Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-01
2004-01-06
Burgess, Glenton B. (Department: 2153)
C709S245000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672775
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to data communications networks and, in particular, to methods and apparatus for accessing and retrieving information from a database, documents, or files maintained by a network server. The methods and apparatus of this invention are particularly useful for downloading pages from the World Wide Web (WWW).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
An internet user may typically employ more than one device to access the WWW. For example, in an office environment a user may have access to a high performance data processor or workstation, as well as a high speed data connection, that provides access to the internet, while in other locations, such as in the home or while traveling, the user may have access only to a lower performance data processor, and a slower connection to the internet. In addition, the slower speed connection may require connect charges billed on a per minute basis.
The widespread availability of WWW phones, Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), and Windows-based CE machines with internet connectivity are expected to soon provide internet access capability to larger portions of the earth's population, thereby making efficient techniques to access WWW pages (web pages) even more desirable.
For many users an internet connection made at home may be lower in cost than a connection made while travelling, since the user may have internet service at home that allows unlimited access for a flat fee by calling a local access number.
Accessing the internet from smaller devices (e.g., WWW phones and PDAs) may be more expensive because of higher connection charges via cellular phone or non-local numbers, or due to access through hotel telecommunication facilities. In addition, the amount of local memory, disk resources, and battery power may be limited on the smaller devices. Also, when users connect with the smaller devices they are likely to be traveling, and have less time to wait for large web pages to download. Given the interactive nature of browsing, it is often difficult to return to the same page in a later browsing session, making it attractive to download the web page immediately, instead of postponing the download for a later browsing session. Finally, the smaller devices may not support all aspects of a standard known as the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), necessitating that some documents be viewed on more powerful, and fully compliant HTML devices. For example, a portable data processor may not support a Postscript™ viewer.
At present there exist several techniques that are known to the inventor for indicating specific web pages to be downloaded at a later time. These techniques download the requested pages to the same (requesting) machine at a later time, for example at night when phone rates are lower and internet traffic is reduced.
There also exist so-called push technology schemes, such as one known as Pointcast™, that periodically download information from certain sites to a given data processor. A user can schedule, for example, news, stock, and/or weather information to be downloaded at specific times or at specific intervals. However, these techniques also download the requested information to the requesting data processor.
Other techniques, such as one known as Webwhacker™, enable a user to make a local copy of a web site, and allow the user to specify a number of links (i.e., Hyperlinks) to follow and download. However, the local copy is created on the same data processor on which the copying is scheduled.
A technology available from the assignee of this patent application, referred to as ARTour WebExpress™, allows a user to browse the web more asynchronously than is possible with current browsers. For example, using conventional WWW browsers such as Netscape Navigator™ 3.0 or Internet Explorer™ 3.0 the user can scroll a current page while a next page is being downloaded, thereby providing a degree of asynchronous access. The WebExpress™ technique takes this one level further by allowing the user to continue to specify links (Hyperlinks) to fetch while previously specified pages are being fetched. These requests are queued in a local buffer and the pages are fetched in a sequential manner. When the requested pages are available on the local machine, the user is made aware of it by a suitable signaling mechanism.
A proxy server is a World Wide Web server that acts as the sole web server for an entire domain, or for those client computers that are placed behind a firewall (i.e., a logical block between the clients and the rest of the internet). The proxy server typically resides at the firewall and intercepts all web requests originating from clients within the firewall. If a given web page request is not in the proxy server's access control list, the request is processed normally and the retrieved web page is sent back to the requesting client. If, however, the requested web page or web site is on the control list, the client instead receives a message indicating that the URL is not accessible or is not valid.
A proxy server can improve a network's performance by functioning as a caching server. Using its cached web pages, the proxy server will serve already-accessed web pages to requesting clients without requiring outside access to the internet. For example, consider a case of an environment where n client computers access the same web page, wherein each client computer outputs the address (URL) of the web page to be accessed. Without the use of the proxy server, n separate requests for the web page are initiated, and n separate copies of that same web page are retrieved and returned to the client computers.
Using a proxy server, however, the same n web page requests are handled more efficiently. Only the first request to reach the proxy server actually causes that web page to be retrieved from the WWW server, and only if that web page is not already stored in the proxy server's cache. When retrieved, the web page is sent back to the requesting client computer, and is also cached on the proxy server's hard disk. The remaining n-
1
clients that request that same web page are then served instead from the proxy server's cache, thus avoiding unnecessary duplicated requests and delays.
However, none of the existing techniques that are known to the inventor enable web pages and other data to be downloaded to another machine, preferably a more powerful machine, over a different link, preferably a higher speed link.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object and advantage of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for downloading information from a server that overcomes the foregoing and other problems.
It is a second object and advantage of this invention to provide a method and system for selectively identifying links (i.e., Hyperlinks) that are to be downloaded to a second data processor for subsequent retrieval by a user of a first data processor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other problems are overcome and the objects of the invention are realized by methods and apparatus in accordance with embodiments of this invention.
A method is disclosed for downloading data, such as a web page, over a network. The method includes the steps of (a) initiating a data (e.g., web page) download request with a requesting entity having a first network address, the requesting entity being connected to the network; (b) fulfilling the web page download request with a web page source entity having a second network address; (c) transmitting a requested web page to a destination entity having a third network address; and (d) receiving and storing the requested web page in the destination entity for subsequent use by a user of the requesting entity. The step of receiving and storing may include a step of transmitting a web page download acknowledgement message from the destination entity to the initiating entity for indicating a receipt of a requested web page.
One advantage of the use of the teaching of this invention is that a low performance data processor ma
August, Esq. Casey P.
Burgess Glenton B.
Edelman Bradley
Perman & Green LLP
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