Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US9122672B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 14:47:15+00:00

Document:
A method including receiving an input of a character from a virtual keyboard rendered on a display, generating a set of characters that includes the character, and displaying the generated set of characters at a location associated with a key of the virtual keyboard of the display which corresponds to a subsequent candidate input character. An electronic device including a display having a virtual keyboard rendered thereupon and a processor, the processor being configured to perform the method. Also disclosed is a keyboard, including a plurality of keys, each key corresponding to one or more different characters of a plurality of characters, wherein in response to receiving an input of a character, the keyboard is configured to perform the method.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/373,356, filed Nov. 10, 2011, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/588,541, filed Jan. 19, 2012, the subject matter of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates generally to input methodologies for electronic devices, such as handheld electronic devices, and more particularly, to methods for receiving predictive text input and generation of a set of characters for electronic devices.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for predicting a selected set of characters, consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.
FIG. 20 shows an example front view of a touchscreen, consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.
The efficiency of predictive text input solutions, from the perspective of both device resources and user experience, sometimes depends on the particular user and the nature of the interaction of the particular user with the touchscreen. Virtual keyboard usage patterns can be broadly categorized as being of two types: “rapid” and “precise”. Rapid typists are typically fast two-thumb typists which rely on auto-correction. This usage pattern corresponds most closely with experienced, frequent touchscreen users. Precise typists are typically careful typists who are inclined to use a single finger point to tap keys in the virtual keyboard, and often choose predictions as an input accelerator rather than auto-correction. This usage pattern corresponds most closely with novice/new touchscreen users as well as potentially one-handed (thumb) use situations.
Accordingly, example embodiments described herein permit the user of an electronic device to input characters without diverting attention from the keyboard and subsequently refocusing. Example embodiments described herein also seek to accommodate different user types, such as rapid typists and precise typists, and the different efficiency challenges presented by the different user types.
Use of the indefinite article “a” or “an” in the specification and the claims is meant to include one or more than one of the feature that it introduces, unless otherwise indicated. Thus, the term “a set of characters” as used in “generating a set of characters” can include the generation of one or more than one set of characters. Similarly, use of the definite article “the”, or “said,” particularly after a feature has been introduced with the indefinite article, is meant to include one or more than one of the feature to which it refers (unless otherwise indicated). Therefore, the term “the generated set of characters” as used in “displaying the generated set of characters” includes displaying one or more generated set of characters. References to orientation contained herein, such as horizontal and vertical, are relative to the screen orientation of a graphical user interface rather than any physical orientation.
In one embodiment, a method is provided that comprises receiving an input of a character from a virtual keyboard rendered on a display, generating a set of characters that includes the character, and displaying the generated set of characters at a location associated with a key of the virtual keyboard of the display which corresponds to a subsequent candidate input character.
In another embodiment, an electronic device is provided that comprises a display having a virtual keyboard rendered thereupon, and a processor. The processor can be configured to perform the method.
In another embodiment, a keyboard rendered on a display of an electronic device is provided. The keyboard can include a plurality of keys, each key corresponding to one or more different characters of a plurality of characters. In response to receiving an input of a character, the keyboard is configured to perform the method.
While specific embodiments of a touchscreen have been described, any suitable type of touchscreen for an electronic device can be used, including, but not limited to, a capacitive touchscreen, a resistive touchscreen, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreen, an embedded photo cell touchscreen, an infrared (IR) touchscreen, a strain gauge-based touchscreen, an optical imaging touchscreen, a dispersive signal technology touchscreen, an acoustic pulse recognition touchscreen or a frustrated total internal reflection touchscreen. A 3D display screen is also possible. The type of touchscreen technology used in any given embodiment will depend on the electronic device and its particular application and demands.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 200 for predicting a set of characters, consistent with example embodiments disclosed herein. As used herein, a predictor (such as a predictive algorithm, program or firmware) includes a set of instructions that when executed by a processor (for example, main processor 102), can be used to disambiguate for example, received ambiguous text input and provide various options, such as a set of characters (for example, words or phrases, acronyms, names, slang, colloquialisms, abbreviations, or any combination thereof) that a user might be contemplating. A predictor can also receive otherwise unambiguous text input and predict a set of characters potentially contemplated by the user based on several factors, such as context, frequency of use, and others as appreciated by those skilled in the field.
At block 220, the processor generates one or more sets of characters such as words or phrases, acronyms, names, slang, colloquialisms, abbreviations, or any combination thereof based on the input received in block 210. The set of characters includes, for example, a set of Characters that are stored in a dictionary (for example, a word or an acronym) of a memory of the electronic device, a set of characters that were previously inputted by the user (for example, a name or acronym), a set of characters based on a hierarchy or tree structure, a combination thereof, or any set of characters that are selected by a processor based on defined. arrangement.
In some embodiments, contextual data can be included in the ranking at block 230. In some embodiments, the electronic device can be configured to rank nouns or adjectives higher based on the previous inputted set of characters. If the inputted set of characters is suggestive of a noun or adjective, the processor, using the contextual data, can rank the nouns or adjectives corresponding to what the user is typing higher at block 230. In an additional embodiment, set of characters including adjective affixes (such as “-ish” or “-ful”), phrases, plurals, or combinations thereof can also be ranked. Contextual data can increase the likelihood that the higher ranked generated set of characters are intended by a user. In some embodiments, contextual data can include information about which programs or applications are currently running or being used by a user. For example, if the user is running an email application, then set of characters associated with that user's email system, such as set of characters from the user's contact list, can be used to determine the ranking. N-grams, including unigrams, bigrams, trigrams, and the like, can be also used in the ranking of the sets of characters. Alternatively, the geolocation of the electronic device or user can be used in the ranking process. If, for example, the electronic device recognizes that a user is located at his/her office, then sets of characters generally associated with work can be ranked higher in the list. If, on the other hand, the device determines a user is at the beach, then sets of characters generally associated with the beach can be ranked higher in the list.
In some embodiments, the ranking could be used to choose between two or more sets of characters that, when displayed on adjacent subsequent candidate input characters, would overlap with each other (e.g., because of their respective lengths). In such a scenario, the electronic device could be configured to display the higher ranked set of characters on the keyboard. For example, if the set of characters “establishment” is ranked first in a list generated at block 240 after the letter “E” is inputted, “establishment” could be displayed at the “S” key. When displayed on a virtual keyboard, however, its length might occupy some space on the “A” key and the “D” key, potentially blocking a set of characters that would be displayed on or around those keys. At block 240, it could be determined that “establishment” would be displayed fully, and no other set of characters would be placed at the “A” or “D” keys ahead of the first ranked set of characters “establishment.” An alternative to displaying only the top ranked set of characters would be to use abbreviations or recognized shortened forms of the set of characters, effectively permitting a long set of characters to be displayed within or mostly within the boundaries of a single key simultaneously with other sets of characters on adjacent keys of a virtual keyboard.
FIGS. 3-9 illustrate a series of example front views of the touchscreen 118 having a virtual keyboard 320, consistent with example embodiments disclosed herein. Starting with FIG. 3A, touchscreen 118 includes a virtual keyboard 320 that is touch-active. The position of the virtual keyboard 320 is variable such that virtual keyboard 320 can be placed at any location on touchscreen 118. Touchscreen 118 could be configured to detect the location and possibly pressure of one or more objects at the same time. Touchscreen 118 includes two areas: (1) an input field 330 that displays characters after a user has inputted those characters and (2) the virtual keyboard 320 that receives the input from the user. As described throughout this disclosure, a virtual keyboard displays a set of characters at a location on the keyboard corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character that might be received as input from the user.
As shown in FIG. 3B, when a user inputs a character (in this example, “P”), this character is displayed in input field 330 and cursor 340 moves to the character space where the next inputted character or word will be inserted. After the character is inputted, a predictor (such as, a predictive algorithm or a circuit) can generate set of characters 360 (for this embodiment) that all begin with the character “P”, or characters if more than one character is input. The generated set of characters are displayed at a location on the keyboard corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character that might be received as input from the user. As mentioned, generated set of characters 360 can be displayed at or near the key corresponding to the subsequent candidate input characters (for example, under the respective A, E, H, and O keys of the virtual keyboard 320). Indeed, slightly shifting the display location of the generated set of characters can address overcrowding of subsequent candidate input characters, effectively permitting more set of characters to be displayed.
In the example shown in FIG. 3B, “P” is received as input and a predictor generates several set of characters 360, which are displayed at keys corresponding to each generated set of characters' subsequent candidate input character. As shown in FIG. 3B, “People” is placed at the “E” key because the next letter after “P” of “People” is “E”; “Paul” will be placed at the “A” key because the next letter after “P” of “Paul” is “A”; “Phone” will be placed at the “H” key because the next letter after “P” of “Phone” is “H”; and so on. It should be noted that any of the letters in the set of characters can be upper case or lower case.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3C, “L” is the next input received by the touchscreen, and a predictor determines several generated set of characters 360, which are displayed at a key corresponding to subsequent candidate input characters (for example, under the respective A, E, and U keys of the virtual keyboard 320), for the current position of cursor 340, which is in the third character position, as shown in input field 330. In another embodiment, a generated set of characters 360 can be presented such as to include the subsequent candidate input character. For example, the set of characters “Please” can be displayed so that the characters “Pl” are displayed before the “E” character on the “E” key, and the characters “ase” can be placed after the “E” character on the “E” key. Further, in this or other embodiments, the displayed “B” can be presented in a manner that differs from the “Pl” and “ase”, thereby enabling the user to still recognize it as the “B” key while also making it readily visible so that the user can either input the generated set of characters “Please” or input the character “E”. The “E” can be capitalized or in lowercase. In other embodiments, an affix can be displayed at the key. Using the example of the set of characters “Please” above, the “ase” could be displayed at the “B” key so the set of characters fragment “-ease” or “-Ease” would appear.
FIG. 6B shows an example where touchscreen 118 has received the “T” character as input after the user has pressed the “T” key. In this scenario, touchscreen 118 displays a “t” in input field 330. Generated set of characters 660 (for example, “Tuesday,” “today,” and “Thursday”) are displayed at the keys of the subsequent candidate input characters. FIG. 6C shows an example where electronic device 100 has received the “o” character as input after the user presses the “O” key instead of inputting generated set of characters 660 “today” as was shown in FIG. 6B. Thus, “o” is now displayed in input field 330.
FIG. 9 shows an example where touchscreen 118 receives the “this” set of characters as input after user selects “this” as a desired predicted set of characters 880. In this example, touchscreen 118 displays predicted set of characters “now” 980 at space key 350.
FIGS. 10A and 10B show example front views of a touchscreen, consistent with embodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 10A shows an example where touchscreen 118 displays “The co” in a text bar 1030 and several generated set of characters 1060 are displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. In this example, touchscreen 118 displays generated set of characters “cottage” 1060 under the “T” key, generated set of characters “cook” 1060 under the “O” key, generated set of characters “coat” 1060 under the “A” key, and generated set of characters “coffee” 1060 under the “F” key.
FIG. 11B shows an example where touchscreen 118 receives the set of characters “correct” as input after the user has selected the generated set of characters “correct” 1160. In this example, the set of characters “correct” is inserted in input field 1130 and a<SPACE> character is also inserted. Predicted set of characters (such as words 1190 and affixes 1192) are now displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. In this example, while affixes “-ing” and “-ion” both correspond to the “I” key, touchscreen 118 displays “-ing” with the “I” key and “-ion” with the “O” key. As stated above, the predicted affix may be assigned to a certain key based on a ranking, on contextual data, or a combination of both. In this embodiment, the “-ing” affix may have had a higher ranking than the “-ion” affix and was thus assigned to the “I” key. Accordingly, the “-ion” affix was assigned to the “O” key based on the corresponding “O” character being in the “-ion” affix.
FIG. 12A shows an example where touchscreen 118 displays “The ch” in a text bar 1230 and several generated set of characters 1260 are displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. In this example, generated set of characters 1260 include both “child” and “chimp.” In this embodiment, while the third letter in both “child” and “chimp” are the same, touchscreen displays “child” under the “1” key and displays “chimp” under the “C” key. The determination on which generated set of characters goes under which candidate input key can be based on a ranking (as specified above). As illustrated in this embodiment, touchscreen 118 can display a generated set of characters (in this case, “chimp”) on a key even though that key may not be associated with any subsequent characters of the characters in text bar 1230.
FIG. 12B shows an example where touchscreen 118 receives the set of characters “child” as input, after the user has selected the generated set of characters “child” 1260. The set of characters “child” is inserted in input field 1230 and, in this example, a<SPACE> character is not inserted. Predicted set of characters (such as words 1290 and affixes 1292) are now displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. In this example, while affixes “-ly” and “-less” both correspond to the “L” key, touchscreen 118 displays “-ly” with the “L” key and “-less” with the “E” key. As stated above, the predicted affix may be assigned to a certain key based on a ranking, on conventional data, or a combination of both. In this embodiment, the “-ly” affix may have had a higher ranking than the “-less” affix and was thus assigned to the “L” key.
Accordingly, the “-less” affix was assigned to the “E” key based on the corresponding “E” character being in the “-less” affix.
FIG. 12B shows an example where touchscreen 118 receives the set of characters “child” as input after the user has selected the generated set of characters “child” 1260. The set of characters “child” is inserted in input field 1230 and, in this example, a <SPACE> character is not inserted. Predicted set of characters (such as words 1290 and affixes 1292) are now displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. In this example, while affixes “-ish” and “-ily” both correspond to the “I” key, touchscreen 118 displays “-ish” with the “I” key and “-ily” with the “L” key. As stated above, the predicted affix may be assigned to a certain key based on a ranking, on conventional data, or a combination of both. In this embodiment, the “-ish” affix may have had a higher ranking than the “-ily” affix and was thus assigned to the “I” key. Accordingly, the “-ily” affix was assigned to the “L” key based on the corresponding “L” character being in the “-ily” affix.
FIG. 15 shows an example of an ambiguous keyboard 1520, which can have multiple characters assigned to a key (for example, such as a telephone keypad where “A,” “B,” and “C” are assigned to key 2; “D.” “E,” and “F” are assigned to key 3, and so on). For example, the characters “Q” and “W” can be assigned one key, and the characters “E” and “R” assigned to another key. in this example, the user has input the characters “Ol” by pressing the “op” key followed by the “L” key. Using a predictor, generated set of characters 1560 are displayed at subsequent candidate input characters. Since the first pressed key can input either an “O” or a “P” and the second pressed key inputs an “L”, generated set of characters 1560 will begin with “OL” or “PL”, such as shown by generated set of characters 1560 in FIG. 15.
At block 1730, the processor receives an input of the generated set of characters chosen by a user. If the user does not choose a generated set of characters displayed at or near keys of subsequent candidate input characters, the method restarts at block 1710, where the touchscreen can receive an input of another character. If a generated set of characters is received as input, at block 1740 the generated set of characters and a <SPACE> character is inserted in an input field (for example, input field 330 of FIGS. 3-9). As mentioned previously, the user can choose the generated set of characters, for example, by swiping at or near it or by long pressing a key corresponding to the subsequent candidate input character.
FIG. 20 shows another example of a virtual keyboard 2020 having an input field 2030. The set of characters “Please con” are received as input by the touchscreen and displayed in the input field 2030 followed by a cursor 2040, which can be a vertical line (as shown) or any other shape, such as an underscore as mentioned previously. A predictor determines one or more generated set of characters 2060 based in part on the received input for the current position of cursor 2040 within the current word, which is in the third character position of the current word, as shown in input field 2030. The current word is the word in which the cursor is currently located. In the shown example, generated set of characters 2060 “cones”, “contact”, “construction” and “connect” are displayed. Each generated set of characters 2060 is displayed at a key corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character (for example, under the E, T, S and N keys of the virtual keyboard 2020, respectively), for the current position of cursor 2040, which is in the third character position, as shown in input field 2030.
In the shown example, each generated set of characters 2060 is displayed at or near keys on the virtual keyboard 2020 associated with the subsequent candidate input characters. The display of a generated set of characters 2060 at or near a key corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character depends, for instance, on the size of the generated set of characters 2060 and the size of generated set of characters associated with nearby keys of other subsequent candidate input characters. When the generated set of characters associated with nearby keys in the same row of keys in the virtual keyboard 2020 are too large to be displayed at the same time without overlapping with each other or without a predetermined distance between the generated sets of characters, the processor 102 limits the generated set of characters which are displayed. The processor 102 may limit the generated set of characters which are displayed using one or any combination of the rank of each generated set of characters, the size of each generated set of characters, and a distance between each generated set of characters which are displayed so that a predetermined distance between the generated set of characters which are displayed. This may result in the display of one or more generated sets of characters which are larger than the associated key in the virtual keyboard 2020.
In some examples, if two generated sets of characters are both ranked high, and these sets of characters would otherwise be displayed at nearby keys but cannot be displayed and still maintain a predetermined distance between the generated sets of characters at the display text size, the electronic device could be configured to display only the highest ranked generated set of characters. This results in the display of the most likely generated set of characters. In other examples, only the longest of the generated set of characters is displayed. This may be beneficial in that allowing faster entry of longer words saves time and processing cycles, thereby leveraging the predictive text input solution. In yet other examples, only the shortest generated set of characters is displayed. This may be beneficial in that shorter words can be more common, at least for some users, thereby allowing faster entry of words which saves time and processing cycles, thereby leveraging the predictive text input solution.
In some examples, the processor 102 may only limit the generated set of characters which are displayed in neighboring/adjacent keys in the same row of keys in the virtual keyboard 2020. In some examples, the processor 102 may limit the generated set of characters which are displayed in neighboring/adjacent keys in the same row of keys in the virtual keyboard 2020 so that a generated set of characters is never displayed in neighboring/adjacent keys irrespective of the size of the generated set of characters or distance between each generated set of characters. In such examples, the processor 102 uses the rank to determine which generated set of characters are displayed.
As mentioned previously, a user can use a finger or stylus to swipe a generated set of characters to input that generated set of characters. An individual letter, in contrast, can be input by tapping a respective keys in the virtual keyboard 2020 using a finger or stylus. The touchscreen differentiates between tap and swipe events using movement and duration of touch events, the details of which are known in the art and need not be described herein. Each key in the virtual keyboard 220 and each generated set of characters 2060 which is displayed has an associated target area on the touchscreen. The target area associated with each generated set of characters can be larger than and/or overlap with the target area of the key corresponding to the subsequent candidate input character with which it is associated and possibly nearby keys, such as neighboring keys in the same row. A user need only swipe on or nearby a displayed generated set of characters to input the generated set of characters. This permits faster input of a generated set of characters by creating larger and more accessible target areas, thereby saving time and processing cycles. In some examples, a generated set of characters can be input by detecting a swipe in any direction at or near the displayed generated set of characters. In other examples, a generated set of characters can only be input by detecting a swipe in a particular direction at or near the displayed generated set of characters. The particular direction may be associated with a direction in which the particular direction displayed generated set of characters (e.g., left or right in the shown example). In some examples, the swipe is at or near the displayed generated set of characters when the swipe has an initial contact point within the target area associated with the displayed generated set of characters (which may be the same or larger than the displayed generated set of characters).
Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure described herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as examples only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the key input is a character selected from an alphabet and displayed on a key of the virtual keyboard.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the key input is a blank space represented by a key of the virtual keyboard.
responsive to the selection of the displayed word, causing the display of the selected word in a designated input field visually distinct from the virtual keyboard.
responsive to the selection of the displayed word, causing the display of the selected word in the designated input field.
responsive to a swipe input through the display, causing display of the displayed word in a field of the display substantially visually distinct from the virtual keyboard.
eliminating display of the word displayed in visual association with the respective key of the virtual keyboard upon display of the selected displayed word in the field of the display substantially visually distinct from the virtual keyboard.
responsive to an input determined to be different from the swipe input, causing display of a selected character in the field of the display substantially visually distinct from the virtual keyboard regardless of whether a word or a part of a word has been displayed in visual association with a key of the virtual keyboard corresponding to the selected character.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed word is positioned at or near the respective key of the virtual keyboard.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the displayed word is based on a subsequent candidate input character determined from the key input.
12. The method of claim 5, wherein the displayed word is positioned at or near the respective of the virtual keyboard.
13. The method of claim 5, wherein the location of the displayed word is based on a subsequent candidate input character determined from the input.
14. The method of claim 7, wherein the displayed word is positioned at or near the respective of the virtual keyboard.
15. The method of claim 7, wherein the location of the displayed word is based on a subsequent candidate input character determined from the input.
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