Hierarchical Calendar Event Management via Parent-Child Linking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing calendar applications do not allow users to establish relationships between calendar events, making it difficult to manage coordinated schedule changes or cancellations across multiple events.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method to hierarchically link calendar events as parent and child, where changes to the parent event automatically propagate to the child events, including cancellation or rescheduling based on event dependency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If users manually manage each calendar event separately, then individual event control is maintained, but coordinated schedule changes across multiple events become difficult and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveefficiency of managing schedule changesVSAvoidtime required to manually update multiple events

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple related calendar events into a hierarchical structure where a parent event controls child events. This allows coordinated schedule changes to be made through a single interface, automatically propagating updates to all dependent events, thereby improving productivity while reducing the time required for manual updates.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The parent event acts as an intermediary between the user and multiple child events. When the user modifies the parent event, the system automatically translates these changes to all child events, serving as a mediator that coordinates schedule changes across multiple events without requiring direct user intervention for each event.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Extent of automation

If no event relationship system is implemented, then calendar application simplicity is maintained, but automated coordination between related events cannot be achieved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomated schedule change propagationVSAvoidcomplexity of event relationship management system

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments events into parent and child categories with distinct roles. The parent event contains the relationship definitions and control logic, while child events contain the actual schedule data. This segmentation allows automated coordination without overwhelming complexity, as each segment has a specific function within the hierarchy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a nested structure where child events are contained within the parent event's dependency structure. This nesting allows the system to manage complex relationships in a organized manner, with the parent event encapsulating the coordination logic for its children, thereby enabling automation while maintaining manageable system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

3Adaptability or versatility

If hierarchical event linking is implemented, then coordinated changes across events are enabled, but system structure complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in managing correlated eventsVSAvoidstructural complexity of event hierarchy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic event relationships where the hierarchy can be flexibly created and modified based on user needs. Events can be dynamically linked as parent-child relationships, and these relationships can be changed or removed as needed. This dynamic structure provides adaptability for various scheduling scenarios while managing complexity through on-demand relationship creation rather than rigid pre-defined structures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS9274687B1Managing schedule changes for correlated calendar events

Publication Date: 2016.03.01 GOOGLE LLC

AI summary

A method of managing schedule changes for correlated calendar events. The method includes receiving, at one or more computing devices, a first calendar event including an event designation as a parent event and receiving a second calendar event including an event designation as a child event. The method further includes receiving, at the one or more computing devices, an indication of event dependency between the second calendar event and the first calendar event. If an indication is received that the first calendar event is cancelled, the method further includes cancelling, using the one or more computing devices, the second calendar event. If an indication is received that the first calendar event is rescheduled at a temporal interval from a first event time, the method further includes rescheduling, using the one or more computing devices, the second calendar event from a second event time based on the temporal interval.