Sharing Routine Suggesting Applications to Share Content

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Solution Overview

Problem

The increasing number of applications and content types on computing devices creates difficulties in identifying compatible applications for sharing digital content, leading to inefficiencies when selecting applications and recipients for sharing.

Innovation Solution

A sharing routine and suggestion engine are implemented to provide suggestions for applications and recipients based on content type, host application, user context, and historical data, using machine-learning models to optimize the sharing process and prepopulate relevant fields in the selected application.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple applications are installed to support different content types and communication capabilities, then functionality and flexibility for sharing digital content are improved, but device complexity and difficulty in identifying compatible applications increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefunctionality for sharing digital contentVSAvoidcomplexity in identifying compatible applications

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a sharing routine as an intermediary layer between the user and multiple applications. This routine automatically analyzes the content object type, evaluates installed applications, and determines compatibility, thereby mediating the complexity of identifying which application to use while preserving the versatility of having multiple applications available.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The sharing routine performs self-service by autonomously analyzing the content object, identifying compatible applications, and presenting suggestions without requiring the user to manually evaluate each application's capabilities. The system serves itself by automatically resolving the complexity of application selection while maintaining adaptability across different content types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If a comprehensive list of all applications is presented for sharing, then users have more options and adaptability, but user frustration increases due to difficulty in selecting the appropriate application and recipient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of sharing optionsVSAvoidease of selecting application and recipient

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The sharing routine performs preliminary action by pre-analyzing the content object and pre-identifying compatible applications before presenting options to the user. This preliminary evaluation filters out incompatible applications, so when the user is presented with options, only relevant ones are shown, making the selection process easier while still providing adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by customizing the presentation of application options based on the specific content object and user context. Rather than presenting a uniform list of all applications, the system tailors the suggestions to the local situation (content type, user preferences, historical data), thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining versatility through context-aware recommendations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If manual selection of applications and recipients is required, then user control is maintained, but time and efficiency are lost due to the effort required to identify compatible options

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser control over sharing decisionVSAvoidtime to identify compatible applications

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The sharing routine implements feedback by presenting suggested applications and recipients to the user, who can then accept or modify the suggestions. This feedback loop maintains user control and reliability in the sharing decision while significantly reducing the time required, as the system has already performed the time-consuming analysis of compatibility and relevance beforehand.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11792242B2Sharing routine for suggesting applications to share content from host application

Publication Date: 2023.10.17 APPLE INC

AI summary

Content objects may be selected for sharing and shared across devices using a sharing routine and suggestion engine to provide suggestions of target applications to share the content objects and recipients with whom the content objects may be shared. A sharing routine may receive and analyze a sharing request and invoke a suggestion engine configured to generate application suggestions and/or recipient suggestions. The sharing routine may receive sets of application suggestions and/or recipient suggestions from a suggestion engine, modify and/or select subsets of the suggestions to be provided to user via a sharing user interface. In response to a user selection of applications and/or recipient via the user interface, the sharing routine may invoke the selected application for sharing, and provide the content object to the selected application.