Unified Input Field for Local Search on Portable Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional local search systems on portable electronic devices require two fields for inputting content and location conditions, occupying valuable screen space and necessitating both conditions for search initiation, without assisting users in narrowing search scope to reduce data transmission volume.
Innovation Solution
A local search method using a predefined symbol to distinguish between content and location conditions within a single input field, allowing for flexible search initiation and providing options to narrow search scope, thereby reducing data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If two fields are provided for content and location conditions, then search functionality is complete, but screen space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate input fields (content condition field and location condition field) into a single unified input field. Users can input both search terms and location information in one field separated by a space, eliminating the need for two distinct fields and thereby saving screen space while maintaining complete search functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The single input field serves multiple functions: it can accept content search terms, location information, or both combined in one input. This multi-functional design replaces the need for separate specialized fields, allowing the same interface element to handle different types of search inputs flexibly.
2Measurement precision
If both content and location conditions are required, then search precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows users to perform partial searches by entering only content terms or only location information without requiring both conditions. The search engine processes whichever input is provided, enabling quick searches when users have incomplete information, while still supporting precise searches when both conditions are supplied.
Solution Approach 2:
The search system dynamically adapts to user input by accepting variable combinations of content and location conditions. The interface and processing logic adjust based on what the user provides, allowing flexible search initiation without rigid requirements, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining search precision when needed.
3Loss of information
If search scope is not restricted, then search completeness is maintained, but data transmission volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The search system segments the search process into distinct phases: first processing content conditions, then location conditions separately. This segmentation allows the system to progressively narrow the search scope, transmitting data in manageable segments rather than retrieving all possible data at once, thereby reducing overall data transmission volume while maintaining search completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary filtering by content conditions before applying location-based filtering. This preliminary action reduces the search space early in the process, minimizing the volume of data that needs to be transmitted and processed in subsequent steps, while ensuring that no relevant results are lost through the staged filtering approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A local search method to be implemented by a portable electronic device is provided for searching a database that contains a plurality of data sets, each of which includes location information and content information. The local search method includes the steps of: (a) upon obtaining a search condition word string inputted by a user, determining whether the search condition word string contains a predefined symbol; and (b) when it is determined in step (a) that the search condition word string contains the predefined symbol, setting a string segment before the predefined symbol as a content condition, and a string segment after the predefined symbol as a location condition, and conducting a type-one search on the database, in which the database is searched for at least one data set whose content information corresponds to the content condition and whose location information corresponds to the location condition.