Method and an apparatus for displaying sections of web pages in multiple modes
US6831667B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 14, 2000 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 15, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9577
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and an apparatus is provided for managing a set of expansion icons and associated information so that the user can selectively open and close expansion icons with a minimum of network bandwidth. In a preferred embodiment, an expansion flag and the information location is maintained for each expansion icon and information is downloaded on an “on demand” basis. Once an item has been opened and the information downloaded, the information location is changed to a local memory address. The associated information may be in a variety of multimedia formats, including text, URLs, audio, video, or picture information. It is possible to open several expansion icons at the same time while keeping other icons closed. When an expansion icon is closed, the expansion flag is set to false and information location is reset to a server location. In an alternative embodiment, all of the information associated with the expansion icons is downloaded at the time the web page is accessed. Opening and closing icons after this initial download is based on information stored in local memory. In either embodiment, even time an expansion icon is changed, the system scans through all expans…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.