WO2001029645A2

WO2001029645A2 - Methods and systems for providing interactive displays

Info

Publication number: WO2001029645A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/041212
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aaron Bertrand; John Charles Croy; John Krupka
Original assignee: Bluestreak.Com
Priority date: 1999-10-19
Filing date: 2000-10-18
Publication date: 2001-04-26
Also published as: WO2001029645A3; WO2001029645A9

Abstract

A method, apparatus, system, and computer program are provided for tracking a pointer outside of a viewable window and controlling a display inside the viewable window based on the pointer's location. A direction vector is computed using the pointer position external to the viewable window and a base position in the window. Animation is rendered in novel ways using the direction vector, and interaction is achieved with the pointer without the pointer having to be within the confines of the viewable window.

Description

Methods and Systems for Providing Interactive Displays

Reference to related U.S. Applications

This application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/160247, filed October, 19, 1999, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

Copyright Notice

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

Background of The Invention

1. Field of the Invention

This application relates to the field of media, and more particularly to the field of media directed to computer users.

2. Description of Related Art

In many areas it is desirable to draw attention to information presented. One example is advertising. Advertisers have to draw attention to their advertisements from an audience that may or may not be interested in viewing them. This is particularly true in network advertising, where the advertiser is competing for attention against content that a user has searched out specifically. In order to better attract attention, advertisers have resorted to many different ways of attracting the eye of the user.

Traditionally, advertising across a network, such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, has been done through the presentation of a viewable window, such as a click-able advertising banner. This banner is presented on a page the user accesses for the content provided and when clicked enables the user to be transferred to the advertiser's website, where the user has access to the advertiser's information. In order to attract the eye of the viewer to these banners, advertisers may use a variety of eye-catching techniques. For example, the advertisements may incorporate animation, flashing colors, special effects, or interactive displays in order to attract the viewer's attention. In current advertisements, however, animation runs on a predetermined schedule, such as a repeated loop, and interaction with an advertisement only occurs when the user moves the pointer, such as the mouse, over the relevant advertising banner, or when the user clicks on the advertisement. There has previously been no system or method available which enables a user to interact with an advertisement before the advertisement has caught the attention of the user. Put another way, there has been no way to use a user's actions in viewing or interacting with content to control a display in a viewable window.

Conventional electronic advertisements do not change in relation to what the user is doing, except when the user clicks on the advertisement or places a pointer in the viewable window of the advertisement. Furthermore, even with supposedly interactive banners, such as those that allow a user to play a game within the viewable window, interaction can only occur if the user moved their pointer over the advertising banner. If the user moved their pointer there, the advertisement had already attracted the user's attention. Thus, a need is recognized herein for viewable windows which include content that dynamically responds to user action (or inaction) and that attract attention of the user even if the user is not interacting directly with the viewable window.

It is therefore, desirable to have methods and systems for controlling a display within a viewable window (such as an advertising banner) that can locate a user's pointer outside the viewable window, and control the display in the viewable window relative to that location.

It is further desirable to have methods and systems for allowing an advertiser to be able to present an advertisement where the animation can be linked visually or audibly to user actions outside of the advertising banner or to present an interactive ad where the user can interact with the ad without having to run their pointer over the ad. This would allow the advertiser to present animation that was not on a predefined loop or only linked to user actions within the banner, and could better attract attention to the advertiser's message within their banner. Summary Of The Invention

In accordance with the embodiments of the invention, systems and methods are provided herein for tracking the position of a pointer located on a display environment outside a viewable window and controlling a display within the viewable window based on the position of the pointer. Also provided herein are methods and systems for displaying graphics within a viewable window and allowing the displayed graphics to interact, orient, or change with the movement of the user's pointer, even when the pointer is not within the viewable window. Also provided are systems, methods, and computer programs for tracking a pointer outside of a viewable window and systems, methods, and computer programs for controlling content of a viewable window.

One embodiment comprises a method for controlling a display within a viewable window based on an occurrence outside the viewable window where a point of reference is located outside the viewable window, and the display within the viewable window is controlled based on the location of the point of reference relative to the viewable window. The point of reference may be a pointer, and the relative location may be determined based on a single point, or multiple points within the viewable window. In addition, to controlling the display within the window, one embodiment of the invention includes providing audio data as part of the display, while another allows for indicators external to the display of the viewable window to also be controlled based on the relative location. The controlling may use mouse events to determine the relative location of the point of reference, and may also use Active-X, JAVA code, an Applet, a browser plug-in, or a PDA plug-in. The display of the viewable window may comprise, content for commerce, advertising, or entertainment, and can be chosen using a set of rules and data in a database. The viewable window may be an advertising banner.

Another embodiment of the invention comprises a server for providing a viewable window over a network having data representative of viewable windows and means for receiving mouse events and computing a direction vector from the mouse events to control at least a portion of the viewable window. The server can include multiple viewable windows, and the viewable window may comprise an advertising banner. A further embodiment of the invention comprises a controller for the display of a viewable window that includes rules for computing a direction vector and rules for using that direction vector to control the display. The controller can use JAVA code as part of either set of rules, and the viewable window can comprise an advertising banner.

A further embodiment includes a method for presenting animation within a viewable window in response to an action outside the viewable window where a viewable window is displayed, the position of the viewable window is determined, a point of reference outside the viewable window is located, and animation is generated based on the location of the point of reference relative to the position of the viewable window. The point of reference may correspond to a pointer, and the position of the viewable window may be computed from a single point, or a plurality of points, and the animation can relate to that single point or plurality of points. The viewable window may also comprise an advertising banner.

In another embodiment, the invention includes a network with a client capable of displaying an environment, a viewable window within the environment, and a point of reference, the client being coupled to the network; a device for generating the point of reference on the client; a content server for providing the environment and having information for requesting a viewable window for display within the environment; a second server for providing a viewable window in response to a request for a viewable window; means for locating the point of reference, and means for computing a direction vector based on the location of the point of reference and the location of the viewable window within the environment. The viewable window may comprise an advertising banner, and the point of reference may comprise a pointer. The location of the viewable window may be computed by a single or multiple points. The client may comprise a mobile device such as a personal digital assistant, a mobile computer, or a mobile phone. The direction vector may be computable when the client is disconnected from the network, and the network may be the Internet, or World Wide Web.

Another embodiment comprises a computer program for capturing pointer motion outside a viewable window including a first logic routine for locating the pointer outside the viewable window, and a second logic routine for relating the location of the pointer to a reference location. Either logic routine may include JAVA code, an Applet, Active-X, C++, a browser plug-in, or a PDA plug-in. The first logic routine may utilize mouse events, and the reference location may be a point inside the viewable window.

Yet another embodiment comprises a client having a physical display device for displaying an environment, a viewable window, and a pointer; a device for generating the pointer, and means for computing a direction vector based on the location of the pointer relative to the viewable window. The display of the viewable window may be controlled by the direction vector and other portions of the client such as audio devices and/or the device for generating the pointer may also be controlled by the direction vector.

As used herein, the following terms encompass the following meanings, although these definitions do not limit the meaning of these words as would be understood by one of skill in the art.

'User' generally denotes an entity, such as a human being, using a device, such as one allowing access to a network. This is typically a computer having a keyboard, a pointing device, a physical display device, and optionally an audio display device which is typically speakers or earphones, with the computer running software able to display computer-originated material typically received from one or more separate computers.

Preferably the user's computer is running browser software enabling it to act as a client and communicate by the network to one or more servers.

'Browser' generally denotes, among other things, a process or system that provides the functionality of a client, such that it interconnects by a network to one or more servers. The browser may be Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape's Navigator, or any other commercial or custom designed browser.

'Client' generally denotes a computer or other thing such as, but not limited to, a PDA, pager, phone, WebTV system, thin client, or any software or hardware process that interconnects by a network with one or more servers. A client need not be continuously attached to the network. 'Server' generally denotes one or more computers or similar devices that interconnect by a network with clients and that have application programs running therein, such as for the purpose of transferring computer software, data, audio, graphic and/or other similar material. A server can be a purely software based function. Server also includes any process or system for interconnecting via a network with clients.

'Network' generally denotes a collection of clients and servers. A network can include, but is not limited to, the Internet, the World Wide Web, any intranet system, any extranet system, a telecommunications network, a wireless network, a media broadcast network (such as, but not limited to, a broadcast television network, a broadcast radio network, or a cable television network), a satellite network, or any other private or public network.

'JAVA code' generally denotes computer software written in the JAVA language, for the particular purposes of being executed in a Web browser and being prepared either as an Applet or in some other format. JAVA can refer to any public or proprietary version of, or extension to, the JAVA language. JAVA is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

'Applet' generally denotes computer software written in JAVA code and prepared in the correct format such as to be able to be downloaded from a server to a browser in accordance with the conventions pertaining to Applets.

'Active-X' generally refers to the components of Microsoft's Component Object Model Architecture known as Active-X. This includes any Active-X control written in any language, including, but not limited to, JAVA code, C++, or vb. It also includes any container, or software construct capable of displaying or running an Active-X control.

'Physical display device' generally denotes an LCD or CRT screen where visual information can be displayed. It can, however, be any device allowing a user to comprehend a visual display including but not limited to, a screen, a paper printer, or a projection device. It may also, optionally, be or include a device for presenting audio information or for translating visual graphic information into audio information or information understandable by other senses. 'Pointing device' generally denotes a mouse or similar device which provides a pointer or reference position on a physical display device. The pointing device can be but is not limited to, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, an interactive writing tool, a stylus, a joystick or similar device, a roller ball or trackball system, a scroll wheel or button or a keyboard operation.

'Pointer' generally denotes a small graphic present on a physical display device whose motion on the physical display device is linked to commands presented by a pointing device. A pointer is typically a small arrow on most computer systems but can be any commercial or private graphic whose purpose is to allow a user to interact with graphical displays on the physical display device and/or allow the user to have a graphical interface with the device they are using to access the network. The pointer can be either static, animated, or dynamic. A pointer can also include a traditional cursor. Alternatively a pointer can be an audio, tactile, or other representation that indicates a position on a display, even if that display is not visual.

'Viewable window' generally refers to any display on a browser that is a component of another display. A viewable window is not necessarily an independent window as understood within the Microsoft Windows or similar operating environment, and can be any predefined portion of a display within such a Window. The viewable window may contain visual information, text, animation, 3D displays or any other type of material. A viewable window may optionally include, or be replaced by, audio or other sensory information, or information for providing feedback via something other than the visual contents of the viewable window. A viewable window will generally be included within a web page but can also be a portion of a chat message, an e-mail message, a proprietary system providing viewable windows as part of a service (for instance, a service providing advertisements in exchange for free Internet access, discounted wireless services, or computer hardware) or any other type of display, including, but not limited to, a television display, a radio broadcast, or a telephone connection. A viewable window includes, but is not limited to: an advertising banner or an image file. Brief Description Of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart depicting steps for providing effects in response to a user event in an embodiment of the present system.

FIG. 2 depicts a screen display of an Internet browser with viewable window in an initial configuration and a pointer located outside the viewable window.

FIG. 3 depicts a screen display of the Internet browser of FIG. 2, in which the display in the viewable window has changed in response to changes in the location of the pointer.

FIG. 4 depicts computer code for an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 depicts Applet code for implementing an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6 through 8 show one example of an embodiment of the invention in an advertising banner where eyes appear to track the movement of the mouse.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments) As one embodiment of the subject invention, the following descriptions and examples are discussed primarily in terms of the method executing over the World Wide Web utilizing Internet JAVA code executing within a browser and C++ software executing in a server. Alternatively, the present invention may be implemented by Active-X , C++, dynamic hypertext markup language (dhtml), JAVA code, via a browser plug-in, via a PDA plug-in, a native language implementation, other commercial or custom software schemes, telecommunications or database designs, or any of the previous in any combination. In one embodiment, the invention and its various aspects apply typically to the user of a personal computer equipped with visual graphic display, keyboard, mouse and optionally audio speakers, equipped with browser software and functioning as an Internet World Wide Web client. However, alternative embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art, and all such alternate implementations are included in the invention as described herein. When a user views network content via a browser, there can exist at least one viewable window within the content which comprises a portion of the total content visible to the user on their physical display device. In one embodiment, the viewable window comprises an ad banner within a web page. This ad banner will generally take up less than the total area viewable to the user within their browser and the remaining area will contain content from the web page. In addition, it is possible that the browser will not fill the entire display area of the physical display device. At any point, the user can move a pointing device making a pointer move on the physical display device. The user may perform this act to move through the content, or to interact with the content.

Often, over the Internet, the viewable window will be provided by one server while the content is provided by another. It is therefore not intuitive to provide, for example, interaction with the content which enables control of the display within the viewable window. The present invention can provide the ability to control of the display within the viewable window by a user action in the content, so as to make an ad banner appear to interact with the pointer, while the pointer is in the content of the web site and can make the advertisement a more integral part of the web site and improve consumer interest. The present invention can also allow, in one embodiment, virtually constant interaction with the user while the user is viewing the site. This is in opposition to the traditional ad banner which could only interact when the user requested interaction.

FIG. 1 shows the execution of one embodiment of the invention as a flowchart diagram. Once the program codes are loaded in the browser, the location of a viewable window is specified (10). This location can be any location and in one embodiment of the invention, may comprises more than one location. That is, the location of the viewable window may be specified as a plurality of locations. The content of the window is then displayed (12). At any point, before or after specifying the window, pointer motion can occur. When this pointer motion occurs, a mouse event is fired (14) that is captured and communicated to the program code controlling the display of the viewable window by the program code itself or by program codes initiated by the HTML or other programming (16). Using the mouse event information, and the location of the viewable window, the program code controlling the display of the viewable window computes a direction vector (18) (or a plurality of direction vectors if there is more than one location) and then may alter the display of the viewable window relative to the direction vector or vectors (20). It should be noted that a viewable window will usually be larger than a single point or points which may be designated as the location of the viewable window, therefore determining the location of the viewable window will often comprise selecting a particular point or points within the viewable window to represent the location of the viewable window. The process of altering the display of the viewable window may repeat indefinitely so long as there are additional mouse events fired (14). Each time a mouse event is fired (14) the new location of the pointer is captured (16), used to compute a new position vector (18), and the display can be altered relative to the new direction vector (20).

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the user's view of one embodiment of the invention. The user can see a browser display or environment (100) (in the depicted embodiment the browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer) on their physical display device (not shown). In the given drawing the web page presented on the browser lacks content other than the viewable window (102), but that need not be the case. The user can see the viewable window (102) and its display (104). In these particular figures, the display (104) comprises two numbers (105) and a line (106). The user can also see the pointer (108). When the pointer (108) is moved the user's view changes from FIG. 2 to FIG. 3. The line (106) has a direction equal to the direction of the direction vector computed between the point (110) and the location of the pointer (108). Note that line (106) is of a fixed length and only uses the direction component of the direction vector. Such choice of using only the direction and not the length of the direction vector is considered to be part of one embodiment of the invention. Other embodiments use both the direction and magnitude characteristics of the direction vector, or just the magnitude of the direction vector. The numbers (105) are a second altering portion of the display. They numerically represent the coordinates of the pointer based on a predefined coordinate system.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 the viewable window (104) is depicted as a rectangle which need not be the case. The viewable window may be of any shape as would be understood by one of skill in the art. Further, although the display shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is visual and optically presented on the display device, this need not be in the case. The display may include audio, tactile or other information which could be presented on the screen or on other devices available to the user. Moreover, although the display in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be from a computer display that is continuously connected to a network, such need not be the case in one embodiment of the invention. One embodiment of the invention allows for a device which may only be periodically, or occasionally attached to a network. This includes, but is not limited to, a computer with a non-continuous connection to the network (for instance a dial-up modem), a mobile computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or a mobile phone. Further, in one embodiment, the animation or alteration of the display can be provided even if the display and viewable window are being viewed while the device is not connected to the network.

The embodiment depicted in FIGS 2 and 3 can be implemented using JAVA code.

One such potential code implementation is shown in the code provided in FIG. 4. Because of the choice of JAVA code, this particular embodiment will only function when the pointer is within the browser display. However, one skilled in the art could easily see how this code could be changed to use a plug-in, Active-X, or other programming code to allow tracking even when the pointer was outside the browser display. The code shows the steps of acquiring the chosen point at the location of the window (401), computation of the direction vector from the window location and the mouse event captured by an Applet (such as that in FIGS 5) (403), the drawing of a line in the direction of the direction vector (405), and the resetting to wait for the next mouse event (407).

FIG. 5 shows Applet code for implementing one of the embodiments of the invention. The Applet code acquires the mouse event (501) every time a user moves the pointing device and places it in the form usable by JAVA code such as the code in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a particular mathematical calculation used as part of the code for computing the direction vector (403). Those in the art will recognize that there are many other ways to compute the magnitude and direction of a vector between two points. However, and such computations could use any mathematical calculation or coordinate system known in the art. Included below is a method of calculation used in this embodiment of the invention that utilizes simple Cartesian coordinate calculations. M_x - pointer location, x direction M_y - pointer location, y direction W_x - window location defined by a point at the center, x direction W_y - window location defined by a point at the center, y direction D_x - direction vector, x direction D_y - direction vector, y direction D_X = M_X - W_X D_y = My - Wy

It is important to note in this calculation that the origin of the coordinate system could be at any point. In one embodiment the origin could be placed at the point (110) in FIGS. 2 and 3 to simplify calculation. In another embodiment, the origin could be placed in the lower left-hand corner of the browser. This direction vector is also not necessarily normalized, so it provides orientation (direction) as well as magnitude (distance) even though only the direction is used in drawing line (106) in FIGS. 2 and 3. Alternately the direction vector may be normalized, or may be simplified to provide only magnitude or direction components.

The mouse event need not occur within any or all of the viewable windows to allow computation of the direction vector. As shown by the above figures, the invention allows the computation of a direction vector with the pointer (108) anywhere on the physical display device. Thus, the direction vector can be computed whether the pointer (108) is within the viewable window (102), within the browser display (100) but not within the viewable window (102), or anywhere else on the physical display device. Because of the nature of this tracking, the viewable window (102) can be placed as a component of any other content. For instance, the user could receive content for the browser display (100) from a content server and the viewable window (102) from a separate server such as an advertising server, or could receive the browser display (100) and viewable window (102) from the same server. Methods for transmission of such a viewable window (102) as part of other content is well known to the art.

In one embodiment, the control of the display in the viewable window is fully dynamic as described in FIG. 1, such that whenever a mouse event fires, the direction vector is recalculated, and the new direction vector specifies what is to occur in the viewable window's display. Thus, the display is actively being dictated by the positioning of the pointer relative to the chosen point at any time. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the display may be static or less dynamic triggering off of a single or particular direction vector or a subgroup of all direction vectors.

The direction vector can be used for a wide variety of tasks as part of this invention. One embodiment of this invention involves the direction vector being used to animate drawings within the content of the viewable window and otherwise interact with the actions of the user outside the viewable window. Since the direction vector can describe the positioning of the pointer relative to the chosen point, and the user is controlling the pointing device that is generating the pointer, displays within the viewable window can be linked to the actions of the user. Thus, animation within the viewable window can be linked to what the user is doing with the pointer. One embodiment of such animation is shown in FIG. 1.

The animation in FIG. 1 involves drawing an object within one or more of the viewable windows that aligns or positions itself relative to the direction vector. This allows the user to see a drawing which appears to be tracking the movement of the pointer on the physical display device. The type of drawing is virtually limitless but will be rapidly understood by one knowledgeable in the art. It could be, but is not limited to, a bar, an arrow, a flocking effect, a line, a geometric figure, or any of the above in any combination. This drawing could further be combined with the content of the window to make a display where such drawing appears to animate part of the content. Again such applications will be readily understood by anyone knowledgeable in the art and could include, but are not limited to, a bar on a compass orienting so as to always point to the pointer as if the pointer represents north, a group of objects flocking toward the side of the viewable window as is the pointer had a magnetic pull, or the eyes of a figure mysteriously following the pointer as it moves. As would be understood by one of skill in the art, multiple direction vectors could be calculated for a single viewable window to also independently animate discrete portions of the display.

FIGS 6 through 8 show one example of direction vectors being used to animate a portion of a figure within a viewable window (602). In FIGS 6 through 8 the viewable window (602) comprises an advertising banner of the kind commonly used on the Internet. In FIG 6, the eyes (650) in the display are focused on the pointer (608) which is centered below them. FIGS 7 and 8 show the eyes (650) having moved to two different positions to follow the pointer (608) in its new positions. These figures together show an embodiment where the eyes in the display apparently track the pointer. It is also clear that pointer (608) is not within the viewable window (602). In the embodiment shown in FIGS 6 through 8, there are two points (within the centers of the eyes (650)) which define the location of the viewable window, therefore there are two direction vectors computed, and the animation is controlled based on the pointer's location relative to these two points.

In a further example, the animation need not be motion within static content in the viewable window, but the entire contents of the viewable window can be altered. For instance, the image in the viewable window could appear to be a view into an image larger than that of the viewable window, the view in the viewable window could then change as the pointer moved to allow a user to look "through" the window into the larger picture from a plurality of different angles, distances, and/or locations.

The apparent animation need not be limited to the direction of the direction vector. The length of the direction vector could also be used either alone or in combination with the direction. For example, a distance in a certain direction may be equivalent to a shorter distance in a different direction. As some examples, the mercury level in a thermometer could appear to rise as the pointer approached the viewable window or words could change in the viewable window as the pointer approached, for instance going from "close", to "closer", to "still closer." In a further embodiment, there could be numerous flocking points available in the viewable window, some number of which flock toward the pointer, the number of flocking points being dependent on the distance of the pointer from the viewable window. There could also be a "flashlight" effect where the content of the display in the viewable window is revealed as if the pointer were a flashlight shining on the display, the direction of the beam dependent on the direction component while the size of the area of revelation is dependent on the magnitude.

In a still further embodiment, the direction vector could be used to select a figure or trigger an action in one or more of the viewable windows. Such action can be dependent upon the length and/or direction of the current direction vector. For example, a display could change as the direction vector passed a certain distance, or a predefined animation reel could be started when the pointer reached a certain point. Alternatively, the proximity of the pointer to the viewable window, represented by the distance component of the direction vector could trigger an event inside the window, such as, but not limited to, starting a video, playing an audio clip, or providing a new display within the viewable window.

In another embodiment, the viewable window could provide a simulation of the user's activity within the viewable window. That is, if the user were to trace out a circle with their pointer outside the viewable window, the direction vectors generated by their action could be used to simultaneously draw a similar circle within the viewable window. Or the drawing could be made remotely to the action. It would also be understood that direction vectors could be stored to generate a memory of a user's pointer motion within content or on their physical display device for any purpose.

In yet another embodiment, the direction vector can further be used to trigger or control audio content instead of, or in addition to, the visual content. Such audio content being played across the optional audio display device. The invention could also provide feedback to a user via activity at the pointing device or other interactive devices. For instance, the pointing device could generate a tactile stimulation when the pointer was in a certain position relative to the viewable window. Such tactile stimulation could include, but is not limited to, vibration which could increase in speed or force as the pointer approached the viewable window. The pointer could also trigger audio or visual activity from the pointing device or other device, or could alter the design of the pointer or the browser.

Also included within this invention is the possibility of additional commands related to the animation being included within and being potentially interactive with the direction vector. These additional commands can allow the presentation of special material after a certain number of mouse events or after a certain pattern of direction vectors had been generated, commands to terminate the tracking of the pointer at the user's request or on the occurrence of a certain action, or commands to change the speed to which a drawing aligns itself to the direction vector or the animation that is used. These commands may interpret input from the user, may interact with a third party, or may be completely automated. All such other additional events are also included as would be known by one skilled in the art.

Further, the shape, size or state of the viewable window could be altered based on the direction vector. For instance, the viewable window could appear to expand, such as, but not limited to, expansion as discussed in United States Patent Application Ser. No. 09/416,778 filed October 13, 1999 the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. The shape of the viewable window could also be altered, for instance going from a rectangle to a circle, square, or other geometric figure. The figure could also change state, for instance, turning to negative colors or inverting. These changes, and indeed all the apparent animation can be smooth or sudden. For instance, the viewable window could slowly grow as the pointer moved nearer, or the viewable window could suddenly expand to a new size when the distance between the pointer and the viewable window was a certain value.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

Claims

Claimfs)

1. A method for controlling a display within a viewable window based on an occurrence outside said viewable window, the method comprising: locating a point of reference outside of said viewable window; and controlling the display within said viewable window based on the location of said point of reference relative to said viewable window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the step of locating, said point of reference corresponds to a pointer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling includes determining the location of said point of reference relative to a point within said viewable window.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling includes providing audio data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling includes providing externally to the viewable window, indication to a user of the location of said point of reference relative to said viewable window.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of controlling includes animating a portion of said display.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of animating comprises utilizing more than one direction vector to animate multiple portions of said display.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said display of said viewable window is chosen using a set of rules and data in a database.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said display includes content used for purposes of commerce, advertising, or entertainment.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said viewable window comprises an advertising banner.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of controlling, the relative location is determined by the receipt of a mouse event.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of controlling, the relative location is determined by at least one of Active-X, JAVA code, Applet, browser plug-in, or PDA plug-in.

13. A server for providing a viewable window over a network, the server comprising: data representative of a viewable window; and means for receiving mouse events, and for computing a direction vector from said mouse events, such that said direction vector can be used to control at least a portion of said viewable window.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein, said viewable window is chosen from a set of viewable windows.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said viewable window comprises an advertising banner.

16. A controller for the display of a viewable window, said controller comprising: a first set of rules for computing a direction vector; and a second set of rules for utilizing said direction vector to control said display.

17. The controller of claim 16, wherein said first set of rules comprises JAVA code.

18. The controller of claim 16, wherein said second set of rules comprises JAVA code.

19. The controller of claim 16 wherein said viewable window comprises an advertising banner.

20. A method of presenting animation within a viewable window in response to an action outside said viewable window comprising: displaying at least one viewable window; determining a position of said viewable window; locating a point of reference outside of said viewable window; and generating animation within said viewable window corresponding to the location of the point of reference relative to the position of said viewable window.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein in the step of locating, said point of reference corresponds to a pointer.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the step of determining includes, selecting a point within said viewable window as the position of said viewable window.

23. The method of claim 20 where the step of determining includes, selecting a plurality of points within said viewable window, each of said plurality of points representing a

5 position of said viewable window.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein said viewable window comprises an advertising banner.

25. A network comprising: a client for displaying an environment, a viewable window within said environment, o and a point of reference; a device for generating the point of reference to be displayed on said client; a content server for providing said environment, and having information for requesting said viewable window for display within said environment; a second server for providing a viewable window in response to a request for a 5 viewable window; means for locating said point of reference; and means for computing a direction vector based on the location of said point of reference and the location of said viewable window within said environment.

26. The network of claim 25, wherein said point of reference is representative of a 0 pointer.

27. The network of claim 25, wherein said location of said viewable window comprises a point within said viewable window.

28. The network of claim 25, wherein said location of said viewable window comprises a plurality of points within said viewable window.

5 29. The network of claim 25, wherein said viewable window comprises an advertising banner.

30. The network of claim 25, wherein said client comprises a mobile device.

31. The network of claim 30, wherein said mobile device is a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile computer, or a mobile phone.

32. The network of claim 25 wherein said direction vector can still be computed when said client is disconnected from said network.

33. The network of claim 25, wherein said network includes at least one of World Wide Web, or Internet.

34. A computer program for capturing pointer motion outside a viewable window, the program comprising:

A first logic routine for locating a pointer outside a viewable window; and A second logic routine for relating the location of said pointer to a reference location.

35. The computer program of claim 34, wherein said first logic routine utilizes mouse events.

36. The computer program of claim 34, wherein said first logic routine includes at least one of, JAVA code, an Applet, Active-X, C++, a browser plug-in, or a PDA plug-in.

37. The computer program of claim 34, wherein said second logic routine includes at least one of, JAVA code, an Applet, Active-X, C++, a browser plug-in, or a PDA plug- in.

38. The computer program of claim 34, wherein said reference location comprises a point within said viewable window

39. A client comprising:

A physical display device capable of displaying an environment, a viewable window, and a pointer;

A device for generating said pointer; and Means for computing a direction vector based on a location of said viewable window and a location of said pointer.

40. The client of claim 33 wherein, said device is at least partially controlled by said direction vector.

41. The client of claim 33 wherein, a display within said viewable window is controlled by said direction vector.

42. The client of claim 33 wherein, said physical display device includes a device for presenting audio information and said direction video controls audio data for said device for presenting audio information.