METHOD AND MATRIX FOR INPUTTING SYMBOLS INTO COMPUTERS

• US 20070200827A1
• Filed: 04/26/2007
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dmitry Samal
• Original Assignee: Dmitry Samal
• Inventors: Samal, Dmitry
• Application Number:
  US11/740,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20070200827A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

The invention relates to digital devices, employing a reduced keyboard for text entering. The technical effect of the invention is solving ambiguity of depressed key sequence by using disambiguation system at character level, minimizing a number of entered keystrokes, raising efficiency of inputting both broadly used and special characters of various languages and enabling a user to enter texts by using a touch typing system. Characters 5 of the alphabet are divided into groups 21, 22, 23, depending on its frequency of occurrence in the actual texts. Any character 5 of group 21, comprising “high-frequency” character, is entered by one key-press. As for characters of other groups 22, 23, it is required to select a relevant group 22 or 23, first, and then select a character 5 of same group. Depending on a number of characters in the alphabet and keys on the reduced keyboard, the character groups are split to multiple subgroups 24 (comprising 2-3 characters each). The images of characters 5 of groups 21, 22, 23 are displayed on the screen 3 adequately to topology of key layout of the reduced keyboard 1, allocated to said characters 5. When switching over to group 21, 22, 23, the images of characters 5 are simultaneously modified. The arrangement of characters 5 of the selected language on keys of the reduced keyboard 1 within each group 21, 22, 23 is carried out based on the technology of utmost layout matching to topology of the conventionally adopted layouts of the complete computer keyboard employed for the relevant language. The matrix 20 is designed to arrange the selected language characters, referred to one group (subgroup), on the fields of group 21, 22, 23 (subgroup 24) congruently to topology, their geometrical location on the complete computer physical keyboard, for example, PC keyboard. The matrix 20 may have an alternative embodiment, for example, with reference to FIG. 10, which displays both mathematical 27, and letter 5 characters of a randomly selected language. The drawing on FIG. 1 is attached to accompany the abstract.

Claims

1. A method for inputting characters into electronic computing devices, mainly mobile telephones, cash banking terminals, digital television sets, electronic palm organizers/notepads, electronic translators, comprising:

splitting characters of a selected language into groups, displaying key images of the device keyboard on the device screen in the process of text entering, with a probable unambiguous association emerging between a key image and a physical key, which the former is allocated to, on the keyboard, determining unambiguously one-to-one matching between each character of one group and each physical key on the keyboard, at each instant, by displaying an image of the group character on the key image or adjacent thereto on the screen of the device.

2. A method for inputting characters of claim 1, wherein a number of key presses to input a character from group is minimized so that one key is required to be depressed to input characters of high frequency of occurrence.

3. A method for inputting characters of claim 1, wherein characters of groups are allocated to keys on the reduced keyboard for each language congruently with topology of the character layout on the complete computer keyboard for the said language.

4. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein changeover of groups is achieved by depressing an individual key on the reduced keyboard.

5. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, further comprising splitting character groups into subgroups, switching of groups and/or subgroups by depressing an individual key and modifying character images of deactivated group or subgroup to images of activated group or subgroup during changeover between group or subgroup of characters on the screen.

6. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, further comprising switching between group or subgroup achieved by depressing different keys, each one of them inducing activation of one particular group or subgroup.

7. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, further comprising admitting continuous display of characters of all groups or subgroups on the screen and highlighting characters of an activated group on the screen by adapting color or intensity (brightness) or inversion of character and/or key images when a character group or character subgroups are changed over.

8. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein a continuous display of the key images and characters of all subgroups is generated along the perimeter of closed figures, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard, the figures are arranged on the screen having different scale, but one center, with character groups being arranged along the perimeter of figures so that the characters of high-frequency of occurrence are arranged closer to common center of figures, and the characters of low-frequency of occurrence being arranged far apart from the center.

9. A method for inputting characters of claim 8, wherein the character groups are arranged along the perimeter of figures in such a way that the characters of low frequency of occurrence are arranged closer to the common center of figures, and the characters of high frequency of occurrence are arranged far apart from the center.

10. A method for inputting characters of claim 1, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

11. A method for inputting characters of claim 8, further comprising mutual substituting the character images of various groups by key images in such way that the characters of an activated group are arranged as close to or as far from the center of figures as possible, or, in case of displaying characters along nonclosed lines, the characters of an activated group are arranged along the top or bottom line.

12. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, further admitting representation of character images congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard only, not displaying an image of keys proper.

13. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein switchover of an activated group or subgroup is followed by a beep sound, which is generated by a sound unit connected to the device or which is a constituent of the latter.

14. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein each group or subgroup has a unique beep sound of a particular keynote (tone) and/or a loudness level allocated to, which beep sound is generated at instant a relevant group or subgroup is selected.

15. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein adding of an input character to a typed text is backed up by a beep sound of a particular tone or by synthesized sounds, adequate to a character as if being pronounced, which are generated by a sound unit and synthesizer connected to the device or which are constituents of the latter.

16. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein character images of an activated group or subgroup are displayed on individual screens, congruent to each key, whereby characters of an activated group or subgroup are displayed only, one character per each screen, congruent to a relevant key.

17. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein character images of an activated group or subgroup are displayed on individual screens, congruent to each key, and arranged under transparent keys of the reduced keyboard, whereby characters of an activated group or subgroup are displayed only, one character per each area of the screen under the relevant key.

18. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, further comprising generating representation of images of all characters of a current layout permanently on the touch panel during the whole process of character input, displaying key images and characters of all subgroups along the perimeter of closed figures, arranging figures on the screen, the former having different scale, but one center, and arranging character groups along the perimeter of figures in such a way, that the characters of high-frequency of occurrence are arranged closer to the common center of figures, and the characters of low-frequency of occurrence are far apart from the center, and inputting characters not by switching the groups, but by touching a relevant area of the screen, having an image of the typed character.

19. A matrix for inputting characters into electronic computing devices according to claim 1, mainly into mobile telephones, cash banking terminals, digital television sets, electronic palm organizers/notepads, electronic translators, comprising visual line representation of alphabetic and numeric characters of a text message of the selected language on the screen of an electronic computing device, wherein the characters of the selected language are arranged on the screen in the form of groups, with a probable unambiguous association emerging between a virtual key image and a physical key on the keyboard allocated thereto, whereby one-to-one matching between each character of one group and each physical key on the keyboard is determined at each instant of performance by displaying an image of the group character on the virtual key image or adjacent thereto on the screen of the device.

20. A method for inputting characters of claim 2, wherein characters of groups are allocated to keys on the reduced keyboard for each language congruently with topology of the character layout on the complete computer keyboard for the said language.

21. A method for inputting characters of claim 2, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

22. A method for inputting characters of claim 3, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

23. A method for inputting characters of claim 4, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

24. A method for inputting characters of claim 5, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

25. A method for inputting characters of claim 6, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.

26. A method for inputting characters of claim 7, wherein the character groups are arranged for a continuous or temporary representation on the screen along the nonclosed lines, congruent with topology of keys on the reduced keyboard.