Document Date-Time Linking for Automated Event Creation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face the inconvenience of having to manually create events from email content, such as meeting invitations, by opening separate applications and entering details, which is inefficient and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that automatically recognize date and time information in documents, like emails, and convert it into hyperlinks, allowing users to easily generate new events directly from the document by selecting these hyperlinks, with features like date/time detection and thread analysis to prompt event creation based on email content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If users manually create events from email content by opening separate applications and entering details, then event creation can be performed with basic functionality, but the process is inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary extraction and preparation of event information from the email document before the user needs to create the event. The detector module automatically identifies date/time information, attendees, and other event details, storing them in a structured format that can be directly transferred to the event application, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary detector module that acts as a bridge between the email document and the event application. This module extracts information from the unstructured email format and transforms it into a structured event representation, enabling automatic information transfer without requiring the user to manually navigate between different applications.
2Ease of operation
If users manually extract and enter event information from email, then basic event creation is achieved, but the process requires multiple applications and manual operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of email viewing, information extraction, and event creation into a single integrated operation. By making the detector module part of the email client or tightly integrated with it, the system combines multiple previously separate applications (email viewer, information extractor, event creator) into one unified interface, reducing the number of operations the user must perform.
3Productivity
If automatic event generation is implemented, then event creation efficiency is improved, but information extraction accuracy must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the extracted event information is presented to the user for review and confirmation before final creation. The detector module can adjust its extraction based on user feedback, and the interface allows users to correct any extraction errors, ensuring high accuracy while maintaining automatic operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The application relates to the field of communications and more particularly to an apparatus and method of generating a new event from a document. In accordance with one aspect of the present application, recognized date/time references contained in a document allow a new event to be created. Such date/time references are automatically recognized and highlighted in the document. Selecting the highlighted information generates a menu selection, offering a user the ability to create a new event into which the date/time information will be inserted, along with other information extracted from the document. Specific date/time information in a document is simply correlated to a known date/time format in a lookup table, while relative terms like “tomorrow”, “today” or days of the week (ie. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) are recognized by a date/time detector module and translated into a specific date/time. Using an embodiment of the present application, a new event can be readily generated.