Patent EP0813159A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0813159A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method and system for prioritised downloading of embedded web objects
Assignee: Sun Microsystems Inc
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Filing: 1997-06-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-06-06
Abstract
Abstract In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method retrieves a web file and sorts one or more information element references according to a priority attribute associated with each reference. After ranking the information element references by priority, the method then retrieves each information element in the order that their references were ranked. After receiving an information element, a user acts upon the information element in the appropriate manner. Typical objects, and their actions, would include displaying an image file, executing an applet, or playing an audio file. By using the steps of the preferred method, more important objects are retrieved before less important objects, thus allowing the user to act upon the more important objects sooner than the user could have acted on the important objects using methods available in the prior art.
Inventors
- 👤 Jakob Nielsen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 21:22
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/958; G06F16/986; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99935; Y10S707/99937; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
76 words
A method executed in a computer network to facilitate acting on information elements, the computer network including a client computer and a server computer, the method comprising the steps of: sorting a list of information elements so that the list is ranked from a first information element with a highest priority to a last information element with a lowest priority; and retrieving from the server computer to the client computer, the information elements in ranked order.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
98 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of sorting the list of information elements further comprises the steps of: receiving a file which stores the information elements, at least one of the information elements having a priority level associated with the information element; ordering the information elements into an initial list according to the information element's sequential appearance in the file, the sequential appearance having an association with one or more sequence numbers; and reordering the initial list by descending priority level as a primary sort key and by ascending sequence number as a secondary sort key.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
118 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of retrieving the information elements further comprises the steps of: determining whether at least one information element is currently being retrieved; when the determination indicates that at least one information element is currently being retrieved, performing the following steps to facilitate retrieval of a next information element, obtaining an indication of an available rate of incoming bandwidth to the client computer; obtaining an indication of an available rate of outgoing bandwidth to the server computer; determining a minimum rate of the available incoming bandwidth and the available outgoing bandwidth; and accepting data associated with the next information element at a rate corresponding to a selected increment over the minimum rate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the selected increment is 10%.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the available incoming bandwidth is a total incoming bandwidth minus the sum of the number of bits received from higher ranked objects running during a last time period.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the total incoming bandwidth is, within a given time period, defined by, determining a number of bits received from any source outside the computer system associated with the display device; comparing the determined number of bits with the quantity of bits received over periods of time other than the given period of time; and selecting the largest number of bits determined from the comparison as the total incoming bandwidth.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the available bandwidth to the computer system storing the next information element is the total bandwidth to the computer system storing the next information clement minus a sum of the number of bits received, during a given period, from retrieving an information element ranked higher than the next information element.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of acting on each information element after it is retrieved.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 8 wherein the step of acting is one of displaying text, displaying a graphical user interface element, displaying an image file, playing an audio file, executing an applet, and executing a plurality of computer code.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the information element is one of a text, a graphical user interface element, an image file, an audio file, an applet, and a plurality of computer code.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
84 words
A computer program product to facilitate acting on information elements, in a computer network which includes a client computer and a server computer, the computer program product comprising: code that sorts a list of information elements so that the list is ranked from a first information element with a highest priority to a last information element with a lowest priority; and retrieving from the server computer to the client computer, the information elements in ranked order, wherein the code resides on a tangible medium.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
80 words
An apparatus to facilitate acting on information elements in a computer network, the computer network including a client computer and a server computer, the apparatus comprising: a mechanism configured to sort a list of information element so that the list is ranked from a first information element with a highest priority to a last information element with a lowest priority; and a mechanism configured to retrieve from the server computer to the client computer, the information elements in ranked order.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
108 words
The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the mechanism configured to sort the list of information elements further comprises: a mechanism configured to receive a file which stores the information elements, at least one of the information elements having a priority level associated with the information element; a mechanism configured to order the information elements into an initial list according to the information element's sequential appearance in the file, the sequential appearance having an association with one or more sequence numbers; and a mechanism configured top reorder the initial list by descending priority level as a primary sort key and by ascending sequence number as a secondary sort key.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
142 words
The apparatus of claim 12 or 13 wherein the mechanism configured to retrieve the information elements further comprises: a mechanism configured to determine whether at least one information element is currently being retrieved; a mechanism configured to perform the following steps to facilitate retrieval of a next information element, when the determination indicates that at least one information element is currently being retrieved; a mechanism configured to obtain an indication of an available rate of incoming bandwidth to the client computer; a mechanism configured to obtain an indication of an available rate of outgoing bandwidth to the server computer; a mechanism configured to determine a minimum rate of the available incoming bandwidth and the available outgoing bandwidth; and a mechanism configured to accept data associated with the next information element at a rate corresponding to a selected increment over the minimum rate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
11 words
The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the selected increment is 10%.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the available incoming bandwidth is a total incoming bandwidth minus the sum of the number of bits received from higher ranked objects running during a last time period.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
93 words
The apparatus of claim 14, 15 or 16 wherein the mechanism configured to obtain the total incoming bandwidth within a given time period, includes: a mechanism configured to determine a number of bits received from any source outside the computer system associated with the display device; a mechanism configured to compare the determined number of bits with the quantity of bits received over periods of time other than the given period of time; and a mechanism configured to select the largest number of bits determined from the comparison as the total incoming bandwidth.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
71 words
The apparatus of any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the mechanism configured to obtain the available bandwidth to the computer system storing the next information element includes a mechanism configured to determine the total bandwidth to the computer system storing the next information element minus a sum of the number of bits received, during a given period, from retrieving an information element ranked higher than the next information element.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 18 further comprising a mechanism configured to act on each information element after it is retrieved.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
49 words
The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the mechanism configured to act performs at least one of the following acts: displays text, or displays a graphical user interface element, or displays an image file, or plays an audio file, or executes an applet, or executes a plurality of computer code.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of any one of claims 12 to 20 wherein the information element is one of a text, a graphical user interface element, an image file, an audio file, an applet, and a plurality of computer code.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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