(12) United States Patent
`Gri?iths et al.
`
`US006286045B1
`US 6,286,045 B1
`*Sep. 4, 2001
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) INFORMATION STORAGE AND DELIVERY
`OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK USING
`CENTRALIZED INTELLIGENCE TO
`MONITOR AND CONTROL THE
`INFORMATION BEING DELIVERED
`
`(75) Inventors: Michael John Gri?iths, Broom?eld,
`CO (US); James David McElhiney,
`Ottawa (CA)
`
`(73) Assignee: Matchlogic, Inc., Louisville, CO (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 08/858,650
`(22) Filed:
`May 19, 1997
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 .................................................... .. G06F 13/00
`
`(52) us. Cl. .......................... .. 709/224; 709/219; 705/14;
`707/501
`
`(58) Field of Search ................................... .. 709/217, 218,
`709/219, 224, 221, 229, 230, 238, 239;
`705/14, 10, 26, 27, 1; 707/20, 501, 503
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(56)
`
`9/1993 Matsunaga ......................... .. 395/650
`5,247,670
`2/1994 Abel et al.
`364/401
`5,289,371
`5,341,477 * 8/1994 Pitkin et al.
`.. 395/200.56
`5,347,632
`9/1994 Filepp et al.
`..... .. 395/200
`5,430,729
`7/1995 Rahnema
`270/94.1
`(List continued on neXt page.)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`“Reload, Redraw, Repeat”, Paul Boutin, downloaded from
`electronic webcite address as of May 16, 1997 of: httw://
`www.packet.com/packet/boutin/97/17geek,html#1, pp. 1—4.
`
`“Advertisers, Privacy Advocates Clash Over Giving Users
`More ‘Cooke’ Control,” Angela Drolte, Electronic Informa
`tion Policy & Law Report, 2(21):530—531 (1997).
`Goldberg et al., “Beyond the Web: Excavating the Real
`world via Mosaic”, Second International WWW Confer
`ence, 1994. Source: Internet, retrieved May 2, 1996 from
`http://www.usc.edu/dept/raiders/paper/.*
`
`(List continued on neXt page.)
`
`Primary Examiner—Dung C. Dinh
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—James R. Young; Chrisman
`Bynum & Johnson
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Asystem for storing information on a computer network and
`allowing the information to be accessed by terminals con
`nected to the computer network, either directly, or through
`an intermediary device such as a local or proXy server,
`includes computer or web sites which store pages requested
`by terminals for display on the terminals. The pages may
`include references to banners to be displayed in conjunction
`with the web pages on the terminal. The terminal initiates
`access or connection to a desired computer or web site to
`access a desired page. After the desired page is downloaded,
`transmitted, or served to the terminal from the computer or
`web site, the terminal initiates and sends an initial banner
`request signal to an information server. The information
`server returns a redirect signal to the terminal telling the
`terminal the location of the desired banner on the computer
`network, which may be the information server, the computer
`site, or some other information server, computer site, or
`location accessible via the computer network. The terminal
`then initiates a second banner request signal to the location
`of the desired banner and the banner is served to the terminal
`for display on the terminal, unless the requested banner has
`previously been stored or cached in the terminal’s memory
`or in the memory of a local or proXy server connected to the
`terminal, in which case the second banner request signal is
`not sent across the computer network and the banner is
`loaded directly from the terminal’s memory or served to the
`terminal from the proXy server.
`
`78 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`CST)
`I74
`
`7'
`
`T
`USER
`‘REuuEsTs
`PAGE
`
`PRU/mum STORED TN
`
`TIWWAL
`7
`
`nTsPLAY
`jRIQUESTED AND
`; sTuREn PAGE
`
`FOR PAGE FROM
`TERWNAL
`
`sToRE
`EVE AN
`PAGE
`on
`PROXY SERVER
`
`\754
`
`lsENu REQUEST
`FOR PAGI
`new PROXY
`
`Z
`H T
`15mm TNTTTAE BANNER
`1
`REDUEST 5mm
`
`ES\ .
`./
`Y/PAGE cuNTATW N t
`BANNERS
`”
`
`we
`j
`
`W
`
`t
`
`T
`
`,
`
`1
`
`,
`
`RETURN EANNER ADDRESS
`EocATmN To TERWNAL
`
`oPTToNAL BANNER H7413
`SELECTTUN
`
`m
`7
`
`BAN
`
`sown:
`2
`
`100
`
`DISPLAVVREQUISIED
`AND sToREn BANNER
`
`sERvETA'Nu swRr
`FBANNER new
`PROXY SERVER
`
`'
`
`'
`
`1
`,,
`‘
`5m 5mm]
`REQUEST row BANNER ‘
`
`junk Em PRUXY srrevrn
`
`‘
`
`SERVE AND STORI BANNER ‘
`new BANNEReSITE
`T
`Q
`
`Page 1 of 21
`
`Google Inc.
`GOOG 1001
`IPR of U.S. Patent No. 6,286,045
`
`

`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`_
`8/1995 Fllepp 9t 91- ----------------------- -- 395/650
`5,442,771
`10/1995 Caccavale
`395/18401
`5,459,837
`9/1996 Flte eta1~~
`-- 395/148
`5,557,721
`11/1996 Judson - - - - - - -
`- - - -- 395/793
`5,572,643
`12/1996 Chatwameta
`395/200-01
`5,583,991
`1/1997 Liron ......... ..
`395/200.01
`5,598,532
`2/1997 Berteau ---- -~
`395/200-01
`5,602,991
`4/1997 Civanlar et a .
`395/200.11
`5,617,540
`4/1997 Beshears et a1.
`395/182.08
`5,621,884
`5/1997 Kikuta e161. ..
`395/610
`5,628,009
`1/1998 Graber et aL
`395/200_11
`577127979
`2/1998 Stewart ..... ..
`395/615
`5,715,453
`3/1998 Barrett et a1. ..
`395/12
`5,727,129
`4/1998 Gennaro etal-
`295/200-33
`5,742,768
`6/1998 Hunt et a1.
`345/428
`5,764,235
`6/1998 Edelstein et a1. ..
`395/200.49
`5,764,906
`5,774,660 * 6/1998 Brendel et a1. ............... .. 395/200.31
`
`7/1998 Templin et a1. ................... .. 370/401
`5,781,550
`7/1998 Bach et a1. .................... .. 395/200.57
`5,781,739
`8/1998 Shane ............................ .. 395/200.49
`5,793,972
`8/1998 Goldhaber et a1
`........ .. 705/14
`5,794,210
`8/1998 Davis et a1.
`395/200.54
`5,796,952
`5,948,061 * 9/1999 Merriman e161.
`709/219
`6,014,698 * 1/2000 Griffiths ........ ..
`.709/224
`670387601 * 3/2000 Lambert et a1_
`_ 709/226
`6,115,742 * 9/2000 Franklin 6161. ................... .. 709/224
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`_
`_
`NetGravity AdServer 2.0 Annoucernent. Available at http://
`www-netgravity-com, Oct 1996*
`Kohda et a1. “Ubiquitous advertising on theWWWzMerging
`advertisement on the browser,” Computer Network and
`ISDN System, 28 (1996) 14934499, May, 1996*
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 2 of 21
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 4, 2001
`
`Sheet 1 0f 3
`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`PRIMARY r54
`
`COMPUTER
`NETWORK
`
`TERMINAL
`
`3.61
`58 \SERVER
`TERMINAL
`34’~—/
`
`40 L42
`COMPUTER
`SITE ‘\48
`
`F/G. 7
`
`62
`60
`r F
`/
`
`XYZ COMPANY
`
`68/“
`v0 COMPANY HISTORY
`p0 PRODUCT LINE
`70/“
`
`Page 3 of 21
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 4, 2001
`
`Sheet 2 of3
`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`SEND REQUEST
`FOR PAGE FROM
`TERMINAL
`
`SERVE AND STORE
`PAGE FROM
`PROXY SERVER
`
`SEND REQUEST
`FOR PAGE
`FROM PROXY
`86 1 SERVER
`
`SERvE AND STORE
`PAGE FROM COMPUTER SITE
`
`88
`
`REQUESTED AND
`STORED PAOE
`
`V___WO
`TERMINAL
`REQUESTS
`BANNER 1 90
`
`DlSPLAYED REQUESTED
`AND STORED BANNER
`
`LNLDI‘
`
`-
`
`I96
`SEND REQUEST
`FOR BANNER
`FROM TERMINAL
`/1 OO
`SERVE AND STORE
`BANNER FROM
`PROXY SERVER
`
`98
`
`SEND REQUEST
`FOR BANNER
`FROM PROXY SERVER
`
`1 04 ‘TX
`SERVE AND STORE BANNER
`FROM BANNER-SITE
`
`F/GJ
`(PR/0R ART)
`
`Page 4 of 21
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 4, 2001
`
`Sheet 3 of3
`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`CS_TART
`
`74
`USER I SEND REQUEST
`REQUESTS
`FOR PAGE FROM
`TERMINAL
`
`1 1 0
`
`W
`
`SERVE AND STORE
`PAGE FROM
`PROXY SERVER
`
`SEND REQUEST
`FOR PAGE
`FROM PROXY
`SERVER
`85
`I
`1
`SERVE AND STORE
`PAGE FROM COMPUTER STTE
`
`----------------- W
`
`REQUESTED AND
`STORED PAGE
`
`1 1 21 ‘
`SEND INITIAL BANNER
`REQUEST SIGNAL
`
`oPTIoNAL BANNER N1 1 3
`T
`SELEcTIoN
`RETURN BANNER ADDRESS
`LocATIoN To TERNINAL <_ __________ __J
`
`SEND SECOND
`REQUEST
`FOR BANNER
`FROM TERMINAL
`/1OO
`SERvE AND SToRE
`BANNER FROM
`PROXY SERvER
`
`1 1 81
`
`E
`SEND SECOND
`REQUEST FOR BANNER
`FROM PROXY SERVER
`
`1 041
`SERVE AND STORE BANNER
`FROM BANNER-SITE
`
`F/G. 4
`
`DISPLAY REQUESTED
`AND SToRED BANNER
`
`[ND L
`L+—/‘
`
`Page 5 of 21
`
`

`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`1
`INFORMATION STORAGE AND DELIVERY
`OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK USING
`CENTRALIZED INTELLIGENCE TO
`MONITOR AND CONTROL THE
`INFORMATION BEING DELIVERED
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`address for the US. Patent and Trademark Of?ce is currently
`http://WWW.uspto.gov. When a user types in this URL
`address into a broWser, the user’s terminal establishes a
`connection With the US. Patent and Trademark Of?ce and
`the initial Web page for the US. Patent and Trademark Office
`is transmitted from the server storing this Web page (Which
`may or may not be actually located at the Us. Patent and
`Trademark Office) to the user’s terminal and displayed on
`the user’s terminal. The Web page may include a number of
`graphic images or elements, often referred to as banners,
`Which are to be displayed on the user’s terminal in conjunc
`tion With the Web page. Each of the graphic images is
`typically stored as a separate ?le on the server and has its
`oWn URL address. When the Web page is initially transmit
`ted from the server to the user’s terminal, the broWser
`receives the URL addresses for the graphic images and then
`requests that they be transmitted from the server on Which
`they are stored to the user’s terminal for display on the user’s
`terminal in conjunction With the Web page. The server(s) on
`Which the graphic images are stored may or may not be the
`same server on Which the original Web page is stored. More
`speci?cally, since the URL’s addresses for the included
`graphic images are all processed separately using the HIML
`protocols, it is possible and, in fact, common, for these
`graphic images to be stored on separate and even Widely
`distributed computers or hosts, all of Which are accessible to
`the user’s terminal via a computer netWork. For purposes of
`the present invention, the term “banner” is meant to be
`construed very broadly and includes any information dis
`played in conjunction With a Web page Wherein the infor
`mation is not part of the same ?le as the Web page. That is,
`a banner includes anything that is displayed or used in
`conjunction With a Web page, but Which can exist separately
`from the Web page or Which can be used in conjunction With
`many Web pages. Banners can include graphics, textual
`information, video, audio, animation, and links to other
`computer sites, Web sites, Web pages, or banners.
`The groWth of easy access to the World Wide Web and the
`ability to create visually pleasing Web pages have helped
`increase the amount of advertising and other promotional
`materials created for use and display With Web pages. For
`example, a car manufacturer may have a Web page describ
`ing the company and the cars and car parts that the company
`manufactures and sells. Part of the Web page may include
`advertising information or banners such as, for example,
`images of current car models sold by the manufacturer or the
`types and numbers or cars the manufacturer has in stock. The
`car manufacturer may also contract With the oWners or
`operators of other Web pages to have the car manufacturer’s
`advertisement banners displayed When users access these
`other Web pages. Similarly, an advertising agency may
`contract With various Web sites to have the advertisement
`banners of the agency’s clients displayed When users access
`the Web pages stored on the Web sites. For example, an
`advertising agency or ad-netWork ?rm may contract With a
`Web site containing general information about cars to have
`advertising information or banners included on the Web
`pages displayed to a user accessing the Web site. The
`advertising banners may contain graphics, text, etc. about
`car models or car parts manufactured by on of the adver
`tising agency’s clients. Furthermore, the advertisement ban
`ners may not be stored on the same server or computer or
`Web site on Which the Web page is stored. Rather, all or a
`signi?cant portion of the advertisement banners created by
`an advertising agency may reside on one or more informa
`tion or ad servers. Typically, an advertising agency Will pay
`a ?xed amount of money for a ?xed number of displays of
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates to the system for the storage,
`management, and delivery of information on a computer
`netWork and, more speci?cally, to the efficient and reliable
`storage, delivery, and monitoring of advertising and other
`information on a computer netWork.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`During recent years there have been rapid advancements
`in computers and computer netWorking. In particular, the
`World-Wide netWork of computers commonly referred to as
`the Internet has seen explosive groWth. The Internet com
`prises a vast netWork of smaller Wide area and local area
`computer netWorks connected together so as to alloW the
`sharing of resources and to facilitate data communication
`betWeen computers and users. The rapid groWth of the
`Internet is due, in large part, to the introduction and Wide
`spread use of graphical user interfaces called broWsers
`Which alloW users easy access to netWork servers and
`computers connected to the Internet and, more particularly,
`the World Wide Web.
`The World Wide Web forms a subset of the Internet and
`includes a collection of servers, computers, and other
`devices. Each server may contain documents formatted as
`Web pages or hypertext documents that are accessible and
`vieWable With a Web compliant broWser, such as the
`Netscape NavigatorTM broWser or the MosaicTM broWser.
`Each hypertext document or Web page may contain refer
`ences to graphic ?les or banners that are to be displayed in
`conjunction With the hypertext document or Web page. The
`?les and banners may or may not be stored at the same
`location as the hypertext document or Web page.
`A hypertext document often contains hypertext links to
`other hypertext documents such that the other hypertext
`documents can be accessed from the ?rst hypertext docu
`ment by activating the hypertext links. The servers con
`nected to the World Wide Web utiliZe the Hypertext Transfer
`Protocol (HTTP) Which is Widely knoWn protocol Which
`alloWs users to use broWsers to access Web pages and the
`banners or ?les associated With Web pages. The ?les,
`banners, hypertext documents, or Web pages may contain
`text, graphics, images, sound, video, etc. and are generally
`Written in a standard page or hypertext document description
`language knoWn as the Hypertext Markup Language
`(HTML). The HTML format alloWs a Web page developer to
`specify the location and presentation of the graphic, textual,
`sound, etc. on the screen displayed to the user accessing the
`Web page. In addition, the HTML format alloWs a Web page
`to contain links, such as the hypertext links described above,
`to other Web pages or servers on the Internet. Simply by
`selecting a link, a user can be transferred to the neW Web
`page, Which may be located very different geographically or
`topologically from the original Web page.
`When using a conventional broWser, a user can select
`Which Web page or hypertext document the user Wishes to
`have displayed on the user’s computer or terminal by
`specifying the Web page’s Universal or Uniform Resource
`Locator (URL) address. Each server has a unique URL
`65
`address and, in fact, so does each Web page and each ?le
`needed to display the Web page. For example, the URL
`
`45
`
`55
`
`Page 6 of 21
`
`

`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`3
`its advertisement banners on a single Web page or group of
`Web pages. Therefore, advertising agencies are understand
`ably very interested in knowing Which advertisement ban
`ners have been displayed With Which Web pages and hoW
`often each advertisement banner has been displayed on
`terminals or otherWise served to terminals.
`Unfortunately, the current state of the art is such that
`accurate counts are not made of hoW many times an banner,
`even a banner containing an advertisement, is displayed to
`users or served to terminals. Furthermore, nature and eXtent
`of the problem of miscounting displays of banners is not
`Well-knoWn or even understood in the industry or by people
`of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, despite the Well
`developed state of the art in the displaying of information,
`banners, and advertisements in conjunction With Web pages,
`documents, or other information, there is still a need for a
`system for storing and delivering information and banners
`on a computer netWork Where accurate counts of the number
`of times each piece of information and banner is displayed
`can be made and the information and banners are displayed
`quickly and ef?ciently to users or terminals. In addition,
`there is a need for a highly reliable, even fault-tolerant,
`system for storing and delivering the information and ban
`ners that Will not signi?cantly reduce the ef?ciency of the
`Internet or the servers on Which the information and banners
`are stored, While providing for accurate monitoring and
`counting of the information and banners displayed to a user
`or served to a terminal.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention
`to provide a system for storing and delivering information
`on a computer network.
`It is a speci?c object of the present invention to provide
`a system for the storage, delivery monitoring, and tailoring
`of advertising information on a computer netWork.
`It is another general object of the present invention to
`provide a system for storing and delivering information on
`a computer netWork Wherein accurate counts of the number
`of times the information is displayed or served to users or
`terminals can be made.
`It is a speci?c object of the present invention to provide
`a system for storing and delivering information on a com
`puter netWork Wherein the operation of the computer net
`Work is not signi?cantly affected.
`It is another general object of the present invention to
`provide a system for storing and delivering information on
`a computer netWork Wherein the system maintains a high
`degree of reliability and fault tolerance.
`Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the
`invention shall be set forth in part in the description that
`folloWs, and in part Will become apparent to those skilled in
`the art upon examination of the folloWing or may be learned
`by the practice of the invention. The objects and the advan
`tages may be realiZed and attained by means of the instru
`mentalities and in combinations particularly pointed out in
`the appended claims.
`To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accor
`dance With the purposes of the present invention, as embod
`ied and broadly described herein, the system includes ter
`minals connected to a computer netWork, either directly, or
`indirectly through an intermediary device such as a local or
`proXy server, that access computer or Web sites also con
`nected to the computer netWork to doWnload or transmit
`pages, documents, or other information from the computer
`or Web sites for storage or display on the terminals, Wherein
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`4
`the pages, documents, or other information served to the
`terminals contain references to banners to be displayed in
`conjunction With the pages, documents, and information.
`The terminal initiates access or connection to a desired
`computer or Web site to access a desired page. After the
`desired page is transmitted and served to the terminal from
`the computer or Web site, the terminal initiates and sends an
`initial banner request signal to an information server either
`requesting that unspeci?ed banner be served to the terminal
`or that a speci?ed banner be served to the terminal. The
`information server returns a redirect signal to the terminal
`telling the terminal the location on the computer netWork of
`the banner requested or speci?ed by the terminal or selected
`by the information server, Which location may be the infor
`mation server, the computer site, or some other information
`server, computer site, or location accessible to the terminal
`via the computer netWork. The terminal then initiates a
`second speci?c banner request signal to the location of the
`banner requested or speci?ed by the terminal or selected by
`the information server and the banner is transmitted to the
`terminal for display on the terminal, unless the requested or
`selected banner has previously been stored or cached in the
`terminal’s memory or in the memory of a local or proXy
`server connected to the terminal, in Which case the second
`banner request signal is not sent across the computer net
`Work and the banner is loaded and/or displayed directly from
`the terminal’s memory or served to the terminal from the
`proxy server.
`In a second embodiment, a primary information server
`and at least one mirror information server are connected to
`the computer site, but may be separated either geographi
`cally or netWork topologically. The banner information
`stored in the primary information server is also stored in
`each of the mirror information servers. All of the initial
`banner request signals are sent to the primary information
`server Which determines Which information server is best
`suited for delivering the banner to the terminal sending the
`initial banner request signal. As in the ?rst embodiment, the
`banner may be speci?cally requested by the terminal or may
`be selected by the primary information server. The primary
`information server then sends a signal to the terminal
`indicating to the terminal Which information server the
`terminal should request the requested or selected banner
`from. The terminal then generates the second banner request
`signal to serve or transmit the banner from the information
`server selected by the primary information server. Should
`the primary information server go of?ine, one or more of the
`mirror information servers can become a neW primary
`information server.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The accompanying draWings, Which are incorporated in
`and form a part of the speci?cation, illustrate the preferred
`embodiments of the present invention, and together With the
`descriptions serve to eXplain the principles of the invention.
`In the DraWings:
`FIG. 1 illustrates a computer netWork over Which the
`present invention can be implemented;
`FIG. 2 shoWs an representative Web page accessible from
`a computer site connected to the computer netWork of FIG.
`1;
`FIG. 3 shoWs a ?oWchart diagram of a prior method for
`storing and delivering information across the computer
`netWork of FIG. 1; and
`FIG. 4 shoWs a ?oWchart diagram of the preferred method
`of the present invention for storing and delivering informa
`tion across the computer netWork of FIG. 1.
`
`Page 7 of 21
`
`

`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`5
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`A representative computer network 30 is illustrated in
`FIG. 1 and includes computers or terminals 32, 34, 36, 38,
`40, 42, 44 With Which users can access or connect to the
`computer netWork 30 and the resources connected to the
`computer netWork 30 such as the computer or Web sites or
`servers 46, 48. The computer netWork 30 can include
`satellite links, microWave links, ?ber optic transmission
`lines, local area netWorks, Wide area netWorks, etc.
`Terminals, such as the terminals 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, may be
`connected to the computer netWork 30 via local or caching
`proxy servers 50, 52 or other intermediary devices (not
`shoWn). Proxy servers alloW multiple terminals to access the
`computer netWork 30, While reducing the number of physi
`cal connections to the computer netWork 30, as Will be
`discussed in more detail beloW. A primary information
`server 54 and mirror information servers 56, 58 may also be
`connected to the computer netWork 30 to facilitate the
`serving and displaying of information or banners to the
`terminals 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, as Will also be discussed
`in more detail beloW. The computer netWork 30 illustrated in
`FIG. 1 is only meant to be generally representative of
`computer netWorks for purposes of elaboration and expla
`nation of the present invention and other devices, netWorks,
`etc. may be connected to the computer netWork 30 Without
`departing from the scope of the present invention. The
`computer netWork 30 is also intended to be representative of,
`and include, the Internet, the World Wide Web, privately or
`publicly oWned or operated netWorks such as, for example,
`Tymnet, Telenet, America On-Line, Prodigy, Compuserve,
`Information America, and the Microsoft NetWork, and other
`local or Wide area computer netWorks. The computer net
`Work 30 can also include or be representative of corporate or
`other private intranets, Which are privately oWned netWorks
`using Internet protocols. It should also be noted that the
`distinction betWeen information servers, Web site, computer
`sites, and generic servers is made only for the purposes of
`elaboration and explanation of the present invention and that
`a device can function simultaneously or alternatively as a
`computer site, Web site, information server, generic server,
`or other device, or combinations thereof Without falling
`outside the scope of the present invention.
`By Way of general introduction, in a typical computer
`netWork, a user located at a terminal can access the resources
`connected to the computer netWork. For example, a user at
`the terminal 34 or terminal 36 can access the Web site or
`computer site 46 and the information stored thereon. The
`computer site or server 46 may contain Web pages, such as
`the Web page 60 illustrated in FIG. 2, that the user can
`doWnload for display on the terminal 34. For purposes of
`this invention, the term “Web page” shall be de?ned broadly
`and Will include any hypertext document, information,
`screen displays, etc. that a user can doWnload or otherWise
`retrieve from a computer or Web site for display and/or
`storage on the user’s terminal, and shall not be limited to
`only the information, pages, or documents retrievable by a
`user connected to the World Wide Web. Therefore, the term
`“Web page” Will be used generically to refer to information
`transmitted or served to a terminal from a computer site, Web
`site, server, or other device, Wherein the Web page may
`contain banners or references to banners that can be served
`to the terminal and displayed in conjunction With the Web
`page. The Web page 60 may contain textual information,
`such as “XYZ COMPANY” and “Company History,” and
`information con?gured in banners, such as the banners 62,
`64, 66. The banners 62, 64, 66 may contain graphics, text,
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`6
`video, etc. As Will be discussed in more detail beloW, the
`banners associated With a Web page may not be stored at the
`same place as the Web page and may be doWnloaded or
`served to a user’s terminal separately from the Web page. A
`signi?cant feature and advantage of the present invention is
`in the Way the banner information is selected and doWn
`loaded or served to a user’s terminal from computer sites or
`information servers connected over a same computer
`netWork, as Will be discussed in more detail beloW. The
`current state of the art is such that the counts of banner
`displays are largely inaccurate, banners are not targetable to
`large segments of the population using caching proxy
`servers, and suffers When the performance gains provided by
`proxy servers are not taken into account in prior art methods
`of counting banner displays, as Will also be discussed in
`more detail beloW.
`In a conventional Web page, such as the Web page 60, if
`a user clicks on, or otherWise activates, the button associated
`With the textual information, a neW Web page might be
`displayed on the user’s terminal. For example, if the user
`clicks on the button 68 associated With the textual informa
`tion “Company History,” a neW Web page devoted to the
`history of the XYZ company might be served from the
`computer site 46 to the user’s terminal 34 and displayed on
`the user’s terminal 34. Similarly, if the user clicks on the
`button 70 associated With the textual information “Product
`Line,” a neW Web page devoted to the product line of the
`XYZ company might be served from the computer site 46 to
`the user’s terminal 34 and displayed on the user’s terminal
`34. Each Web page may contain similar “links” to other Web
`pages, hypertext documents, Web sites, etc. Activating a link
`available on a Web page or hypertext document, therefore,
`provides the user With an ability to navigate or move to and
`display or doWnload different documents, pages, banners,
`sites, or other information via the computer netWork 30.
`When a user has a Web page displayed on the user’s
`terminal, the Web page and its associated banners are often
`stored or cached in the terminal’s memory for a period of
`time. In this fashion, if the user desires or requests that a Web
`page previously displayed to the user on the terminal be
`reaccessed and displayed on the user’s terminal, the Web
`page and the banners associated With the requested Web page
`can be loaded directly from the terminal’s memory Without
`reconnecting to the computer or Web site on Which the Web
`page is stored and from Which the Web page Was originally
`served and Without reconnecting to the computer site or
`information server on Which the banners are stored and from
`the banners Were originally served, thereby reducing the
`time needed to display the Web page. Similarly, if the user’s
`terminal is connected to a local or proxy server, the Web
`page and the banners associated With the Web page may be
`stored in the memory of the proxy server. Should the user at
`a terminal request a redisplay of a Web page previously
`displayed on the user’s terminal or previously displayed on
`any other terminal connected to the same proxy server, the
`Web page and the banners associated from the Web page can
`be served from the proxy server to the terminal for display
`on the terminal Without connecting to the computer or Web
`site on Which the Web page is stored and from Which the Web
`page Was originally doWnloaded or served and Without
`connecting to computer site or information servers on Which
`the banners are stored and from Which the banners Were
`originally transmitted or served. Note that, in the case that
`the information is retrieved from a copy of the information
`previously stored held Within a proxy server connected to
`the terminal, the serving of the information to the terminal
`Will typically be completed by sending the information from
`
`Page 8 of 21
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`

`
`US 6,286,045 B1
`
`7
`the proxy server to the terminal, i.e., Without the participa
`tion of the computer site or server. Therefore, it is dif?cult
`for the computer site or server 46 to maintain an accurate
`count of the terminals 36, 38, etc. on Which the information
`is displayed if the terminals are connected to caching proxy
`servers, if the performance bene?ts offered by the caching
`proxy server are desired.
`As previously discussed above, a signi?cant feature and
`advantage of the present invention is in the Way the banner
`information is selected and transmitted and served to the
`user’s terminal from computer sites or information servers
`connected over a same computer netWork. More speci?cally,
`the method of the present invention alloWs banner informa
`tion to be served over a computer netWork to a terminal,
`computer, etc. in a Way Which takes advantage of the
`performance enhancements offered by caching proxy serv
`ers and such that the operation of the computer netWork is
`not signi?cantly affected While providing the ability to
`accurately track or count the number of times the banner
`information has been displayed on terminals connected to
`the computer netWork, as Will be discussed in more detail
`beloW. It is not uncommon for banners to contain up to ?fty
`kilobytes
`of information, thereby making the limiting
`of banner transmissions across a computer netWork very
`signi?cant to the efficiency and operation of the computer
`netWork and to banner serving computer systems.
`For purposes of elaboration and explanation of the present
`invention, the conventions and protocols of the World Wide
`Web, and broWsers therefore, Will be used as examples, in
`particular, the concept of a Uniform Resource Locator
`(URL), the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the Hyper
`text Markup Language (HTML), and the Transmission Con
`trol Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCCP/IP). It should be
`noted, hoWever, that the concepts underlying the present
`invention can be used for computer netWorks using other or
`different types of conventions and protocols. For more
`details on these protocols, the reader is directed to: Kevin
`Washburn and Jim Evans, T CP/IP running a successful
`network, 2nd Ed. (1996), published by Addison-Wesley,
`Douglas E. Comer, Internetworking with T CP/IP. 3rd Ed