Travel Schedule Display System Caching Strategy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems for displaying travel schedules face inefficiencies in balancing speed and accuracy, as they either rely on fast but incomplete data sources like Official Airline Guide (OAG) or slower but more comprehensive systems like Global Distribution Systems (GDS), which can be costly and time-consuming.

Innovation Solution

A schedule display system that combines a database query module for static schedule data with a cache query module for recent availability, allowing for rapid initial results and periodic updates from GDS and supplier itinerary systems to provide comprehensive and timely travel options.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If GDS systems are used to obtain comprehensive travel availability data, then measurement precision and reliability of travel information are improved, but productivity and response time deteriorate due to slow query processing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of travel availability dataVSAvoidspeed of providing travel results

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-fetching and caching travel availability data from GDS systems before actual user queries. The cache query module stores recently accessed availability information, so when users search for travel options, the system can quickly retrieve pre-cached data instead of querying GDS in real-time, thus resolving the contradiction between data accuracy and response speed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates copies of travel availability data from the authoritative GDS source and stores them in a local cache. This copying mechanism allows the system to serve multiple user queries using cached copies rather than repeatedly querying the original GDS system, maintaining data accuracy while dramatically improving response time and productivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Productivity

If OAG data sources are used for quick schedule information, then productivity and response time are improved, but measurement precision and completeness of travel data worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespeed of providing travel resultsVSAvoidcompleteness of travel availability data

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges data from multiple sources - combining the fast but incomplete OAG schedule data with the comprehensive but slow GDS availability data. The schedule display system first queries OAG for quick results, then supplements and validates this information by querying GDS for complete availability, merging both data streams to achieve both speed and completeness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The cache query module acts as an intermediary between OAG and GDS systems. It receives schedule information from OAG, enriches it with availability data from GDS when needed, and provides the combined results to the schedule display system, thus mediating between the speed of OAG and the completeness of GDS

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9928470B2Methods and systems for generating and sending representation data

Publication Date: 2018.03.27 CONCUR TECHNOLOGIES INC

AI summary

Methods and systems for generating representation data, comprising: receiving travel request data; retrieving schedule data associated with the travel request data; generating representation data representing the schedule data; and sending the representation data via a computer network.