WO2001063374A2 - Method of navigating through a collection of web pages - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of navigation through a collection of web pages is disclosed. A directed graph is created having nodes and arcs wherein each node represents one of the web pages and each arc represents one possible path between any pair of the web pages. The web pages are downloaded in a sequential order according to a selected route. Each of the downloaded web pages is displayed for a controllable period of time. Also enabled is collaborative navigation through the same collection of web pages, whereby users can exchange among themselves on-line messages and simultaneously follow the navigation of any of the other users.

Description

METHOD OF NAVIGATING THROUGH A COLLECTION OF WEB PAGES

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to Internet surfing practices. More specifically, the invention relates to methodologies and utilities for exploring and collaborating through the Internet.

As known, when surfing through the web, the user navigates from one web page to another by entering the respective web site Uniform Resource Locators (URL). The URL can be entered manually by the user or automatically according to a pre-defined lists of URLs. The pre-defined URLs usually appear in the form of bookmarks defined by the user or as web page including hyperlinks (the hyperlinks being activated by a click operation). Many web pages contain more than one hyperlink. Hyperlinks are frequently used when inspecting search results, which are obtained using any web search engines or directories. Free search engines, such as ALTAVISTA and many others, enable the user to search according to keywords. This type of search usually yields a large number of web sites containing the keywords, but not necessarily matching the user's interest.

Directories (such as YAHOO!) enable the user to locate web sites of interest according to a pre-defined list of links, which are arranged according to categories. Once the user receives search results containing hyperlinks, it enables him to access each one of the web pages defined by the hyperlink URLs, in any arbitrary order. By the above described techniques, downloading of each site is in many cases tiresome and time consuming, particularly since the user is kept passively waiting for each one of the requested web sites.

Moreover, it should be noted that the surfer carries out the activity of surfing the Internet by himself, without a possibility to share it with fellow surfers.

There have already been proposed certain solutions in attempt to overcome these deficiencies. US Patent No. 5809247 refers to a sort of "guided tours" on the Internet, which among other features, provides the user with pre-defined "tour stops" of web pages, enabling him to navigate forward and backward following the "guided tour" directions. However, this solution is restricted to single track guided touring, and does not address the downloading time consuming factor.

Yet another solution has been suggested in US Patent No. 5944791 , according to which two or more surfers are enabled to simultaneously view the same web pages, while one of the surfers was functioning as a "pilot", leading the others. This solution is restricted to collaborative surfing activity, where only one surfer possesses control over the navigation.

A different solution was suggested in US Patent No. 5625781 , proposing to enable surfers to create a list of links which is presented in parallel to the browser and allowing the user to visit multiple sites according to the list without backtracking. This solution again does not solve the problem of inefficiency of the downloading phase. It is thus the prime object of the invention to provide a navigation controller enabling efficient navigation through a given number or collection of web pages.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a methodology enabling collaborative navigation through the same collection of web pages.

It is a still further object of the invention to enable users navigating the same collection of web pages, to exchange among themselves on-line messages.

It is an another object of the invention to allow users collaborative navigation where each user can simultaneously follow the navigation of any of the other users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus there is provided according to the present invention a method of navigating through a collection of web pages comprising the steps of creating a directed graph having nodes and arcs wherein each node represents one of said web pages and each arc represents one possible path between any two of said web pages, downloading said web pages in a sequential order according to a selected rout and displaying each of the downloaded web sites for a controllable period of time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly understood in the light of the ensuing description of a few preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein-

Fig. 1 is a general diagrammatic representation of the environment in which the present invention is practiced;

Fig. 2 is a flow-chart of navigation according to a first option of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flow-chart of implementing the first option;

Figs. 4 is a flow-chart of a "single" tour navigation process;

Fig. 5 is a flow-chart of a implementing the first option in off-line mode;

Fig. 6 is a flow-chart of an "organized" tour navigation;

Fig. 7 is a flow-chart of implementing the "organized" navigation tour;

Fig. 8 represents another option of a "wild" tour;

Fig. 9 is a flow-chart of implementing the "wild" tour option;

Fig. 10 illustrates a menu-bar associated with the browser B of Fig. 1 ; and

Fig. 11 is an illustration of a directed graph. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that a user A is connected to the Internet via browser B in the conventional manner (see in more detail further below).

Let us assume that the user A is already furnished with a collection of web sites, usually presented as a web page containing a list of hyperlinks aggregate ("reference web site"). For example, the web page can contain hyperlinks aggregate of a previously conducted search result;

According to the prior art routine, the user is requested to click every one of the hyperlinks until he makes sure that the site retrieved is in fact the one that satisfies his requests. Taking into consideration that a certain time lag is involved in downloading each web page with the requested site (if at all available... ), it will be appreciated that this process is cumbersome and time consuming.

Accordingly, it is herein proposed that prior to starting the navigation session, the user will connect a dedicated web site C (herein called "the XYZ site").

Once connected, the corresponding Designated Application D (Fig. 1 ) is automatically downloaded, creating a new navigation controller which is associated with the browser B.

The navigation controller may be in the form of a menu-bar as illustrated in Fig. 10. P /IL 1 015

6

According to one methology - out of several alternatives of using the

navigation controller - the user approaches the option represented in Fig. 2.

Upon receiving the reference web site, the user is requested to select a

map player option from the menu bar (Fig. 10).

This will activate the Designated Application D to control the navigation

of the web sites identified by the hyperlinks, mostly in the order of

appearance at the reference web site.

At this stage the user is given the opportunity to survey the complete

hyperlinks collection in the following manner. The Designated application will

display a comprehensive presentation scheme, preferably in the form of

directed graph (e.g. a tree) where each web site is represented as a node,

and each arc represents one possible path between any two of the web

pages (hereinafter called the "Surf map" - see example in Fig. 11 ).

Thus, the user could screen through, and manipulate the surf map e.g.,

erase those sites which he deems to be irrelevant, or arrange them in a

different order.

Whether or not the user exercised the "pre-screening" procedure, he will

now have two options: (1 ) a "passive" mode, wherein the presentation of the

sites is controlled automatically (e.g. in fixed time intervals); or (2) an "active"

mode, wherein the display of each successive site is prompt by the user (e.g.

by clicking "NEXT"). As evident from Fig. 2, another mode may be available, enabling the user to navigate through any one of the web sites appearing in the surf map.

Fig. 3 is a diagram representing the implementation of the above described routine. Once arriving at the stage of being provided with the hyperlinks aggregate, the site XYZ is employed to process the hyperlinks and produce the desired data in the form of the surf map. Optionally the surf map may be created by the user Designated Application D. In case of obtaining search results, the process further includes the stage of filtering and classifying the hyperlinks concerning the search report, e.g. by eliminating unsuitable hyperlinks of the search engine or of the commercial hyperlinks.

According to a further improvement offered by the present invention, it is enabled that, prior to processing the complete collection of web pages, an availability check of every web site will be performed, and in case that some of the web sites cannot be accessed for any reason, such web site will be marked as such, and/or deleted.

The surf map is transferred to the Designated Application D where it is temporarily stored and decoded. The surf map can be further recorded at the XYZ server for future retrieval by the user. In case the surf map is created out of a search result, the map can be recorded in correspondence with the keywords that were used to create the search result. Thus, the XYZ sever will contain a database of surf maps classified according the search keywords. Different Surf maps relating the same keywords can be unified. This database can be shared by different surfers searching according to the same or similar keywords.

Now, the downloading of the selected web pages starts by the user browsing as above described.

In more detail, the Designated Application [^retrieves the first-in-line web site URL and downloads the contents thereof. Already during the user review, or even earlier, namely concurrently with the downloading of the first web page, the Designated Application D_starts downloading the next-in-line web site, by the order prescribed in the surf map, and saves it until either the lapse of a pre-set viewing time interval, or until prompted by the user (see above) or by the server; and so forth, with respect to the remaining sites. It is this very feature that brings about the saving of time for the user between successive downloads.

For still further exploitation of the methology of the invention, there may be included the option that Designated Application D will, immediately following the storage of the next-in-line site, open a hidden window to allow the display thereof once the review of the preceding web has terminated.

The same process as described above can be implemented with respect to collections of web pages generated in any conventional way, e.g. by bookmarks, etc.

Furthermore, the collection of web sites can be provided by the XYZ web site as will be now described with reference to Fig. 4. Hence, once the user connects the XYZ web site and activates the navigation controller, he/she can select the single tour option. In response, the user is served with a catalogue of available tours. Once selecting one of the tour subjects, the user receives a surf map along with a short description including text or audio/video presentation containing relevant information for each web site composing the tour.

Now the user can start navigating through the tour web sites. According to a first option, conveniently labeled as a default option, the user will view the tour web sites one by one, in sequence, as originally defined by the editors of the navigating XYZ web site. The tour route is not necessarily a one way track, but can sometimes split into secondary routes leading the user via different courses. Alternatively the user can view the tour map and select to start the tour at any web site. The navigation control process is the same as in the first option.

Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative way of implementing the process of Fig.

3. The XYZ web site transfers to the user data in a compressed form, which is stored locally. The data contains the contents of all web sites of the tour, as well as the related data (see above). The stored data is inflated and presented at the disposal of the user.

The major advantage of this option resides in the possibility to conduct the tour off-line, namely at the leisure of the user and without any external interferences or other delays, besides saving on communication expenses. Fig. 6 illustrates an extended mode of usage presented by the invention. This may descriptively called "group" tours, the main advantage thereof being that the user can share his experience with others, who happen to be interested in the same topic(s) at the same surfing time.

This may be achieved by one of the following ways: (i) joining an existing tour; or (ii) causing others to participate in the user's initiated tour.

In more detail, upon arriving at the XYZ web site, there will be information made available regarding tours of general interest, one of which may suit the user in question.

Once joined, the user will be furnished, besides with the usual tour information as described above, with information relating to the other participants, e.g. names, professions, hobbies etc.; more importantly, he/she will be informed of the exact locations of each participant, and be able to communicate (chat) with them. It should be emphasized that, in contrast to other, usual chat facilities where the participants are "strangers" to each other, here there will already exist a common denominator that will streamline the communication, for example exchanging impressions on the sites already, or to be visited together.

Option (ii) above is applicable to the situation where the user cannot find an existing tour matching his wishes; hence, the user can start a new tour. The new tour is promoted in the XYZ web site, encouraging users to join it. Fig. 7 illustrates the implementation of the process of Fig. 6.

The XYZ web site maintains a database containing information relating to all users who are participating in any given tour. Particulars of any new user joining a "group" tour are updated, to be used at the appropriate time, on demand. The chat feature can be implemented in any conventional way.

All further processing relating to the browsing application by the user are similar to those described in connection with Fig. 3. An additional feature of browsing application can be provided by opening new browser windows enabling the user to depart from the tour and to navigate to any desirable web site, but still keep track with the tour session as displayed in the new browser window.

Figs. 8 and 9 pertains to a still further diversity proposed by the invention, which may be descriptively referred to as "Wild Tours". This refers to the mode where one user ("the Leader") is enabled to lead a tour not according to a pre-set route or pattern - but being free at any time to change direction and navigate the tour to suit his own and/or his fellow tourists preferences.

In this case, the leader may determine whether the tour is open for everybody to join, or reserved for selected members only, e.g. those known to him personally. In the latter case, some sort of login entrance code will be employed previously brought to the attention of the parties in question. With regard to the leader, after defining the starting point (see right-hand side of Fig. 8), he will manually navigate through the web pages selected at his sole discretion. All visited web pages are recorded to create a dynamic surf-map of the leader navigating route.

During the tour, the leader will be updated regarding the identity and other particulars of the other participants who are following his "footsteps"; he would also be able to chat with any of them, to fill-in information and/or receive responses.

The XYZ web site will announce the selection of the currently available led tours for the benefit of newcomers. Hence, any joining participant will be able to select the one most suitable for him.

Upon joining, participants are updated re the currently visited web site and the surf-map of the previous visited web pages, which enables them to receive relevant information such as background, tips, etc.

In addition, chat facilities are made available so that the participants may communicate with each other besides with the leader.

A characteristic feature of this kind of tour resides in that, whenever the leader navigates to a new site, all participants are automatically updated with regard to the address of such a new site. The most simple way will be to furnish the participants with the contents of the new web site. However, in this case no significant advantage is attained over "ordinary" surfing with regard to the inevitable delay involved by waiting for the site to be displayed; therefore it is recommended according to an additional aspect of the present invention (as illustrated in Fig. 9) to automatically download the new site and store it temporarily, e.g. in the browser cache memory. The web site will become prompt not before the completion of the downloading.

According to another feature offered in this context, participants are enabled to split away from the tour at any point, reserving however the ability to keep track (e.g. by a hidden window) and rejoin the group of followers. At the same time, the leader is enabled to keep watch over the departing members and their whereabouts, most conveniently through opening an additional window directed to the same site.

Finally, it should be appreciated that the above described embodiments are directed to Internet communication environment. However, the invention in its broad aspect is equally applicable to computerized network communication in general, such as satellite, cellular and others.

It has thus been established that the application of the invention provides a novel and valuable contribution to the public of surfers, rendering it much more streamlined and adding thereto the benefits of live communication with fellow-surfers.

While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplification of the preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other possible variations that are within its scope. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of navigating through a collection of web pages comprising the steps of:

(i) Creating a directed graph having nodes and arcs wherein each node represents one of said web pages and each arc represents one possible path between any pair of said web pages;

(ii) Downloading said web pages in a sequential order according to a selected route; and

(iii) Displaying each of the downloaded web sites for a controllable period of time.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein the web pages collection is created according to search results of a search engine.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of

- Recording the graph in relation to the search keywords;

- Enabling any user to retrieve a surf-map according to the search keywords.

4. The method of Claim 1 wherein the web pages collection is created according to the user's selections.

5. The method of Claim 1 wherein the web pages collection is created according to bookmarks. he method of Claim 1 wherein the web pages collection is created according to web page links. he method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of displaying the graph to a user. he method of Claim 1 wherein the graph is created by the user. he method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of editing the graph by the user.

The method of Claim 1 wherein the said period of time is controllable by the user.

The method of Claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

- Displaying on a designated web site page a selection of topics;

- Choosing one topic by the user;

- Transferring to the user from the designated web site a directed graph of web sites relating to the chosen topic ("designated graph").

The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of transferring, along with the graph, text descriptions in form of meta data relating to the web sites contained in the directed graph. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of transferring along with the directed graph media files relating to the web sites contained in the directed graph.

The method of Claim 12 further comprising the step of displaying the text descriptions concurrently with the display of the relevant web page.

The method of Claim 13 further comprising the step of playing media files concurrently with the display of the relevant web page.

The method of Claim 11 further comprising the steps of enabling communication between plurality of users using the same directed graph.

The method of claim 1 wherein the downloading of any web page is processed concurrently with the downloading of the next web page so that the latter web site is available for display upon request at minimum time delay.

The method of claim 1 wherein the downloading of any web page is processed concurrently with displaying the next web page so that the latter web site is available for display upon request at minimum time delay

The method of claim 1 wherein the web page collection is modified in real time by a first user ("leader"), further comprising the steps of:

- Transferring a directed graph of the modified web page collection to a plurality of secondary users ("followers"); - Establishing a connection between the leader and each of the followers ; and

- Establishing a connection between each pair of followers.

The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of:

- Enabling each follower to modify in real time any additional collection of web pages;

- Transferring a directed graph of the additional modified web page collection to the leader or any of the other followers.