Circular Breadcrumb Navigation for Multipage Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional navigational tools, such as breadcrumb paths, fail to effectively support circular navigation in multipage user interfaces, leading to user confusion and increased likelihood of getting lost, as they are linear and do not represent circular navigation patterns efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that tracks navigation sequences in multipage user interfaces, generating a graphical breadcrumb path and interactive elements to display a user's navigation history, allowing users to easily revisit previously viewed pages and navigate through the interface without getting lost, by detecting circular navigation and providing a graphical representation of the sequence of navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional linear breadcrumb paths are used for navigation, then the navigation structure is simple to implement, but they fail to represent circular navigation patterns and cause user confusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional linear breadcrumb path into a circular breadcrumb path that visually represents circular navigation patterns. The breadcrumb trail is displayed in a curved or circular arrangement instead of a straight line, allowing it to naturally depict the circular navigation flow and help users understand their navigation history and current position within the circular structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a visual dimension to the breadcrumb path by arranging navigation indicators in a circular layout rather than a linear sequence. This dimensional change from 1D linear to 2D circular arrangement enables the navigation structure to represent circular patterns while maintaining clarity and user understanding.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive navigation history is tracked to prevent circular navigation confusion, then user orientation is improved, but the navigation interface becomes more complex and convoluted
Solution Approach 1:
The circular breadcrumb path is segmented into discrete navigation indicators, each representing a specific page or state in the navigation history. These segmented indicators are arranged circularly, allowing comprehensive tracking of navigation history while maintaining a clean, organized visual structure that avoids convolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The circular breadcrumb path serves multiple functions simultaneously: it tracks navigation history, indicates current position, shows the circular navigation pattern, and provides clickable navigation links. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate navigation elements, simplifying the overall interface while maintaining comprehensive navigation information.
Data Source
AI summary
A user device (e.g., a computing device, a smart device, a mobile device, a laptop, a tablet, a set-top box, a display device, etc.) may generate and/or display various pages (e.g., web pages, application pages, links and/or linked data, documentation, etc.) of a multipage user interface (e.g., website, application, data/content source, etc.). The user device may enable a user to avoid getting lost in circular navigation by tracking a sequence of navigation to pages of the multipage user interface and generating a breadcrumb path indicative of the sequence of navigation. The user device may generate a graphical representation of the sequence of navigation, represented as a circular path, that may be selectively displayed on a current page of the multipage user interface whenever circular navigation is detected.