MFP Web Navigation Back Button Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users of MFPs with hidden tool bars face difficulties in returning to previous operation screens, especially when transitioning to external sites that do not support specific HTML tags, leading to reduced usability.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and method that displays a 'Back' button or tool bar on the user interface, even if not provided by the external site, by analyzing Web content and managing URL history to enable navigation back to previous screens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If the tool bar is hidden to save screen space, then the display region is maximized, but the user cannot return to the previous operation screen when the extended tag is not supported
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the back button functionality from the tool bar, placing it directly on the operation screen as a separate element. This allows the tool bar to remain hidden while the back button provides navigation functionality independently, resolving the contradiction between maximizing display area and maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism that detects whether the current page supports the extended tag for back navigation. When the tag is absent, the system automatically provides an alternative back button interface, mediating between the hidden tool bar state and the user's need to navigate back, thus preserving ease of operation without requiring the tool bar to be visible.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the extended tag is used to control back button display, then the back function is restrained and server controls page switching, but external sites without the extended tag cannot be navigated back from
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the back button functionality universal by implementing a detection mechanism that works regardless of whether the extended tag is present. The system automatically adapts its behavior based on page characteristics, providing server-controlled navigation when the tag is present and automatic back button provision when it is absent, thus achieving multi-functionality that satisfies both adaptability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of the extended tag's presence before determining how to provide back navigation. This preliminary action allows the system to prepare the appropriate navigation interface in advance, ensuring that users can always return to the original screen whether they are on pages with or without the extended tag, thereby resolving the contradiction between server-controlled navigation and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
When Web content of a specific URL is displayed, a return operation screen is displayed, and when the Web content of the specific URL is no longer being displayed, the return operation screen is hidden.