Cell-Based Calendar with Transparent Event Overlays for Data Mining

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Solution Overview

Problem

Analyzing large amounts of data, such as customer surveys, is time-consuming and requires significant personnel, making it costly and inefficient to manually review and correlate with external events affecting data characteristics.

Innovation Solution

A cell-based calendar system is used to visually represent data records with integrated event indicators, allowing users to easily identify relationships and impacts between data activities and external events through transparent overlays and color coding, enabling efficient data mining without manual review.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual analysis of large amounts of data is performed, then data accuracy can be maintained, but time consumption and personnel requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata analysis accuracyVSAvoidtime consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an event transparency overlay as an intermediary layer that visually correlates external events with data records. This mediator allows users to see relationships between events and data without manually analyzing each record, maintaining analytical accuracy while reducing time consumption through visual pattern recognition.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical process of manual data review with an automated visual display system. The cell-based calendar with event transparencies automatically presents correlated information, substituting human manual analysis with an automated visualization mechanism that maintains accuracy while dramatically reducing time requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Loss of information

If manual review of data records is conducted to identify correlations with external events, then correlation accuracy can be achieved, but the process becomes tedious and requires large numbers of personnel

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecorrelation accuracyVSAvoidpersonnel requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the data record display with external event indicators into a single integrated visual interface. By combining these previously separate analysis tasks into one unified cell-based calendar view, the system maintains correlation accuracy while eliminating the need for multiple personnel to perform separate manual review processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds a visual dimension to data analysis by using color-coded event transparencies overlaid on the calendar. This dimensional transformation allows correlation information to be perceived visually rather than requiring manual textual analysis, maintaining accuracy while reducing personnel complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Loss of information

If detailed visual indicators are overlaid on calendar cells to show data values, then data visualization quality improves, but the complexity of the display system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata visualization qualityVSAvoiddisplay system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses color-coded event transparencies to encode different types of external events. This color-based encoding system provides high-quality data visualization by allowing users to quickly distinguish between different event types and their impacts on data records, while the standardized color coding scheme keeps the display system manageable rather than overly complex.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Data Source

PatentUS9460444B2Visual representation of a cell-based calendar transparently overlaid with event visual indicators for mining data records
Publication Date: 2016.10.04 MICRO FOCUS LLC
  • US9460444B2 patent drawing
  • US9460444B2 patent drawing
  • US9460444B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A system causes display of a visual representation of a cell-based calendar having cells representing data records, where the cells have corresponding visual indicators corresponding to values of the respective data records. The cells are arranged in plural blocks corresponding to time intervals of the cell-based calendar. Event visual indicators transparently overlay cells in at least some of the plural blocks, where the event visual indicators represent events that occurred in time intervals corresponding to the at least some blocks. The events are separate from activities represented by the data records. Providing the event visual indicators transparently overlaid over the cells in the at least some blocks depict a relationship and relative impact between the data records and the events.