System Level Search Module Registration Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulties in finding specific electronic data due to the need to access multiple applications, navigate to search interfaces, and enter the same search terms in each application, resulting in a cumbersome experience.
Innovation Solution
A system-level search module that receives registration information from applications, allowing them to be searched via a centralized user interface, which ranks applications based on category, frequency, and recency of use, and displays identifiers to the user for selection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users access multiple different applications to find electronic data, then the data can be located in the specific application, but the user experience becomes cumbersome and frustrating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple application search interfaces into a single system-level search interface. The search module aggregates search capabilities from multiple applications (email, calendar, contacts, etc.) and presents a unified search experience where users can search across all applications simultaneously by entering one search term, eliminating the need to manually access each application's search function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system-level search module provides a universal search interface that can search across multiple different application types (email, calendar, contacts, documents, etc.) through a single unified interface. The search module is designed to work with various applications that register with it, making the search capability universal rather than application-specific.
2Reliability
If users manually navigate to search interfaces of multiple applications and enter the same search terms in each, then thorough searching is achieved, but the process becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically launching and coordinating searches across multiple applications simultaneously when the user submits a search term. The search module pre-configures search parameters and automatically distributes the search query to all registered applications without requiring the user to manually navigate to each interface or repeatedly enter the search term.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple separate search operations into a single unified search operation. The system combines the search functionality of multiple applications into one coordinated process, where a single user input triggers simultaneous searches across all registered applications, and results are aggregated and presented in a unified manner.
3Ease of operation
If a system-level search interface is implemented to search across multiple applications, then user convenience is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The search module acts as an intermediary between the user and multiple applications. It provides a unified search interface to users while simultaneously managing communications with multiple registered applications. The module receives search terms from users, distributes them to appropriate applications, aggregates results, and presents them in a unified format, thereby simplifying the user experience while managing the underlying complexity through a mediator architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the search functionality into distinct modular components: a user interface layer, a search coordination layer (the search module itself), and application-specific search handlers. Each application that wants to participate in system-level search independently registers with the module, maintaining modular independence. This segmentation allows the system to scale by adding or removing applications without redesigning the entire search system.
Data Source
AI summary
A system level search module receives system level search user interface registration information for an application of the computing device. The registration information includes an indication of how the system level search module can launch the application. The registration information is added to a registration store, and the application is included as one of one or more applications that can be searched using the system level search user interface.