Equil EX2005
`Akamai Techs. v. Equil IP Holdings
`IPR2023-00332
`
`

`

`US 8,656,046 B2
`Page 2
`
`(56)
`
`5,737,619
`5,745,908
`5,758,110
`5,761,655
`5,793,964
`5,819,261
`5,822,436
`5,845,084
`5,845,279
`5,845,299
`5,860,068
`5,860,073
`5,861,881
`5,862,325
`5,864,337
`5,870,552
`5,880,740
`5,890,170
`5,895,476
`5,895,477
`5,903,892
`5,937,160
`5,943,680
`5,956,737
`6,009,436
`6,456,305
`6,463,445
`6,483,851
`6,484,149
`6,563,517
`6,591,280
`6,623,529
`6,909,708
`6,938,073
`7,284,201
`7,313,361
`7,406,434
`ATT,688
`7,673,063
`2003/0225568
`2004/0025176
`2005/0091311
`2005/0255852
`2005/0278794
`2006/0015580
`2006/0127059
`2007/0061198
`2007/0234213
`2008/0155230
`2008/0186377
`2008/0195938
`
`DORMWOPrPrrrPEEPPEPEEErerePrPPPNR
`
`Nh
`
`BDRAOWBBwWryBs
`Perrrrrrrerere
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4/1998
`4/1998
`5/1998
`6/1998
`8/1998
`10/1998
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`12/1998
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`1/1999
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`6/2006
`3/2007
`10/2007
`6/2008
`8/2008
`
`8/2008
`
`Judson
`Andersonetal.
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`Hoffman
`Rogers et al.
`Takahashietal.
`Rhoads
`Cordell etal.
`Garofalakis etal.
`Aroraet al.
`Cook
`Ferrelet al.
`Freeman etal.
`Reedetal.
`Marvin
`Dozieretal.
`Halliday etal.
`Sidana
`Orret al.
`Orr ct al.
`Hoffert et al.
`Daviset al.
`Ohgaetal.
`King et al.
`Motoyamactal.
`.....
`Qureshi etal.
`Suzuki et al.
` . 370/466
`
`.... 370/352
`
`Bhagwat et al. ow... 715/735
`Orr
`Lakritz
`Krishnaswamyet al.
`Mendhekar etal.
`Cohen-Solal
`Steelberget al.
`Changetal.
`7hangetal.
`Xie et al.
`Salmonsen
`Franklin ct al.
`Lundetal. woe 709/203
`Steelberget al.
`Leinonen etal.
`Gabriel et al.
`Fanning
`Rameret al.
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`Robbinsetal.
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`Tischeretal.
`
`2008/0205389 Al
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`8/2008 Fang etal.
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`6/2010 Bargeret al.
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`11/2011 Periyannanetal.
`1/2012 Rathod
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`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`WO
`WO
`WO
`
`
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`0782085
`0818907
`0843276
`0876034
`0883068
`0886409
`0895171
`0926607
`0949571
`WO 97/49252
`WO 98/40842
`WO 98/43177
`
`7/1997
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`12/1998
`12/1998
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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`Zaiane,et al.; “Mining multimedia data”; Nov. 1998; ACM Confer-
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`pp. 1-18.
`Bulterman, Dick.C.A.; Models, Media and Motion: Using the Web to
`Support Multimedia Documents; Proceedings of 1997 Intnl Conf on
`Multimedia Modeling; p. 17-20; Nov. 1997; Singapore.
`Mohler, J.L.; Migrating Course Materials to the World Wide Web: A
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`Dobson, R.; Animating Your Web Pages with Direct Animation, Web
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`from website:
` http://library.iem.ac.ru/comp&geo/
`00983004/sz977014.html.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 1 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`
`
`100
`
`SYSTEM
`
`Web Server
`
` 110
`
`Client Browser
`
`Client Browser
`
`1206
`
`Client Browser
`
`Client Browser
`
`FIG. 1
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 2 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`200
`
`Original Media
`
`210
`
`Media is manipulated
`by hand and prepared
`for the Web.
`
`220
`
`Generated Web media
`
`
`
`
`MEDIA POST
`
`PRODUCTION
`SYSTEMS
`
`
`
`
`HTML referring to
`media tags
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`160
`
`FIG. 2
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`Web Browser
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 3 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`Original Media
`
`
`
`
`SYSTEM
`
`200
`
`
`
`HTMLwith
`proprietary
`media tags
`
`Modified HTML
`referring to
`generated media
`
`160
`
`FIG. 3
`
`Web Browser
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 4 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`Disk
`ORIGINAL IMAGES|Management
`ASSETS
`
`460
`
`post PRopuction|Manipulation
`SYSTEMS
`Conversion
`HTML PAGES
`Upload
`
` 400
`
`
`
`
`
`
`110
`—
`
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`WEB IMAGES
`
`Disk
`
`Management
`
`
`
` 120
`
`BROWSER
`
`FIG. 4
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 5 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`460
`
`HTML PAGES
` 900%
`AUTOMATIC DISK MANAGEMENT
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`SYSTEM
`
`ASSET MANAGEMENT
`AUTOMATIC MANIPULATION
`AUTOMATIC CONVERSION
`AUTOMATIC UPLOAD
`
`BROWSER
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 6 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`DNIHOVD
`
`
`
`|W3LSASWALSAS|LdldOSNOWW3H9WasuvdANIONS
`
`0&90&90z9oI9
`
`|,|009
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 7 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`Original
`media is
`created.
`
`200
`
`Mediais
`placed
`in system.
`
`660
`
`630
`
`Proprietary
`620
`media tag is
`converted to
`standard HTML <>
`Generated
`that refers to
`media is
`media in cache.
`
`placed in
`Media tag
`
`and the HTML NOMI:
`mediacache.
`
`
`equivalent|\CONVERTER
`
`
`220
`Parser
`are stored in
`parses i
`media tags
`
`
`Parser looks
`ooking for
`database.
`
`Generated
`media tags./
`up media tags
`
`
`Web media
`
`HTML
`CHENIN
`media tag is
`SYSTEM
`found then
`PARSER
`produce
`610
`
`Media tag is used
`modified HTML.
`to generate
`Media tags
`Web media
`are replaced
`by standard
`passes
`Hs
`requested
`equivalent
`a
`
`int./Modified web page
`document.
`to parser.
`
`SYSTEM
`100
`
`Co in database.If
`
`|
`
`640
`
`S
`
`WebServer
`
`delivers modified A 110
`HTMLto Browser. LU
`
`
`
`a Webpage.
`
`Modified HTML ‘Sy=fHTMLis created
`
`documentis
`with media tags
`delivered to
`and placed on
`WebServer.
`WebServer.
`Web Server
`
`=
`Original
`HTML
`
`\___/
`
`Server
`
`130
`
`120
`
`(User requests|
`
`FIG. 7
`
`User views|
`Webpage.
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 8 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`AUTHORING FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`USER ADDS ORIGINAL
`GRAPHIC TO
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`USER CREATES
`HTML THAT CONTAINS
`
`PROPRIETARY
`MEDIA TAGS
`
`820
`
`830
`
`800
` 810
`
`
`
`
`ON WEB SERVER
`
`USER PLACES HTML
`
`
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 8
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 9 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`HTML PARSING FLOWCHART
`
`USER REQUESTS
`EB PAGE= 5
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`WEB SERVER HANDS
`REQUEST OF WEB
`PAGE TO SYSTEM
`
`
`
`
`
`920
`
`
`
` 910
`
` 930
`
`
` RETRIEVE HTML
`MEDIA TAG
`
`
`REPLACE MEDIA TAG
`WITH HTML
`
`EQUIVALENT
`
`SYSTEM PARSES
`WEB PAGE
`
`
`
` DELIVER MODIFIED
`
`
`WEB PAGE TO WEB
`SERVER
`
`EQUIVALENT OF
`
` 970
`FIG. 9
`
`CONTINUE PARSING
`WEB PAGE
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 10 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`MEDIA CREATION FLOWCHART
`
`START
`
`1000
`
`SYSTEM REQUESTS
`HTML EQUIVALENT
`TO A MEDIA TAG
`
`1910
`
`
`
`1020
`
`
`
`
`MEDIA TAG IS
` GREATE
`COMBINED
`
`
`MEDIA
`WITH BANDWIDTH
`
`
`USING
`
`INFORMATION
`
`
`MEDIA TAG
`
` DOES
`1090
`
`
`MEDIA TAG EXIST
`
`IN MEDIA TAG
`
`DATABASE?
`
`
`
`
`REMOVE
`HAVE
`MEDIA TAG
`ANY OF THE ORIGINAL
`
`
`
`ENTRY FROM
`ASSETS USED TO CREATE
`
`MEDIA TAG
`
`THE MEDIA
`
`DATABASE
`
`CHANGED?
`
`
`
`NO
`
`RETRIEVE HTML
`EQUIVALENT FROM
`DATABASE
`
`
`
`RETURN HTML
`EQUIVALENT TO
`REQUESTOR
`
`1050
`
`1060
`
`120
`
`FIG. 10
`
`
`MEDIA
`DATABASE
`
`1100
`
`GENERATE
`HTML
`REFERRING TO
`GENERATED
`
`1110
`
`PLACE MEDIA
`TAG ANDHTML
`EQUIVALENTIN |
`MEDIA TAG
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 11 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`LTOld
`
`
`
`
`
`saiouapuadeg
`
`
`
`
`
`{s)etlypeyeseuenUypiMpueg
`
`Jduoseipayy
`
`
`
`
`
`LORNSTUIUPYapise—4wniagiinby
`
`
`
`
`
`HOHRYSTaNMApYsplivee1yamnLqymby
`
`
`ssqeiedwphesiyousWey)
`
`
`IOWOpMSdST]FSS
`
`@)rres
`
`48G3N2MOd
`
`
`
`ISVEVIVEIGM3IYsSHLNTATLNSHYNDSVICSIN
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 12 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`DATABASE DESCRIPTION
`
`1200
`
`SCRIPT TABLE
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
` DEPENDENCY TABLE
`
`FILE NAME
`
`MODIFICATION DATE
`
`1260
`
`
`
`
`
`FIG. 12
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 13 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`ORIGINAL IMAGES
`
`1310
`
`
`
`© thumbnail_mask.tga@100%.(RGB)O OG!
`logo3.iga @100% (RGB)
`
`FIG.1I3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 14 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`HTML DOCUMENT WITH PROPRIETARY TAG
`
`1400
`
`image.html
`
`
`
`FG.1I4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 15 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`/
`
`HTML DOCUMENTVIEWED IN BROWSER
`
`Title Frame
`
`
`
` 0
`
`oo
`
`
`
`BWeee
`image. html
`
`
`1510
`
`LFML DOCUMENT SOURCE
`
`FIG.I5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 16 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`GENERATED GIF IMAGE
`
`
`
`FIG.16
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 17 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`210
`
`Media Post
`Preduction
`Systems
`
`200
`
`we
`.
`Original Media
`
`220
`
`230
`
`SHTML Page
`MeerUe to
`Media URLs
`
`Generated
`Web Media
`
`a Web Server
`13i
`
`110
`
`120a
`
`LJ
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`130
`
`120d
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`{. bal_}
`Client
`Browser
`
`FIG. 17
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 18 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`HTML Page
`With Tag-
`embedded URLs
`
`Original
`Media
`
`
`
`120b LI
`=
`
`Web Server
`
`Client
`Browser
`
`Gia
`
`FIG. 18
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 19 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`460
`
`110
`
` 120
`
`501
`Oo
`Asset Management
`Automatic Manipulation
`Automatic Conversion
`Automaice Upload
`Automatic Customization
`Automatic Disk Management
`Proxy-cache control
`Delivery
`
`FIC. 19
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 20 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`
`
`
`jU91U09DIPSDIPBNs6o}TUN
`
`
`
`UO0]}D18uagUO}{D849BulyooJ9AJ@S
`
`$81NP8004dWe3SAswa}sAs
`
`
`
`0108000U}IM
`
`Mbyelsdoug
`
`00L108
`
`sefodWH
`
`DIpaW|oUj6149
`
`O¢“OTH
`
`
`
`seBpw]pe}o1eue9
`
` 0S0¢
`
`
`
`Aso}|soday
`
`DIPS
`
`JBAL8S
`
`eMOLE
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 21 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`200
`
`Original
`Media is
`Created
`
`100
`
`2180
`
`2170
`
`2160
`
`2040
`
`Primary
`
`Secondary
`
`User Profile
`
`Media
`
`Repository
`
`2120
`
`Media
`
`Dynamic Media
`Procedures
`
`2140
`
`Cached Media}
`{Cached Media
`C Procedure
`Cache
`
`
` Primary
`Content
`Key
`Generation
`Generation
`Procedures
`
`
`URL Tag
`Parser
`
`2100
`
`2190
`
`Cache
`Control
`
`Server
`
`120
`
`Secondary
`Key
`Generation
`
`
`
`110
`
`Web Server
`
`301
`
`[Oy
`
`HTML Page with
`Proprietary
`URL Togs
`
`FIG. 21
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 22 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`URL
`
`2200
`
`Parse Proprietaty URL Tags
`
`Final Lookup Key Generation
`
`2230
`
`¥
`
`Image Cached?
`
`N
`
`2240
`
`Separate Dynamic Tags
`
`e210
`
`2220
`
`2290
`
`Intermediate Image Lookup Key Generation
`
`2260
`
`2260
`
`Retrieve Cached!
`
`_Y
`
`rege Corte?
`
`N
`
`Content
`
`2263
`eeot
`
`
`Intermediate
`Image Caching
`
`|
`
`gett
`
`Content Generation
`
`For Zoon/Pan/
`
`Y
`
`;
`Dynamic
`Processing?
`
`Rate
`N
`
`;
`Valid
`Image Type?
`
`N
`
`Image
`g
`Format
`
`
`
`
`2280
`
`User Profile Processing
`
`Proxy-cache Control
`
`2290
`
`FIG. 22
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 18, 2014
`
`Sheet 23 of 23
`
`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`
`
`Start
`
` User adds original
`graphic to system
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`User creates content
`| generation procedures
`
`on system to
`
`manipulate originals
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`User creates HTML
`
`
`pages on Web Server
`with Proprietary
`URL Tags
`
`FIG. 23
`
`

`

`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`1
`AUTOMATED MEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM
`
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a Divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 11/269,
`916, filed Nov. 7, 2005 now abandoned, which is a Continu-
`ation-in-Part ofU.S. Ser. No. 09/929,904, filedAug. 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,
`all of which are hereby incorporated in its entirety by refer-
`ence.
`
`
`
`BACKGROUNDOF TITLE INVENTION
`
`1. Technical Field
`
`The invention relates to software systems. More particu-
`larly, the invention relates to an Internet server-based soft-
`ware system that 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.
`Thousandsofestablished online companies employ hundreds
`of highly-skilled workers just to produce and maintain their
`Websites. After all, the Web is now a majorselling 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 to 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. Lhe samerate applies to preparing and plac-
`ing images, animations, and other visual assets. Each page
`represents its own set of issues ranging from whetherto use
`GIF, JPEG, or PNG file formats, to finding, the optimumbit
`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
`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 HTMLfor particular page
`Store HTML on Webserver
`Viewfinal pages
`Repeat process for each version of each graphic on each
`page
`Estimated Time
`Two hoursper 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
`closely or from a different angle. On the horizon are pages
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`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 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 and presents an initial 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 range of busi-
`ness, news, and professionaltopics. .
`. letting the user search
`both text and graphics and build the productto suit. Articles
`can beretrieved in varyinglevels of detail: citation, abstracts,
`full text, and text with graphics. Images come in 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-53031/98 (27/08/98) discloses a “system for
`automatically creating databases containing industry, ser-
`vice, product and subject classification data, contact data,
`geographic location data (CCG-data) andlinks to web pages
`from HTML, XML, or SGML encoded web pages posted on
`computer networks such as Internets or Intranets...
`.
`The... databases maybe searched for references (URLs) to
`webpagesby 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
`embedded graphical 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 embeddedgraphical imageis received, the
`placeholder imageis removed,and the display device is 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 parlicipating in the hypertext docu-
`ment maybeedited, the data processing system inserting tags
`into the data sets at locations corresponding to the hypertext
`links to createa file whichis editable by an editor andthe data
`processing, system removing the tags, generating a revised
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`US 8,656,046 B2
`
`3
`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 individualdata sets get modified.”
`Wistendahlct 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 aninteractive 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 can be 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 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 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 etal, Method for 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 information to the Web client
`in a text or graphics display at a location specified by the
`request.”
`Tyanet al, IITML Generator, European Patent Application
`No. EP 0843276 (May 20, 1998) discloses “generating an
`HTMI. file based on an input bitmap image, and is 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 of the 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.
`TrueSpectra 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.
`TrueSpectra has a simple caching mechanism. Images in
`the cache canbecleared out automatically at certain times and
`il does not have any dependency features for image propaga-
`tion. 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
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`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 Flashpix asits native file format and
`does not support media types such as multi-GIF's and sound
`formats. Flashpix files are typically larger than mostfile for-
`mats. Access to files is faster for zooming and panning, but
`appearsto be quite slow.
`The keyto IrisTransactive is the compositing subsystem.It
`requires (three things to build a shopping solution using image
`composition.
`he
`) The original images mustbe 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 composerprogram. 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 oroff layers.
`The herein above process for compositing, images enables
`Web designers to create shopping sites. However, a lot of
`overheadis the result. The XML documents add 5 k-50 k toa
`Web site. The compositing commandsthat 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,
`MediaBinrequires the use ofan 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 embeddingvariables
`in their proprietary Flash format. Therefore the actual imag-
`ing operations are somewhatlimited and cannotbe controlled
`directly from a web page request.
`MGISoftwaresells 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
`embedded in 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
`which they can modify and add images, video, and sound to
`sites, in the volumeof data 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 empower an end user with
`flexibility and control by providing interactive page capabili-
`ties.
`It would be advantageousfromanend 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, cancall up a close-in view ofthe fender.
`It would be advantageousto provide an automated graphics
`delivery system that becomespart of the Website infrastruc-
`ture and operates as part of the Web page transaction andthat
`thereby provides a less expensive and less time-consuming
`process.
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`US 8,656,046 B2
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`5
`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 climinates 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 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 systemthat gener-
`ates media based on current Webservertraffic thereby opti-
`mizing throughput of the media through the Webserver.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system that gener-
`ates mediathat is optimized for the Webclient, wherein client
`connection speed determines optimum quality andfile 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 advantageous to provide a system wherein the
`client browser docs not require a plug-in.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`system does not require any changes to a Webserver.
`It would be advantageousto provide a system wherein the
`system manages the Web server media cache.
`It would be advantageous to provide a system wherein the
`Web mediais generated only if requested by a client browser.
`It would be advantageousfor 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.
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`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 advantageous to 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
`procedures controlled by proprietary tags placed within
`URLs embedded within Web documents. The author simply
`places the 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
`site is automatically handled by the system.In addition, gen-
`erated media is cached such that further requests for the same
`media require little overhead.
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`Because the invention takes the original media, content
`generation procedures, and proprietary URLtagsas inputsfor
`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 ofthe
`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
`HTML document and media to a Web browseraccording to
`the invention;
`FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the components
`involved in Website administration accordingtothepriorart;
`FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the components of
`the system involved in Web site administration according to
`the invention;
`l'IG.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;
`FIG.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
`according to the invention;
`FIG. 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;
`VIG. 15 shows an IITML document and an IITML docu-
`ment 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
`a typical Web infrastructure accordingto the invention;
`FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing, delivery of an
`HTML documentandoriginal 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 to a preferred embodimentofthe invention;
`FIG. 22 showsa flowchart of a content generation proce-
`dure according to a preferred embodimentof the invention;
`and
`T'IG. 23 is a flow chart showing an authoring process
`according to a preferred embodimentofthe invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`An automatic graphics delivery system that operates in
`parallel with an existing Web site infrastructure is provided.
`
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`US 8,656,046 B2
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`7
`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 adds proprietary
`tags to the URLsfor accessing that media. The system auto-
`matically processes the URL encoded tags and automatically
`produces derivative 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 URI, 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
`site is automatically handled by the system. In addition, the
`generated media is cached so that 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 onthe associated Web