will allow time for the I-, N-, and G-pages to be prepared. Any way of letting the view request the PI-¬TRAMPING pages would do, but using a cursor movement off-page rather than something like a click on a trademark will occasionally provide some serendipitous views of the advertising. Web pages with no advertising of their own, that is, no G-page, could serve as a voluntary launch point for N- and I-pages and receive some reimbursement. Foundation page owners might be allowed to forbid certain categories of ads on their related N-page (but not the viewer's I-page). Even a Web page with no connection to the PI-TRAMPING Service might be used as an involuntary Foundation page from which the viewer could move directly onto an N- or I-page, in effect passing the address or contents of such a Web page to the PI-TRAMPING Service for a search of relevant ads (is there any competition for the pushy in-your-face ads already on the involuntary Foundation page?) or other interesting material.
[0077] The PI-TRAMPING scheme for on-your-command advertising has not been done and is therefore apparently not obvious. The very idea of giving control over the presentation of advertising to the targeted audience seems to be odious to advertisers and would not even occur to them or their agents, very least this PI-TRAMPING scheme is a method of clearing a view of a page of all advertising and simultaneously satisfying all three; the viewer, the publisher, and the advertiser. The invention includes one movement control of one, two, or three levels of advertising.
[0078] While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but as an example. Many ramifications and variations are possible within the basic ideas of these embodiments. For example, the display of several pages of advertisements could be combined onto a single page. Or even more pages of advertisements could be displayed with (or without) different reasons for grouping the advertisements together. Alternate ways for the human viewer to move the display back and forth between the Foundation-Page and the advertising pages might be used. For example, gestures on a touch sensitive screen could be used in place of the cursor movements described above. Various particular features might be dropped, such as the use of User Ids and Passwords and still have the same basic functionality. Moreover, computer programs can be written in a multitude of ways, in a great number of different programming languages, and installed in many places and ways in the computers that run them, and still perform the same functions. In particular, the PI-TRAMPLING functions may be made a part of an Operating System or a Web Browser, but any way of performing the functions necessary for the PI-TRAMPING pages to behave as described above should be considered within the scope of this PI-TRAMPING invention. Thus, the scope should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents, and not limited by the examples given above.