ITMI20071836A1 - METHOD AND SYSTEM AND DEVICE FOR HELP TO NAVIGATION ON TELEMATIC NETWORKS. - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to the field of information sharing in the computer field on a telematic network, in particular as regards the Internet network.

The amount of information present on the Internet today requires increasingly sophisticated search and selection tools, which allow you to identify in a relatively rapid and precise manner what may really be of interest within the tens of billions of pages. now reachable from any personal computer connected to the network.

The navigation itself is therefore often started through special tools, commonly referred to as "navigation bars", which allow you to pre-select the point of entry into the network by identifying a neighborhood of what may be of interest to you.

Typically, a navigation bar includes a series of thematic channels (music, weather, news, finance, love, books, holidays, etc.) that the user selects to find himself navigating in the context of his interest.

The navigation bars with the related channels are substantially divided into two different categories: included within web pages, in particular in the so-called "portals", ie pages created to be used specifically as a starting point for navigation; or as separate applications, i.e. independent from the web page you are visiting. This second category includes both navigation bars completely disconnected from the web browser (the program used for browsing the Internet) and navigation bars created as plug-ins, ie additional elements, of the navigation programs themselves "

Among the most popular navigation bars are for example the GoogleBar ™ and the YahooBar ™. Telematic service providers also often provide navigation bars that complement or integrate with the Internet navigation program, in order to provide faster access to certain channels or services (eg navigation bar of the Alice ™ service).

Thanks to the navigation bars, it is therefore possible to create tools that allow faster access to certain thematic channels or certain web pages.

One of the uses of Bete Internet currently in greater expansion concerns the sharing of information between users, in particular through blogs and communities, which constitute a sort of virtual meeting groups. By accessing a blog or a community it is in fact possible to share opinions, photos, videos as well as discuss topics on the subject.

The people who participate in a particular blog or community are usually people who share interests and who, consequently, are often interested in exchanging information with the same people met on the net or with other people who have the same profile.

This means that, in a large number of cases, these people in the light of common interests, would also be interested in surfing the Internet on those pages that contain the same information read by a person from the community, who has the same interests.

However, no tools are known today that allow these purposes to be achieved quickly and efficiently. In particular, although it is possible in some cases to customize one's own navigation bars, it is not possible to provide the same navigation bar to a third party in a simple and immediate way, if not, for example, by having them recreate it by sending them the necessary information via e-mail. . Similarly, the pages visited during navigation by a user can be viewed by another user only if the first user takes care to memorize the addresses visited and then provide them to one or more interested third parties, for example by post. electronics.

These procedures for sharing navigation channels and browsed pages are however very inconvenient, because they require manual intervention both by the user who wishes to share their data and by users who wish to benefit from the activity of the first user, and knowledge of personal data of other users.

The aim of the present invention is therefore to overcome the current limitations of the technology of navigation and data sharing between users having similar interests.

Within the scope of this aim, the object of the present invention is to define entry points and thematic channels as desired which can be shared automatically between different users.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for automatically sharing the information emerged during a navigation carried out by a different person, in real time or not, while ensuring that the sharing of information between multiple users takes place. in a safe and controlled way, avoiding risks associated with file sharing that could damage your computer, as is the case, for example, in peer to peer connections.

This task, these purposes and others that will become clearer later are all achieved by a system for aiding navigation on a telematic network, in particular the Internet, comprising a server and a plurality of navigation aid devices operating on computers that can be connected to the server through the telematic network, characterized by the fact that the navigation aid devices are equipped with a graphic interface, means for defining a plurality of links to web pages designed to define one or more sets of configuration data, and means for sending to the server one or more sets of configuration data; the server is equipped with means for receiving the sets of configuration data, means for publishing them on the network and means for sending them in turn to other navigation aids.

Advantageously, the device for assisting navigation on a telematic network according to claim 1 can comprise means for customizing the graphic interface.

Conveniently, the set of configuration data comprises a plurality of thematic channels and a plurality of URLs associated with said thematic channels, including a plurality of main addresses relating to web pages for each of the channels.

The navigation aid device according to the invention also comprises means for locally storing identification data of a session of the browsing activity associated with said thematic channels and means for sending said identification data of said session to said server. navigation .

Furthermore, the navigation aid device comprises means for receiving identification data of a session of the navigation activity associated with the thematic channels and means for decoding the reproduction of the navigation activity of interest.

The aforementioned task and purpose are also achieved by a method for sharing navigation information comprising the steps that consist of: at a server of a service provider, associating with a main navigation aid device operating on a first computer one or more secondary navigation devices operating on remote computers; send to the server, from said main device, identification data of navigation information carried out on the first computer; send from the server to one or more secondary navigation devices the navigation information carried out on the first computer; use, by remote computers, the navigation information received to travel the same navigation path made on the first computer.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following detailed description, given in an exemplary and non-limiting form and illustrated in the attached figures, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates the architecture of a navigation aid system according to the present invention; Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a graphic interface of the navigation device according to the invention;

Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a graphical interface for generating a set of configuration data for the navigation aid device according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a second exemplary screen for generating a set of configuration data of the navigation aid device according to the present invention.

With reference to Figure 1, it identifies a server 10, managed by a service provider, connected to a telematic network 5, for example the Internet network,

The server 10 comprises a database 11 which can store a plurality of sets of configuration data 12 and navigation data 13. The server 10 is also equipped with means 15 for receiving through the telematic network 5 sets of configuration data 12 and information. navigation 13, 14, means 16 for publishing said one or more sets of configuration data on the network and means 17 for sending configuration data 12 and navigation information 13, 14 to said navigation aid devices .

The figure also shows a plurality of computers 20, 30 connected to the same telematic network 5, driven by users 6, 7. The computers 20, 30 comprise means for navigating on the telematic network 5, in particular at least one Internet or web browsing program browser 21, also conventional, and a navigation aid 22, 32 according to the invention.

For descriptive purposes only, these computers are divided into main computer 20 and secondary computers 30, just as the related navigation aid devices are divided into main navigation aid device 22 and secondary navigation aid devices 32. However, the characteristics said computers 20, 30 and above all such devices 22, 32 can be, and preferably are, completely identical. The navigation aid devices comprise graphic interface means 23, means 60 for defining a plurality of URLs suitable for defining sets of configuration data 12, means 70 for selecting navigation information, means 24, 34 for transferring sets of data configuration and / or navigation information with the server 10 through the network 5.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a graphic interface 40 of the navigation aid device 22, 32 according to the invention.

It identifies an image window 41, a box for displaying a web address 42, a channel bar 43 comprising a plurality of labels 44, a button 45 identified with the "TAXI" label. One or more URLs 46 can be associated with each label 44, where the term IJRL ("Uniform Resource Locator") indicates a sequence of characters that uniquely identifies the address of a resource available on the telematic network 5, in particular a resource available in Internet, like a web page, a document, an image, a video and so on.

Figure 3 shows an exemplary screen 50 which allows to generate configuration data for the navigation aid device 22, 32. In particular, in the exemplary screen 50 a box 51 is identified for entering the name to be assigned to a set of configuration data 12, a key 52 that allows you to select an image that will be previewed in window 53 and, as will become clear later, in window 41 when the device 32 is loaded with its set of configuration data 12, a box 54 for entering a URL that will be displayed as the starting and reference address ("home-page") in box 42 when the device 32 is loaded with the set of configuration data 12, a plurality of boxes of selection 55 that allow you to select audio and / or video data to be played by the device 30 when device 1 is loaded with the configuration data block configuration 12.

Figure 4 shows a second exemplary screen 60 for the generation of a configuration data block 12 of the navigation aid device 32 according to the present invention, in which a plurality of channel identifiers 61 each associated with a box 62 which it allows you to select an existing label for the channel or to create one at will, using the appropriate button 63.

In this context, the term channel indicates a label that identifies a thematic title, for example "News", "Sport", "Music", "Links", "Spesa on-line", "Television", "Search" and so on.

Each channel is associated with a set of data which corresponds to a possible navigation on sites related to the chosen theme. This data may include URLs defined by the user who is defining the channel and data relating to navigation carried out by the user himself or by other users who have navigated using that channel and stored the data in a data file, as will be clear in following.

The operation of the system is as follows.

Users 6, 7 connect, through their navigation programs 21, 31 and the telematic network 5, to the server 10 of the service provider, to download and install the computer program which constitutes the heart of the aid device to navigation 1, according to conventional methods.

Once the program has been downloaded, it will be run on the user's computer and will have a graphical interface similar to that shown in figure xx by way of example, loaded with a block of default configuration data, i.e. predefined by the service provider.

At this point, a user, for example the user 6, can create his own set of data to customize and configure his navigation aid device 22. To do this he accesses, through conventional interface means, for example by selecting an item menu, on configuration page 50, By checking box 51, the user enters a title of his choice to define the name of the configuration data set.

By selecting the graphic key 52, the user can select one or more multimedia files to be assigned to the set of configuration data being processed, for example an image, an audio file, or an audio / video file, depending on the choice made on the selection boxes 55.

At this point the system according to the invention allows a first step of recording the set of configuration data 12 as defined by the user 6 ..

The user 6 sends the set of configuration data 12 to the server 10 of the service provider, which will enter this set of configuration data 12 in the database 11 and will notify the user of the success of the operation and the enabling to share all the data. In particular, if the operation was successful, the user is now authorized to share their data with other users belonging to the community through the service provider's server 5.

The user 6 can access the channel configuration screen 60 to define the title and content of each of a plurality of channels 62 which appear in the graphic interface 60 of the configuration device. To do this, the user selects the corresponding box. to the channel that wants to insert or modify and select an existing label or create a new label to be associated with that channel, by means of the graphic key 63.

Each channel can be associated with a plurality of URLs, which can be defined by the user through conventional interface means, well known to those skilled in the art and not described here. Once the channel has been compiled, it is stored and saved in the database 11 in the service provider's server 5, in a private area of the user 6, where it can be selected and modified, even later, by the same user 6. By accessing the system in his private area, in fact, the user can recall each block of configuration data 12 of which he is the author and, once a set of configuration data has been selected, user 6 can modify each component such as the appearance, images and multimedia data and the set of channels, as described above.

Initially, the configuration data block thus created remains private for the user who created it. By doing so, the user 6 can have access to a plurality of private configuration data sets 12 which allow him to quickly access pages of his interest according to the purpose of his browsing session, by recalling one or another of his sets. of configuration data.

User 6, however, may decide to share their configuration data sets 12 with other users 7. In this case, user 7 logs into server 5, views the list of configuration data sets 12 and / o search within the set of available configuration data and select a set of configuration data 12 of your interest.

The means 34 for exchanging data with the server 5 send the selected configuration data set 12 to the navigation aid device 32. The graphical interface of the navigation aid 32 will update accordingly, making available to the user 7 the set of channels 44, 62 previously defined by the user 6, each comprising a set of URLs previously selected by the user 6 and, consequently, of probable interest to the user 7.

Using a suitable key, not shown in the figure, the user 7 can also download the content of all the URLs 46 defined in the channel 44 of his interest directly onto his computer.

The navigation aid devices 22, 32 are also equipped with known means for memorizing the browsing activity, which allow to record the sequence of URLs selected by the user 6, 7 during navigation.

Once the navigation is finished, this navigation information 13, associated with one of the channels 60, can be shared by the user 6 with other users, sending it to the server 5 and making it available to other users. The exchange of this information always takes place by sending only the URLs relating to navigation and always through the intermediation of the server 5, in order to avoid any risk relating to the methods and potentially dangerous contents that afflict peer to peer connections, i.e. connections. in direct sharing between computers 20, 30.

Furthermore, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, the sharing of information can also take place in real or pseudo-real time. To do this, the user 6 operating on the computer 20, for descriptive purposes indicated herein as the main computer as opposed to the analogous computers 30, herein defined as secondary, can create, in a manner similar to that described above, a set of description data relating to to a function which, for the sake of clarity, is here called TAXI. In particular, the user 6 creates a set of data 14 containing a description of the route that the TAXI will carry out and sends this information to the server 5, indicating whether the TAXI is public or private.

In the case of a public TAXI, the set of data 14 will be visible to each user 7, selectable from a list and / or searchable through a search engine operating with conventional methods. In the case of a private TAXI, the name will remain hidden and the user 7 who wants to get on the TAXI must already know the name of the TAXI and / or enter a specific password.

The departure of the TAXI consists in the beginning of navigation by the user 6. In this case, as the user 6 navigates, through his navigation program 21, in the telematic network 5, known means intercept the URLs selected by the user and send them to server 5. The server 5 checks for the presence of users currently on board the TAXI and sends to each of the navigation aids 32 the URLs received from the navigation aid 22, as they are received.

The devices 32 are equipped with means for receiving and decoding this information and with means for storing this information locally, so as to be able to subsequently reproduce the path of the TAXI, or for opening each URL in the navigation 21 as soon as this is received, according to known interaction methods, so as to allow you to follow the path of the TAXI in real time.

In practice, whenever the user 6 selects a new connection during navigation, the same will be sent to the server 10 and from there to the connected devices 30, which will allow access to the same resource.

It has thus been shown that the present device achieves the intended aim and objects. In particular, a system has been illustrated that allows a plurality of users to automatically share navigation information made available by other users, using navigation aids that operate both as navigation bars indirectly configurable by third parties and as devices exchange and sharing of navigation information in real time and not. Clearly, numerous modifications are evident and can be readily carried out by the person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, it is obviously irrelevant for the purposes of the invention whether the navigation aid device is implemented as a plug-in internal to a navigation program, as an external application connected to it or as its entire replacement.

The scope of protection of the claims, therefore, must not be limited by the illustrations or preferred embodiments shown in the description in exemplary form, but rather the claims must include all the patentable novelty features deductible from the present invention, including all the characteristics that would be treated as equivalent by the person skilled in the art.

Claims (12)

CLAIMS 1. Navigation aid system on a telematic network (5), in particular the Internet, comprising a server (10) and a plurality of navigation aid devices (22, 32) operating on computers (20, 30) connectable to said server (9) through said telematic network (5), characterized by the fact that: - said navigation aid devices (22, 32) are equipped with a graphic interface (23), with means (60) for defining a plurality of links (62, 46) to web pages able to define one or more sets of configuration data (12), and of means (24) for sending said one or more sets of configuration data (12) to said server (10); - said server (10) is equipped with means (15) for receiving said set of configuration data from said devices, with means (16) for publishing said one or more sets of configuration data on the network and means (17) for sending said configuration data (12) to said navigation aid devices (22, 32). 2. The device for navigation aid on a telematic network according to claim 1. 3. Navigational aid device according to claim 2, characterized in that said set of configuration data comprises a plurality of thematic channels. 4. Navigation aid device according to claim 3, characterized in that said set of configuration data comprises a plurality of URLs associated with said thematic channels. 5. Navigation aid device according to claim 4, characterized in that said plurality of URLs associated with said thematic channels comprises a plurality of main addresses relating to web pages for each of said channels. 6. Navigation aid device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means for locally storing identification data of a session of the browsing activity associated with said thematic channels and means for sending to said server of said identification data of said browsing session. 7. Navigation aid device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means for receiving identification data of a session of the navigation activity associated with said thematic channels, means for decoding said data and for. The reproduction of said browsing activity. 8. Method for sharing navigation information on a telematic network (5) comprising the steps which consist in: - at a server (10) of a service provider, associating to a main device (22) for navigation aid operating on a first computer (20) one or more secondary navigation devices (32) operating on remote computers (30); - sending, from said main navigation device (22) to said server (10), identification data of navigation information (14) carried out on said first computer (20); - sending, from said server (10) to said one or more secondary navigation devices (32), said navigation information (14) carried out on said first computer (20); - use, by said remote computers (30), said navigation information (14) to travel the same navigation path carried out on said first computer (20). Method according to claim 8, characterized in that said navigation information is progressively sent to said server during navigation, as it is updated. 10. Method according to claim 9 characterized in that said navigation information is forwarded to said one or more secondary navigation devices in the course of navigation, as it is updated. 11. Method according to claim 8, characterized by the fact that said navigation information is sent to said server in a single block, at the end of navigation. Method according to claim 9 or 11, characterized in that said navigation information is forwarded by said server to said one or more secondary navigation devices in a single block.