Conversation Timeline Interface for Cross-Platform Chat Retrieval

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users struggle to effectively search and navigate through multiple communication platforms to locate prior conversations due to memory limitations and the inability to efficiently summarize and identify relevant chat threads across different applications.

Innovation Solution

A user device generates a graphical representation of chat application conversations, utilizing a trained predictive model to summarize and display a circular timeline of conversations, enabling easy navigation and recommendation of related conversations based on historical data and interaction with interactive elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If users manually search through multiple chat applications to find prior conversations, then they can locate specific chats, but the process consumes excessive time and effort

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime to locate prior conversationsVSAvoidease of searching across platforms

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple chat applications into a single unified interface that aggregates conversations from different platforms. This merging allows users to search and access conversations across all connected chat applications simultaneously, eliminating the need to manually navigate through each application separately and significantly reducing the time required to locate prior conversations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary component that acts as a bridge between multiple chat applications and the user. This intermediary aggregates conversation data from various platforms, provides unified search functionality, and manages the complexity of cross-platform navigation, thereby improving ease of operation while reducing search time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If users review detailed chat threads to extract meaningful data, then they can find relevant information, but the process becomes overwhelming amidst multiple different chats

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to extract meaningful dataVSAvoidcomplexity of managing multiple chat threads

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the large volume of chat data into manageable units by organizing conversations into distinct threads with clear identifiers. Each chat thread is presented as a separate, structured unit with summary information, allowing users to review data systematically without being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of multiple simultaneous conversations across different platforms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system extracts and highlights key information from detailed chat threads, presenting summarized versions that capture meaningful data while omitting unnecessary details. This extraction process allows users to quickly identify relevant information across multiple chats without having to review every message in detail, reducing the perceived complexity of managing numerous conversation threads.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If users attempt to identify specific chats amongst multiple different chats, then they can locate the desired conversation, but the task becomes difficult without effective search capabilities

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedifficulty of identifying chatsVSAvoidprecision of conversation identification

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms that provide users with search results and conversation matches based on their queries. The system analyzes user input, searches through aggregated chat data, and returns relevant conversations with matching criteria highlighted. This feedback loop enables users to iteratively refine their search and precisely identify desired chats among multiple conversations across different platforms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary indexing and organization of chat conversations before users need to search. Conversations are pre-tagged, categorized, and made searchable with key terms extracted in advance. This preliminary action reduces the difficulty of detecting and measuring specific chats by making the data readily accessible and easily queryable when users need to identify particular conversations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12483526B2Communications management for a communication platform

Publication Date: 2025.11.25 SALESFORCE INC

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, based on a request for conversational history information, a timeline for a user interface comprising an interactive timeline indicator indicating a conversation that occurred during a time window. The user device may display, based on an interaction with the interactive timeline indicator, a graphical representation of the time window that indicates a circular order of occurrence for the conversation and other conversations that occurred during the time window. The user device may display the conversation based on an interaction with an interactive element that indicates when within the circular order of occurrence the conversation occurred.