COMMUNICATION TERMINALS AND METHODS WITH RAPID INPUT STRING MATCHING

• US 20080108341A1
• Filed: 11/07/2006
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Baard, Henrik
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2748 by matching character strings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications

Abstract

A portable electronic device includes a display, a user input device, and a controller that is coupled to the display and the user input device, and that is configured to execute an application program. The device further includes a user input management unit that is configured to receive an input string of characters from the user input device, configured to retrieve a bookmark list containing content identifiers that have been pre-stored by a user, configured to compare the input string to the content identifiers in the bookmark list, and configured to display a selection list on the display including a subset of the content identifiers in the bookmark list that match the input string.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a controller that is coupled to the display and the user input device, and that is configured to execute an application program; and

a user input management unit that is configured to receive an input string of characters from the user input device, configured to retrieve a bookmark list containing content identifiers that have been pre-stored by a user, configured to compare the input string to the content identifiers in the bookmark list, and configured to display a selection list on the display including a subset of the content identifiers in the bookmark list that match the input string.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to determine that a content identifier in the bookmark list matches the input string if the content identifier includes the input string anywhere in the content identifier.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to generate, in response to the input string not being in any of the content identifiers in the bookmark list, a correlation metric indicative of how closely the input string matches each content identifier in the bookmark list and to display the content identifiers that most closely match the input string in the selection list.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 3, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to display in the selection list only those content identifiers for which the correlation metric exceeds a threshold level.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to display an icon in the selection list adjacent each content identifier of the subset of content identifiers that identifies the corresponding content identifier as an item in the bookmark list.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to retrieve a history list of content identifiers that have been automatically stored by the application program or by the user input management unit, configured to compare the input string to the content identifiers in the history list, configured to identify a subset of the content identifiers in the history list that match the input string, and configured to display the subset of content identifiers in the history list that match the input string in the selection list.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein:

the user input management unit is further configured to display an icon in the selection list adjacent each content identifier of the subset of content identifiers in the history list that identifies the corresponding content identifier as an item in the history list.

8. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the input device comprises an alphanumeric keypad having a plurality of keys in which at least some of the keys of the keypad are used to input both letters and numbers.

9. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to execute a plurality of application programs;

wherein the user input management unit comprises a module configured to run separately from the application programs, and wherein the user input management unit is configured to determine, in response to the input string being received, which of the plurality of application programs is currently active.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the user input management unit is configured to retrieve a bookmark list associated with the active application program.

11. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to execute a plurality of application programs;

and wherein the user input management unit is configured to retrieve a master bookmark list that includes entries that are associated with a plurality of content types.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the user input management unit is configured to determine a content type associated with the selected content identifier, configured to determine if an application program associated with the content type is active, and configured, in response to the application program associated with the selected content type being active, to provide the content identifier to the application program associated with the content type.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 12, wherein the user input module is further configured, in response to determining that the application program associated with the content type is not active, to invoke the application program associated with the content type and to provide the selected content identifier to the invoked application program.

14. A method of operating an electronic device including a user input device and a display, the method comprising:

receiving an input string of characters from the user input device;

retrieving a bookmark list containing content identifiers that have been pre-stored by a user of the portable electronic device;

comparing the input string to the content identifiers in the bookmark list; and

displaying a selection list on the display including a subset of the content identifiers in the bookmark list that match the input string.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that a content identifier in the bookmark list matches the input string if the content identifier includes the input string anywhere in the content identifier.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating, in response to the input string not being in any of the content identifiers in the bookmark list, a correlation metric indicative of how closely the input string matches each content identifier in the bookmark list; and

displaying the content identifiers that most closely match the input string in the selection list.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

displaying in the selection list only those content identifiers for which the correlation metric exceeds a threshold level.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

displaying an icon in the selection list adjacent each content identifier of the subset of content identifiers that identifies the corresponding content identifier as an item in the bookmark list.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

retrieving a history list of content identifiers that have been automatically stored by the application program or by the user input management unit;

comparing the input string to the content identifiers in the history list;

identifying a subset of the content identifiers in the history list that match the input string; and

displaying the subset of content identifiers in the history list that match the input string in the selection list.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

displaying an icon in the selection list adjacent each content identifier of the subset of content identifiers in the history list that identifies the corresponding content identifier as an item in the history list.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

executing a plurality of application programs; and

determining, in response to the input string being received, which of the plurality of application programs is currently active.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein retrieving the bookmark list comprises retrieving a bookmark list associated with the active application program.

23. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

executing a plurality of application programs; and

retrieving a master bookmark list that includes entries that are associated with a plurality of content types.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining the content type associated with the selected content identifier,

determining if an application program associated with the content type is active, and

in response to the application program associated with the selected content type being active, providing the content identifier to the application program associated with the content type.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

in response to determining that the application program associated with the content type is not active, invoking the application program associated with the content type; and

providing the selected content identifier to the invoked application program.

26. A computer program product for operating a portable electronic device including a user input device and a display, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to receive an input string of characters from the user input device;

computer readable program code configured to retrieve a bookmark list containing content identifiers that have been pre-stored by a user of the portable electronic device;

computer readable program code configured to compare the input string to the content identifiers in the bookmark list; and

computer readable program code configured to display a selection list on the display including a subset of the content identifiers in the bookmark list that match the input string.