User interface for character entry using a minimum number of selection keys
First Claim
1. A method of character-by-character data entry that is displayed on a screen through sequential selection of characters of a collection of characters by a human user comprising:
- providing a plurality of display windows on the display;
defining character groups of the collection of characters, each character group to be displayed in a display window on a time variable basis;
successively displaying the characters of each character group in each respective display window for a display time to the user for selection, whereby a character set is simultaneously displayed to the user in the respective plurality of display windows;
detecting the selection by the user of a character displayed in a display window; and
entering the detected character, whereby a user may select characters as they are displayed in the display window and enter data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for character entry, e.g., entry of alphanumeric characters or shorthand symbols, employing fewer hard or soft data entry keys than the number of characters are disclosed. Keyboards are disclosed comprising multiple display windows in which character groups of a defined collection of characters are scrolled through and a character set is simultaneously displayed for in the display windows. The character set is presented for selection in a display window for discrete display time periods either automatically or by user advancement. Users rely upon hand-eye coordination and trainable manual dexterity to “grab” the displayed characters on the fly or in as short a display time as possible. In the automatic scrolling mode, as experience is gained, the user anticipates the presentation of characters of each subset in each display window. Thus, the full collection of characters is presented in space and in time to reduce the time between character selection, and speed and accuracy of data entry are increased.
54 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of character-by-character data entry that is displayed on a screen through sequential selection of characters of a collection of characters by a human user comprising:
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providing a plurality of display windows on the display;
defining character groups of the collection of characters, each character group to be displayed in a display window on a time variable basis;
successively displaying the characters of each character group in each respective display window for a display time to the user for selection, whereby a character set is simultaneously displayed to the user in the respective plurality of display windows;
detecting the selection by the user of a character displayed in a display window; and
entering the detected character, whereby a user may select characters as they are displayed in the display window and enter data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A user operable data entry system for entering data in a data set by selection of characters from a defined collection of characters comprising:
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a data entry display screen;
a plurality of character display windows on said data entry display screen for displaying characters;
means for dividing the collection of characters into a like plurality of character groups each having a further plurality of characters arranged in a predetermined order;
means for scrolling the characters of the characters of each character group through a respective character display window such that a character set is displayed in the display windows for a display time;
means for selecting a character displayed in a display window during the display time for entry; and
means responsive to the selection for entering the selected character in a data set. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification