Email Attachment Folder Hierarchy for Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing electronic file attachments in email systems is cumbersome, as users face difficulties in storing and navigating them separately and appending them to other emails, especially on wireless devices with limited bandwidth and processing capacity.
Innovation Solution
An email communications system that includes an email server and a mobile wireless communications device with a processor and display, which organizes electronic file attachments within a folder hierarchy corresponding to the email folder hierarchy, allowing users to navigate and attach files efficiently by chronological order, sender, or subject, using a WebDAV proxy module to generate the attachment folder hierarchy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users separately store and manage electronic file attachments outside the email system, then attachments can be stored independently, but users face difficulties in navigating and appending them to emails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the attachment storage system with the email folder hierarchy structure. Attachments are organized in folders that correspond to email folders, allowing users to navigate attachments through the familiar email interface rather than separately managing files. This integration resolves the contradiction by maintaining both independent attachment storage and easy navigation through unified folder structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment folder hierarchy serves multiple functions: it stores attachments independently while also providing navigation pathways for email retrieval. The same folder structure used for emails is reused for attachments, allowing the system to handle both email organization and attachment management through a single interface, thereby improving ease of operation without sacrificing versatility.
2Productivity
If users navigate through file manager programs to append attachments to emails, then attachments can be accessed, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary organization of attachments into folders that mirror the email hierarchy before users need to access them. Attachments are pre-categorized and stored in the appropriate folder structures, so when users need to attach a file, it is already positioned and ready for selection within the email interface, eliminating the need to manually navigate through file managers.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment folder hierarchy acts as an intermediary between the email system and the file storage system. Instead of directly accessing the file system through a file manager, users interact with the attachment folders within the email interface, which mediates the retrieval and attachment process, thereby reducing time and improving efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If the system provides full attachment information to wireless devices, then users can access and manage attachments, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential attachment information (such as folder structure, file names, and basic metadata) and transmits it to wireless devices, while leaving the actual attachment files on the server. This allows users to navigate and manage attachments locally without consuming significant bandwidth, as only lightweight information structures are transferred rather than full file contents.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides partial attachment information to wireless devices - enough to navigate and identify attachments, but not the complete data sets that would be required for full local storage. This partial provision of information enables attachment management functionality while conserving bandwidth by avoiding transmission of redundant or unnecessary data.
Data Source
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AI summary
An email communications system for operating over a communications network may include an email server for sending and receiving electronic mail (email) messages via the communications network, where at least some of the received email messages include electronic file attachments. The system may further include a communications device comprising a display, a user input device, and a processor for communicating with the email server. The processor may also cooperate with the display and user input device for displaying an email folder hierarchy for user navigation of the received email messages, and for displaying an electronic file attachment folder hierarchy corresponding to the email folder hierarchy for navigating the electronic file attachments.