Graphical keyboard application with integrated search

• US 10,140,017 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Luipold, Heather
• Primary Examiner(s): Keaton, Sherrod L
• Application Number:
  US15/134,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20170308291A1
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/252 between a Database Management System and a front-end application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90324 using system suggestions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A computing device is described that includes a processor a memory storing at least a keyboard application, and a presence-sensitive display. The one or more processors execute the keyboard application to output a graphical keyboard including a plurality of keys and a search element, receive an indication of a selection of the search element, and, responsive to receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, output, within the graphical keyboard, a query suggestion region including one or more suggested search queries. The keyboard application may also determine, based on an indication of a user input detected by the computing device, a search query, invoke, based on the search query, a search, responsive to invoking the search, receive search results, and output, within the graphical keyboard, a graphical indication of at least a portion of the search results.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, by a first application executing at a computing device, a graphical user interface including a text edit region that includes uncommitted text input, and an output region that includes committed text input;

invoking, by the first application, a keyboard application executing at the computing device to provide a graphical keyboard within the graphical user interface;

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, the graphical keyboard, wherein the graphical keyboard includes a plurality of character keys, a word suggestion region and a search element, wherein the word suggestion region and the search element are each positioned above the plurality of character keys and below the text edit and output regions, wherein the word suggestion region includes a plurality of word suggestions based on the uncommitted text input displayed by the text edit region;

receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a selection of the search element;

responsive to receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, outputting, by the keyboard application, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the word suggestion region, a query suggestion region including one or more suggested search queries;

while outputting the query suggestion region for display, receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a selection of one or more character keys from the plurality of character keys;

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the query suggestion region, an updated query suggestion region including one or more characters selected in response to the selection of the one or more character keys;

determining, by the keyboard application, based on the one or more characters, one or more updated suggested search queries;

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display, the one or more updated suggested search queries in the updated query suggestion region;

receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a selection of one of one or more updated suggested search queries, the one of the one or more updated suggested search queries being a selected search query;

invoking, by the keyboard application and based on the selected search query, a search;

responsive to invoking the search, receiving, by the keyboard application, search results; and

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of a portion, but not all, of the plurality of character keys, a graphical indication of at least a portion of the search results.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

invoking the search comprises sending, by the keyboard application and to a search application executing at the computing device, an indication of the selected search query, and

the search results are received from the search application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

invoking the search comprises executing, by the keyboard application, a search of content stored at the computing device, and

the search results only include information stored at the computing device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information stored at the computing device includes one or more of contact information, image information, audio information, video information, message history information, search history information, application usage information, or device usage information.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first application includes search functionality, and wherein the keyboard application provides information to the first application for display within the graphical user interface,

wherein invoking the search comprises sending, by the keyboard application and to the first application, the selected search query, and

wherein the search results are received by the keyboard application from the first application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

invoking the search comprises sending an indication of the selected search query to a remote search system, and

the search results are received from the remote search system.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein invoking the search comprises:

executing, by the keyboard application, a search of content stored at the computing device; and

sending an indication of the selected search query to a remote search system, and

wherein at least a portion of the search results are received from the remote search system.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

ranking, by the keyboard application, the search results; and

selecting, by the keyboard application and based on the ranking, the portion of the search results to be output.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

while maintaining the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface adjacent to the graphical keyboard;

receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a user input selection a particular search result from the search results; and

updating, by the keyboard application for display, the graphical keyboard to include an indication of the particular search result within the text edit region of the graphical keyboard.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

while maintaining the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface adjacent to the graphical keyboard;

receiving, by the keyboard application, an indication of a swipe gesture initiated within the portion of the search results displayed within the graphical keyboard; and

outputting, by the graphical keyboard, for display within the graphical keyboard and in place of the portion of search results previously displayed, a graphical indication of a different portion of the search results.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the keyboard application, the one or more suggested queries based on one or more of a search history of a user associated with the computing device, a current messaging conversation, or a current context of the computing device.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving selection of search element;

determining, by the keyboard application and based on a previous selection of one or more keys of the plurality of keys, a suggested query; and

outputting, by the keyboard application, for display, the suggested query in the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

after receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, outputting, by the keyboard application, for display, the suggested query as one of the one or more suggested queries included in the query suggestion region.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the keyboard application is downloaded from an online application store.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the keyboard application executes as an extension to the first application.

16. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory storing one or more applications including a keyboard application and a first application that is different than the keyboard application; and

a presence-sensitive display,

wherein the one or more processors are configured execute the first application to;

output, for display at the presence-sensitive display, a graphical user interface including a text edit region that includes uncommitted text input, and an output region that includes committed text input; and

invoke, the keyboard application to provide a graphical keyboard within the graphical user interface; and

wherein the one or more processors are configured execute the keyboard application to;

output, for display adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, the graphical keyboard, wherein the graphical keyboard includes a plurality of character keys, a word suggestion region and a search element, wherein the word suggestion region and the search element are each positioned above the plurality of keys and below the text edit and output regions, wherein the word suggestion region includes a plurality of word suggestions based on the uncommitted text input displayed by the text edit region;

receive an indication of a selection of the search element;

responsive to receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the word suggestion region, a query suggestion region including one or more suggested search queries;

while outputting the query suggestion region for display, receive an indication of a selection of one or more character keys from the plurality of character keys;

output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the query suggestion region, an updated query suggestion region including one or more characters selected in response to the selection of the one or more character keys;

determine, based on the one or more characters, one or more updated suggested search queries;

output, for display, the one or more updated suggested search queries in the updated query suggestion region;

receive, an indication of a selection of one of one or more updated suggested search queries, the one of the one or more updated suggested search queries being a selected search query;

invoke, based on the selected search query, a search;

responsive to invoking the search, receive search results; and

output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of a portion, but not all of, the plurality of character keys, a graphical indication of at least a portion of the search results.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the keyboard application to, prior to receiving selection of the search element:

determine, based on a previous selection of one or more keys of the plurality of keys, a suggested query; and

output, for display by the presence-sensitive display, the suggested query in the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the keyboard application to, after receiving the indication of the selection of the search element:

output, for display by the presence-sensitive display, the suggested query as one of the one or more suggested queries included in the query suggestion region.

19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the keyboard application to, after receiving the indication of the selection of the search element:

output, for display by the presence-sensitive display, the suggested query as one of the one or more suggested queries included in the query suggestion region.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a computing device to:

execute a first application to;

output, for display, a graphical user interface including a text edit region that includes uncommitted text input, and an output region that includes committed text input; and

invoke a keyboard application to provide a graphical keyboard within the graphical user interface; and

responsive to the first application invoking the keyboard application, execute the keyboard application to;

output, for display adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, the graphical keyboard, wherein the graphical keyboard includes a plurality of character keys, a word suggestion region and a search element, wherein the word suggestion region and the search element are each positioned above the plurality of keys and below the text edit and output regions, wherein the word suggestion region includes a plurality of word suggestions based on the uncommitted text input displayed by the text edit region;

receive an indication of a selection of the search element;

responsive to receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the word suggestion region, a query suggestion region including one or more suggested search queries;

while outputting the query suggestion region for display, receive an indication of a selection of one or more character keys from the plurality of character keys;

output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of the query suggestion region, an updated query suggestion region including one or more characters selected in response to the selection of the one or more character keys;

determine, based on the one or more characters, one or more updated suggested search queries;

output, for display, the one or more updated suggested search queries in the updated query suggestion region;

receive, an indication of a selection of one of one or more updated suggested search queries, the one of the one or more updated suggested search queries being a selected search query;

invoke, based on the selected search query, a search;

responsive to invoking the search, receive search results; and

output, for display within the graphical keyboard, adjacent to the text edit and output regions of the graphical user interface, and in place of a portion, but not all, of the plurality of character keys, a graphical indication of at least a portion of the search results.

21. The non-transitory computing readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to execute the keyboard application to:

determine, based on a previous selection of one or more keys of the plurality of keys, a suggested query;

output, for display, the suggested query in the suggestion region of the graphical keyboard; and

after receiving the indication of the selection of the search element, output, for display, the suggested query as one of the one or more suggested queries included in the query suggestion region.