Patent ID: 9035888
Filing Date: 2015-05-19
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method of receiving user input of data on a mobile station having a touchscreen display and a function key separate from the touchscreen display, comprising steps of: simultaneously displaying at least two separate key input sectors, each displayed sector including displayed representations of a plurality of data characters available for user input, and each displayed sector being spatially separated from the other by a distance greater than a distance between the display representation of adjacent data characters within the sectors, such that the two key input sectors are visually separate and distinct, wherein the first and second key input sectors are displayed at locations for touch by the user's thumbs, have a predetermined size, and have a predetermined shape that is curved to approximately follow outer perimeters of the users' thumbs and to display the data characters in curved bands, and wherein at least one of the size and the shape of the first and second key input sectors is able to be changed by the mobile station; sensing touch of a user's digit at a location on the touchscreen display corresponding to one of the data characters displayed in one of the key input sectors; responsive to the sensed touch, highlighting the displayed representation of the data character at the displayed location in the one of the key input sectors displayed on the touchscreen display; while the data character is highlighted, sensing user activation of the function key, as the user's selection of the data character at the displayed location of the sensed touch; and processing data corresponding to the selected data character, as the user input data.