SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WEB BROWSING

Abstract: A current web page (215), a past web page (225A), a future web page (235A) and/or an advertisement or other application are contemporaneously displayed in a single window (200). The present invention tracks a past web page (225A) and renders it in a first panel (220), renders the current web page (215) in a second panel (210), and identifies a hyperlink (240) in the current web page (215) to retrieve and render the future web page (235A) in a third panel (230). Alternatively, a host provides a list of web pages that are to be displayed in the panels (210, 220, 230). Preferably, the present invention is implemented as a web browsing room (300) in a three-dimensional space where walls (310, 320, 330) of the room (300) correspond to various ones of the aforementioned panels (210, 220, 230) and a floor (340) that may be used to display advertisements or provide other applications.

Description: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WEB BROWSING Background Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to web browsers and more particularly to a web browser that displays a current web page along with past web pages, future web pages, advertisements, and/or other applications in a unique browsing environment. Discussion of the Related Art The Internet has dramatically changed the manner in which we access, gather, and collect information. Often refeπed to as the "World Wide Web," the Internet provides a user with a host of "web pages." A web page is rendered from web page data that may be retrieved from a source of web page data, often via the Internet using various well-known protocols. The web page data is often in the form of a hypertext mark-up language (e.g., HTML, DHTML, XML, etc.) or a scripting language (e.g., Java, JavaScript, etc.), and often includes a reference or hyperlink (i.e., a URL address) to another web page. The web page data may include other forms of source language and other forms of data as would be apparent. Once the web page data is rendered, the web page may be displayed to the user for viewing. The actions of selecting a web page, retrieving web page data associated with the web page, rendering that data, and displaying the web page to the user is often referred to as "web browsing." Various conventional web browsing engines, or web browsers as they are commonly refeπed, are available These web browsers may, for example, include Microsoft's Internet Explorer™ and Netscape's Navigator™ These web browsers facilitate web browsing and provide the user with a host of browsing features including bookmarks and history functions However, one of the problems associated with conventional web browsers is that typically, only one web page is rendered at any given time for display to the user Conventional methods for overcoming this problem include the user opening a second instance of the web browser and manually switching back and forth between the instances, or alternately, the user manually moving and/or resizing a window in which each instance operates so that the respective instances can be contemporaneously viewed Another problem associated with conventional web browsers is navigating to previously visited web pages Conventional web browsers typically maintain a list of previously visited or "past" web pages This list of past web pages provides a history of the web pages visited by the user duπng a particular session At vaπous times, the user may return to a past web page, for example, by using a pull down menu to select a particular past web page from the history list However, the list is cumbersome to use as the past web page is not always readily identifiable among the references maintained in the history list As a result, the user must often navigate backwards through the history list in order to return to the desired past web page The user may also return to a past web page by selecting a "backward" navigation button available on a tool bar of conventional web browsers The backward button navigates the user sequentially through the history list as is well known Another problem associated with conventional web browsers is that future w eb pages are not viewable from a cuπently displayed web page A future web page is a web page that is referenced via a hyperlink on a cuπent web page Future web pages are not view able with conventional web browsers until the user selects that hyperlink In order to determine w hether a particular web site includes anything of interest, the user must manually select each h\perhnk to have the web browser retπeve and render the hyperlmked web pages Another problem associated with conventional web browsing is that parties other than the user (such as web site owners, networks hosts, etc ) do not have the ability to assist web browsers with navigation beyond visible hyperlinks These other parties can only provide one w eb page at a time using conventional browsers and must rely on the user to navigate the web site using hyperlinks Another problem associated with conventional web browsing is that advertisements tend to obscure other content that a web site may wish to display to the user Advertisers and web site owners also have little control over the length of time advertisements are visible by the user and have a difficult time tracking advertisement impressions due to system technologies such as web page caching What is needed is an improved system and method for web browsing Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a system and method for web browsing Generally speaking, the present invention contemporaneously displays multiple web pages, preferably within a single window, for the user to view In one embodiment of the present ention, a cuπent web page and a past web page are contemporaneously displayed in a single window In this embodiment, the present invention tracks a past web page and renders it m a first panel, and renders the cuπent web page in a second panel, all preferably embedded within a single window In this manner, the user contemporaneously views both the cuπent web page and the past page in a single window In another embodiment of the present invention, a cuπent web page and a future web page are contemporaneously displayed In this embodiment, the present invention locates a hyperlink to a future web page in web page data associated with the cuπent web page and automatically retrieves the coπesponding web page data associated with the future web page The present invention renders the cuπent web page m a first panel, and renders the future web page m a second panel, preferably embedded withm a single window In this manner, the user contemporaneously views both the cuπent web page and the future web page in a single window In another embodiment of the present invention, a past web page, a cuπent web page, and a future web page are contemporaneously displayed withm a single window This embodiment of the present invention incorporates both the past web page as well as the future web page aspects of the previously descπbed embodiments According to this embodiment, the present invention renders the cuπent web page in a first panel, renders the past web page in a second panel, and renders a future web page in a third panel In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the panels for rendering the vaπous web pages are provided in a three-dimensional space Preferably, these panels are provided as walls in a browsing room m which a user is able to navigate In this embodiment, the user is able to navigate in the room using well-known techniques whereby the user may change his perspective (/ e , view different walls from vaπous angles), zoom in, zoom out, etc , in the three- dimensional space Preferably, in an embodiment employing a room with three walls, the left wall includes the past web page, the center wall includes the cuπent web page, and the right wall includes the future web page In other embodiments of the present invention, any number of panels for displaying vaπous web pages withm the three-dimensional space may exist In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of past web pages are rendered in a panel In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of past web pages is rendered as a thumbnail or reduced size image In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of past web pages is rendered as a fully functional web page in an active web browser Preferably, the number and/or organization of these web pages may be configured according to user preference In still another embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of future web pages are rendered in a panel Preferably, each of the future web pages referenced via a hyperlink on the current web page is rendered in the panel In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of future web pages is rendered as a thumbnail or reduced size image In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of future web pages is rendered as a fully functional web page m an active web browser Preferably, the number and/or organization of these web pages may be configured according to user preference In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, a party other than the user specifies which of a plurality of pπoπtized web pages are rendered in at least one panel In this embodiment, a "host," which may include a web site owner, a network manager, or some other party, selects each of the pπoπtized web pages to be rendered in at least one panel by the present invention In one embodiment, a list of references to the pπoπtized web pages is included m web page data associated with the cuπent page In other embodiments, the list may be provided in another manner or from another source In any case, the host may provide information to identify an order or aπangement for displaying the prioritized web pages as well as the panel or panels in which they are to be displayed In the aforementioned embodiments, the pπoπtized web pages may or may not be accessible from the cuπent web page via a hyperlink In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the pπoπtized web pages is rendered as a thumbnail or reduced size image In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the pπoπtized web pages is rendered as a fully functional web page in an active web browser One of the features of the present invention is that the past web page may be viewed contemporaneously with the current web page This feature also preferably allows the user to return to the past web page by selecting it, for example, by clicking on it, in its respective panel Another feature of the present invention is that the future web page may be viewed contemporaneously with the cuπent web page This feature allows the user to navigate a web site more rapidly by viewing a future web page from its appearance rather than by some obtuse descπption This feature also preferably allows the user to go to the future web page by selecting it in its respective panel Yet another feature of the present invention is that the pπoπtized web page may be viewed contemporaneously with the current web page This feature allows the host to select and/or prioritize the web pages viewed by the user in a multi-page browsing environment This feature also allows the user to go to the pπoπtized web page by selecting it in its respective panel Yet another feature of the present invention is that the browsing room in the three- dimensional space may include a floor, for example, that may display various system information such as number of bytes downloaded, number of bytes to download, download rate download time, download time remaining, etc The floor may also be used to provide a panel for displaying advertisements from the web site owner or other content provider The floor may also be used to include saved or cached information downloaded on a peπodic basis This information may include advertisements or reminders that are relevant to the cuπent web page or to a profile associated with the user Yet still another feature of the present invention is that a user may designate a past web page as a "sticky" web page Such a designation indicates that the sticky web page remains in its respective panel (and at its designated position, if appropnate) regardless of additional past web pages generated by subsequent browsing In other words, the past web page so designated "sticks" on the panel until the user releases the designation Still another feature of the present invention is that a user may designate a future web page as a sticky web page Such a designation indicates that the sticky web page remains in its respective panel (and at its designated position, if appropπate) regardless of new future web pages generated by the selection of a new cuπent web page as a result of subsequent browsing In other words, the future web page so designated "sticks" on the panel until the user releases the designation These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following drawings and descnption Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements Additionally, the left-most dιgιt(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears FIG 1 illustrates a computer network that facilitates web browsing FIG 2 illustrates a web browser according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 3 illustrates a web browser according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 4 illustrates an operation of the web browser according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 5 illustrates an operation of updating past web pages according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 6 illustrates an organization of past web pages according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 7 illustrates an operation of updating future web pages according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 8 illustrates an operation of generating a thumbnail or reduced size image from web page data according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG 9 illustrates a web browser according to one embodiment of the present invention FIG. 10 illustrates an operation of providing prioritized web pages according to one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description The present invention is directed to a system and method for web browsing that displays multiple web pages thereby allowing a user to contemporaneously view more than a single web page in a single window. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for web browsing that contemporaneously displays a past web page, a cuπent web page, a future web page, a prioritized web page, and/or advertisements or other applications for viewing by the user, preferably within a three-dimensional space. FIG. 1 illustrates a computer network 100 including a user 1 10 participating in a web browsing session via a computer 120 connected to at least one server 130 via a network 140. Computer 1 10 may be any electronic communicating device capable of interfacing with network 140. Such devices may include computers, laptops, telephones, cellular phones, personal data accessories ("PDA"), pagers, web enabled televisions ("WebTV"), or other similar electronic communication devices, as would be apparent. Network 140 may be any form of interconnecting network including an intranet, such as a local or wide area network, or an extranet, such as the World Wide Web, or the Internet. Such networks 140 may include various wireless connections as would be apparent. Server 130 may be any sort of storage device for providing web page data to users as would be apparent. During a browsing session, user 1 10 accesses a particular web page using a web browser (also referred to as web browsing engine) such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer™ or Netscape's Navigator™ operating on computer 120 In order to access a web page, the web browser sends a request to a particular web site using a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") address associated with the desired web page The request is passed through network 140 using an appropπate network protocol For example, when network 140 comprises the Internet, a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol ("HTTP") is used that encapsulates the request to facilitate its transmission through network 140 Other network protocols may also be used as would be apparent Using the URL address, the request is routed to a server (or servers) 130 hosting the web page Once located, the appropπate server 130 analyzes the request and sends web page data coπesponding to the request back to computer 120 using the appropπate network protocol (e g , HTTP) The browser receives the web page data at computer 120 This process of requesting and retπeving web page data is well known The web page data includes vaπous markup language data (e g , HTML, DHTML, XML, etc ), scnptmg language data (e g , Java, JavaScπpt, etc ), and vaπous other data and or files (e g , image files) that compπse the content of the web page as is well known The web page data may also include a reference, sometime refeπed to as a "hyperlink " Typically, the hyperlink is an embedded URL address to another web page The web browser renders the web page data into a web page and facilitates the display of the web page m a "window" on computer 120 m a well-known manner FIG 2 illustrates a web browser 200 operating in a single window according to the present invention Web browser 200 includes a cuπent panel 210 and at least one of a past panel 220 and a future panel 230 Preferably, web browser 200 includes both past panel 220 and future panel 230 Cuπent panel 210 includes a cuπent web page 215 Cuπent panel 210 preferably operates in a manner similar to a conventional web browser In a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention, an active conventional web browser is mapped onto cuπent panel 210 From cuπent panel 210, user 110 may access vaπous web pages in a conventional manner using the conventional web browser In a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention, the conventional web browser "plugs in" to web browser 200 thereby providing web browser 200 with a web browsing engine to perform these conventional aspects of the present invention This concept of plugging a conventional web browser into web browser 200 is refeπed to as a "reverse plug-m " Plug-ms are generally well known Past panel 220 operates in connection with cuπent page 210 to display at least one past web page 225 (illustrated m FIG 2 as past web pages 225A-C) In a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention, past panel 220 includes one or more web browsing engines embedded therein (i e , its own instances of the web browsing engine) for managing past web page 225 In another embodiment, the present invention generates a thumbnail or reduced size image using the web page data associated with past web page 225 and renders the thumbnail or reduced size image in panel 220 using vaπous well-known techniques In this manner, user 110 may view one or more past web pages 225 in past panel 220 contemporaneously with current web page 215 in cuπent panel 210 Preferably, user 110 may configure past panel 220 to display, for example, "X" number of past web pages 225 organized in a "m by n" matπx In one embodiment of the present invention, duπng a browsing session, the present invention shifts the least recent past web page 225 off past panel 220 to accommodate more recent past web pages 225 In operation, when user 1 10 selects a new web page, cuπent web page 215 is transfeπed to past panel 220 To accommodate this transfer, the present invention shifts past web pages 225 by one web page location, thereby eliminating one web page from past panel 220, if necessary For example, past web page 225 C may represent the least recent past web page, and past web page 225 A may represent the most recent past web page In this example, when user 1 10 selects a new web page, past web page 225C is shifted off past panel 220, past web page 225B is shifted to the location formerly occupied by past web page 225C, and past web page 225A is shifted to the location formerly occupied by past web page 225B Cuπent web page 215 is then transfeπed to past panel 220 and positioned at the location formerly occupied by past web page 225A The present invention then renders the new selected web page as cuπent web page 215 in cuπent panel 210 In addition to displaying past web pages 225, web browser 200 provides a mechanism whereby any of past web pages 225 may be recalled as current web page 215 This mechanism is in addition to other mechanisms for selecting web pages in with a conventional web browser In particular, user 110 may "click on" a past web page 225 in past panel 220 to restore that web page as cuπent web page 215 in cuπent panel 210 In one embodiment, the present invention maintains an associated URL address for each of past web pages 225 so that they may be recalled in this manner Future panel 230 operates in connection with cuπent page 210 to display at least one future web page 235 (illustrated in FIG 2 as future web pages 235A-C) Future web page 235 is a web page referenced in a hyperlink 240 included in cuπent web page 215 In other words, future web page 235 may be thought of as a preview of the web page that would otherwise be conventionally retrieved if user 1 10 selected hyperlink 240 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, future panel 230 includes one or more web browsing engines embedded therein (i e , instances of the web browsing engine) for managing future web pages 235 In another embodiment, the present invention generates a thumbnail or reduced size image using the web page data associated with future web page 235 and renders the thumbnail or reduced size image in future panel 230 using well-known techniques In this manner, user 110 may view one or more future web pages 235 in future panel 230 contemporaneously with cuπent web page 215 m cuπent panel 210 Preferably, user 1 10 may configure future panel 230 to display, for example, "X" number of future web pages 235 organized in a "m by n" matπx In operation, when user 110 selects a new web page, web browser searches the web page data associated with the new web page for any hyperlinks 240 included therein If a hyperlink 240 is located, web browser automatically retπeves the web page data referenced by hyperlink 240 and renders it as future web page 235 in future panel 230 In this manner, user 1 10 may view future web pages 235 without having to manually "dπll down" to them via hyperlinks 240 In addition to displaying future web pages 235, web browser 200 provides a mechanism whereby any of future web pages 235 may be selected as cuπent web page 215 In particular, user 110 may "click on" a future web page 235 to select the web page as cuπent web page 215 in current panel 210 In one embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 maintains an associated URL address for each of future web pages 235 so that user 1 10 can access them from future panel 230 In other embodiments of the present invention, web browser 200 allows a party other than the user, i e , a "host," to specify one or more pπoπtized web pages to be displayed in past panel 220 future panel 230 or both In these embodiments, the host provides web browser 200 with a list of one or more references associated with the prioritized web pages This list may be included within web page data associated with cuπent page 210 The list may include references of web pages that are also referenced in a hyperlink 240 included in cuπent web page 215 as well as references of web pages that are not included therein as hyperlinks The list of references may be predetermined or may be generated dynamically based upon, for example, known or determined user preferences, past navigation techniques, or other known means The list may include or be accompanied by information that may specify an order, an aπangement, a location, a panel, or other form of organization for any of the pπoπtized web pages In one embodiment of the present invention, the list is provided in web page data associated with cuπent web page 215 by a web site owner as scπpt recognized by web browser 200 and ignored by conventional web browsers In this manner, hosts can extend their web sites to operate with multi-page browsing environments such as web browser 200 thereby controlling presentation of multiple web pages among vaπous panels 210, 220, and 230, while continuing to support operation with conventional web browsers In another embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 is configured to communicate with a source other than the web site owner of cuπent web page 215 for the list of references to the pπoπtized web pages In this embodiment, the source may be a network manager associated with a company for which the user is employed In another embodiment, the source may be a party that provides the user with the references to pπoπtized web pages having content similar or related to that included m current web page 215 In other embodiments, the source may be a party that provides the user with the references to pπoπtized web pages related to his preferences or patterns of web browsing Various other hosts may provide vaπous other pπoπtized web pages as would be apparent In any case, the references may be communicated as scπpt or web page data similar to that described above As with the other embodiments of the present invention, panels 220, 230 may include one or more web browsing engines embedded therein (i e , instances of the w eb browsing engine) for managing the pπoπtized web pages In other embodiments, the present invention generates a thumbnail or reduced size image using the web page data associated with the pπoπtized web pages and renders the thumbnail or reduced size image in panels 220, 230 using well-known techniques In this manner, user 1 10 may view one or more prioritized web pages in panels 220, 230 contemporaneously with current web page 215 in cuπent panel 210 As discussed above, the host may configure panels 220, 230 to display, for example, "X" number of pπoπtized web pages organized in a "m by n" matπx Alternately or in conjunction with the host, user 110 may configure panels 220, 230 in a similar manner In operation, when user 110 selects a new web page, web browser 200 searches the web page data associated with the new web page for references, if any, to pπoπtized web pages included therein Alternately, web browser 200 receives the references to the pπoπtized web pages via other mechanisms If such references are located or received, web browser 200 automatically retπeves the web page data so referenced and renders it as a pπoπtized web page m panel 220, 230 In this manner, the host may specify and user 1 10 may view multiple web pages In addition to displaying the pπoπtized w eb pages, web browser 200 may also provide a mechanism whereby any of the pπoπtized web pages may be selected as cuπent web page 215 In particular, user 1 10 may "click on" a prioritized web page to select it as cuπent web page 215 in cuπent panel 210 In one embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 maintains an associated URL address for each of the prioritized web pages so that user 1 10 can access them from panel 220, 230 In one embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 controls separate display devices, one for each of past panel 220, cuπent panel 210 and future panel 230, organized as a so-called "tπ-monitor" for web browsing A single computer 120 may control the output to each of the display devices providing a full screen view for each of panels 210, 220, 230 Techniques for providing separate outputs to multiple display devices are well known FIG 3 illustrates a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention In particular, FIG 3 illustrates a browsing room 300 operating m a three-dimensional environment or space Browsing room 300 includes a cuπent wall 310 and at least one of a past wall 320 and a future wall 330 Preferably, browsing room 300 includes both past wall 320 and future wall 330 These walls 310, 320, and 330 operate in a manner similar to their counterpart panels 210, 220 and 230 as descπbed above In one embodiment of the present invention, browsing room 300 may also include a floor 340, including a floor panel 345, which is descπbed m further detail below In one embodiment of the present invention, browsing room 300 and the three- dimensional environment are implemented using vaπous well known three dimensional rendering tools such as OpenGL™ available from Silicon Graphics Incorporated or DirectX™ available from Microsoft These tools allow vaπous abstractions including active objects (e g , web browsers) and passive objects (e g , images) to be embedded on objects in the three- dimensional environment Preferably, user 1 10 is able to navigate in browsing room 300 according to well-known three-dimensional navigation techniques In browsing room 300, user 1 10 may, for example, change his perspective to view only one of walls 310, 320, 330 User 1 10 may also zoom in to a particular wall to get a closer view of, for example, past web page 225A or future web page 235A User 1 10 may also zoom out to simultaneously view all walls 310, 320, 330 and floor 340 Other features associated with navigating a three-dimensional space such as browsing room 300 are also contemplated as would be apparent In a preferred embodiment, each of walls 310, 320, and 330 include one or more instances of active conventional web browsers For example, each of past web pages 225 would include the active web browser, as well as each of future web pages 235, in addition to the active web browser operating in cuπent wall 320 In this embodiment, each web page 215, 225 and 235 is active and dynamic, capable of receiving updates, etc , in a conventional manner Other embodiments of the present invention, specifically those constrained by, for example, processing power or network bandwidth, may be restπcted to a single active conventional web browser operating in current web page 215 In these embodiments, web pages 225 and 235 are preferably thumbnail or reduced size images rendered in walls 320 and 330, respectively As illustrated m FIG 3, browsing room 300 provides user 110 with a visualization of where he has been and/or where he is going dunng a particular browsing session For example, past wall 320 includes one or more past web pages 225 including a past web page 225A In a prefeπed embodiment, past web page 225A, as illustrated in FIG 3, occupies a location of the most recentlv visited past web page In other words, user 1 10 visited past web page 225A just prior to selecting cuπent web page 215 Other aπangements of past web pages 225 in past wall 320 may be made as would be apparent In one embodiment of the present invention, past web page 225A includes a reference or hyperlink to cuπent web page 215 In this embodiment, user 1 10 arπves at cuπent web page 215 by selecting the hyperlink on past web page 225A when it was the cuπent web page This relationship is illustrated in FIG 3 by a dotted arrow connecting past web page 225A with current web page 215 Other mechanisms exist for arπving at cuπent web page 215 without using the hyperlink on past web page 225A as would be apparent Future wall 330 includes one or more future web pages 235 including, for example, a future web page 235A and a future web page 235B In one embodiment, future web page 235A, as illustrated m FIG 3, occupies a location of the first reference or hyperlink found in web page data associated with cuπent web page 215 Future web page 235B occupies a location of the second reference or hyperlink found in the web page data associated with cuπent web page 215 In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, future web pages 235 occupy locations m future wall 330 based on vaπous indicia associated with each future web page 235 For example, future web pages 235 may be organized by their respective populaπty as determined by a number of hits each receives Alternately, future web pages 235 may be organized based on their respective dates of being updated Other arrangements of future web pages 235 in future panel 330 using these and other cπteπa may be made as would be apparent As discussed above, cuπent web page 215 includes a reference or hyperlink 240 to a future web page 235 Cuπent web page 215 includes hyperlinks 240A and 240B that coπespond to future web pages 235A and 235B, respectively, as indicated by dotted arrows in FIG 3 User 1 10 may aπive at cuπent web page 215 in any manner Once web page data associated with cuπent web page 215 is received, the present invention locates any of hyperlinks 240 included therein The present invention retπeves and renders future web page 235 coπesponding to each of the located hyperlinks 240 included in the web page data and displays them m future wall 330 In a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention, any of past web pages 225 or future web pages 235 may become cuπent web page 215 by clicking on past web page 225 in past wall 320 or future web page 235 in future wall 330, respectively The present invention stores or otherwise maintains a reference (i e , a URL address) for each past web page 225 m past wall 320 and for each future web page 235 in future wall 330 Thus, when user 110 selects a particular past web page 225 (for example, past web page 225A), the particular past web page 225 on past wall 320 becomes current web page 215 on cuπent wall 310 Likewise, when user 1 10 selects a particular future web page 235 (for example, future web page 235 A), the particular future web page 235 on future wall 330 becomes cuπent web page 215 on cuπent wall 310 In one embodiment of the present invention, any of past web pages 225 and future web pages 235 may become sticky web pages on their respective walls 320 and 330 When a user 1 10 designates a particular web page 225, 235 as a sticky web page, that web page 225, 235 remains at the designated location on the respective wall 320, 330 regardless of changes in cuπent web page 215 For example, if user 1 10 designates past web page 225 A as a sticky web page, past web page 225A remains in the illustrated location regardless of additional past web pages 225 generated as a result of subsequent browsing Likewise, if user 1 10 designates future web page 235A as a sticky web page, future web page 235A remains in the illustrated location regardless of new future web pages 235 generated from hyperlinks 240 on any new cuπent web pages 215 selected during subsequent browsing. In one embodiment, sticky web pages may be transfeπed to a separate panel in browsing room 300 (e.g., another wall, a ceiling, a floor, etc.). In this embodiment, the user may also "drag and drop" the web page 225, 235 to a so-called "sticky surface" to designate the web page as a sticky web page. Once on the sticky surface, web page 225, 235 remains there until removed by user 110. In other embodiments, sticky web pages may be reorganized on the same panel in room 300. In one embodiment, user 110 may either drag and drop or use some other form to designate that one or more of the sticky pages should be reorganized on the same page. In other embodiments user 110 may use a "retile" operation to reorganize all sticky web pages on a panel thereby eliminating open locations thereon. For example if future web pages 235A and 235C were designated as sticky web pages, user 110 may retile the sticky web pages to automatically move future web page 235C to future web page 235B. In other embodiments, user 110 may also eliminate or remove all non-sticky pages from room 300. Non-sticky pages would be removed by selecting the appropriate menu selection or toolbar icon. Sticky pages could then be reaπanged by one of the methods as described above. Various other mechanisms and combinations for clearing non-sticky pages from browsing room 300 are available as would be apparent. User 1 10 may designate web page 225, 235 as a sticky web page, for example, by right clicking on web page 225, 235 and selecting an appropriate choice from a menu to designate the web page as a sticky window. Other mechanisms for designating web page 225, 235 as a sticky web page are available as would be apparent. The sticky web page remains in its designated location until user 1 10 releases the sticky web page. In one embodiment of the present invention, user 110 may bookmark cuπent web page 215. According to one embodiment of the present invention, when user 1 10 bookmarks cuπent web page 215, an entire scene of browsing room 300 is stored for later recall. In other words, the bookmark includes not only a reference to cuπent web page 215, but also to each of past web pages 225 and future web pages 235 as well as their respective locations so that the entire scene of browsing room 300 may be recreated. In another embodiment of the present invention, the bookmark need only include the reference to cuπent web page 215 and the references to past web page 225 as the references to future web pages 235 may be found in the web page data associated with cuπent web page 215. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the bookmark includes the reference to current web page 215 as well as references and designated locations for each of the sticky web pages in browsing room 300. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the bookmark only includes a reference to cuπent web page 215. In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, user 110 may select from any of the above- described methods of bookmarking as would be apparent. Various other mechanisms and combinations for bookmarking browsing room 300 are available as would be apparent. In some embodiments of the present invention, past wall 320 and future wall 330 may not be large enough to include all of past web pages 225 or future web pages 235, respectively. For example, when cuπent web page 215 includes a large number of hyperlinks 240, or during a long browsing session, walls 320, 330 may not include a sufficient number of locations to accommodate all of the coπesponding web pages 225, 235. With respect to past wall 320, in one embodiment of the present invention, the least recent past web pages simply are shifted off of past wall 320 With respect to future wall 330, in one embodiment of the present invention, future web pages 235 may be included in future wall 330 in a "first come, first served" manner or alternately, based on the popularity of each of future web page 235 In another embodiment of the present invention, a scroll feature may be incorporated into each of past wall 320 and future wall 330 For example, a "page down" and a "page up" button may be included in each wall 320, 330 to display a virtually infinite number of additional web pages 225, 235 In yet another embodiment of the present invention multiple past walls 320 and/or future walls 330 may be used to accommodate additional web pages 225, 235 respectively In one embodiment of the present invention, a host provides a list of pπoπtized web pages to be displayed in browsing room 300 In this embodiment, the host provides user 110 with a multi-page web browsing environment by specifying multiple web pages to display in walls 310, 320, and/or 330 The host may also specify an order, a location, an aπangement, etc , of the prioritized web pages among walls 310, 320, and 330 By way of example and not limitation, when user 1 10 requests cuπent web page 215, a host such as a web site owner may provide in the associated web page data, references to pπoπtized web pages that are to be displayed in walls 320, 330 m connection with current web page 215 in current wall 310 In this manner, the host can tailor its web site toward browsing room 300 In alternate embodiments, the host may provide pπoπtized web pages unrelated to cuπent web page 215 and directed toward user 110 In one embodiment of the present invention, browsing room 300 includes floor 340 Floor 340 may include vaπous status information associated with web browsing Such status information may include, but is not limited to, a number of bytes to download, a number of bytes already downloaded, a rate at which bytes are being downloaded, a total time to complete the download, a time remaining to complete the download, and/or a plethora of other statistics associated with downloading web page data as would be apparent In another embodiment of the present invention, floor 340 includes an application program such as a clipboard Preferably, the clipboard accepts various input from "cut and paste" operations from any of web pages 215, 225, 235 This input may be in the form of data, text, diagrams, images, etc , as would be apparent The clipboard may be used to build vaπous documents, presentations, etc , using vaπous data available on the Internet Other applications such as spreadsheets, word processes, etc , may be incorporated into floor 340 (or other surface) in a similar manner In general, advertising may be provided in any of walls 310, 320, 330 However, in some embodiments of the present invention, floor 340 includes floor panel 345 that may be used to provide advertising to user 110 Floor panel 345 may be configured to provide advertising associated with current web page 215 that otherwise obstructs viewing of cuπent web page 215 In other embodiments of the present invention, floor panel 345 may also provide advertising generated in connection with any of web pages 215, 225, 235 in their respective walls In yet other embodiments of the present invention, floor panel 345 provides advertising unrelated to any of web pages 215, 225, 235 In some embodiments of the present invention, a web page associated with the advertising in floor panel 345 may become current web page 215 by clicking on the advertising m floor panel 345 The present invention stores or otherwise maintains a reference (i e , a URL address) for the web page associated with the advertising Thus, when user 1 10 selects the advertising, the associated web page becomes cuπent web page 215 on cuπent wall 310 Alternately, floor panel 345 may include a separate web browsing engine for providing the web page associated with the advertising in floor panel 345 itself so as to not obscure content in any of walls 310, 320, 330 In other embodiments of the present invention, floor panel 345 may operate in accordance with or supplemental to any of walls 310, 320, or 330 In another embodiment of the present invention, any of walls 310, 320, 330 and floor panel 345 may include an application such as a video conferencing display or a streaming video application In these embodiments, the application may be coordinated with the other walls 310, 320, 330, and floor panel 345 to form a browsing room 300 of homogeneous or supportive information associated with the content of the video FIG 9 illustrates a web browser 900 operating in a three dimensional environment that includes a cuπent panel 910, a plurality of past panels 920 and a plurality of future panels 930 Other panels (not illustrated) may be included in web browser 900 such as a floor panel, a ceiling panel, a sticky page panel, etc User 100 may navigate through the three-dimensional environment of web browser 900 to view any of the web pages included therein Current panel 910 operates in a manner similar to that descπbed above with respect to cuπent panel 210 Specifically, current panel 910 includes cuπent web page 215 having one or more hyperlinks (illustrated as hyperlink 240A) Each of past panels 920 includes at least one past web page 925 For example, past panel 920A includes a past web page 925A As illustrated, past panels 920 are aπanged in a tiled fashion preferably organized from a most recent past panel 920 in the foreground to a least recent past panel 920 in the background However, any aπangement of past panels 920 m three dimensional space is contemplated As also illustrated, past web page 925A in past panel 920 includes a reference to cuπent web page 215 m cuπent panel 910 Each of future panels 930 includes at least one future web page 935 For example, future panel 930A includes a future web page 935A As illustrated, future panels 930 are aπanged in a tiled fashion Vaπous mechanisms for organizing future panels 930 exist, some of which are descπbed above Likewise vaπous aπangements of future panels 930 in three-dimensional space is contemplated As also illustrated, cuπent web page 215 includes hyperlink 240A to future web page 935A in future panel 930A Past panels 920 and future panels 930 operate m a manner similar to their counterparts as descπbed above and as descπbed in further detail below In this embodiment however, rather than shifting the least recent past web page 925 off past panel 930, a new past panel may be created to accommodate additional past web pages 925 Likewise, rather than selecting a subset of hyperlinks 240 to be included m future panel 930, a sufficient number of future panels 930 are generated to accommodate the coπesponding future web pages 935 Virtually an infinite number of past panels 920 and/or future panels 930 may be included in web browser 900 The operation of web browser 200 is now descπbed with reference to FIGS 2 and 4-8 As will become apparent from reading the following descπption, the operation of web browser 200 applies equally to the operation of browsing room 300 illustrated m FIG 3 FIG 4 illustrates an operation 400 of web browser 200 according to a prefeπed embodiment of the present invention In a step 410, user 110 selects a web page according to one of several techniques available for selecting web pages In response to the selection by user 1 10, in a step 420, web browser 200 requests the selected web page from an appropriate source of web pages in accordance with the operation of network 140. In a step 430, web browser 200 receives the web page data associated with the selected web page. After receiving the selected web page data, in a step 440, web browser 200 updates past web page 225 in a first panel (e.g., past panel 220, past wall 320, etc.). Step 440 is now described according to one embodiment of the present invention in further detail with reference to FIG. 5. In a step 510, each of past web pages 235 is shifted in the first panel to a next less recent location to accommodate the old cuπent web page 215. In this step, the least recent past web page 225 is shifted off the first panel. In a step 520, the old cuπent web page 215 is rendered in the first panel as the most recent past web page 225. FIG. 6 is an exemplary organization for past web pages 225 in first panel (e.g., past panel 220, past wall 320). As illustrated, past web page 225A is the most recent past web page, past web page 225B is the next most recent past web page, past web page 225C is the next least recent past web page; and past web page 225D is the least recent web page. During step 510, past web page 225D is shifted off the first panel; past web page 225C is shifted to the location of past web page 225D; past web page 225B is shifted to the location of past web page 225C; and past web page 225A is shifted to the location of past web page 225B. During step 520, the old cuπent web page 215 is rendered in the location of past web page 225 A, thereby becoming the most recent past web page 225. Other organizations and mechanisms for shifting past web pages 225 on the first panel exist as would be apparent. With reference again to FIG. 4, in a step 450, web browser 200 renders the selected web page data as a new current web page 215 in a second panel (e.g. , cuπent panel 210, cuπent wall 310 etc ) according to well-known techniques for rendering web pages In a step 460, web browser 200 updates future web page 235 in a third panel (e g , past panel 230, past wall 330) thereby completing the operation of web browser 200 with respect to cuπent page 215 Step 460 is now descπbed according to one embodiment of the present invention in further detail with reference to FIG 7 In a step 710, web browser 200 locates a hyperlink 240 in web page data associated with current web page 215 In a step 720, web browser 200 automatically requests a future web page 235 corresponding to hyperlink 240 Web browser 200 performs this step without action by user 1 10 with respect to future web page 235 In other words, user 1 10 does not otherwise select future web page 235 prior to web browser 200 requesting future web page 235 In a step 730, web browser 200 receives web page data associated with future web page 235 from server 130 After this web page data is received, m a step 740, web browser 200 renders future web page 235 in the third panel In one embodiment of the present invention, rendeπng steps 520 and 740 render web pages 225 and 235, respectively, according to well-known techniques for rendeπng web pages In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, rendeπng steps 520 and 740 operate as illustrated in FIG 8 In a step 810, web browser 200 generates a web page (e g , past web page 225, future web page 235) from the coπesponding received web page data In a step 820, web browser 200 converts the generated web page into a thumbnail or reduced size image In a step 830, the thumbnail or reduced size image is mapped onto the appropπate panel according to well-known texture mapping techniques FIG 10 illustrates an operation of the present invention embodiments including pπoπtized web pages In a step 1010, web browser 200 receives a list of references to one or more pπoπtized web pages As discussed above, in one embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 receives this list in web page data associated with cuπent web page 215 In another embodiment of the present invention, web browser 200 receives this list from another host in connection with a request for a web page In other embodiments, web browser 200 receives this list from a host duπng start-up, periodically, randomly, or at some other point unrelated to requests for web pages In still other embodiments, web browser 200 receives this list after a user action, i e , a πght or left mouse click, mouseover, etc Regardless of the source of this list, m a step 720, web browser 200 automatically requests the pπoπtized web pages coπesponding to the list of references Web browser 200 performs this step without action by user 110 with respect to the pπoπtized web pages In other words, user 1 10 does not otherwise select pπoπtized web pages pπor to web browser 200 requesting them In a step 730, web browser 200 receives web page data associated with the pπoπtized web pages from one or more servers 130 After this web page data is received, in a step 740, web browser 200 renders the pπoπtized web pages m any of panels 220, 230 In one embodiment of the present invention, in step 740, web browser 200 renders the pπoπtized web pages in panels 220, 230 as specified by information accompanying or associated with the list of references While the present invention has been descπbed in terms of a prefeπed embodiment, other embodiments and vaπations are withm the scope of the following claims What is claimed is: 1. A method for browsing web pages comprising the steps of: in response to a user action, requesting first web page data from a source of web page data; receiving said first web page data including a reference to second web page data; locating said reference to said second web page data in said first web page data; automatically requesting said second web page data using said reference; rendering a first web page in a first panel using said first web page data; and rendering a second web page in a second panel using said second web page data. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first web page and said second web page are contemporaneously displayed in a single window. 3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of rendering a second web page comprises the step of rendering said second web page as a thumbnail image in said second panel using said second web page data. 4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of rendering said second web page in said first panel in response to said user selecting said second web page. 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of: locating a reference to third web page data in said second web page data; automatically requesting said third web page data using said reference to third web page data, rendering a third web page in a third panel using said third web page data 6 The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of locating a reference to third web page data in said second web page data, automatically requesting said third web page data using said reference to third web page data, rendering a third web page in said second panel using said third web page data 7 The method of claim 6, further compπsmg the step of rendeπng said first web page m a third panel using said first web page data 8 The method of claim 7, further compπsing the step of rerendeπng said first web page in said first panel using said first web page data in response to said user selecting said first web page 9 The method of claim 8, wherein said step of rerendeπng said first web page compπses the step of rerendermg said first web page in said first panel using said first web page data m response to said user selecting said first web page from said third panel 10 The method of claim 1 , further compπsing the steps of requesting third web page data, rendering a third web page in said first panel using said third web page data, and upon said user action, rendering said third web page in a third panel 1 1 The method of claim 1 , wherein said third web page data includes a reference to said first web page data 12 The method of claim 1 , wherein said first panel and said second panel are configured in separate planes in a three-dimensional space 13 The method of claim 5, wherein said first panel, said second panel are configured in separate planes in a three-dimensional space 14 The method of claim 13, wherein said first panel, said second panel, and said third panel are configured in separate planes in said three-dimensional space 15 A method for browsing web pages compπsing the steps of rendeπng a first web page m a first panel using first web page data, locating a reference to second web page data in said first web page data, automatically requesting said second web page data using said located reference, and rendeπng a second web page in a second panel using said second web page data 16 The method of claim 15, further compπsing the steps of rendering a third web page in said first panel using said third web page data, and upon a user action, requesting said first web page data, and rendeπng said third web page in a third panel 17 The method of claim 15, wherein said first panel and said second panel are configured in separate planes in a three-dimensional space 18 The method of claim 16, wherein said first panel, said second panel, and said third panel are configured in separate planes in a three-dimensional space 19 A method for browsing web pages comprising the steps of requesting first web page data from a source of web page data, rendeπng a first web page in a first panel using said first web page data, requesting second web page data in response to a user action, rendeπng a second web page in said first panel using said second web page data, and rerendeπng said first web page in a second panel 20 The method of claim 19, further compπsing the steps of locating a reference to third web page data m said second web page data, requesting said third web page data using said located reference, and rendeπng a third web page m a third panel 21 The method of claim 19, wherein said first panel and said second panel are in a single window 22 The method of claim 20, wherein said first panel, said second panel and said third panel are configured in a three-dimensional space as a center wall, a left wall, and a πght wall of a room, respectively 23 The method of claim 20, wherein said step of rendering said third web page in said third panel compπses the step of rendeπng said third web page as a thumbnail image in said third panel 24 The method of claim 20, wherein said step of rerendeπng said first web page in said second panel comprises the step of rendeπng said first web page as a thumbnail image in said second panel 25 A graphic user interface compnsing a first panel having a first web page rendered therein from first web page data, said first web page data including a reference to second web page data, and a second panel having a second web page rendered therein from said second web page data 26 The graphic user interface of claim 25, further compπsing a third panel having third web page generated therein from third web page data, said third web page data including a reference to said first web page data 27 The graphic user interface of claim 25, wherein said second web page data includes a reference to third web page data, and further compπsing a third panel having a third web page generated therein from said third web page data 28 The graphic user interface of claim 26, wherein said first panel, said second panel, and said third panel are configured as walls of a room in a three-dimensional space 29 A graphic user interface comprising a room in a three-dimensional space, said room having a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall, wherein said first wall includes a past web page rendered thereon, wherein said second wall includes a current web page rendered thereon, said cuπent web page including a hyperlink, and wherein said third wall includes a future web page rendered thereon, said future web page retπevable via said hyperlink 30 The graphic user interface of claim 29, wherein said room includes a floor having web browsing indicia rendered thereon 31 The graphic user interface of claim 29, wherein said room includes a floor having an application program embedded therein capable of receiving data from a cut-and-paste operation 32 The graphic user interface of claim 29, wherein said room is na\ ιgable in said three- dimensional space 33 The graphic user interface of claim 29, wherein when a user selects said previous web page on said first wall, said previous web page is rendered on said second wall thereby becoming a new cuπent web page 34 The graphic user interface of claim 33, wherein after said user selects said previous web page on said first wall, said cuπent web page is rendered on said first wall thereby becoming a new previous web page 35 The graphic user interface of claim 29, wherein when a user selects said future web page on said third wall, said future web page is rendered on said second wall thereby becoming a new cuπent web page 36 The graphic user interface of claim 35, wherein after said user selects said future web page on said third wall, said cuπent web page is rendered on said first wall thereby becoming a new previous web page 37 The graphic user interface of claim 35, wherein after said user selects said future web page on said third wall, a new future web page is rendered on said third wall, said new future web page accessed via a hyperlink in said future web page 38 A computer program code product comprising computer-readable program code for causing a computer to render a first web page in a first panel using first web page data, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to locate a reference to second web page data in said first web page data, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to automatically request said second web page data using said located reference, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to render a second web page in a second panel using said second web page data, and a computer-usable medium configured to store said computer-readable program codes 39 A method for enabling a computer to implement a web browser, compπsing transmitting computer-readable program code to a computer, said computer-readable program code including computer-readable program code for causing a computer to render a first web page in a first panel using first web page data, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to locate a reference to second web page data m said first web page data, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to automatically request said second web page data using said located reference, computer-readable program code for causing a computer to render a second web page in a second panel using said second web page data 40 An apparatus for w eb browsing comprising a computer, a web browser operating on said computer, said web browser including a first panel that includes a past web page, a second panel that includes a cuπent web page, and a third panel that includes a future web page, and a tπmomtor including a first display device portion that displays said first panel, a second display device portion that displays said second panel, and a third display device portion that displays said third panel 41 A graphic user interface comprising a three-dimensional space having a cuπent panel, a plurality of past panels, and a plurality of future panels, wherein each of said plurality of past panels includes a past web page rendered thereon, wherein said cuπent panel includes a current web page rendered thereon, said current web page including a plurality of hyperlinks, and wherein each of said plurality of future panels includes a future web page rendered thereon, each future web page retπevable via a coπesponding one of said plurality of hyperlinks 42 The graphic user interface of claim 41, further compπsing a panel that includes a sticky web page 43 The graphic user interface of claim 41 , wherein one of either said plurality of past panels or said plurality of future panels includes a sticky web page 44 A method for bookmarking web pages in a web browser compπsing the steps of stoπng a bookmark for a scene rendered by the web browser, said scene including a first web page and a second web page, said bookmark including a reference to said first web page and a reference to said second web page, selecting said stored bookmark, and recalling said scene by rendeπng said first web page and said second page 45 The method of claim 44, wherein said second web page is a past web page 46. The method of claim 44, wherein said second web page is a sticky web page

Claims: 47 The method of claim 44, w herein said bookmark further includes a displav location for said first web page 48 The method of claim 46, wherein said bookmark further includes a display location for said first w eb page 49 A method for browsing web pages compπsing the steps of receiving a first reference coπesponding to a first web page and a second reference coπesponding to a second web page, in response to said receiving, requesting first web page data for said first web page and second w eb page data for said second web page, receiving said first web page data and said second web page data, rendeπng said first web page data in a first panel, and rendeπng said second web page data in a second panel 50 A method for browsing web pages compπsing the steps of rendeπng, in a first panel, a cuπent web page from cuπent web page data, receiving a reference to a first web page, in response to said receiving a reference, requesting first web page data using said reference, receiving said first web page data, and rendeπng said first web page in a second panel, wherein said first panel and said second panel are contemporaneously viewable by a user 51 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving, in said cuπent web page data, said reference to said first web page 52 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving, independently from said current web page data, said reference to said first w eb page 53 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving said reference to said first web page from a host 54 The method of claim 53, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving said reference to said first web page from a host associated with said cuπent web page 55 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving said reference to said first web page, wherein said first web page includes content similar to content included in said cuπent web page 56 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving said reference to said first web page, wherein said first web page and said cuπent web page are provided from a single web site 57 The method of claim 50, wherein said receiving a reference to a first web page compπses receiving said reference to said first web page, wherein said first web page and said cuπent web page are provided from separate web sites 58 The method of claim 50, w herein said receiv ing a reference to a first web page compπses receiving information regarding positioning of said first web page in said second panel 59 A method of displaying content to a user using a web browser having a plurality of panels, compπsing providing information to the web browser, said information including a reference coπesponding to a web page, said information causing the web browser to automatically retπeve and render said web page in one of the plurality of panels 60 The method of claim 59, wherein said providing information to the web browser compπses providing information to the web browser in web page data associated with a cuπent web page requested by the user 61 A method for providing content to a user having a web browser compπsmg m response to a user request for a cuπent web page, transmitting cuπent web page data associated with said current web page, said cuπent web page data including a reference to a second web page, said cuπent web page data also including information that causes the web browser to retneve and render said second web page for contemporaneous viewing with said cuπent web page by the user 62 A web browser compπsing a first panel that displays a first web page rendered from first web page data in response to a user request, and a second panel that displays a second web page rendered from second web page data retrieved via a reference provided by a host. 63. The web browser of claim 62, further comprising a third panel that displays advertising rendered from advertising data. 64. The web browser of claim 62, wherein said third panel displays advertising that would otherwise be displayed in said first panel. 65. The web browser of claim 62, wherein said host is a web site owner associated with said first web page. 66. The web browser of claim 62, wherein said host is a network manager associated with a user of the web browser. 67. The web browser of claim 62, wherein said second web page is determined by said host to have content similar to that included in said first web page. 68. The web browser of claim 62, wherein said second web page is determined by said host to have content pertinent to a user of the web browser.

Inventors: JOHNSON WILLIAM R, RANDA ROBERT C, SHUPING DAVID T, JOHNSON, WILLIAM, R., RANDA, ROBERT, C., SHUPING, DAVID, T.
Applicants: BROWSE 3D CORP, JOHNSON WILLIAM R, RANDA ROBERT C, SHUPING DAVID T, BROWSE 3D CORPORATION, JOHNSON, WILLIAM, R., RANDA, ROBERT, C., SHUPING, DAVID, T.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, G06F17, G06T15