On September 20, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple’s patent application titled System and Methods for Organizing Data Items . Apple’s inventive subject matter relates to the field of computer systems and more particularly to systems, software, and methods for organizing data items. Although the initial emphasis of this patent relates to new methods of organizing information within Safari, the patent describes how this organizational method could extend through to file system managers, audio or video players, photo editors/managers, or any other system in which multiple data items are accessed.
Apple’s Patent Background
The World Wide Web, which is a collection of interconnected and cross-linked web pages located on computers, has become an important source of information. Users employ applications known as Web browsers (”browsers”) to access these web pages. Since users frequently access the same web pages repeatedly (especially web pages that the user has recently viewed), most browsers keep track of the web pages that the user has previously accessed using a history list. Previous browsers have used a history list that tracks previously accessed web pages in the order of the time that the web pages were viewed (referred to as a chronological order). Although, in some of the previous web browsers, a web page is listed once in a history list even if the web page was viewed more than once. In these web browsers, web pages that are viewed more than once typically appear in the history list in the order of the most recent time that the web page was viewed. Thus, chronological order as used herein means arranged in order of the time of the occurrence. Chronological order also includes arranging in order of the more recent time of occurrence when there are multiple occurrences.
One common method for a user to navigate through the previously accessed web pages in the history list is by using forward and back buttons. For example, a user might first visit the home page of a favorite football team and then follow a link on that home page to a second page with a particular player’s stats, and then follow another link on the second page to a third page containing an magazine article about the player. Subsequently, the user selects the back button on the browser twice to return to the home page of the football team instead of needing to type in the address of the home page.
A problem with this chronological order is that users can visit a large number of web pages, which are confusing to view in a chronological order, and the forward and back buttons are an inefficient and cumbersome way to navigate through multiple web pages. Further, the problems of a chronological order are not confined to pages accessed via a web browser, but also apply when data of other types is accessed over a period of time.
Apple’s Summary
Systems, methods, and software for organizing data are described. Embodiments of the invention provide a self-organizing list of previously accessed data items. Embodiments of the invention organize previously accessed data items non-chronologically. The organizational method may be selected from one or more predetermined organizational methods, specified by a parameter, or dynamically determined from information about the data items. Some examples of information about the data items that can be used to organize the data items include, but are not limited to, information about what content was viewed, information about where the content was viewed, information about when the content was viewed, information about why the content was viewed, and information about who the content was viewed by or owned by. Any electronic device used to access more than one data item can implement the systems and methods for organizing and presenting data.
Random Patent Points
When I was in grade school, the reading class began with a story about See Spot Run. Well, in today’s patent, Apple breaks this patent down initially into two fundamental or elementary lessons about Henry and his wife Maggie’s way of surfing the net and how their respective web histories are calculated in new ways from other browser methods.
The first example covered in patent points 35 – 53, covers Henry’s experiences with a series of actual URLs for you to follow in order to understand the example. The patent then goes on to describe how Henry uses the history list in his browser to find the web pages that he visited for automobile reviews. Unlike previous browsers that have a history list organized in chronological order, Henry’s browser has the web pages that he has viewed organized by subject mater. Also, unlike previous browsers that have a history list made up of the names or uniform resource locators (URLs) for web pages, Henry’s browser has a history of the web pages he has viewed presented graphically.
In patent FIG. 1, Apple presents a diagram of an example graphical user interface for a web browser history list organized by subject matter. The graphical user interface shown in FIG. 1 shows the history list that Henry’s browser provided when Henry wanted to return to a web page that he viewed previously. FIG. 1 comprises a user interface 100 having a window 102. A history of Henry’s previously viewed web pages is displayed graphically within panels in the window 102.
The items in Henry’s history list are organized according to a feature that is common to multiple web pages in his browsing history. For the web pages that Henry has viewed, a common feature across some of them is the subject matter. In this example, the subject matter of the web page is determined from meta tags and keywords. Some of the web pages relate to the subject of cars. Other web pages relate to the subject of football and the rest of the web pages relate to the subject of dogs. The window 102 comprises three different panels 104, 106, 108. Each panel is for a different subject that Henry viewed.
Within each panel 104, 106, 108 is a representation of each web page that Henry visited in that category. A first panel 104 displays icons representing the four web pages related to cars that Henry viewed (i.e. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews, http://www.automotive.com/reviews, http://www.automotive.com/finance, and http://www.automotive.com/classified). A second panel 106 displays icons representing the four web pages related to football that Henry viewed (i.e. http://www.nfl.com/schedules, http://www.nfl.com/scores, http://www.superbowl.com, and http://www.nflshop.com). The third panel 108 displays icons representing the three web pages related to dogs that Henry viewed (i.e. http//:www.vetinfo.com, http://www.akc.org/news, and http://www.akc.org/store). Each panel 104, 106, 108 also includes a scroll bar to allow any additional web pages to be displayed in the window.
In order for Henry to return to the web pages with the automotive reviews that Henry liked, Henry just needs to look at the “cars” panel 104 in the history window 102 in FIG. 1 and select one of the icons for the web pages with automotive reviews 110, 112.
The web browser that Henry uses does not always organize the history list by subject matter. The web browser automatically determines how to organize the web pages in the history list based on information from or about the web pages. The method used to organize the web pages may change for an individual user as the items in the user’s browsing history change. If Henry views new web pages during his current browsing session, the feature that is common across the web pages he has viewed may no longer be the subject matter.
As an example of another organizational method, the web browser could organize the web pages that Henry viewed based on common home pages rather than based on subject matter.
In Apple’s second case of Henry’s wife Maggie, presented in patent points 54 -70, we see that the common feature of some of the web pages that Maggie has viewed is the frequency of access. Some of the web pages are accessed daily, some of the web pages are accessed weekly, some of the web pages are accessed monthly, and some of the web pages are accessed less than once a month. The window 202 comprises four meta-icons that represent different categories of frequency (daily 204, weekly 206, monthly 208 and less than once a month 210).
Henry and Maggie are using the same browsing application. Unlike the web pages viewed by Henry, there are no clear common groups of subject matter across the web pages that Maggie visits. Instead, the feature that is common across the web pages that Maggie has viewed is the frequency that she accesses the web pages. Based on the web pages Maggie views, a logical way to organize a history list is the frequency with which the web pages are accessed. Some web pages are visited daily, some are visited weekly, some are visited monthly and some are visited less than once a month.
The first example and the second example described above show methods for dynamically organizing and presenting web pages in a web browser history list.
Both of the examples are used throughout the detailed description to illustrate other example embodiments of the invention. References to Henry’s browsing history are referred to as the “first example”. References to Maggie’s browsing history are referred to as the “second example”.
The common feature that is used to organize the web pages in the history is not limited to the subject matter, the type of web page, common home page, or frequency of access. The common feature is any characteristic that appears frequently in the web pages in a browsing history. The common feature may be any characteristic related to what web pages were viewed, where the web pages were viewed, when the web pages were viewed, why the web pages were viewed, who viewed/created the web pages, or any user-supplied metadata about the web page.
In addition, embodiments of the invention have other applications and are not limited to the context of a web browser as described above. For example, other embodiments may include file system managers, audio or video players, photo editors/managers, or any other system in which multiple data items are accessed.
Detailed Outlines
Beyond the initial two patent examples, the patent goes on to cover the following topics in detail: System Overview (Patent Points 73 – 104); Method Embodiments (Patent Points 105 – 118); User Interfaces (Patent Points 119 – 127); User Interfaces Integrated with an Application Program (Patent Points 128 – 159); User Interfaces Separate from an Application Program (Patent Points 160 – 173); User Interfaces for Indicating Significance (Patent Points 174 – 186); User Interfaces for Weighting Information Used to Determine an Organizational Method (Patent Points 187 – 196); Web Browser Implementation (Patent Points 199 – 211); File System Manager Implementation (Patent Points 212 – 224); iTunes: Media Player Implementation (Patent Points 225 – 249); Hardware and Operating Environment Hardware and Operating Environment (Patent Points 253 – 269).
Other Applications are discussed in patent points 250 – 252: Embodiments of the invention are not limited to the example implementations described in this section for web browsers, file system managers, media file players, and digital image managers. Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in any application that accesses files. For example, other applications include but are not limited to other applications currently available from Apple Computer, Inc. such as Mail, iChat, and QuickTime Player to name a few.
Apple’s FIG. 22 is a diagram of an example graphical user interface for an application program in which a history of previously accessed data items is displayed using one or more tabs.
Apple’s FIG. 24 is a diagram of an example graphical user interface for an application program in which a history of previously accessed data items is displayed in a sheet.
Apple’s FIG. 38 is a diagram of an example graphical user interface in which a data item’s significance in a history list is indicated by the data item’s animation.
Apple lists Don Melton (San Carlos, CA) and Bas Ording (San Francisco, CA) as the inventors of this patent which was originally filed on January 5, 2007. Click here for the patents full details. Apple’s patent details 42 patent figures.
Today’s Other Apple Patent Filings
Other patents that were published today are considered to be either continuation, divisional or provisional patents, as follows: Scalable video coding/multiplexing compatible with non-scalable decoders and Image Scaling Arrangement.
NOTICE: MacNN presents only a brief summary of patents with associated graphic(s) for journalistic news purposes as each such patent application and/or grant is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trade Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any patent applications and/or grants should be read in its entirety for further details.
Written and researched by Neo.
