Dynamic insertion of content items into resources
Patent No. US9940646 (titled "Dynamic insertion of content items into resources") on Oct 9, 2014. The application was issued on Apr 10, 2018.
What is this patent about?
’646 is related to the field of digital information presentation and content management. Specifically, it addresses the technical challenge of integrating third-party content, such as advertisements, into digital publications in a way that respects both publisher preferences and the specific display constraints of a user's hardware, such as smartphones or tablets.
The underlying idea behind ’646 is to treat a continuous scrolling digital article as a series of logical pages determined by the device's screen capabilities rather than fixed slots. By analyzing how content blocks naturally break across a specific viewport, the system can intelligently inject secondary content into the flow of the primary text without disrupting the user experience or wasting impressions on poorly placed items.
The claims of ’646 focus on a method and system that dynamically determines the number, type, and placement of content items by evaluating the primary content against the display capabilities of a identified user device. This involves receiving specific publisher constraints regarding content frequency and size, then formatting the article into logical pages to identify optimal insertion points based on those boundaries.
In practice, the invention functions as a layout engine that calculates how much text and media will fit on a single screenful for a specific device model. It uses these formatted content blocks to establish boundaries where content items can be inserted, ensuring that advertisements are placed at intervals—such as every third logical page—that feel natural to the reader while adhering to the publisher's desired frequency and the device's orientation.
This approach differs from prior solutions that relied on fixed, hard-coded advertisement slots within a webpage's HTML. Instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all layout, this system uses dynamic placement to shift content horizontally or vertically, alternating positions or selecting interstitial formats that optimally match the aspect ratio of the user's screen, thereby preventing advertisements from being overlooked or appearing intrusive.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the early 2010s when ’646 was filed, digital content delivery was typically implemented using fixed-layout templates or basic responsive design that relied on static content slots defined within a webpage's source code. At a time when systems commonly relied on server-side delivery of pre-defined advertisement sizes rather than dynamic layout reflow, the presentation of long-form articles across diverse mobile hardware was often constrained by rigid container dimensions. During this era, hardware and software constraints made the seamless integration of third-party content into fluid, scrolling environments non-trivial, as content placement was generally decoupled from the actual rendering boundaries and logical pagination of the device's display.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement in dynamic content orchestration through an architectural shift from static slot-filling to device-aware logical pagination. By evaluating the primary content to define logical page boundaries based on formatted content blocks and specific display capabilities, the system enables the dynamic determination of content item quantity, type, and spatial placement. This integration allows for the transformation of a single scrolling resource into a structured multi-page experience where content insertion is governed by the physical constraints of the rendering device and publisher-defined frequency constraints. The technical effect achieved is a layout-responsive delivery mechanism that optimizes content density and placement, overcoming the constraint of fixed-positioning in variable-length digital publications.
Claims
This patent contains 20 claims, with claims 1, 14, and 20 serving as the independent claims. These independent claims focus on a computer-implemented method, a computer program product, and a system for dynamically selecting and placing content items within a publication by evaluating publisher preferences, user device display capabilities, and the formatting of content into logical pages within a single scrolling article. The dependent claims serve to further specify technical details such as the particular types and sizes of content items, the frequency and alternating placement of items on consecutive pages, the use of thresholds to determine the number of items, and the specific formatting of content blocks to prevent the separation of related information across page boundaries.
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US9940646
- Application Number
- US14510252A
- Filing Date
- Oct 9, 2014
- Publication Date
- Apr 10, 2018
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents