Messaging App with Actionable Objects and Segmented Display

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current electronic chat communications platforms are limited by their sequential, read-only, chronological presentation, leading to disjointed and ad hoc communication, loss of context, and difficulty in maintaining continuity and organization of messages, especially in group chats, which affects productivity and information retrieval.

Innovation Solution

Integrating actionable objects such as 'Tasks', 'Ideas', 'Events', and 'Surveys' into the chat platform, allowing for organized, searchable, and context-oriented messaging that enhances communication by enabling users to execute specific actions directly within the chat session, thereby improving message flow and archival capabilities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If messages are presented in sequential chronological order, then the simplicity of the chat interface is maintained, but the organization and retrievability of messages deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterface simplicityVSAvoidmessage organization
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the chat interface into multiple panes or sections, allowing messages to be organized by different criteria (e.g., project, date, participant) while maintaining chronological flow within each segment. This enables users to view organized message groups without losing the overall chronological context.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces additional organizational dimensions beyond simple chronological ordering. Messages can be simultaneously organized by timestamp while being grouped into categories, threads, or projects, adding spatial and categorical dimensions to the temporal sequence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If actionable objects are integrated into chat sessions, then the functionality and productivity of the platform is improved, but the complexity of the system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal actionable object framework that can handle multiple types of tasks (assignments, events, ideas, surveys) through a common interface and data structure. This multi-functionality approach allows diverse capabilities to be provided without proportionally increasing system complexity.

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

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary layer or adapter that connects the chat messaging system with task management functionalities. This mediator handles the complexity of actionable objects internally while presenting a simplified interface to users, isolating the complexity from the core chat functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If context and continuity are maintained in chat sessions, then the quality of communication is improved, but the amount of data that must be processed and stored increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication continuityVSAvoiddata volume
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts essential contextual information from the full message history and stores only the critical elements (e.g., key decisions, action items, participants) in a condensed format. This allows context to be maintained without storing and processing every single message detail.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent pre-processes and structures message data as it arrives, organizing it into contextual units or summaries that capture the essence of conversations. This preliminary organization reduces the burden of processing full message histories later while maintaining retrieval of contextual information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10009300B2Messaging apparatus and method thereof
Publication Date: 2018.06.26 WRINKL INC

AI summary

A method of providing messaging comprises the steps of providing display of messages exchanged between a plurality of participants; receiving designation of one of said messages as an anchor message; permitting a response received to said anchor message from one of said plurality of participants to be provided to all others of said plurality of participants; providing display of said response; and receiving at least a further response to said anchor message from at least one of said plurality of participants, wherein at least an excluded one of said plurality of participants is prevented from receiving at least said further response.