(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2003/0146939 A1
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Aug. 7, 2003
`Petropoulos et al.
`
`US 20030146939A1
`
`(54) METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR
`MOUSE-OVER PREVIEW OF
`CONTEXTUALLY RELEVANT
`INFORMATION
`
`(76) Inventors: John Petropoulos, Hopkington, MA
`(US); Clay A. Johnson, Arlington, MA
`(Us)
`Correspondence Address:
`WONG, CABELLO, LUTSCH, RUTHERFORD
`& BRUCCULERI,
`P.C.
`20333 SH 249
`SUITE 600
`HOUSTON, TX 77070 (US)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`09/961,465
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Sep. 24, 2001
`
`Publication Classi?cation
`
`1
`nt.
`.
`..................................................... ..
`5
`(52) US. Cl. ....................... .. 345/810; 345/846; 345/862;
`345/738
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`Challenges to the analysis of search results may be mitigated
`by offering previeW information When users navigate a
`computer-pointing device over pre-designated areas of a
`search result page. Aseparate icon in the pre-designated area
`enhances the advantages by providing intuitive previeW
`ability With seamless and natural control over a variety of
`previeW options, such as the type of previeW information
`and the manner in Which it is presented. In addition, While
`operating a preview-enabled search result page, users’
`behavior provides data and attributes, Which may be re
`incorporated into the searching algorithm to improve the
`relevancy of search results. ng algorithm to improve the
`relevancy of search results.
`
`51\
`Search
`
`50
`
`First Jet propulsion labs of
`America
`www.jetprop.com
`
`53
`
`:
`
`Preview
`Icon
`
`produce
`thrust that is very large.
`So large that Boeing
`must
`www.boeing.com
`
`65 —
`
`54
`
`>
`
`59
`
`60
`
`67
`
`61
`
`68
`
`Preview
`Window
`55
`
`56
`
`Q6
`@' official
`-—62
`www.JoanJett.com
`
`www.jetpr0p.com
`
`www.boeing.c0m
`
`Boeing Corp.
`
`Home Investors
`
`Cuslomers
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 1
`
`

`

`memP
`
`f01
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`726:65
`
`
`mmSEQE<nu..we33:omflsmoa8aHEEm.E\w.
`
`
`.mEcoaoEHowBBBflvHE.Ew__4PNmmAom
`.mEEanoEEwBBBumowbmm
` vm23:.MoImowEoom3.:awn:em3Auem;—bo>mm:2:32.:mno
`
`
`
`Hmm
`
`
`
`mSequwonéBB.weS.
`
`.900wfiwom
`
`was:
`
`20.32;
`
`955230
`
`Haha—ME
`
`EoofiomgoH§33
`
`385%
`
`mmav
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 2
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 2
`
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 2 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Preview Window
`
`250
`
`:3. a ('D
`Text
`Link/
`
`'
`
`First result 251
`
`Second result 252
`
`('
`
`\ 254
`
`0
`\257
`
`x 258
`
`Third result 253
`
`255
`A
`\
`V
`
`59
`
`256
`
`Figure 2
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 3
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 3 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`354
`
`First result 350
`
`©'\ 355
`
`Floating Preview Window
`
`358 '
`
`'
`
`f "
`356
`
`351
`
`351
`
`Seventh result 352
`
`Eighth result 353
`
`Figure 3
`
`O00
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 4
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 4 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Preview Window
`457
`
`Preview Window 454
`
`Result 451
`
`Result 452
`
`Result 453
`
`3159
`' C)
`
`458
`
`6
`
`0
`
`Preview Window 456
`
`Figure 4
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 5
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 5 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`553/”
`
`551??
`
`K.
`555
`
`> 550
`
`J
`
`N
`
`.\
`554
`
`> 551
`
`J
`
`Preview Text
`
`Preview All
`
`Home page
`
`’
`URL 11st
`
`Home page
`
`>552
`
`Biographical Info
`-- creation date
`-- last update
`
`)
`
`Figure 5
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 6
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 6 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`I
`
`650
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 7
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 7, 2003 Sheet 7 0f 7
`
`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`K755
`
`Consideration of
`User Behavior
`
`751
`
`Behavior attributes
`
`Algorithm ___> Results Page
`
`H
`
`Data
`
`7/54
`
`Figure 7
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 8
`
`

`

`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Aug. 7, 2003
`
`METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MOUSE-OVER
`PREVIEW OF CONTEXTUALLY RELEVANT
`INFORMATION
`
`BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
`[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
`[0002] The invention relates to searching large amounts of
`information and analyzing the results of such a search. In
`one broad application of the invention, it relates to the area
`of Web page searching either on the Internet or on Intranets.
`Furthermore, in the Web context, the invention relates to
`improving the ef?ciency of analyZing search results and
`using the data gathered from ef?cient analysis to re?ne and
`improve the search process.
`[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
`[0004] Generally, the usefulness of any type of informa
`tion is based upon a critical ability to ?nd and adapt
`contextually relevant information in a timely manner. For
`example, if a cook is looking for a recipe, the existence of
`that recipe in an unidenti?ed book of unknoWn Whereabouts
`is not at all useful. Furthermore, even the book’s identity and
`location Would not be useful if it Were not somehoW readily
`accessible. Moreover, even if the cook Were in possession of
`the correct book, Without an index or table of contents, the
`process of ?nding and using the recipe Would not be very
`ef?cient. Lastly, even an index and table of contents do not
`alloW a cook to ef?ciently scan a large offering of recipes as
`compared to other techniques such as an index of pictures of
`the prepared foods.
`[0005] From this illustration, one can easily see the impor
`tance of methods and systems, and the dimensions of
`information analysis that are required for ef?cient informa
`tion location and retrieval. In fact, most everyone has
`learned hoW to use several simple systems such as those
`incorporated in libraries, dictionaries, maps and books. FeW
`in our World, hoWever, understand the methods and systems
`for ?nding information that is ultimately digitiZed or man
`aged by machines such as computers. In the World of
`machine-managed information, there have been many
`propositions and techniques for solving these information
`location problems
`[0006] Most commonly, the process of ?nding relevant
`information begins by reorganiZing the entire universe of
`accessible information. For example, the phone company
`typically organiZes phone numbers in the alphabetical order
`of the phone oWners’ names rather than organiZing them in
`number order or by address. Of course, this alloWs users to
`?nd a number in the book knoWing only someone’s name.
`This same principle applies in the databasing of machine
`managed information, Where for example, a computer-user
`may create a database for contact information perhaps using
`a program such as Microsoft Access. After creating the
`database (the information repository), the computer user
`must populate it With data—this being the actual list of
`contacts. Each contact (generically called a record in data
`base terminology) might include a name ?eld, an address
`?eld, a phone number ?eld and any number of other ?elds
`pertaining to personal contact information. Once the data
`base is populated, a user can typically retrieve information
`based upon attributes of the data in one or more ?elds of the
`database. In summary, the data reorganiZing (or pre-orga
`niZing) facilitates more easy retrieval of relevant informa
`tion.
`
`[0007] As databases and the records Within them become
`larger, the reorganiZing task can become larger and impede
`the ability to quickly and easily ?nd relevant results. The
`problem is greatly increased When the exact form or nature
`of the records is inconsistent and not fully predictable. An
`example of this situation might be a document database
`Wherein the records (documents plus attributes) are in vari
`able forms (text, rtf, Microsoft Word, JPEG, TIFF etc.). In
`this type of database, a business manager might be looking
`a certain report, but only recall tWo vague attributes about
`the report, possibly the month the document Was created and
`the names of several people Who might have created it. In
`this situation, the database Will likely return a long list of
`documents every document created by one of the listed
`people during the speci?ed month. Generally, the manager
`Would then have very feW options for further examining the
`long list. She could open each document and look at it or
`potentially look at the entire attribute list for each document.
`These options are unWieldy and time consuming and may
`not even ensure success.
`[0008] An obviously large manifestation of this problem is
`in searching the World-Wide-Web or any Web-like informa
`tion collection (such as an intranet). Common search tools
`use various techniques to relate search terms or queries to
`Web pages or Web sites. The clear object is to ?nd Web pages
`that are most relevant to the search terms or query. HoWever,
`given
`the siZe and nature of the Internet and most
`intranets, and (ii) the skill level of most users, there is only
`a small likelihood of returning a single and perfect match for
`the search terms or query. Therefore, in order to increase the
`likelihood of retuning a perfect match, common search tools
`return an extremely long list of possible matches that are
`presented to the user in order of machine-determined rel
`evance. This is very similar to the manager’s document
`search problem discussed above. In the Web context, the user
`is forced to click-through to successive documents on the list
`in order to determine the actual relevance to the search
`terms. This is clearly far less than ideal.
`
`[0009] In order to improve this inef?ciency, some products
`and services have returned an enhanced list, Wherein each
`listing contains more information about the underlying
`record or document. Some examples of this information are
`(i) extra presumptively relevant textual information
`(ask.com, altavista.com, and yahoo.com); (ii) address infor
`mation; (iii) revision information; or (iv) a small thumbnail
`image of the Web page or document that a particular listing
`represents (capitalsearch.ca).
`
`SUMMARY OF INVENTION
`
`[0010] The inventions described here propose to mitigate
`the problems and challenges of analyZing the results of a
`database query or Internet or intranet search. In general, the
`inventions achieve this result by displaying previeW infor
`mation associated With each item on a list of results. In a
`very general sense, the previeW information is a “previeW
`WindoW” containing some relevant previeW information,
`such as a readable siZe image of the actual page or document
`associated With an item in the results list. Moreover, the ease
`of search-result navigation and analysis is further improved
`by opening the previeW WindoW When the user navigates
`over an intuitively connected place on the results page. The
`navigation takes place using any pointing or navigation
`device on the client system, for example, the mouse pointer,
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 9
`
`

`

`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Aug. 7, 2003
`
`a touch screen or a sequential or moving highlight caused by
`a keystroke or combination of keystrokes. The invention
`further contemplates that a dedicated previeW icon is ben
`e?cial and that such an icon can function as a menu for
`controlling previewing or that the icon could transform into
`such a menu. In addition to improving search result analysis
`the invention proposes improved search algorithms based
`upon attribute data from users“ use of previeW search results.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
`
`[0011] Abetter understanding of the invention can be had
`When the folloWing detailed description of the preferred
`embodiments is considered in conjunction With the folloW
`ing draWings, in Which:
`[0012] FIG. 1 shoWs a generic search results page (59)
`and tWo Web pages (57 & 58) associated With speci?ed
`results on the results page.
`
`[0013] FIG. 2 shoWs a generic search results page, dem
`onstrating embodiments of the invention.
`
`[0014] FIG. 3 shoWs a generic search results page, dem
`onstrating embodiments of the invention.
`
`[0015] FIG. 4 shoWs a generic search results page, dem
`onstrating embodiments of the invention.
`[0016] FIG. 5 shoWs potential previeW icon implementa
`tions.
`
`[0017] FIG. 6 shoWs a netWork, including the Internet.
`
`[0018] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram associated With the
`invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`[0019] I. Concepts in Implementation
`[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, Web page 59 refers to a
`generic and imaginary search-results page as displayed by a
`generic broWser. The conteXt for search-results page 59 is
`that an Internet search for “Jet” has just been completed
`(thus the Word “Jet” remaining in search entry boX 50). A
`?rst result 53 is shoWn along With a second result 54 and an
`nth result 56. In addition, Web page 57 is the actual Web page
`referred by and associated With ?rst result 53 (as displayed
`by a generic broWser). Typically, all or some portion or
`portions of ?rst result 53 Will be a hyperlink or hyperlinks
`to Web page 57. PrevieW Icon 63 is associated With search
`result 53 and Will be eXplained later. Similarly, Web page 58
`is the actual Web page referred by and associated With
`second result 54. Hyperlinks 67 and 68 shoW that the
`character strings “737-500 Jets” and WWW.Boeing.com
`serve as hyperlinks perhaps to Web page 58 and the Boeing
`home page respectively. As discussed in the background,
`generally ?rst result 53 is presumptively more relevant to the
`search term “Jet” than second result 54 and certainly more
`relevant than nth result 56.
`
`[0021] Mouse pointer 52 is a common pointer as may be
`controlled by a standard mouse, trackball, keyboard pointer,
`touch screen or any user manageable device (hereinafter the
`term “mouse pointer” is used in the broadest sense the
`conteXt permits to refer to any one or more of these
`navigation tools). Using various commercially available
`softWare and hardWare, mouse pointer 52 can visually
`appear as nearly any object a user desires. A user may
`
`navigate around search-results page 59 by using the motion
`of mouse pointer 52 and a combination of Well-knoWn and
`Well-documented keystrokes.
`[0022]
`II. Mouse-over Creates PrevieW
`[0023] Referring back to search-result page 59 as a Whole,
`recall that this is a result returned after a user has performed
`a search on the term “Jet.” The user must then analyZe those
`results and Will typically do so using the combinations of
`keystrokes and the pointer tool. A feature of the current
`invention is that the user is shoWn previeW information
`When the mouse pointer 52 navigates or passes over a
`de?ned area such as ?rst de?ned area 60, second de?ned
`area 61, or other de?ned areas 62, 64, 66, 67, 68 (Herein
`after, the action of navigating or passing the mouse pointer
`over a region is referred to as a “mouse-over”). The de?ned
`areas are program-designated (perhaps With JavaScript)
`areas on results page 59. While these de?ned areas could be
`made visible, they are generally invisible to the user. In one
`embodiment, upon a pre-de?ned placement or action of the
`pointer (eg a mouse-over), instructions are sent to the
`user’s Web broWser to automatically open an embedded
`previeW WindoW and render the relevant conteXtual infor
`mation inline With the user’s results. In various implemen
`tations of the invention, de?ned areas may be in any shape
`or siZe, located anyWhere on the page and may be con?gured
`by a programmer, the user, or any process With suf?cient
`access to the system.
`[0024]
`III. Many Types of PrevieW Information
`[0025] Differing implementations of the invention alloW
`for virtually any type of previeW information to be shoWn to
`the user. The previeW information shoWn When there is a
`mouse-over of de?ned area 60 Will generally be intuitively
`related to the page content surrounding de?ned area 60. For
`eXample a mouse-over de?ned area 60, might cause display
`of the actual content or the Web page referred by or asso
`ciated With ?rst result 53 (such as Web page 57).
`[0026] Rather than displaying the actual content referred
`by and associated With a result, the same mouse-over might
`cause the system to display information merely related to the
`actual content of Web page 57. For example, related previeW
`information may include Web pages With relevant and simi
`lar content to Web page 57. In addition, related information
`may also include a list of URLs representing all or some of
`the links contained or identi?ed in Web page 57. Similarly,
`
`
`
`related information might include a list of URLs of either Web pages that link to Web page 57 or (ii) the entire Website
`
`that Web page 57 resides in. With respect to URLs used as
`previeW information, in some embodiments of the invention
`these URLs Will function as links. Furthermore, in order to
`reduce the appearance of aesthetic information overload, a
`user or programmer may control the maXimum number of
`URLs displayed in a single previeW.
`[0027] Alternatively, the same mouse-over might cause
`display of conteXtual information about Web page 57 such as
`a vieW of the home page associated With Web page 57 or
`other pages Within the same domain as Web page 57. In this
`case, several pages might be displayed (either overlapping or
`adjacent) as previeW information. The invention contem
`plates that the user or a programmer might con?gure hoW to
`sort the pages returned as previeW information, for eXample,
`they may be sorted by relevance to the query, or they may
`be in a ?Xed order such as home page on top.
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 10
`
`

`

`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Aug. 7, 2003
`
`[0028] The invention also contemplates that the user or a
`programmer might con?gure hoW to sort the pages returned
`as previeW information by hits to a page. This is the sorting
`of the pages under a speci?c domain based on the number of
`hits that each page has had (not based on a popularity
`algorithms that requires a speci?c query-url pair and Would
`not be appropriate here). For example, presume a mouse
`over of a result indicating the page WWW.shoes.com/loafers.
`The previeW may shoW associated pages shoes.com ranked
`only by the search authority’s record of the number of hits
`that each page has had over a speci?ed period. Therefore, the
`user might see #1) shoes.com (300 hits in the past year);
`#2)shoes.com/locations (200 hit in the last years) and, #3)
`shoes.com/sneakers (100 hits in the last year), etc.
`[0029] Other contextual information that might be dis
`played as a previeW includes the creation date of a Web page,
`the last refresh date of a Web page, the ?le siZe of a Web
`page, the number of links-in on a Web page, or the number
`of links-out on a Web page. Contextual information might
`also include information regarding the URL registration
`pertaining to Web page 57 (such as its oWner, location, or
`registration date.), or information regarding the URL itself
`(such as its geographic location). In addition, the same
`mouse-over of de?ned area 60 might cause display of
`previeW information to aid in further search, such as the
`identity of Web pages or sites similar or related to Web page
`57. Similarly, the previeW information might actually be one
`or more pages from a similar site. In fact, these tWo
`techniques may be cascaded in that a ?rst previeW WindoW
`may display a list of similar sites or pages and then as each
`item in the list is moused-over, a previeW of the referenced
`site or page may be displayed. Expanding on this cascading
`concept, further or more ef?cient search may be aided by
`using previeW displays to help drill through a directory
`structure. In particular, each mouse-over of an item Would
`display the list of applicable sub-categories, then each
`mouse-over of one of the subcategories Would display a
`further list of sub-sub categories and so on.
`
`[0030] In the same context, further search efforts might be
`aided by providing another set of search results as previeW
`information. This is particularly applicable to a mouse-over
`proximate to a suggested alternative search term or query
`(virtually all commercial search tools offer suggestions for
`alternative search terms or queries). In this embodiment, the
`system executes a neW search When the user mouses-over an
`alternative search term and the previeW WindoW displays
`What is effectively a neW search results page (typically
`containing 10 results).
`[0031] In addition to being informational in such a Way as
`to aid analysis, the invention contemplates previeW infor
`mation that is transformative. For example, a mouse-over of
`de?ned area 60 may cause display of a language translation
`of Web page 57. This feature and other types of transforma
`tive functions can be implemented generally tWo Ways. One
`general method is to pre-transform all or some of the target
`pages of information at an appropriate time, such as by
`submitting the pages to a machine translator proximate to
`the return of the search results. Alternatively, the target
`information may be submitted to a machine translator upon
`the mouse-over of de?ned area 60. In either case, the
`previeW information displayed Would be the output of the
`translator. Another transformative previeW might be a de?
`nition, or a list of synonyms or antonyms. The techniques for
`
`implementing this mirror the translation example. For such
`a transformative uses, the invention contemplates that the
`user or a programmer may designate the ?le siZe available
`for transformation and the percent of ?le to be transformed.
`
`[0032] The previeW information may also be pre-arranged
`by the programmer for the bene?t of the providing of a
`message that may or may not intuitively relate to the de?ned
`area. An example of this type of previeW information Would
`a logo, an advertisement, an instruction or any text or
`graphic message designated by the programmer. In this same
`context, the programmer of a Web page may tag certain
`information on her pages for use by those accessing the Web
`page, especially robots (like craWlers and spiders) assem
`bling information to aid users to ?nd the page. These tags
`Would de?ne What previeW information the Web page creator
`intends for use by a previeW-generating search tool.
`
`[0033] As discussed in examples above, the invention
`alloWs for the type of previeW information to be ?xed or
`user-programmable. Speci?cally, a user or programmer may
`decide What type of previeW information is displayed either
`dynamically (based upon operational context such as the
`page content and user mousing/keystrokes) or in a ?xed Way
`(e.g., the page referred by and associated With the result is
`alWays displayed). In one embodiment, all the information
`displayed is con?gurable in the “conf”?le and is determined
`by a programmer that oWns or controls the Web page
`displaying the search results. A “conf” or con?guration ?le
`sets the variable parameters of an application. For example
`a con?guration ?le sets the number of search results for a
`results page (typically 10), but this number can be increased
`or decreased in the con?guration ?le. In some Ways the Page
`Setup feature in MS Word is similar to a con?guration ?le.
`In the ?rst instance (page siZe) the con?guration ?le is
`managed by the back end (meaning by the programmer at
`the Website or search provider) While in the Page Setup
`example the conf ?le is accessible to the user.
`
`[0034] Accordingly, in various embodiments, the inven
`tion may be deployed such that a user or the programmer
`may select one or more of the folloWing: location of the
`de?ned area (either as a technical location on the page or by
`relation to visible text or graphics on the page); siZe of the
`de?ned area; and Which type of previeW information to
`associate With the each de?ned area.
`
`[0035] IV. PrevieW Icons
`[0036] Result analysis is clearly aided by previeWing Web
`page 57 When there is a mouse-over of de?ned area 60. This
`is because Web page 57 is the actual Web page referred by
`and associated With ?rst result 53 and de?ned area 60 is
`intuitively related-by partial co-location—to ?rst search
`result 53. The intuitive connection and analysis bene?t
`remains for any approximate co-location of a search result
`With a de?ned area.
`
`[0037] In addition, hoWever, a strong intuitive connection
`is made betWeen a search result and a separately located
`de?ned area if the de?ned area overlaps some visual indi
`cation of its relevance and/or it is logically located With
`respect to the search result. There are several embodiments
`of the current invention that exploit this principle. Referring
`again to FIG. 1, previeW icon 63 is located on Web page 59
`in a place that is logically related to ?rst result 53. Further
`more, de?ned area 64 is on Web page 59 partially co-located
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 11
`
`

`

`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Aug. 7, 2003
`
`With preview icon 63. When the user mouses-over de?ned
`area 64 (and approximately over previeW icon 63), the
`previeW information is displayed (in this case Web page 57).
`[0038] The previeW icon 64 offers advantages in that it
`alerts a user to the previeW feature and then alloWs the user
`to purposefully select previeW using only navigation of
`mouse pointer 52. Furthermore, the previeW icon 63 may be
`a control panel to control the users options for some or all
`of the functionality related to the previeW function. In
`addition, the previeW icon may transform (either by click,
`time latency or other input mechanism) into a control panel
`for the same reasons.
`
`[0039] V. Multiple PrevieWs Per Result
`
`[0040] The invention contemplates that tWo or more pre
`vieWs may be used With the same result. Referring again to
`FIG. 1, nth result 56 is partly co-located With both de?ned
`area 66 and de?ned area 62. The invention provides that
`mousing-over each de?ned area Will produce a different
`previeW result, for example different types of previeW infor
`mation (discussed above) or different mechanisms for the
`presentation of the previeW (discussed beloW).
`[0041] VI. Displaying PrevieWs
`[0042] The invention contemplates that the previeW infor
`mation may be displayed in any manner that the client
`system may facilitate. Commonly, the previeW information
`may be displayed in a Frame opened proximate to the time
`of the mouse-over. In particular, one embodiment calls for
`an Inline Frame that opens proximate to the time of the
`mouse-over and endures approximately until the mouse
`over ends or the user exercises a commit or control. HoW
`ever, the previeW information may also be displayed in one
`or more neW broWser WindoWs opened under or over the
`current WindoW or in a WindoW Which already exists on
`results page 59 such as previeW WindoW 55, Which can be
`located anyWhere on results page 59. Excepting the ?xed
`previeW WindoW concept, the invention contemplates that
`the user can dynamically control the location of the previeW
`WindoW, its siZe and the duration of its visibility. This alloWs
`the user to leave the previeW WindoW open While freeing the
`cursor to move elseWhere and perform other functionality.
`This feature can be implemented With standard WindoWs
`type mouse and key movements. In the case of a ?xed
`previeW WindoW 55, all the same attributes are also control
`lable, but typically only by a programmer With suf?cient
`access. In addition, the invention contemplates that a pro
`grammer or user may control all the functional attributes of
`a previeW WindoW. The folloWing are examples of these
`controllable functional attributes:
`the use of a scroll
`bar;(ii) enabling a hyperlink so that a mouseover or a click
`on a link Within a previeWed page is active and results in a
`call to the referenced page; (iii), enabling further mouse
`over, Which alloWs the user to use her mouse-over in the
`previeW pane; or (iv), or disabling java, or other languages
`including but not limited to javascript, ?ash, VBScript,
`Jscript, or DHTML. Lastly, either a user or programmer
`might also control content ?ltration such a enabling a porn
`?lter With the use of a previeW. This Would be useful in
`protecting those sensitive to explicit information and may be
`performed by passing the previeW information through a
`?lter prior to its display in a previeW WindoW. In addition,
`the previeW function in general alloWs users to minimiZe
`their exposure to undesired information.
`
`[0043] PrevieWs are not necessarily limited to visual infor
`mation, they can be comprised of audio or any other sensory
`information that may be encoded in a Web page or result and
`then conveyed to a user over a netWork for re-creation by the
`user’s client machine.
`[0044] VII. Relating Icons and De?ned Areas
`[0045] Referring to FIG. 2, previeW WindoW 250 is ?xed
`at the top of the page. As discussed earlier, the invention
`contemplates that previeW WindoWs may be placed Wherever
`esthetically or functionally useful. Also on FIG. 2, ?rst
`result 251 corresponds With de?ned area 254 and previeW
`icon 257. In this case, de?ned area 254 is larger and shaped
`differently than previeW icon 257. This arrangement may
`have several advantages. First, for quicker navigation and
`previeWing, the larger de?ned area facilitates shoWing the
`previeW if the pointer gets close to the previeW icon. Second,
`the larger de?ned area 254 may be used as an indication that
`the pointer is approaching the previeW icon 257. This
`indication may initiate the loading of the previeW and
`thereby have some or all of the loading completed by the
`time the pointer mouses-over the icon 257. Adding another
`de?ned area more precisely co-located With icon 257 may
`enhance this technique. Having tWo de?ned areas in this
`con?guration (one larger than icon 257 and one precisely
`co-located), alloWs the system to begin loads When the point
`gets in the area of icon 257 but only display previeW
`information if there is an actual mouse-over the icon 257.
`This Will make the load time appear to be smaller than it
`actually is. This technique could also be combined With
`other techniques to speed the loading of information. For
`example, loading speed may be increased by limiting the
`nature of the information such as a limitation to text or
`compressed graphics. Loading may also be accelerated by
`limiting the quantity of information loaded such as by
`specifying a siZe limit (bytes) or degrading the image by
`loading only some of the information (eg every other bit of
`a bmp ?le).
`[0046] Continuing on FIG. 2, ?rst result 251 may contain
`various information, including a title, descriptive text,
`excerpt text and a link to the referred Web page. Any one or
`combination of these items may be individually co-located
`With a de?ned area that Will provide a previeW during a
`mouse over. By using multiple de?ned areas, a variety of
`information about the referred Web page could be previeWed
`simply by navigating the mouse pointer, for example, mous
`ing-over the title might cause a previeW of contextual
`information about the referred page, mousing-over the
`descriptive or excerpt text might cause a previeW of the
`actual referred page, and mousing-over the link might cause
`a previeW of information about the link. It is noteWorthy
`that, except for the link, any of the information items (title,
`text etc.) need not be hyperlinks.
`[0047] A Further discussing FIG. 2, second result 252
`corresponds With de?ned area 255 and previeW icon 258. In
`this case, the invention contemplates that the de?ned area
`may be smaller that the previeW icon. In addition, FIG. 2
`shoWs third result 253, Which corresponds to de?ned area
`256 and previeW icon 259. While de?ned area 256 and
`previeW icon 259 are not shoWn precisely co-located, the
`draWing is provided to indicate that the invention contem
`plates perfectly co-located and co-shaped de?ned areas and
`previeW icons, Which of course might include previeW
`information such as text.
`
`Google Exhibit 1009
`Page 12
`
`

`

`US 2003/0146939 A1
`
`Aug. 7, 2003
`
`[0048] VII. Floating Preview Windows
`
`[0049] Referring noW to FIG. 3, ?rst result 350 corre
`sponds With de?ned area 354 and previeW icon 355. When
`the mouse pointer is over de?ned area 354, ?oating previeW
`WindoW 358 appears and displays Whatever previeW infor
`mation has been de?ned. Floating previeW WindoW 358
`covers Whatever information is beloW it on the Web page.
`The invention contemplates that ?oating previeW WindoW
`358 may cover the Web page portions beloW it (presumably
`second through ?fth results in this case) either completely,
`in opaque fashion or semi-translucent fashion. The invention
`contemplates that a semi-translucent WindoW Would alloW
`the user to simultaneously see the information in the WindoW
`and beloW the WindoW on the Web page.
`
`[0050] Referring again to FIG. 3, result 351 is partially
`co-located With de?ned area 356 and de?ned area 356 is
`approximately co-located With the title of Sixth