Cross-Device Gallery Access With Secure Album Switching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electronic devices can only access multimedia resources within their local gallery, limiting the flexibility and convenience of accessing multimedia resources across multiple devices.

Innovation Solution

The method allows a first device to display interfaces that enable switching between accessing multimedia resources on itself and other connected devices, with options to preview, view, and manage resources from multiple devices, including handling disconnection scenarios and ensuring data security.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If an electronic device accesses only local gallery resources, then data security is maintained, but access flexibility and convenience are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccess flexibilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a cloud server as an intermediary between electronic devices. The cloud server stores multimedia resources and manages access permissions, allowing devices to access resources from other devices without direct peer-to-peer connections. This mediator approach enables cross-device access while maintaining security through centralized permission management and encryption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If an electronic device accesses multimedia resources from multiple devices, then access convenience is improved, but data security risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccess convenienceVSAvoiddata security
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements different security levels and access permissions for different multimedia resources and different devices. Each resource can have its own permission settings, encryption level, and access controls. This allows convenient access for authorized users while maintaining strong security for sensitive resources, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and data security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary authentication and permission verification before allowing access to multimedia resources. Access permissions are pre-configured and validated before resource transfer or viewing, ensuring that only authorized devices can access specific resources. This preliminary security check prevents unauthorized access while maintaining convenient access for legitimate users.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If switching between devices is enabled, then resource accessibility is improved, but interface complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource accessibilityVSAvoidinterface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal gallery interface that can display and manage multimedia resources from multiple devices through a single unified view. The same interface handles both local and remote resources, switching between devices seamlessly without requiring different interfaces for different functions. This multi-functional approach improves resource accessibility while keeping the interface simple and consistent.

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

Data Source

PatentEP4694087A1Multimedia resource access method and electronic device
Publication Date: 2026.02.11 HONOR DEVICE CO LTD
  • EP4694087A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4694087A1 patent drawingFigure 3A
  • EP4694087A1 patent drawingFigure 3B

AI summary

A multimedia resource access method and an electronic device are provided, relating to the field of terminal technologies. The electronic device can flexibly access a multimedia resource in a gallery of another electronic device locally. The method includes: The first device displays a first interface, where the first interface includes a first region and a second region, a first option, a second option, and a third option are displayed in the first region, the first option corresponds to the first device, the second option corresponds to a second device, the third option corresponds to a third device, and preview information of an album on the first device is displayed in the second region; the first device displays, in the second region, preview information of an album on the second device in response to a selection operation for the second option; and the first device displays, in the second region, preview information of an album on the third device in response to a selection operation for the third option.