Equil EX2004
`Akamai Techs. v. Equil IP Holdings
`IPR2023-00332
`
`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
`Page 2
`
`2009/0240569 Al
`2009/0254672 Al
`2010/0153495 Al
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`9/2009 Rameret al.
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`EP
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`EP
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`Zaiane,et al.: “Mining multimedia data”; Nov. 1998; ACM Confer-
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`Berinstein, Paula; “lhe Big Picture; ‘lext and Graphics on UMI’s
`ProQuest Direct: The Best (Yet) of Both Words”; Mar. 1997;
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`online/MarOL97/picture3 html.
`McNeil, Sara; Research Interests; retrieved on Mar. 18, 2004 from
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`from website:
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`00983004/sz977014 html.
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`6,009,436
`6,311,185
`6,456,305
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`2008/0155230
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`2008/0205389
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`2009/0013347
`2009/0070485
`
`
`
`BOWEDPSPErrEEEPEPEE
`Kohoi *
`RDweAPeEeenyNh
`PPPrerrrrreeS
`
`*
`
`*
`*
`*
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`1/1999
`Ferrel et al.
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`Freemanet al.
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`Reedetal.
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`Marvin
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`Halliday etal.
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`Orret al.
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`Ohgaetal.
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`Kinget al.
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`Motoyamaetal.
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`Markowitz etal.
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`Qureshi etal.
`10/2002
`Suzuki et al.
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`Neogi
`11/2002
`Jemmesetal.
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`Bhagwatetal.
`7/2003
`Orr
`9/2003
`Lakritz
`6/2005
`Krishnaswamyetal.
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`Mendhekar et al... 709/217
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`Cohen-Solal ........ 2. 715/738
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`Changetal.
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`Zhang etal.
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`Salmonsen
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`Franklin et al.
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`Steelberg et al.
`* 12/20
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`*
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`Gabricl ct al. oe 709/219
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`*
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`Fanning wn. 386/125
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`Rameret al.
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`Robbinsetal.
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`lischeret al.
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`Ahangeret al.
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`Bargeret al.
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 1 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`100
`
`
`
`SYSTEM
`
`110
`
`WebServer
`
`
`
`
`Client Browser
`
`
`
`Client Browser
`
`
`
`Client Browser
`
`Client Browser
`
`FIG. I
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 2 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`
`
`200
`
`Original Media
`
`210
`
`
`MEDIA POST
`
`PRODUCTION
`SYSTEMS
`
`Media is manipulated
`by hand and prepared
`for the Web.
`
`
`220
`Generated Web media
`
`HTML referring to
`media tags
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Web Server
`
`160
`
`FIG. 2
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`Web Browser
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 3 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`200
`
`Original Media
`
`100
`
`SYSTEM
`
`300
`
`LS
`
`HTML with
`proprietary
`media tags
`
`220
`
`230
`
`Generated
`
`x
`
`:
`
`Webmedia
`4~ JAfN
`
`Modified HTML
`referring to
`generated media
`
`WebServer
`
`160
`
`FIG. 3
`
`120
`
`LI Web Browser
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 4 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`Disk
`ORIGINALIMAGES|Management
`ASSETS
`
`460
`
`Post PRoDucTION|Manipulation
`SYSTEMS
`Conversion
`HTML PAGES
`Upload
`
` 400
`
`
`
`
`
`uo Cc
`
`
`
` 120
`
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`WEB IMAGES
`
`Disk
`
`Diskmen
`
`BROWSER
`
`FIG. 4
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 5 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`460
`
`
`
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`SYSTEM
`
`900%
`
`ASSET MANAGEMENT
`AUTOMATIC MANIPULATION
`AUTOMATIC CONVERSION
`AUTOMATIC UPLOAD
`AUTOMATIC DISK MANAGEMENT
`
`
`BROWSER
`
`
`FIG. 5
`
`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 6 of 23
`
`—~eeeLeLL—~--—H|$6e}
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`oorAreyaiidoud
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`9OLL
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`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 7 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`Original
`media is
`created.
`
`200
`
`Proprietary
`mediatag is
`620
`converted to
`standard HTML
`ted
`that refers to CO G
`
`enerate
`mediaincache.
`(
`
`media cache.
`and the HTM oS
`
`
`parsesHTML I 220
`mediatags
`
`
`
`
`looking for
`Parser looks
`database.
`630
`
`
`media tags./
`Generated
`Tt {Up media tags
`Web media
`
`
`in database. If
`
`
`:
`‘
`
`HTML
`media tag is
`found then
`STEM
`PARSER
`|
`produce
`modified HTML.
`Media tag is used
`to generate
`Web media
`
`media is
`placed in
`
`Media is
`placed
`in system
`
`.
`
`660
`
`MEDIA
`
`610
`
`SYSTEM
`100
`
`Media ta
`
`equivalent
`are stored in
`
`640
`
`Media tags
`are replaced
`by standard
`rN ,
`equivalen
`in HTML
`document.
`
`a
`Modified
`
`WebServer
`passes
`requested
`web page
`to parser.
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`
`
`Modified HTML tS/HTMLis created
`
`documentis
`with media tags
`delivered to
`and placed on
`WebServer.
`WebServer.
`Web Server
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`Original
`HTML
`
`\____
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`delivers modified A 110
`HTMLto Browser. pH
`Web Server
`
`FIG. 7
`
`120
`
`(Userviews) (a [Userrequests)
`a Web page.
`
`Webpage.
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 8 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`AUTHORING FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`
`
`USER ADDS ORIGINAL
`GRAPHIC TO
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`800 810
`
`
`ON WEB SERVER
`
`
`USER CREATES
`HTML THAT CONTAINS
`
`
`PROPRIETARY
`MEDIA TAGS
`
` 820
`
`
`
`
`USER PLACES HTML
`
`830
`
`FIG. 8
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 9 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`HTML PARSING FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`900
`
` 910
`
`USER REQUESTS
`WEB PAGE
`
`WEB SERVER HANDS
`REQUEST OF WEB
`PAGE TO SYSTEM
`
`SYSTEM PARSES
`
`920
`
`930
`
`980
`
`DELIVER MODIFIED
`WEB PAGE TO WEB
`
`WEB PAGE
`SERVER
`
`RETRIEVE HTML
`EQUIVALENTOF
`MEDIA TAG
`
`950
`
`990
`
`STOP
`
`REPLACE MEDIA TAG|-~960
`WITH HTML
`EQUIVALENT
`
`CONTINUE PARSING
`WEB PAGE
`
`970
`
`FIG. 9
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 10 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`MEDIA CREATION FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`1000
`
`SYSTEM REQUESTS
`HTML EQUIVALENT
`
`1010
`
`TO A MEDIA TAG MEDIA TAG IS
`
`1020
`
`COMBINED
`
`
`CREATE
`
`WITH BANDWIDTH
`WSING
`
`INFORMATION
`MEDIA TAG
`
`
`
`
`DOES
`1090
`MEDIA TAG EXIST
`
`
`IN MEDIA TAG
`DATABASE?
`
`
`
`
`
`MEDIA
`1110
`DATABASE
`
`
`
`REMOVE
`
`HAVE
`
`ANY OF THE ORIGINAL
`MEDIA TAG
`
`
`ENTRY FROM
`
`ASSETS USED TO CREATE
`
`MEDIA TAG
`THE MEDIA
` GENERATE
` CHANGED?
`DATABASE
`HTML
`
`
`REFERRING TO
`NO
`GENERATED
`
`
`
`1100
`
`RETRIEVE HTML
`EQUIVALENT FROM
`DATABASE
`
`1050
`
`RETURN HTML
`EQUIVALENT TO
`REQUESTOR
`
` |-~/060
`
`PLACE MEDIA
`TAG AND HTML
`EQUIVALENTIN
`MEDIA TAG
`
`£120
`
`FIG. 10
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 11 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`Pl“OL
`
`PEAS8"
`
`1BoGe
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`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 12 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`DATABASE DESCRIPTION
`
`1200
`
`SCRIPT TABLE
`
`DEPENDENCY TABLE
`
`FILE NAME
`
`1260
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`—
`
`
`
`
`
`
`MODIFICATION DATE
`
`FIG. 12
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 13 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`ORIGINAL IMAGES
`
`
`
`1310
`
`10g03.tga @ 100%(RGB)
`
`0 thumbnail_mask.tga@100%.(RGB)O 0: pTdT
`
`
`FIG.1I3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 14 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`HTML DOCUMENT WITH PROPRIETARY TAG
`
`1400
`
`
`
`<htmis
`<t.ea‘l>
`<tle>
`Title Fianie
`<tita>d
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`<hocy..
`<imasre= <reoridemade>var i= new Medicd); i. Gaainame © 1oge3.tga);
`L.Scalelys @ C5, contetrein @ tree, ag © “amacth"); UCrop(xs©@ 69,5269,
`pacculon G Oxhth): war (2 = new Meciay); 2iocd(inmame ©
`*umpnail_mesk,tga), WCompasiteisoitce
`(2); LSccle(xs © 69, 's@ecig
`@ “sinoats."); LPevuvsg: Gave(vee @ "gi"), <«freandemege>
`nevat.'=80 wvidth69 vaidersy-<or
`pov:
`antial>
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`
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`image.html
`
`FIG.14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 15 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`1500
`
`HTML DOCUMENT VIEWED IN BROWSER
`<Htal>
`
`1310
`
`HTML DOCUMENT SOURCE
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`image .fitm!
`
`<atm!>
`<necd>
`stiho>
`Tho Frame
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`‘AreondenmneneSerre:tache927US4C74'3e gu"
`hemth: <60 width.=62 barcar=~"bi.+
`<0U>
`
`FIG.15
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 16 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`GENERATEDGIF IMAGE
`
`LC
`
`=927064674139.gif @ 100%
`
`FIG.16
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 17 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`210
`
`Media Post
`Production
`
`Systems
`
`200
`
`KI
`
`Original Media
`
`220
`
`230
`
`> HTML Page
`
`referring to
`Media URLs
`
`Generated
`Web Media
`
`
`
`Web Server
`
`170
`
`130
`
`120d
`
`Client
`Browser
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`
`ao
`Client
`Browser
`
`1200 | (a 120c
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`FIG. 17
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 18 of 23
`
`HTML Page
`With Tag-
`
`embedded URLs
`
`301
`N
`
`|
`
`200
`
`Original
`
`Media
`
`100
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`“
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`L
`
`120d
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`Client
`Ghent
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`/
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`[|
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`120a
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`ciaart
`Client
`Browser
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`“o L_]
`
`CI 120¢
`
`Client
`B rowser
`
`Clien
`Browser
`
`FIG. 18
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 19 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`460
`
`Delivery 170
`
`
`507
`
`Asset Management
`Automatic Manipulation
`Automatic Conversion
`Automaice Upload
`Automatic Customization
`Automatic Disk Management
`Proxy-cache control
`
`Web
`Server
`
`120
`
`Browser
`
`FIC. 19
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 20 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`S8ANPBD044wa3sswa}sds
`
`
`
`1U9}U09DIPaWso}TUNPIPSN
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`UO!}Du8UE4WO}7842)BujyoosJ@AJaS
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`Aipyaladoy
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 21 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`200
`
`Original
`Media is
`Created
`
`100
`
`2180
`
`2170
`
`2160
`
`2040
`
`Secondary
`{Cached Media
`
`User Profile
`Procedure
`
`
`Procedures
` Dynamic Media
`
`Primary
`Cached Media]
`
`2120
`
`Media
`Cache
`
`Generation
`Procedures
`
`
` Content
`Primary
`Key
`Generation
`
`
`
`
`
`
`jsever
`
`Secondary
`Key
`Generation
`
`2100
`
`URL Tag
`Parser
`
`Media
`Repository
`
`2190
`
`Cache
`Control
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`120
`
`301 T)
`
`|
`
`HTML Page with
`Proprietary
`URL Tags
`
`FIG. 21
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 22 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`URL
`
`2200
`
`Parse Proprietaty URL Tags
`
`Final Lookup Key Generation
`
`2230
`
`a210
`
`2220
`
`Y<“Tmage Cached?
`
`N
`
`2240
`
`Separate Dynamic Tags
`
`Intermediate Image Lookup Key Generation
`
`22950
`
`Retrieve Cached],
`
`Y.
`
`aN
`
`Content
`
`Intermediate
`Image Caching
`
`|
`
`
`
` 2260
`
`Content Generation
`For Zoom/Pan/
`
`
`
`
`
`
`2280
`
`Y
`
`;
`Dynamic
`Processing?
`
`2272
`N
`
`'
`Valid
`Image Type?
`
`Image
`N
`9g
`Format
`
`
`
`
`:
`;
`User Profile Processing
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`Proxy-cache Control
`
`2290
`
`FIG. 22
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 19, 2013
`
`Sheet 23 of 23
`
`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`
`
`Start
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`User adds original
`
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`graphic to system
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`
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`User creates content
`| generation procedures
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`on system to
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`manipulate originals
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`User creates HTML
`
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`pages on Web Server
`with Proprietary
`URL Tags
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 28
`
`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`1
`AUTOMATED MEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM
`
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a Divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 12/173,
`747,filed Jul. 15, 2008, whichis a Divisional of U.S. Ser. No.
`11/269,916, filed Nov. 7, 2005 now abandoned, which is a
`Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/929,904,filed Aug.
`14, 2001, now USS. Pat. No. 6,964,009 granted on Nov. 8,
`2005, which is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No., 09/425,326,
`filed Oct. 21, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,575, granted on
`Sep. 14, 2004, each of which is hereby incorporated in its
`entirety by this reference thereto.
`
`
`
`BACKGROUNDOFTHE INVENTION
`
`1. Technical Field
`
`The invention relates to software systems. More particu-
`larly, the invention relates to an Internet server-based soft-
`ware systemthat provides delivery of automated graphics and
`other media to Web sites for access by an end user or con-
`sumer.
`
`2. Description of the Prior Art
`Most Websites today are primarily handmade. Fromthe
`guypublishing 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-
`producing coworkers toil page by page and image by image.
`Thousands ofestablished online companies employ hundreds
`of highly-skilled workers just to produce and maintain their
`Websites. After all, the Web is now a major selling vehicle
`and marketing medium for many of these companies. ‘The
`Web has even sprouted service industries such as,
`for
`example, public companies with multi-billion dollar valua-
`tions created just Lo consult and produce Websites 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 samerate applies to preparing and plac-
`ing images, animations, and other visual assets. Tach page
`represents its own set of issues ranging from whetherto use
`GIF, JPEG, or PNGfile formats, to finding the optimum bit
`depth for each image to ensure the fastest downloading
`through the different browsers of the consumer. The bottle-
`neckedstate of the customer’s workflow to produce graphics
`for Web pages can be described as follows:
`Current Workflow for Creating Web Graphics
`Original Artwork/Asset Creation
`Usethird-party point products
`Asset Editing
`Scale/reduce/slice
`Asset Format Conversion
`JPEG/GIF/PNG
`
`Asset Staging
`Place in Webfile system
`Edit HTML
`Create/Modify HTMLfor particular page
`Store HTML on Webserver
`
`Viewfinal pages
`Repeat process for each version of each graphic on each
`page
`Estimated time
`Two hours per page times the numberof 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
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`closely or from a different angle. On the horizon are pages
`with three-dimensional imagery that enable a user to mave
`around a page that can look more like a room than a brochure.
`While interesting,
`these features are merely incremental
`improvements to a consumer’s surfing experience.
`D.C.A. Bulterman, Models,Media, and Motion: Using the
`Web to Support Multimedia Documents, Proceedings of 1997
`International Conference on Multimedia Modeling, Sin-
`gapore, 17-20 Nov. 1997 discloses “an effort underway by
`members of industry, research centers and user groups to
`define a standard document format that can be used in con-
`junction with time-basedtransport protocols overthe Internet
`and intranets to support rich multimedia presentations. The
`paper outlines the goals of the W3C’s Synchronized Multi-
`media working group andpresentsaninitial description ofthe
`first version ofthe proposed multimedia document model and
`format.”
`
`Text and Graphics on UMI’s ProQuest Direct: The Best
`(vet) ofboth Worlds, Online, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 73-7, March-
`April 1997 discloses an information system that offers “peri-
`odical and newspapercontent covering a wide rangeof busi-
`ness, news, and professionaltopics. .
`. letting the user search
`both text and graphics and build the product to suit. Articles
`can beretrieved in varying levels ofdetail: citation, abstracts,
`full text, and text with graphics. Images comein twoflavors:
`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: Windowsand Web.”
`
`John Mills Dudley, Network-Based Classified Information
`Systems, AU-A-5303 1/98 (Aug. 27, 1998) discloses a “sys-
`tem for automatically creating databases containing industry,
`service, product and subject classification data, contact data,
`geographic location data (CCG-data) andlinks to web pages
`from HTML, XML, or SGMLencoded web pages posted on
`computer networks such as Internets or Intranets ... .
`The... databases maybe searched for references (URLs) to
`web pagesby use of enquiries which reference one or more of
`the items of the CCG-data. Alternatively, enquiries referenc-
`ing the CCG-data in the databases may supply contact data
`without web page references. Data duplication and coordina-
`tion is reduced by including, in the web page CCG-data dis-
`play controls which are used by web browsers to format for
`displaythe samedata 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 contains an
`embeddedgraphical image of unknown dimensions, a small
`placeholder image is automatically displayed for the user
`instead ofthe 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 embedded graphical image
`is received. When embedded graphical image is received, the
`placeholder imageis removed,andthe display deviceis refor-
`matted to display the embedded graphical image.”
`Jonathon R. T. Lewis, System For Substituting Tags For
`Non-Editable Data Sets In Hypertext Documents And Updat-
`ing Web Files Containing Links Between Data Sets Corre-
`sponding To Changes Made To The Tags, U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,
`472 (Oct. 11, 1994) discloses a “hypertext data processing
`system wherein data sets participating in the hypertext docu-
`ment maybe edited, the data processing system inserting tags
`into the data sets at locations corresponding to the hypertext
`links to create a file whichis editable by an editor and the data
`
`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`3
`processing system removing the tags, generating a revised
`data set and updating the link information after the editing
`process. Its main purposeis to preserve the linking hierarchy
`that may get lost when the individual data sets get modified.”
`Wistendahlet 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 contentto be used in an interactive digital media (IDM)
`program [that] has Frame Data for the media content 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 canbe kept intact without embedded codes
`and can be played back on any system. The IDM programhas
`established linkages connecting the objects mapped by the N
`Data to other functions to be performed in conjunction with
`display ofthe media content. Selection of an object appearing
`in the media content with a pointer results in initiation of the
`interactive function. A broad base of existing non-interactive
`media content, such as movies, videos, advertising, andtele-
`vision programming, can be converted to interactive digital
`media use. An authoring system for creating IDM programs
`has an object outlining tool and an object motion trackingtool
`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 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
`Lagardeet al, Methadfor Distributed Task Fulfillment ofWeb
`Browser Requests. U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,918 (Jan. 20, 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 platformsat different physical locations on an Inter-
`net or on the Internet, processing that data into meaningful
`information, and presenting that informationto the Webclient
`in a text or graphics display at a location specified by the
`request.”
`Tyan et al, HTMI, Generator, European Patent Application
`No. EP 0843276 (May 20, 1998) discloses “generating an
`HTMLfile based on an input bitmap image, andis particu-
`larly directed to automatic generation of an HTMLfile, based
`ona scanned-in document image, with the HTMLfile in turn
`being used to generate a Web pagethat accurately reproduces
`the layout ofthe original input bitmap image.”
`TrueSpectra has a patent pending for the technology
`employedin its two products, IrisAccelerate and IrisTransac-
`tive. These products are designed for zooming and panning
`and simple image transformations and conversions, respec-
`tively. They support 10 file formats and allow developers to
`add newfile 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.
`
`‘lrueSpectra allows the image quality and compression to
`be set for JPEGs only. The compressionsetting is set on the
`server andall imagesare delivered at the samesetting.
`TrueSpecira has a simple caching mechanism. Images in
`the cache can becleared out automatically at certain times and
`it does not have any dependency features for image propaga-
`tion. The Web server needs to be brought downin order to
`update any original assets.
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`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 tech-
`nology. These technologies are used by many Websites to
`provideinteractivity, but not all Web browsers work correctly
`with these technologies. TrueSpectra relies on Flashpixas 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 keyto IrisTransactive is the compositing subsystem.It
`requires three things to build a shoppingsolution using image
`composition.
`1) The original images must be created. It is suggested that
`the image be converted to Flashpix for better perfor-
`mance.
`
`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. Theresulting file is between 5k and 50k.
`3) The Web designer must place HTML referring to the
`XMLin the Website. By specifying parameters to the
`
`XML,the Web designer can turn on or off layers.
`The herein above process for composiling images enables
`Web designers to create shopping sites. However, a lot of
`overheadis the result. The XML documents add 5k-50kto a
`
`Website. The compositing commands that are embedded in
`the HTMLaredifficult to understand. And, because the com-
`positing feature requires several steps to implement, it is not
`suitable for every image on a Website. The process seemsto
`be designed for the specific purpose of shopping.
`MediaBin™is limited to activities behind the firewall
`
`automating only the “post-creative busywork.” In addition,
`MediaBin requires the use ofan application server to function
`through a web interface. Thus images maynot be directly
`added to any existing web page.
`Macromedia’s Generator operates by embedding, variables
`in their proprietary Flash format. Therefore the actual imag-
`ing operations are somewhatlimited and cannotbe controlled
`directly from a web page request.
`MGISoftware sells point solutions that require end-users
`to download a viewerto process a proprietary image format.
`PicturelQ offers a server-side image-processing appliance
`that provides a limited set of Photoshop functionalities. This
`appliance runs on the web-pageserver, processes information
`embeddedin the web page, and rewrites the web page with
`imagedata.
`The disclosed prior art fail to provide systems and meth-
`odologies that result in a quantum leap in the speed with
`whichthey can modify and add images, video, and sound to
`sites, in the volume ofdata they can publish internally and
`externally, and in the quality of the output. The development
`of such an automated media delivery system would constitute
`a major technological advance.
`It would be advantageous to empoweran end user with
`flexibility and control by providing interactive page capabili-
`ties.
`
`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
`whichto see the car. Clicking on portions of the image, such
`as a fender, can call up a close-in view ofthe fender.
`It would be advantageousto provide an automated graphics
`delivery system that becomespart of the Web site infrastruc-
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`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
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`5
`ture and operatesas part of the Web pagetransaction andthat
`thereby provides a less expensive and less time-consuming
`process.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system for auto-
`mated processing and delivery of media (images, video, and
`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 Webserver.
`It would be advantageous to create a dynamic Website,
`wherein images are generated on demand from original
`assets, wherein only the original assets need to be updated,
`and wherein updated changes propagate throughoutthesite.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that gener-
`ates media based on current Webservertraffic thereby opti-
`mizing throughput of the media through the Web server.
`It would be advantageous to provide a systemthat gener-
`ates media that is optimized for the Webclient, wherein client
`connection speed determines optimum quality and file size.
`It would be advantageous to provide a systemthat gener-
`ates media, whereby the media is automatically uploaded.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that auto-
`matically caches generated media so identical requests can be
`handled without regeneration of images.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system that resides
`behind the Webserver, thereby eliminating security issues.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`client browser does not require a plug-in.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`system does not require any changes to a Web server.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`system manages the Web server media cache.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`Web mediais generated only if requested by a client browser.
`It would be advantageous for a system to reduce the need
`for a Web authorto create different versions of a Website, the
`system automatically handling image content.
`It would be advantageous to provide dynamic imaging
`capabilities, have a more complete set of image processing
`functionality, and be controlled directly through an image
`URL.
`It would be advantageousto provide an end-to-end solution
`requiring only a standard browserthat is completely control-
`lable using the proprietary tags contained within a simple
`imagelink in the web page.
`It would be advantageousto run an image application as a
`separate server controlled directly by single image requests to
`that server, such that any web server, even one that is only
`sending static HTML can access imaging features.
`
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`SUMMARYOF THE INVENTION
`
`An automatic graphics delivery system that operates in
`parallel with an existing Website infrastructure is provided.
`The system streamlines the post-production process by auto-
`mating the production of media through content generation 5
`procedures controlled by proprietary tags placed within
`URLs embedded within Web documents. The author simply
`placesthe original media in the system, and adds proprietary
`tags to the URLsfor accessing that media. The system auto-
`matically processes the URL encoded tags and automatically
`producesderivative media for the web site from the original
`media.
`The system takes as input the client connection, server
`traffic, content generation procedures, and proprietary tags
`placed within the URL to generate optimized media for the
`client. The need for the Web author to create different ver-
`sions of a Website is reduced because the image contentofthe
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`6
`site is automatically handled bythe system. In addition, gen-
`erated media is cached suchthat further requests for the same
`media require little overhead.
`Because the invention takes the original media, content
`generation procedures, and proprietary URLtagsas inputs 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 placementofthe
`system within a current Web infrastructure according to the
`invention;
`FIG.2 is a schematic diagram showing howa typical Web
`site delivers an HTML documentandits graphics to a Web
`browser according to the priorart;
`FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing delivery of an
`HTMI. document and media to a Web browseraccording to
`the invention;
`T'IG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing, the components
`involved in Web site administration accordingtothepriorart;
`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 componentsofthe
`system according to the invention;
`FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showingthe process flow of
`a proprietary enabled page delivered to a Web browser
`according to the invention;
`l'IG.8 is a flow chart showing an authoring process accord-
`ing to the invention;
`FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an HTMLparsing 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
`aca
`ording to the invention;
`G. 12 displays a structure of a database record used for
`the system according to the invention;
`FIG. 13 showsoriginal media to be processed according to
`the invention;
`FIG. 14 showsa portion on an HTML document with a
`proprietary tag according to the invention;
`FIG. 15 shows an HTML document and an HTML docu-
`ment source accordingto the invention;
`FIG. 16 shows a generated GIF image according to the
`invention;
`FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an image system within
`a typical Web infrastructure according to the invention;
`FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing delivery of an
`HTMLdocumentandoriginal media according to the inven-
`tion:
`FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing components of
`Website administration accordingto a preferred embodiment
`of the invention;
`FIG. 20 is a simple overview showing components of the
`image system according to a preferred embodimentof the
`invention;
`FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing process flow of a
`proprietary enabled page delivered to a Web browseraccord-
`ing ta a preferred embodimentofthe invention;
`FIG. 22 shows a flowchart of a content generation proce-
`dure according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
`and
`
`Les
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`

`

`US 8,381,110 B2
`
`7
`FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing an authoring process
`according to a preferred embodimentof the invention.
`
`
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`An automatic graphics delivery system that operates in
`parallel with an existing Website infrastructure is provided.
`‘The system streamlines the post-production process by auto-
`mating the production of media through content generation
`procedures controlled by proprietary tags placed within
`URLs embedded within Web documents. The author simply
`placesthe original media in the system, and addsproprietary
`tags to the URLsfor accessing that media. The system auto-
`matically processes the URL encodedtags and automatically
`producesderivative media for