Systems And Methods For Providing Content Items In Situations Involving Suboptimal Network Conditions
Patent No. US11288336 (titled "Systems And Methods For Providing Content Items In Situations Involving Suboptimal Network Conditions") was filed by Google Llc on Apr 18, 2018.
What is this patent about?
’336 is related to the field of user interfaces for accessing content, specifically addressing the problem of slow or unreliable network connections. Users often encounter frustration when attempting to access web pages or other content items, especially on mobile devices with limited bandwidth. The background highlights the common scenario where a user clicks a link, such as a search result, but the page fails to load in a reasonable time, leading to abandonment and inefficient use of system resources.
The underlying idea behind ’336 is to dynamically provide an alternative, lightweight version of content when the user's initial attempt to access the original content fails due to network issues. Instead of simply leaving the user stranded, the system detects the failure and offers a link to a modified version that loads faster. This alternative version can be a transcoded, cached, or content-reduced version of the original, optimized for low-bandwidth environments.
The claims of ’336 focus on a computing system that provides a user interface with interactive elements (e.g., links) to content items. The system detects when a user selects a link and navigates away from the interface, then determines if the user returns without successfully loading the content. Upon detecting this failure, the system dynamically generates a content-reduced alternative version and updates the interface with a new link to access this alternative, positioning it alongside the original link.
In practice, the system monitors user behavior and network conditions to determine when to offer the alternative content. This determination can be based on signals such as click duration, connection success, or time to first paint. The system also examines the screen buffer to determine that no new complete page has been loaded since the selection by the user of the first interactive element. If the user returns to the original interface (e.g., by hitting the back button) without the content loading, the system infers a failure and presents the alternative link. The alternative version is generated on-the-fly or retrieved from a cache of pre-generated alternatives.
This approach differs from prior solutions by proactively addressing the issue of failed content access. Instead of simply displaying an error message or leaving the user to retry, ’336 offers a practical solution by providing a readily available, optimized alternative . This improves the user experience, reduces frustration, and ensures that users can still access relevant information even under suboptimal network conditions. The dynamic generation and selective offering of the alternative version also minimize resource consumption and avoid cluttering the interface with unnecessary options.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the late 2010s when ’336 was filed, web browsers were commonly used to access content from remote servers, at a time when web pages were typically implemented using HTML and often included embedded objects referenced by URLs. Systems commonly relied on HTTP for requests and responses. Hardware or software constraints made efficient delivery of content over slow or unreliable network connections non-trivial.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art did not disclose providing a user interface associated with a first domain that comprises interactive elements enabling a user to access content items associated with a second domain. The examiner also noted the lack of teaching of detecting selection by the user of a first interactive element, determining that the user has departed the user interface to access a first content item associated with the second domain, determining the occurrence of an on-back event indicating the user has returned to the user interface without accessing the first content item by examining a screen buffer and determining that no new complete page has been loaded since the user selection. Finally, the examiner stated that the prior art failed to teach determination of the on-back event triggering dynamic generation of an alternative content reduced version of the first content item having a smaller download size, and automatically updating the user interface to include a new interactive element enabling the user to access the alternative version, wherein the new interactive element is positioned alongside the first interactive element within the user interface.
Claims
The patent includes 19 claims, with independent claims 1, 18, and 19. The independent claims are directed to a computing system, a computer-implemented method, and computer-readable media, respectively, all generally focused on providing an alternative, content-reduced version of a content item when a user returns to a first domain's user interface without accessing the original content item from a second domain. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the elements and features described in the independent claims.
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Description
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US11288336
- Application Number
- US15956334
- Filing Date
- Apr 18, 2018
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Apr 5, 2039
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents