Interactive Email Teaser Module for Attachment Visualization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current communication applications fail to present embedded objects, attachments, and links within emails and conversations in a user-friendly manner, lacking effective visualization and interactive features.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of teasers that analyze and parse embedded objects, attachments, and links to generate enhanced, interactive visualizations, which can be presented within emails or conversation interfaces, including interactive features such as detailed information upon selection without opening individual messages.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If embedded objects, attachments, and links are presented within email bodies, then information completeness is improved, but user-friendliness and visualization quality deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoiduser-friendliness
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the email content by extracting embedded objects, attachments, and links from the email body and presenting them as separate teaser components. This segmentation allows the main email body to remain clean and readable while providing comprehensive information through organized visual teasers that users can interact with selectively.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces teasers as an intermediary element between the raw email content and the user interface. These teasers act as mediators that transform embedded objects, attachments, and links into user-friendly visual representations with interactive features, bridging the gap between information completeness and ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If detailed information about attachments and embedded objects is displayed, then information completeness is improved, but processor load and memory usage increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidprocessor load
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements partial action by generating teaser components that provide a summarized or preview version of attachments and embedded objects rather than displaying complete detailed information. Users can access full details on-demand through interactive features, reducing the initial processor load and memory usage while maintaining information accessibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary action by pre-processing attachments and embedded objects to generate teaser components with key information extracted and organized. This preliminary processing reduces the complexity of the original objects while preserving essential information, thereby lowering subsequent processor load when displaying email content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If interactive features are added to teasers, then user-friendliness is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser-friendlinessVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies universality by designing a standardized teaser component structure that can handle multiple types of content (embedded objects, attachments, links) through a common interface. This multi-functional approach allows interactive features to be implemented consistently across different content types without proportionally increasing system complexity, as the same underlying mechanisms serve multiple purposes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10191891B2Interactive preview teasers in communications
Publication Date: 2019.01.29 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • US10191891B2 patent drawing
  • US10191891B2 patent drawing
  • US10191891B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Technologies are described for rich visualization of embedded objects, attachments, and links within emails and similar forms of online conversations. In some examples, the embedded objects, attachments, and links may be analyzed and parsed to generate teasers, which may include enhanced images, summary information, and comparable features. The teasers may be presented within a body of an email or in a dedicated area of a conversation user interface and include interactive features such as presentation of detailed information upon selection without opening and processing individual emails.