Mobile Calendar Interface Segment Status Indicators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices with small displays face challenges in effectively presenting information about multiple segments (e.g., flights) over a date range due to limited space, requiring users to navigate through multiple interfaces to obtain availability and status details.
Innovation Solution
A calendar interface is implemented on mobile devices that uses color-coded dots or indicators below each date to represent the status of segments, allowing users to quickly identify available, confirmed, or full segments without needing to navigate through multiple screens, with visual updates in real-time based on status changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional text-based segment information is presented on mobile device displays, then complete information can be provided, but the display space is quickly consumed and user interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded indicators (e.g., green dots for available segments, red dots for full segments, yellow dots for conditional segments) to represent segment status. This allows the system to convey comprehensive segment information including availability status, confirmation state, and booking conditions without using extensive text, thereby preserving display space while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments segment information into distinct visual components: date indicators, segment indicators (dots), and status indicators (colors). Each element carries specific meaning independently, allowing the calendar interface to present multiple segments and their statuses simultaneously in a compact format that fits mobile device displays while providing complete information.
2Productivity
If detailed segment status information is presented on each calendar date, then users can identify available segments quickly, but the interface becomes cluttered and difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a color-coding system where different colors represent different segment statuses (available, full, conditional). This allows users to immediately identify segment availability at a glance without reading text descriptions, increasing productivity while maintaining a clean, simple interface. The color indicators are placed consistently below each date, creating a predictable pattern that reduces cognitive load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a visual dimension (color) to represent segment status information that would otherwise require text. By encoding status in the color attribute of segment indicators rather than using text labels, the system conveys multiple pieces of information (availability, confirmation status, booking conditions) without increasing interface complexity or requiring additional navigation screens.
3Loss of information
If users navigate through multiple interfaces to obtain segment availability details, then comprehensive information can be accessed, but user time and network bandwidth are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the calendar interface into date-based units with segment indicators displayed directly on each date. This allows users to view all relevant segment information for multiple dates simultaneously in a single interface view, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple screens or interfaces to gather complete segment availability details, thereby reducing both time and network resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color-coded segment indicators to convey comprehensive segment availability details including status (available/full/conditional), confirmation state, and booking conditions. This visual encoding allows users to obtain complete information about segment availability directly on the calendar interface without additional navigation, reducing time loss while maintaining full information access.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, that optimize interfaces to present information on mobile device displays. In one aspect, a method includes generating and providing, to a device, data that causes the device to present a status of one or more segments between a first location and a second location within a calendar interface. The calendar interface includes a calendar and, for each date having at least one existing segment, a respective non-textual segment indicator for each existing segment for the date. Each segment indicator is presented using visual feature(s) that represent the status of the segment represented by the segment indicator. A determination is made that the status of a given segment has changed to a second status. The visual feature(s) of the segment indicator for the given segment are visually updated within the calendar interface to represent the second status.