Conversational Email Message Chronological Ordering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing email systems face difficulties in clearly following group discussions when multiple recipients reply asynchronously, creating complex message threads that are hard to manage as the number of branches grows.

Innovation Solution

A system and method to create conversational email messages by chronologically ordering replies and combining them with the source email, using submission timestamps to display messages in a chronological format, allowing users to easily follow group discussions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If recipients reply to email messages asynchronously, then communication flexibility is improved, but message thread complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication flexibilityVSAvoidmessage thread complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges multiple asynchronous message threads into a single unified conversation view by collecting all replies to a source message and ordering them chronologically. This combines the flexibility of asynchronous communication with the simplicity of a single-threaded conversation display, resolving the contradiction between communication flexibility and message thread complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple message branches are created, then response flexibility is improved, but ease of following discussion deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse flexibilityVSAvoidease of following discussion

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the complex web of asynchronous replies into a linear chronological sequence of messages. By dividing the conversation into discrete, time-ordered segments (source message followed by ordered replies), it maintains response flexibility while making the discussion easy to follow through a simple first-person narrative structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of presenting messages in their traditional hierarchical reply structure (which creates multiple branches), the patent inverts the approach by flattening the structure and presenting all replies in chronological order as if they were part of a single linear conversation thread, thereby simplifying the user experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of operation

If asynchronous communication is used, then communication convenience is improved, but information organization deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication convenienceVSAvoidinformation organization

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary organization of the information by collecting all replies to the source message and sorting them by timestamp before presentation. This preliminary action maintains the convenience of asynchronous communication while ensuring that information is well-organized in the final displayed conversation, preventing information loss or disorganization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS9235864B1Systems, methods, and mediums configured to create a conversational email message

Publication Date: 2016.01.12 INTELLECTUAL VENTURES FUND 79 LLC

AI summary

The present disclosure describes systems, methods, and mediums configured to create a conversational email message. A computing device is configured to transmit an outgoing message from a sender to a plurality of recipients and create a conversational message by combining the outgoing message with a chronological listing of reply messages received from any of the plurality of recipients or the sender in response to a conversational email indicator. A memory device is configured to store the outgoing message or any of the reply messages.