Consolidated Notification Feed Across Client Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Online content management services face challenges in synchronizing notifications across multiple client devices in real-time, leading to outdated or redundant notifications, as users interact with their accounts and content across various platforms.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a flexible notification feed system that uses topic identifiers and temporal sequencing information to consolidate and update notifications in real-time across all client devices, ensuring that only the most recent relevant alerts are presented to the user, while obsolete information is hidden or removed.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If notifications are sent to all client devices independently, then each device receives complete notification information, but redundant and outdated notifications appear across devices

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification completenessVSAvoidnotification redundancy
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges notification processing across multiple client devices by implementing a centralized notification service that consolidates notification data and distributes it efficiently. The notification feed aggregates events from multiple sources and delivers consolidated notifications to all client devices, eliminating redundancy while maintaining completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where client devices report their notification state to the centralized service, which then adjusts subsequent notifications to avoid sending redundant information. The feed uses sequencing information to determine which notifications have already been delivered and suppresses duplicates.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Speed

If real-time notification updates are implemented across all devices, then users receive current information, but system complexity and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification update speedVSAvoidsynchronization complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a centralized notification service as an intermediary between event sources and client devices. This mediator consolidates notification processing, manages the feed sequence, and coordinates updates across all devices, reducing individual device complexity while enabling real-time synchronization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The notification system is segmented into distinct components: event generation, feed processing, and client delivery. Each component handles specific tasks independently, with the feed acting as a buffer and coordination layer, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining real-time performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Quantity of substance

If all notification records are sent to each client, then clients have complete information, but notification clutter and user experience degradation occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification information volumeVSAvoiduser experience quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements partial action by selectively filtering and consolidating notifications before delivery. The feed processes all notification events but only delivers relevant, non-redundant notifications to clients, providing sufficient information without excessive clutter.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The notification feed transforms raw notification events into a processed format with sequencing information and consolidation markers. This parameter change from raw events to structured feed entries enables efficient client-side rendering and reduces visual clutter while preserving all essential information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3872724A1Notification feed across multiple client devices
Publication Date: 2021.09.01 DROPBOX INC
  • EP3872724A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3872724A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3872724A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Event notifications can be provided to a user across multiple client devices or platforms. If a user takes action on one device, notifications on all devices can be updated to reflect the action. For example, notifications can be indexed by topic and time sequence (or other sequence), and multiple notifications related to the same topic can be consolidated at a server or the client so that current information can be presented to the user.