Instant Messaging URI Preloading via Sender-Motivated Background Retrieval

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Solution Overview

Problem

Instant messaging systems lack the ability to efficiently preload and present content identified by a uniform resource identifier (URI) during a session, leading to delayed content availability when the URI is entered in a message.

Innovation Solution

The system communicates the URI in a hidden message before the instant message is sent, allowing the IM client to retrieve and preload the associated content from a content source, making it available in real-time when the URI is selected within the message.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the system waits for the user to send the instant message before retrieving content, then network bandwidth is conserved and unnecessary data transfers are avoided, but content availability is delayed and user experience is degraded

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent availabilityVSAvoidcontent retrieval time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs content retrieval in advance by extracting the URI from the message draft and initiating a background network request to fetch the content before the message is actually sent. This preliminary action ensures that when the user clicks the content link, the content is already available locally, eliminating the perceived delay while the network request occurs transparently in the background.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Speed

If the system preloads content before the message is sent, then content access speed is improved, but network bandwidth is consumed prematurely and message size increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent access speedVSAvoidmessage size

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the content delivery process into two distinct parts: (1) the instant message containing only the URI reference, and (2) the content retrieval process that occurs separately in the background. This segmentation allows the message to remain small while the content is fetched independently, resolving the contradiction between fast content access and minimal message size.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The URI acts as an intermediary between the message and the actual content. Instead of embedding the full content in the message, the system uses the URI as a reference that triggers separate content retrieval. This intermediary approach allows fast content access through preloading while keeping the message size minimal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If the system retrieves content in the background before sending the message, then content readiness is improved, but device energy consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent readinessVSAvoiddevice energy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements partial preloading by retrieving only the essential content needed for immediate display, rather than over-fetching or caching excessive data. The background retrieval is triggered selectively based on message characteristics and user context, performing just enough action to improve content readiness while avoiding unnecessary energy expenditure from excessive data fetching.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS8943149B2Sender motivated optimization of URI rendering in instant messaging

Publication Date: 2015.01.27 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

Rendering content identified by a uniform resource identifier (URI). One embodiment can include, within a first communication device comprising a processor and a memory, on the first communication device, receiving the URI within an instant messaging (IM) session. The method further can include, via the processor, prior to receiving a user input selecting the URI, attempting to retrieve content from a content source identified by the URI to preload the content within the memory.