Contact Sharing History for Communication Origin Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increased use of mobile computing devices leads to frequent interruptions due to various communication methods, making it difficult for users to determine whether to accept communication proposals, especially from unknown or unrecognized entities, as traditional caller ID does not provide sufficient information for informed decision-making.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a personal identifier and electronic signature into communication contact information, allowing users to track and display the chain of ownership of this information, enabling users to make informed decisions about accepting communications and filter unwanted contacts by displaying the origin of the contact information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional caller ID is used to identify communication contacts, then the identification process is simple and quick, but insufficient information is provided for informed decision-making about accepting communications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where contact information is organized in hierarchical levels: the primary contact record contains nested sub-records of sharing history, which themselves contain nested details of each sharing event (sharer identity, method, timestamp). This allows comprehensive information storage while maintaining a clean external interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact information is segmented into distinct modular components: basic contact details, sharing history array, individual sharing events with their own attributes. This segmentation allows the system to provide detailed information when needed while maintaining simplicity for basic operations.
2Reliability
If comprehensive contact information is displayed to enable informed communication decisions, then user control is enhanced, but information overload and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The contact information display is made dynamic, allowing the system to adapt between showing summarized information (for ease of operation) and detailed sharing history (for reliable decision-making). The interface can adjust the level of detail based on user interaction and context.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to contact information by incorporating timestamps and history of sharing events. This transforms static contact data into a dynamic timeline that provides context about how the contact information was obtained without requiring complex processing of unrelated data dimensions.
3Loss of information
If contact sharing history is tracked and stored for each communication contact, then the origin of contact information can be identified, but data storage requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of storing complete contact records at every sharing level, the system creates simplified copies or references to the original contact information, storing only the essential sharing metadata (sharer identity, method, timestamp). This reduces storage requirements while maintaining the ability to reconstruct the full sharing history.
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2
AI summary
Technology for constructing a contact sharing history is disclosed. One method comprises receiving, at a computing device of a second user, a communication contact information element of a first user. The contact information is linked to a personal identification key associated with the first user. A link to a personal identification key associated with the second user is added to the communication contact information element to form the contact sharing history. The contact sharing history can then be used to identify how the second user obtained the first user's communication contact information element.