Peer-to-Peer Calendar Sharing Without Dedicated Server
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing calendar-sharing applications are rigid, server-based, and heavily form-oriented, making them inflexible and difficult for small to medium-sized businesses or personal interactions, as they fail to mirror real-life interpersonal relationships and often require users to adopt unfamiliar roles.
Innovation Solution
A method allowing multiple users to share a calendar where any user can add, change, or comment on events, with changes automatically propagated to all users, and the calendar is stored as a collection of objects with metadata, enabling flexible interaction conventions and peer-to-peer data sharing without a dedicated server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a server-based calendar system is used, then centralized control and data management are achieved, but system complexity and dependency on dedicated server software increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the centralized control function from a dedicated server and implements it through peer-to-peer communication where each user device maintains its own calendar data and shares it directly with others. This eliminates the need for server-based calendar software while preserving the ability to manage and synchronize calendar information across multiple users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the calendar storage and sharing functions directly into each user's email client application. Instead of separating calendar management into a dedicated server system, the calendar functionality is merged with the existing email client, allowing users to manage and share calendars without requiring separate server infrastructure.
2Ease of operation
If form-based structured applications are used, then clear role assignment and standardized processes are achieved, but flexibility and adaptability to real-life relationships decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic role assignment where users can freely add, modify, and remove calendar events without being constrained by predefined roles or hierarchical structures. Any user can modify any calendar event, and the system automatically notifies relevant users, allowing the collaboration structure to adapt dynamically to the users' actual needs and relationships rather than following rigid predetermined forms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of user interaction from fixed role-based access to flexible event-based modification. Instead of users being assigned specific roles with defined permissions, the system allows any parameter change to calendar events by any user, with automatic notification mechanisms ensuring all relevant parties are informed of changes.
3Manufacturing precision
If heavily form-oriented applications are used, then standardized data entry and structured processes are achieved, but user friendliness and ease of understanding decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the email client universally functional by integrating calendar management capabilities directly into the existing application. Users leverage their familiar email client interface for both email communication and calendar management, eliminating the need to learn new form-based interfaces while maintaining structured data organization through the use of standard email message formats for calendar events.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of sharing a calendar between a plurality of users is described where the calendar is capable of holding one or more events. The method includes providing the calendar to each of said plurality of users. The method further includes allowing any of the plurality of users to add to the calendar a new event, a change to an event and a message relating to an event. The method further includes providing a new event, change to an event and/or message added by a user to the other users including automatically displaying at least one updated calendar to its respective other user without said other user having to cause said updated calendar to be fetched through a network.