Method and apparatus for the automatic completion of composite characters

• US 20060294462A1
• Filed: 06/28/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Technology Corporation Miami Lakes FLA US
• Inventors: Gentle, Christopher R., Lang, Andrew W., Chan, Kevin, Blair, Colin, Hepworth, Neil
• Granted Patent: US 8,413,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/53 Processing of non-Latin text kana-to-kanji conversion G06F40/129; vowelisation G06F40/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation

Abstract

The automatic completion of composite characters is supported by the generation of lists of candidate words or characters. Such lists may be generated by specifying letters or word shapes that are required to be included in candidate words or characters, independent of the order in which a specified letter or word shape is traditionally added to the completed word or character. In a subtractive mode, a user may exclude words or characters that include one or more letters or word shapes specified by the user.

Claims

1. A method for specifying a written character, comprising:

receiving a selection of a first character shape;

identifying a first plurality of characters containing said first character shape;

displaying at least one of said first plurality of identified characters;

receiving a selection of a second character shape;

in response to said selection of a second character shape, modifying said first plurality of characters to obtain a second plurality of characters, wherein said second plurality of characters includes one of;

a) only characters containing said first and second selected shapes, regardless of the order in which said selected character shapes were ordered; and

b) only characters containing said first selected shape but not said second selected shape; and

displaying at least one of said second plurality of identified characters.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of an addition mode, wherein said second plurality of characters includes only characters containing said first and second selected shapes.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of a subtraction mode, wherein said second plurality of characters includes only characters containing said first selected shape but not said second selected shape.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying a first plurality of characters comprises ordering said first plurality of characters, and wherein said displaying at least one of said first plurality of identified characters includes displaying a number of said first plurality of identified characters according to said ordering.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said ordering said first plurality of characters comprises ordering said first plurality of characters according to a relative frequency of use of said characters included in said first plurality of characters.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said selection of a first character shape is received as an input to a mobile telephone, and wherein said steps of displaying are performed using a display of said mobile telephone.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some character shapes available for selection are selected using an input key of said mobile telephone.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said first character shape is properly written after said second character shape with respect to at least one of said identified first plurality of characters.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying a first plurality of characters containing said first character shape comprises selecting a plurality of characters from a word shapes database associating characters with shapes used to create said characters.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said work shapes database comprises a word shapes hash table.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said first plurality of characters comprises an ideogram.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is implemented by a computational component comprising a computer readable storage medium containing instructions for performing the method.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is implemented by a computational component comprising a logic circuit.

14. A device for facilitating selection of textual characters, comprising:

a user input, wherein a number of letters or character shapes are available for selection by a user;

a memory, wherein said memory contains a table of characters;

a processor, wherein in response to a selection of at least first and second character shapes said processor executes instructions to perform a look up in said table in said memory, wherein one of;

a) each character included in said table containing said first and second character shapes is identified without regard to whether said first and second character shapes are used to write said identified characters in an order in which said character shapes were entered and b) each character included in said table containing said first character shape and not said second character shape is identified.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

a user display, wherein at least some of said characters that incorporate said character shape are displayed on said user display.

16. The device of claim 14, further comprising:

a communication interface, wherein a selected character may be transmitted to a recipient device.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein said user input comprises a mobile device keypad.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein said mobile device comprises a mobile telephone.

19. A device for providing character selection features, comprising:

means for storing associations of a plurality of characters with one or more character shapes;

means for receiving a selection of a first character shape and a second character shape;

means for retrieving from said means for storing associations at least a first set of characters containing said first character shape;

means for editing said first set of characters to form a second set of characters, wherein said second set of characters includes either;

a) only those characters containing said second character shape, regardless of whether said first character shape precedes said second character shape;

or b) only those characters containing said first character shape and not said second character shape; and

means for displaying at least one of said characters included in said first set of characters and for displaying at least one of said characters included in said second set of characters.

20. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

means for selecting one of an addition mode and a subtraction mode, wherein said selection of said second character shape while said subtraction mode is selected results in said second set of characters including only those characters containing said first character set and not said second character set.