Drag and Drop Interface for Shipping Address Association
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Online merchants face challenges in allowing customers to efficiently associate multiple shipping addresses with purchased items during the checkout process, particularly when gifting to multiple recipients located in different geographic areas.
Innovation Solution
A network environment system that enables users to drag and drop graphical representations of items onto destination regions on a dynamic network page, allowing for easy association of shipping addresses and payment types, facilitated by AJAX and ASP.NET technologies, enabling intuitive manipulation of items and payment methods within the client-server framework.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional checkout processes are used, then the system structure remains simple, but the ease of operation deteriorates when shipping to multiple destinations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical selection methods (clicking, typing, or navigating through lists) with a visual drag-and-drop mechanism. Users can drag item representations from a product list and drop them onto destination address representations on a webpage, intuitively establishing shipping assignments through direct visual interaction rather than complex form-filling procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces graphical representations of items and destination addresses as intermediary visual elements. These representations serve as mediators between the user and the underlying data structures, allowing users to manipulate abstract shipping assignments through concrete visual objects that can be easily dragged and dropped across the interface.
2Productivity
If manual address assignment is used, then the system remains simple, but the time required for shipping configuration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-preresents destination addresses and item representations as graphical elements ready for immediate interaction. By preparing the interface elements in advance and positioning them for easy access, users can quickly drag and drop items to addresses without needing to navigate through multiple screens or form fields, significantly reducing configuration time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes time-consuming manual selection and data entry processes with instant visual drag-and-drop operations. The drag-and-drop mechanism allows users to simultaneously assign multiple items to multiple destinations in a single intuitive action, dramatically reducing the time required compared to traditional sequential form-filling methods.
3Ease of operation
If graphical drag and drop is implemented, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses graphical copies or representations of items and destination addresses as visual placeholders on the webpage. These graphical representations are simplified visual copies that capture the essential identity of each element without displaying complex underlying data structures, allowing users to interact with simplified visual models rather than complex data objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal drag-and-drop interface framework that can handle multiple types of items and destinations through a single consistent interaction pattern. The same drag-and-drop mechanism works for different products, address types, and shipping scenarios, providing multi-functional capability without requiring separate complex systems for each specific assignment task.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of a network page are provided. In one embodiment, at least one server serves up a network page to a client to be rendered on the client in a networked environment. The network page is associated with a network site that facilitates a purchase of items. The network page includes a graphical representation of a selected one of the items, and a plurality of destination regions, each of the destination regions being associated with a corresponding one of a plurality of shipping addresses. The network page is configured to facilitate an association of the selected one of the items with a respective one of the destination regions.