The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 08, 2008
Filed:
Jun. 18, 2003
Tom A. Sponheim, Seattle, WA (US);
Bella Acharya, Kirkland, WA (US);
Jack Litewka, Seattle, WA (US);
Jamie A. Spooner, Redmond, WA (US);
William A. Spencer, Redmond, WA (US);
Stephen H. Buroker, Issaquah, WA (US);
Tom A. Sponheim, Seattle, WA (US);
Bella Acharya, Kirkland, WA (US);
Jack Litewka, Seattle, WA (US);
Jamie A. Spooner, Redmond, WA (US);
William A. Spencer, Redmond, WA (US);
Stephen H. Buroker, Issaquah, WA (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, VA (US);
Abstract
Methods for assigning URLs to graphical objects (such as buttons) are disclosed. In one aspect, zip codes are used to identify and assign geographically relevant URLs to buttons. In a second aspect, a graphical user interface enables a user to select from a plurality of radio buttons and menu entries to identify search results satisfying the user's selection criteria. In a third aspect, search results are displayed in an IFRAME so that the Web page need not be replotted each time the server identifies URLs satisfying the user selection criteria. In a fourth aspect, information identifying a user's button assignments or preferences (such as the user's zip code) is stored in various data fields in a cookie data structure. The computer-executable instructions use the information contained in the cookie data structure to assign the URL to the button each time the Web page is displayed.