Calendar App Food Service Integration via API Mediation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional calendar applications do not effectively integrate food service management for events, requiring users to navigate away from the application to interact with food services, limiting attendee choices, and complicating expense reconciliation, especially in virtual events where organizing food for multiple attendees becomes impractical.

Innovation Solution

A computer-readable storage medium with executable instructions that associates food services with events within a calendar application, allowing users to select and connect with food services through APIs, generating and reconciling food service data within the application, and providing integrated expense reporting.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If users navigate away from the calendar application to interact with food services, then food service interaction is possible, but user convenience deteriorates and time is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of food service interactionVSAvoidtime spent navigating away and returning

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the calendar application with food service management capabilities by integrating third-party food service APIs directly into the calendar event interface. Users can browse, select, and manage food services without leaving the calendar application, eliminating the need to navigate away and return. This consolidation of functions within a single application context directly resolves the contradiction by improving ease of operation while preventing time loss.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Ease of operation

If the calendar application integrates food service management functionality, then user convenience improves, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintegrated food service managementVSAvoidcomplexity of integrating multiple services

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs an intermediary layer in the form of application programming interfaces (APIs) that mediate between the calendar application and third-party food service providers. This intermediary approach allows the calendar application to offer integrated food service management without directly implementing all food service functionality internally. The APIs handle the complexity of connecting with multiple food services, thereby improving user convenience while managing device complexity through standardized interface layers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple attendees are allowed to select food independently, then attendee satisfaction improves, but expense reconciliation becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattendee food selection flexibilityVSAvoidexpense reconciliation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms that automatically track and report food service selections and expenses for multiple attendees. The system collects data from each attendee's food selections, monitors spending against budgets, and provides real-time feedback on expense status. This automated feedback loop simplifies expense reconciliation by continuously updating expense information, thereby allowing multiple attendees to select food independently while managing reconciliation complexity through systematic tracking and reporting.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Loss of information

If food service data is generated and reconciled within the calendar application, then data integration improves, but processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintegration of food service dataVSAvoidcomputational resources for data processing

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts heavy computational processing tasks related to food service data generation and reconciliation and relocates them to external food service provider systems. The calendar application maintains only the essential data integration functions, while complex processing such as menu management, order processing, and detailed expense calculations are performed by the third-party food service systems. This extraction approach improves data integration within the calendar application while reducing local processing requirements and energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS11507925B1Food service management for food-associated events from calendar application

Publication Date: 2022.11.22 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A calendar application server, a computer-readable storage medium, and a corresponding method for food service management for food-associated events within the context of a calendar application are described herein. The computer-readable storage medium includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processor(s), cause the processor(s) to associate food services with a food-associated event within a calendar application in response to user commands received via an event UI functionality provided by the calendar application, to connect with any of the food services via corresponding APIs in response to user commands received via the event UI functionality provided by the calendar application, to generate food service data for the food-associated event in response to user interaction(s) with any of the food services via corresponding APIs provided within the context of the calendar application, and to reconcile the food service data with food-associated event data corresponding to the food-associated event within the calendar application.