(12) United States Patent
`Samaniego et al.
`
`I 1111111111111111 11111 111111111111111 1111111111 11111 111111111111111 IIII IIII
`US006964009B2
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`(54)
`
`AUTOMATED MEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Christopher Samaniego, San
`Francisco, CA (US); Nelson H. Rocky
`Offner, Kensington, CA (US); Adrian
`D. Thewlis, Sausalito, CA (US); David
`R. Boyd, San Francisco, CA (US);
`David C. Salmon, San Rafael, CA
`(US); Joshua N. Devan, Kentfield, CA
`(US)
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee: Automated Media Processing
`Solutions, Inc., Mill Valley, CA (US)
`
`( *)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 754 days.
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.: 09/929,904
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Aug. 14, 2001
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2002/0078093 Al Jun. 20, 2002
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`( 63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/425,326, filed on
`Oct. 21, 1999.
`( 60) Provisional application No. 60/226,043, filed on Aug. 16,
`2000.
`Int. Cl.7 ......................... G06F 15/00; G06F 17/00;
`G06F 15/16
`(52) U.S. Cl. .................... 715/501.1; 715/513; 715/517;
`709/203
`
`(51)
`
`(58) Field of Search .............................. 715/501.1, 517,
`715/513; 709/203; 345/629
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,870,552 A * 2/1999 Dozier et al. ............... 709/219
`5,880,740 A * 3/1999 Halliday et al.
`............ 345/629
`5,890,170 A * 3/1999 Sidana .................... 715/501.1
`5,895,476 A * 4/1999 Orr et al. .................... 715/517
`5,937,160 A * 8/1999 Davis et al.
`................ 709/203
`6,009,436 A * 12/1999 Motoyama et al. ......... 707/102
`6,456,305 Bl * 9/2002 Qureshi et al.
`............. 345/800
`6,563,517 Bl * 5/2003 Bhagwat et al. ............ 345/735
`6,591,280 B2 * 7/2003 Orr ............................ 715/513
`6,623,529 Bl * 9/2003 Lakritz ....................... 715/536
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Zaiane et al., Mining multimedia data, 1998 ACM Confer(cid:173)
`ence of the Center for Advanced Studies on Collaborative
`research, Nov. 1998, pp. 1-18.*
`
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner-William Bashore
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Glenn Patent Group;
`Michael A Glenn
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`An automatic graphics delivery system that operates in
`parallel with an existing Web site infrastructure is provided.
`The system streamlines the post-production process by
`automating the production of media through content gen(cid:173)
`eration procedures controlled by proprietary tags placed by
`an author within URLs embedded within Web documents.
`
`8 Claims, 23 Drawing Sheets
`
`Akamai Ex. 1011
`Akamai Techs. v. Equil IP Holdings
`IPR2023-00330
`Page 00001
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 1 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`100
`
`SYSTEM
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`120a
`
`130
`
`D
`(cid:143) 8 - - ~
`Client Browser
`
`INTERNET
`
`120d
`
`Client Browser
`
`120b
`
`120c
`
`Client Browser
`
`Client Browser
`
`FIG. 1
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00002
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 2 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`200 B Original Media
`
`210
`
`MEDIA POST
`PRODUCTION
`SYSTEMS
`
`Media is manipulated
`by hand and prepared
`for the Web.
`
`220 B Generated Web media
`
`230
`
`0
`
`HTML referring to
`media tags
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`160
`
`INTERNET
`
`FIG. 2
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`120
`
`D Web Browser
`/c:=EtJ\
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00003
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 3 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`200 B
`
`Original Media
`
`100
`
`SYSTEM
`
`220
`
`Generated B
`
`Web
`media L...,----a:--....J
`
`0
`
`HTML with
`proprietary
`media tags
`
`230
`
`0
`
`Modified HTML
`referring to
`generated media
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`160
`
`INTERNET
`
`FIG. 3
`
`120
`
`D Web Browser
`I~\
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00004
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 4 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`400
`
`ORIGINAL IMAGES
`ASSETS
`
`Disk
`Management
`
`460
`
`HTML PAGES
`
`110
`
`410
`
`420
`
`POST PRODUCTION
`SYSTEMS
`
`Manipulation
`Conversion
`Upload
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`WEB IMAGES
`
`Disk
`Management
`
`120
`
`FIG. 4
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00005
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 5 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`460
`
`HTML PAGES
`
`110
`
`100
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`SYSTEM
`
`500\ A - - -~
`ASSET MANAGEMENT
`AUTOMATIC MANIPULATION
`AUTOMATIC CONVERSION
`AUTOMATIC UPLOAD
`AUTOMATIC DISK MANAGEMENT
`
`120
`
`FIG. 5
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00006
`
`

`

`'° ~
`Q
`b
`,I;;..
`O'I
`\0
`O'I
`rJ'J.
`e
`
`N
`
`~
`N
`0 ....,
`~ ....
`'JJ. =(cid:173)~
`
`O'I
`
`z 0
`
`Ul
`0
`0
`N
`~CIO
`~
`
`~ = ......
`~ ......
`~
`r:JJ. .
`d •
`
`FIG. 6
`
`_ Or~gi~I ~a~e _ _J
`
`Generated Images
`
`B
`
`B
`
`B
`
`230
`
`HTMLwith 10
`
`Modified
`
`images
`created
`system
`
`665
`
`660
`
`I
`
`650
`
`-1
`
`-
`
`-
`
`-
`
`-
`
`-
`
`SYSTEM
`CREATION
`
`MEDIA
`
`630
`
`SYSTEM
`
`645
`
`640
`
`PARSER
`HTML
`
`610
`
`I
`
`, ~o~~-
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`120
`
`110
`
`600
`
`300
`
`0
`
`tags
`proprietary
`HTML with
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00007
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 7 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`Orig!n~I) B
`
`media 1s
`created.
`
`(
`
`200
`
`( ~f~~~~s \
`------
`
`in system)
`
`MEDIA
`REPOSI(cid:173)
`TORY
`
`660
`
`Generated )
`media is
`placed in
`(
`media cache.
`
`B 220
`
`Generated
`Web media
`
`630
`
`Media tag is used
`to generate
`Web media
`
`Web Server)
`passes
`requested
`web page
`to parser.
`
`(
`
`SYSTEM
`f
`JOO
`
`Proprietary \
`media tag is
`converted to
`standard HTML)
`that refers to
`media in cache.
`
`(
`
`620
`
`Media tag
`and the HTML
`equivalent
`are stored in
`media tags
`database.
`
`MEDIA
`TAGS
`DATA(cid:173)
`BASE
`
`640
`
`700
`
`)
`parses HTML
`looking for
`media tags.
`
`~ Parser
`
`Media tags
`are replaced
`by standard
`HTML
`equivalent
`in HTML
`document.
`
`)
`Web Server
`delivers modified
`(
`HTML to Browser.
`
`FIG. 7
`
`I User views)
`\Web page.
`
`I User requests)
`\ a Web page.
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00008
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 8 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`AUTHORING FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`USER ADDS ORIGINAL
`GRAPHIC TO
`SYSTEM
`
`USER CREATES
`HTML THAT CONTAINS
`PROPRIETARY
`MEDIA TAGS
`
`USER PLACES HTML
`ON WEB SERVER
`
`810
`
`820
`
`830
`
`840
`
`END
`
`FIG. 8
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00009
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 9 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`HTML PARSING FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`900
`
`910
`
`920
`
`930
`
`USER REQUESTS
`WEB PAGE
`
`WEB SERVER HANDS
`REQUEST OF WEB
`PAGE TO SYSTEM
`
`SYSTEM PARSES
`WEB PAGE
`
`980
`
`NO
`
`DELIVER MODIFIED
`WEB PAGE TO WEB
`SERVER
`
`RETRlEVE HTML
`EQUIVALENT OF
`MEDIA TAG
`
`950
`
`990
`
`STOP
`
`REPLACE MEDIA TAG
`WITH HTML
`EQUIVALENT
`
`CONTINUE PARSING
`WEB PAGE
`
`960
`
`970
`
`FIG. 9
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00010
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 10 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`MEDIA CREATION FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`1000
`
`1010
`
`1020
`
`SYSTEM REQUESTS
`HTML EQUIVALENT
`TO A MEDIA TAG
`
`MEDIA TAG IS
`COMBINED
`WITH BANDWIDTH
`INFORMATION
`
`RETRIEVE HTML
`EQUIVALENT FROM
`DATABASE
`
`1050
`
`1080
`
`CREATE
`MEDIA
`USING
`MEDIA TAG
`
`1090
`
`STORE
`MEDIA IN
`MEDIA
`CACHE
`
`1100
`
`GENERATE
`HTML
`REFERRING TO
`GENERATED
`MEDIA
`
`1110
`
`1070
`
`REMOVE
`MEDIA TAG
`ENTRY FROM
`MEDIA TAG
`DATABASE
`
`PLACE MEDIA
`--1060
`TAG AND HTML
`RETURN HTML
`EQUIVALENT TO i . - - - - - - - - - - -1 EQUIVALENT IN
`REOUESTOR
`MEDIA TAG
`DATABASE
`
`1120
`
`STOP
`
`FIG. 10
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00011
`
`

`

`'° ~
`Q
`b
`,I;;..
`O'I
`\0
`O'I
`rJ'J.
`e
`
`N
`
`~
`N
`
`'""" 0 ...,
`'"""
`~ ....
`rF.J. =(cid:173)~
`
`z 0
`
`Ul
`0
`0
`N
`~CIO
`~
`
`~ = ......
`~ ......
`~
`r:JJ. .
`d •
`
`V FIG. 11
`
`-
`
`'ru -i, t,...,, • c., '1(,. ~7 ...
`:,:,,•7,:11., '>b '& :
`:,c.: 1u."Sr ;oL•r~ •n,:
`
`t.._.,_ .. ~>t.,,:a q:c_ 'lb:'4
`;16..;e-_ tn, .,_t~"a.
`,~ .. -7.,:11.., "b -,8:
`;,c..;.,c.i."'s,;o ... 'rt. rr,.~
`t..'ll.. ,il, ..... , ... -~t'.'~L..~-, .. 8 ... "'
`
`::, .... 3-:.:5.:.. ~-, ~ ..:'-L . .,1,''
`
`·11,.'a"·e...:-e1 ·e,';o.-:h;'/j T, ...... &:1:.. c:;s
`
`. 1.:~
`
`'S1 .. "'0L~O.i1;_S1."1L1e. n
`
`tf.:11.'"JI 71L~L10
`
`"1:"llt. 'lt. <it. -Vt_ r(..,,,ic. -~,.,~ •. :•7.;'}~~~-:::J...''lL q, "l1,"0_ 9-~ J,-. T
`
`1·1:"k
`
`1,''l,, i.,'4,.,1,'0..' (' ',--e:·,.
`"tL'1_-ig:'L,:,a·,:.:~,,.·~v~,~,..,;:, v, 1,.
`•10 ·i=."e~ · t-."c=,-~!-:il:·L. 0"''1\,'~1."'e '"t
`
`.'ln.'l!,'b'n.,r,~a.. '1b''3.:c,,. 1:,, •4,:-q __ 1, '4:'2-'.'\1,? -~'-q,:·
`
`1 :':1,
`
`#11 •,;i.:r:h .. •ir, ~It. ib.--lL "'IQ.'1,1 ,s;:-lo,,:rL' o-:;o\~•
`
`t,c"CL 10, f1:J.'t1.'DL'74 <t::,,'(/\_'')
`Dependencies
`
`''Ir, 'I!,~::. 'I\ 'tr,~a,'1~ 1:3.'',., '1.c. '4'. --q_ 'l, <;,,;<.:.:-'l1..,, _ -. • ._· q,~
`
`11~.-
`
`"• "'C, 10,' ',."'C. t0 ... "~>o .. ·"c..•1t. b "'8,1L ""'Q,""'J
`
`Generated File(s)
`
`Bandwidth
`
`MediaScript
`
`MEDIA CURRENTLY IN THE FREERIDE DATABASE
`
`Check Dependencies
`
`Clear the Freeride Databse
`
`Equilibrium Freeride Administration
`
`A -
`
`l
`
`(cid:143)
`
`(cid:143)
`
`-.-.. (ffi
`
`IFIRE/ElfWf))
`
`~I
`
`Equilibrium Freeride Administration
`
`0
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00012
`
`(cid:143)
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 12 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`DATABASE DESCRIPTION
`
`1200 \ SCRIPT TABLE
`
`MEDIA SCRIPT
`
`....
`>-' v-1210
`
`HTML EQUIVALENT
`
`I- v-1220
`
`BANDWIDTH
`
`I-.- v-1230
`
`GENERATED FILE
`
`DEPENDENCY LIST
`
`I- v-1240
`
`v c--J250
`
`I
`
`f
`1270
`1280--
`
`I
`
`FIG. 12
`
`DEPENDENCY TABLE
`
`FILE NAME
`
`MODIFICATION DATE
`
`126 0
`
`I
`
`._
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00013
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 13 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`ORIGINAL IMAGES
`
`D thumbnall_mask.tga@100%.(RGB)D D
`
`(cid:143)
`
`---1300
`
`..._
`.0.
`V
`
`I
`
`l~I
`
`I <I I t>
`
`1310
`
`D
`
`logo3.tga@ 100% (RGB)
`
`(cid:143)(cid:143)
`
`FIG.13
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00014
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 14 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`HTML DOCUMENT WITH PROPRIETARY TAG
`
`1400
`
`/
`
`(cid:143)
`
`<t,•111'.'>
`<t.qa'i>
`<t:tlb>
`
`image.html
`
`(cid:143)(cid:143)
`
`</•iti~>3
`>,'lit. ,.c_;.,
`<.~cdy.,
`~;n.;:ts;r::=- <:"e-..~nJei:-nc.~b">v,"'1.r: = 11t.w ~t:rj1,.'(), i,;,.C:.,~a,11c..'110 ~ 10q03.~qc:~;
`1.9v:,1dy~ 0. ~5, <x.1t::tr~in @ trt:'3, !ii~ 10 -·~n.'lc,• h '.); i t>"oi:'(>-sf0 t;;'),,•.,0b'.1,
`~::iL'X,101· ~ Cxti~~- v-=i.r :2 ·"' ,:13i,: l\4e~ia,\ ;~_;,.oc.:d~:ia:iit. ~
`~'1L111211c:il_:r1c:% .. t~.:1.), i.Co1"1p~s;te,:;0;1r\;q ?7J :~,; i.3c.:-le~x~. ~ b0, /S0>~'1,c:ig
`11) 0 s1-:io-'.'tl ,"), i.t:e~•Jc..<!t~: 13a:e(~t-:'3 'i:!l "qi~"), <?rb:,:!ri,ie;-,,.:-qt>
`~e;:11,t=~O ·y1JU1.-.:b~ t;'ll:le,·-=J.'<.~r ..
`<ti":oi!v: ..
`<l~tr,~b
`
`-V
`
`FIG.14
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00015
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 15 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`DD
`
`(cid:143)
`
`I
`
`I
`
`HTML DOCUMENT VIEWED IN BROWSER
`
`Title Frame
`
`11
`
`II
`
`1500 I
`
`D
`
`~ I
`
`[rn
`
`IMO
`
`I
`
`(cid:143)
`
`HTML DOCUMENT SOURCE
`
`image.html
`
`<,'.trr,'.-,.
`<.:-iec:rj>
`,·tit1,"'>
`Tj\,,"' 1-·.·:;ir. 'e
`<1,:tle.,
`<1'801>
`... •m,:;,;;r,:-:
`'.'frt. cin,-1e, :'Tlc.'.1e0e, ,,e, -;.,_~ht. 19~7t,~C7 4 • 3S' q1 :"
`'1e;,h,-eo0 w:1tr.-=b~ b,.,rei ... r=-'h,·b1.,
`<J~CX:,,>
`~·,n,"'i>
`
`(cid:143)(cid:143)
`
`-
`
`~
`1'17
`l~lt>
`
`FIG.15
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00016
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 16 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`GENERATED GIF IMAGE
`
`(cid:143)
`
`927064674139.gif@ 100% DD
`
`&
`
`I
`
`r-- 1600
`
`-£::a -V
`
`I <l I t>
`
`FIG.16
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00017
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 17 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`zoo
`
`B
`
`Original Media
`
`220
`
`210
`Media Post
`Production
`Systems
`
`B
`
`Generated
`Web Media
`
`HTML Page
`referring to
`Media URLs
`
`110
`
`J~u~I
`
`Web Server
`
`120b
`
`F JG. 17
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00018
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 18 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`HTML Page _
`
`With Tag- 0
`
`embedded URLs - -
`
`200
`
`B Original
`
`Media
`
`110
`
`100
`
`~ g
`c:::ia ~
`Web Server
`
`§] (cid:143) /E ~ ~
`
`System
`
`120d
`
`120a
`D1-----1
`it
`:;=w a
`Client
`Browser
`
`120b
`
`Internet
`
`120c
`
`tr @d
`Client
`Browser
`
`FIG. 18
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00019
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 19 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`460
`
`HTML
`Pages
`
`110
`
`Web
`Server
`
`System
`
`100
`
`501
`
`Asset Management
`Automatic Manipulation
`Automatic Conversion
`Automaice Up load
`Automatic Customization
`Automatic Disk Management
`Proxy-cache control
`Delivery
`
`FIG. 19
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00020
`
`

`

`'° ~
`Q
`b
`,I;;..
`O'I
`\0
`O'I
`rJ'J.
`e
`
`N
`
`~
`N
`0 ....,
`0
`N
`
`~ ....
`'JJ. =(cid:173)~
`
`z 0
`
`Ul
`0
`0
`N
`~CIO
`~
`
`~ = ......
`~ ......
`~
`r:JJ. .
`d •
`
`Original Media
`
`2050--.IB
`
`FIG.20
`
`Generated Images
`
`2060~BI lB
`
`System
`-1 Creation
`
`Media
`
`I•
`
`_..----...
`
`2030
`
`2020
`
`System
`
`100
`
`Server
`
`2000
`
`Server
`Web
`
`110
`
`URL tags
`
`301
`
`lg]
`
`HTML Pages
`
`Proprietary __
`
`with
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00021
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 21 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`Original{ B
`
`200
`
`is
`Media
`Created
`
`100
`
`2180
`
`2170
`
`2160
`
`2040
`
`Primary
`Cached Media
`
`Secondary
`Cached Media
`
`User Profile
`Procedure
`
`Media
`Repository
`
`2120
`
`Server
`
`801
`
`110
`
`HTML Page with
`Proprietary
`URL Tags
`
`FIG.21
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00022
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 22 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`_U_R_L----2200
`
`Parse Proprietaty URL Tags
`
`Final Lookup Key Generation
`
`y
`
`Separate Dynamic Tags
`
`2210
`
`2220
`
`2250
`
`Intermediate Image Lookup Key Gene rat ion
`
`2260
`
`Retrieve Cached
`Image
`
`2271
`Content Gene rat ion
`For Zoom/Pan/
`Scale/Slice
`
`2260
`
`Content
`Generation
`
`2263
`
`Image
`Format
`Conversion
`
`2273
`
`2280---.r----_,_-----,
`User Profile Processing t - - - - - - - ~
`
`. . - - - -......... -----,,,,.-2290
`Proxy-cache Control
`
`To Browser
`
`2295
`
`FIG.22
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00023
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 8, 2005
`
`Sheet 23 of 23
`
`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`Start
`
`2300
`
`User adds original
`graphic to system
`
`2310
`
`User creates content
`generation procedures
`on system to
`manipulate originals
`
`2320
`
`User creates HTML
`pages on Web Server
`with Proprietary
`URL Tags
`
`2330
`
`End
`
`2340
`
`FIG.23
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00024
`
`

`

`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`1
`AUTOMATED MEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM
`
`This APPLICATION is a Continuation-in-part (CIP) of
`prior application No. 09/425,326 filed Oct. 21, 1999 and is
`hereby incorporated by reference.
`This application claims benefit of Provisional 60/226,043
`filed Aug. 16, 2000.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Technical Field
`The invention relates to software systems. More
`particularly, the invention relates to an Internet server-based
`software system that provides delivery of automated graph(cid:173)
`ics and other media to Web sites for access by an end user
`or consumer.
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`Most Web sites today are primarily handmade. From the
`guy publishing a simple online technology newsletter from
`his home, to the Fortune 1000 company's multi-tiered site
`with hundreds of pages of text, images, and animations, the
`Web developer and each of his HTML-coding and graphics(cid:173)
`producing coworkers toil page by page and image by image.
`Thousands of established online companies employ hun(cid:173)
`dreds of highly-skilled workers just to produce and maintain
`their Web sites. After all, the Web is now a major selling
`vehicle and marketing medium for many of these compa(cid:173)
`nies. The Web has even sprouted service industries such as,
`for example, public companies with multi-billion dollar
`valuations created just to consult and produce Web sites for
`others.
`Most Web developers who use established WYSIWYG
`tools in the industry still must produce each page on their
`Web site one by one. The same rate applies to preparing and
`placing images, animations, and other visual assets. Each 35
`page represents its own set of issues ranging from whether
`to use GIF, JPEG, or PNG file formats, to finding the
`optimum bit depth for each image to ensure the fastest
`downloading through the different browsers of the con(cid:173)
`sumer. The bottlenecked state of the customer's workflow to 40
`produce graphics for Web pages can be described as follows:
`Current Workflow for Creating Web Graphics
`Original Artwork/Asset Creation
`Use third-party point products
`Asset Editing
`Scale/reduce/slice
`Asset Format Conversion
`JPEG/GIF/PNG
`Asset Staging
`Place in Web file system
`Edit HTML
`Create/Modify HTML for particular page
`Store HTML on Web server
`View final pages
`Repeat process for each version of each graphic on each
`page
`Estimated time
`Two hours per page times the number of pages
`Also, from a user's perspective, the current state of the art
`is to offer the consumer zooming and panning capabilities so
`that by clicking on an image the consumer can view more
`closely or from a different angle. On the horizon are pages
`with three-dimensional imagery that enable a user to move
`around a page that can look more like a room than a
`brochure. While interesting, these features are merely incre(cid:173)
`mental improvements to a consumer's surfing experience.
`
`2
`D. C. A Bulterman, Models, Media, and Motion: Using
`the Web to Support Multimedia Documents, Proceedings of
`1997 International Conference on Multimedia Modeling,
`Singapore, Nov. 17-20, 1997 discloses "an effort underway
`5 by members of industry, research centers and user groups to
`define a standard document format that can be used in
`conjunction with time-based transport protocols over the
`Internet and intranets to support rich multimedia presenta(cid:173)
`tions. The paper outlines the goals of the W3C's Synchro-
`10 nized Multimedia working group and presents an initial
`description of the first version of the proposed multimedia
`document model and format."
`Text and Graphics on UMI's ProQuest Direct: The Best
`(yet) of both Worlds, Online, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 73-7,
`March=14 April 1997 discloses an information system that
`15 offers "periodical and newspaper content covering a wide
`range of business, news, and professional topics ... letting
`the user search both text and graphics and build the product
`to suit. Articles can be retrieved in varying levels of detail:
`citation, abstracts, full text, and text with graphics. Images
`20 come in two flavors: Page Image, a virtual photocopy, and
`Text+Graphics, in which graphics are stored separately from
`the text and are manipulable as discrete items .... [The
`system] comes in two versions: Windows and Web."
`John Mills Dudley, Network-Based Classified Informa-
`25 tion Systems, AU-A-53031/98 (Aug. 27, 1998) discloses a
`"system for automatically creating databases containing
`industry, service, product and subject classification data,
`contact data, geographic location data (CCG-data) and links
`to web pages from HTML, XML, or SGML encoded web
`30 pages posted on computer networks such as Internets or
`Intranets . . . . The . . . databases may be searched for
`references (URLs) to web pages by use of enquiries which
`reference one or more of the items of the CCG-data.
`Alternatively, enquiries referencing the CCG-data in the
`databases may supply contact data without web page refer(cid:173)
`ences. Data duplication and coordination is reduced by
`including in the web page CCG-data display controls which
`are used by web browsers to format for display the same data
`that is used to automatically update the databases."
`Cordell et al, Automatic Data Display Formatting with A
`Networking Application, U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,084 (Dec. 1,
`1998) discloses a placeholder image mechanism. "When a
`data request is made, the data transfer rate is monitored.
`When the receive data transfer rate is slow, and the data
`45 contains an embedded graphical image of unknown
`dimensions, a small placeholder image is automatically
`displayed for the user instead of the actual data. The small
`placeholder image holds a place on a display device for the
`data or the embedded graphical image until the data or
`50 embedded graphical image is received. When embedded
`graphical image is received, the placeholder image is
`removed, and the display device is reformatted to display the
`embedded graphical image."
`Jonathon R. T. Lewis, System For Substituting Tags For
`55 Non-Editable Data Sets in Hypertext Documents And
`Updating Web Files Containing Links Between Data Sets
`Corresponding To Changes Made To The Tags, U.S. Pat. No.
`5,355,472 (Oct. 11, 1994) discloses a "hypertext data pro(cid:173)
`cessing system wherein data sets participating in the hyper-
`60 text document may be edited, the data processing system
`inserting tags into the data sets at locations corresponding to
`the hypertext links to create a file which is editable by an
`editor and the data processing system removing the tags,
`generating a revised data set and updating the link informa-
`65 tion after the editing process. Its main purpose is to preserve
`the linking hierarchy that may get lost when the individual
`data sets get modified."
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00025
`
`

`

`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`3
`Wistendahl et al, System for Mapping Hot Spots in Media
`Content Interactive Digital Media Program, U.S. Pat. No.
`5,708,845 (Jan. 13, 1998) discloses a "system for allowing
`media content to be used in an interactive digital media
`(IDM) program [that] has Frame Data for the media content 5
`and object mapping data (N Data) representing the frame
`addresses and display location coordinates for objects
`appearing in the media content. The N Data are maintained
`separately from the Frame Data for the media content, so
`that the media content can be kept intact without embedded 10
`codes and can be played back on any system. The IDM
`program has established linkages connecting the objects
`mapped by the N Data to other functions to be performed in
`conjunction with display of the media content. Selection of
`an object appearing in the media content with a pointer 15
`results in initiation of the interactive function. A broad base
`of existing non-interactive media content, such as movies,
`videos, advertising, and television programming can be
`converted to interactive digital media use. An authoring
`system for creating IDM programs has an object outlining 20
`tool and an object motion tracking tool for facilitating the
`generation of N Data. In a data storage disk, the Frame Data
`and the N Data are stored on separate sectors. In a network
`system, the object mapping data and IDM program are
`downloaded to a subscriber terminal and used in conjunction 25
`with presentation of the media content."
`Rogers et al, Method for Fulfilling Requests of A Web
`Browser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,451 (Dec. 23, 1997) and
`Lagarde et al, Method for Distributed Task Fulfillment of
`Web Browser Requests, U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,918 (Jan. 20, 30
`1998) disclose essentially "improvements which achieve a
`means for accepting Web client requests for information,
`obtaining data from one or more databases which may be
`located on multiple platforms at different physical locations
`on an Internet or on the Internet, processing that data into 35
`meaningful information, and presenting that information to
`the Web client in a text or graphics display at a location
`specified by the request."
`Tyan et al, HTML Generator, European Patent Applica(cid:173)
`tion No. EP 0843276 (May 20, 1998) discloses "generating 40
`an HTML file based on an input bitmap image, and is
`particularly directed to automatic generation of an HTML
`file, based on a scanned-in document image, with the HTML
`file in turn being used to generate a Web page that accurately
`reproduces the layout of the original input bitmap image." 45
`TrueSpectra has a patent pending for the technology
`employed in its two products, IrisAccelerate and IrisTrans(cid:173)
`active. These products are designed for zooming and pan(cid:173)
`ning and simple image transformations and conversions,
`respectively. They support 10 file formats and allow devel- 50
`opers to add new file formats via their SDK. They do not
`require the use of Flashpix for images. However, their
`documentation points out that performance is dependent on
`the Flashpix format. The system would be very slow if a
`non-Flashpix format was used.
`TrueSpectra allows the image quality and compression to
`be set for JPEGs only. The compression setting is set on the
`server and all images are delivered at the same setting.
`TrueSpectra has a simple caching mechanism. Images in
`the cache can be cleared out automatically at certain times 60
`and it does not have any dependency features for image
`propagation. The Web server needs to be brought down in
`order to update any original assets.
`TrueSpectra does not require plug-ins to operate features
`such as zooming/panning or compositing. The alternative to
`plug-ins is using their Javascript or active server page
`technology. These technologies are used by many Web sites
`
`4
`to provide interactivity, but not all Web browsers work
`correctly with these technologies.
`TrueSpectra relies on Flashpix as its native file format and
`does not support media types such as multi-GIFs and sound
`formats. Flashpix files are typically larger than most file
`formats. Access to files is faster for zooming and panning,
`but appears to be quite slow.
`The key to IrisTransactive is the compositing subsystem.
`It requires three things to build a shopping solution using
`image composition.
`1) The original images must be created. It is suggested
`that the image be converted to Flashpix for better
`performance.
`2) All of the individual images must be described in XML
`using the image composer program. The program
`allows the editor to specify anchor points, layer
`attributes, and layer names. The resulting file is
`between 5 k and 50 k.
`3) The Web designer must place HTML referring to the
`XML in the Web site. By specifying parameters to the
`XML, the Web designer can turn on or off layers.
`The herein above process for compositing images enables
`Web designers to create shopping sites. However, a lot of
`overhead is the result. The XML documents add 5 k-50 k to
`a Web site. The compositing commands that are embedded
`in the HTML are difficult to understand. And, because the
`compositing feature requires several steps to implement, it is
`not suitable for every image on a Web site. The process
`seems to be designed for the specific purpose of shopping.
`MediaBin(TM) is limited to activities behind the firewall
`automating only the "post-creative busywork." In addition,
`MediaBin requires the use of an application server to
`function through a web interface. Thus images may not be
`directly added to any existing web page.
`Macromedia's Generator operates by embedding vari(cid:173)
`ables in their proprietary Flash format. Therefore the actual
`imaging operations are somewhat limited and cannot be
`controlled directly from a web page request.
`MGI Software sells point solutions that require end-users
`to download a viewer to process a proprietary image format.
`PictureIQ offers a server-side image-processing appliance
`that provides a limited set of Photoshop functionalities. This
`appliance runs on the web-page server, processes informa(cid:173)
`tion embedded in the web page, and rewrites the web page
`with image data.
`The disclosed prior art fail to provide systems and meth(cid:173)
`odologies that result in a quantum leap in the speed with
`which they can modify and add images, video, and sound to
`sites, in the volume of data they can publish internally and
`externally, and in the quality of the output. The development
`of such an automated media delivery system would consti(cid:173)
`tute a major technological advance.
`It would be advantageous to empower an end user with
`flexibility and control by providing interactive page capa(cid:173)
`bilities.
`It would be advantageous from an end user's perspective
`to generate Web pages that contain active graphics. For
`example, clicking on a Corvette image will cause a simple
`menu to pop up suggesting alternative colors and sizes in
`which to see the car. Clicking on portions of the image, such
`as a fender, can call up a close-in view of the fender.
`It would be advantageous to provide an automated graph(cid:173)
`ics delivery system that becomes part of the Web site
`infrastructure and operates as part of the Web page transac(cid:173)
`tion and that thereby provides a less expensive and less
`65 time-consuming process.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system for auto(cid:173)
`mated processing and delivery of media (images, video, and
`
`55
`
`IPR2023-00330 Page 00026
`
`

`

`US 6,964,009 B2
`
`10
`
`6
`for generating the Web media, it is possible to modify any
`of these inputs and have the system automatically update the
`media on the associated Web pages.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the placement of
`the system within a current Web infrastructure according to
`the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing how a typical Web
`site delivers an HTML document and its graphics to a Web
`browser according to the prior art;
`FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing delivery of an
`HTML document and media to a Web browser according to
`the invention;
`FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the components
`involved in Web site administration according to the prior
`art;
`FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the components of
`the system involved in Web site administration according to
`the invention;
`FIG. 6 is a simple overview showing the components of
`the system according to the invention;
`FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the process flow
`of a proprietary enabled page delivered to a Web browser
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an authoring process
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an HTML parsing process
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a media creation process
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 11 is a screen shot showing an administration tool
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 12 displays a structure of a database record used for
`the system according to the invention;
`FIG. 13 shows original media to be processed according
`to the invention;
`FIG. 14 shows a portion on an HTML document with a
`proprietary tag according to the invention;
`FIG. 15 shows an HTML document and an HTML
`40 document source according to the invention;
`FIG. 16 shows a generated GIF image according to the
`invention;
`FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an image system within
`45 a typical Web infrastructure according to the invention;
`FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing delivery of an
`HTML document and original media according to the inven(cid:173)
`tion;
`FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing components of
`Web site administration according to a preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the invention;
`FIG. 20 is a simple overview showing components of the
`image system according to a preferred embodiment of the
`invention;
`FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing process flow of
`a proprietary enabled page delivered to a Web browser
`according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 22 shows a flowchart of a content generation pro(cid:173)
`cedure according to a preferred embodiment of the inven(cid:173)
`tion; and
`FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing an authoring process
`according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
`
`5
`sound) to a Web server whereby it eliminates the laborious
`post-production and conversion work that must be done
`before a media asset can be delivered on a Web server.
`It would be advantageous to create a dynamic Web site,
`wherein images are generated on demand from original 5
`assets, wherein only the original assets need to be updated,
`and wherein updated changes propagate throughout the site.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that gen(cid:173)
`erates media based on current Web server traffic thereby
`optimizing throughput of the media through the Web server.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that gen(cid:173)
`erates media that is optimized for the Web client, wherein
`client connection speed determines optimum quality and file
`size.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that gen(cid:173)
`erates media, whereby the media is automatically uploaded. 15
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that auto(cid:173)
`matically caches generated media so identical requests can
`be handled without regeneration of images.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that resides
`behind the Web server, thereby eliminating security issues. 20
`It would be advantageous to provide a system wherein the
`client browser does not require a plug-in.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system wherein the
`system does not require any changes to a Web server.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system wherein the 25
`system manages the Web server media cache.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system wherein the
`Web media is generated only if requested by a client
`browser.
`It would be advantageous for a system to reduce the need 30
`for a Web author to create different versions of a Web site,
`the sy