Auxiliary Content Presentation for Image Search Task Completion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face frustration when image search results do not provide adequate mechanisms for completing tasks, such as purchasing products, as webpages containing images may lack purchasing options, leading to decreased user interaction performance.

Innovation Solution

Auxiliary content is processed using existing search engine mechanisms to identify similarities with search results, including visual similarities, and presented alongside search results to aid task completion, such as providing images for purchase options from retailers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If image search results are provided from webpages containing images, then users can find relevant images, but the webpages may lack purchasing options or task completion mechanisms

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetask completion capabilityVSAvoiduser interaction performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces auxiliary content as an intermediary element that bridges the gap between image search results and task completion capabilities. This auxiliary content, displayed in a sidebar or panel, provides purchasing options and additional actions without requiring users to navigate away from the search results page, thus resolving the contradiction between finding relevant images and completing tasks.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the user interface by separating auxiliary content from the main image search results. The auxiliary content is displayed in a distinct sidebar or panel area, allowing users to access purchasing options and additional information without interfering with the primary image search functionality. This segmentation enables both image viewing and task completion to occur simultaneously in different interface regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If auxiliary content is added to search results to facilitate task completion, then user interaction performance increases, but the complexity of the search system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser interaction performanceVSAvoidsearch system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements auxiliary content that serves multiple functions simultaneously - providing purchasing options, displaying additional product information, and offering related actions. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems or pages into a single integrated auxiliary content module, increasing productivity without proportionally increasing system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and organizing auxiliary content related to image search results before presentation. The system identifies relevant purchasing options, product information, and actions in advance, structuring them for immediate display in the auxiliary content area. This preliminary organization reduces the computational complexity during user interaction while maintaining high productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If visual similarity comparison is performed between auxiliary content and search results, then relevant auxiliary content can be identified, but processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimilarity identification accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by performing visual similarity comparison only on selected auxiliary content candidates rather than all possible content. The system identifies a subset of potentially relevant auxiliary content based on initial filtering criteria, then applies computationally intensive visual similarity analysis only to this reduced set, maintaining measurement precision while reducing overall processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary filtering and categorization of auxiliary content before conducting detailed visual similarity comparisons. By pre-organizing auxiliary content based on basic relevance criteria and only applying sophisticated visual analysis to promising candidates, the system achieves high similarity identification accuracy without excessive processing time or computational resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3238099B1Method and user interface for presenting auxiliary content together with image search results
Publication Date: 2020.11.04 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3238099B1 patent drawingFigure 1
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AI summary

Auxiliary content provided in addition to search results is selected and presented to aid the user in completing tasks and increasing user interaction performance. Auxiliary content is processed utilizing existing search engine categorization and identification mechanisms, thereby facilitating the determination of similarities between the auxiliary content and indexed content that is identified as being responsive to a search query. At least some of the search results identified as being responsive to the search query are compared to auxiliary content to identify similarities, including visual similarities. Similar auxiliary content are selected to aid the user in completing tasks, and such selected auxiliary content is provided with the search results, including in a visually distinct or separated manner.