Email Attachment Helper Scanning Text for Missing Files

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Solution Overview

Problem

Email clients often fail to detect missing or incorrect attachments based on email text, leading to unintended sending of messages without attachments or incorrect file types.

Innovation Solution

Implementing an email attachment helper system that scans the text of outgoing emails for keywords and phrases indicating intended attachments, and checks file types against configured rules to alert users before sending, allowing for confirmation or correction of attachments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If email clients automatically send messages without attachment detection, then sending speed is improved, but attachment accuracy deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveemail sending speedVSAvoidattachment accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary scanning of the email body text for attachment-related keywords and phrases before the email is sent. This advance detection allows the system to identify missing or incorrect attachments proactively, presenting warnings to users before final transmission occurs, thus maintaining sending speed while improving attachment accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If email clients implement text scanning for attachment detection, then attachment accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment detection accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary attachment helper component that sits between the email composition interface and the sending mechanism. This helper module independently scans email text, cross-references attachment mentions with actual attachments, and communicates findings to the user interface, thereby improving detection accuracy without significantly complicating the core email client architecture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If email clients scan and verify attachments before sending, then attachment completeness is improved, but sending time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment completenessVSAvoidemail sending time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The attachment verification process is designed to skip unnecessary validation steps for emails that clearly don't require attachments. The system rapidly scans for attachment keywords and only performs full verification when such keywords are detected, allowing most emails to be sent without delay while thoroughly checking those that need attachment validation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

Data Source

PatentUS8868667B2Email attachment helper

Publication Date: 2014.10.21 VERIZON PATENT & LICENSING INC

AI summary

A computing device receives instructions, from a user, to send an email message and determines if the email message includes an attachment. When the email message does not include an attachment, the computing device conducts a scan of text of the email message for implications that an attachment should be included. When the email message includes an attachment, the computing device conducts a scan of the email text for implications of a particular type of attachment. The computing device provides, to the user, a notification when there is a positive result from the scan of the email text for implications that an attachment should be included or from the scan of the email text for implications of a particular type of attachment.