Electronic Calendar Event Change Notification Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of electronic calendars face inefficiencies when event details change, as they must review entire updated events to identify changes from initial events, lacking a streamlined method to notify invitees of specific changes.
Innovation Solution
A method that compares initial and updated event elements to identify changed elements, allowing for a single notification to invitees of these changes, which can be integrated into electronic calendar systems and executed on devices like personal data assistants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the entire updated event is sent to invitees, then the invitees receive complete event information, but the invitees must review the entire updated event to ascertain what has changed, increasing time consumption and reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the changed event elements from the updated event and sends them separately to invitees. Instead of transmitting the entire updated event, the system identifies and isolates specific changed elements (such as time, location, or description) and transmits only these modifications to the invitees' devices, reducing the information volume that needs to be reviewed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the updated event into individual event elements (time, location, description, etc.) and identifies which segments have changed. By dividing the event information into discrete comparable elements, the system can selectively notify invitees only about the changed segments rather than requiring review of the complete event structure.
2Loss of information
If the entire updated event is sent to invitees, then the invitees receive complete event information, but the notification size and data transmission increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and transmits only the changed event elements rather than the complete updated event data. This extraction process reduces the quantity of data that must be transmitted over the network, stored on invitee devices, and processed by the calendar system.
3Speed
If the user sends updated event notifications frequently, then the invitees receive timely change information, but the system and network resources are consumed more frequently
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting and transmitting only changed elements rather than complete event data, each notification requires fewer system resources to generate, less network bandwidth to transmit, and less processing power at the invitee end, reducing the cumulative resource consumption of frequent updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by sending only the necessary changed information rather than complete event data. This partial transmission approach maintains timely notification speed while proportionally reducing the resource consumption associated with each notification event.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for notifying at least one invitee of an initial event of changes to the initial event. The method comprises receiving the initial event comprising a plurality of initial event elements and receiving an updated event comprising a plurality of updated event elements, each updated event element corresponding to a respective initial event element. The updated event elements are compared to the initial event elements to determine which of the updated event elements are changed event elements that differ from their respective initial event elements and the at least one invitee is notified of any specific changed event elements.