Language Keyboard

• US 20090037837A1
• Filed: 08/03/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Nair, Navneet, Mahadevan, Chandramouli, Gopalan, Balaji, Raghunath, Mandayam T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,253,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• 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

A computer implemented method includes displaying first characters of a language script in a user interface, in response to receiving a selection of a first character, identifying second characters that are each a variant of the first character according to a language rule, displaying the second characters of the language script proximate the selected first character, and in response to receiving a subsequent selection of the selected first character or one of the second characters, displaying the subsequently selected character as an input character in the user interface.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying first characters of a language script in a user interface;

in response to receiving a selection of a first character, identifying second characters that are each a variant of the selected first character according to a language rule; and

displaying the second characters of the language script in the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the second characters of the language script in the user interface comprises displaying the second characters of the language script proximate to the selected first character.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising displaying the subsequently selected character as an input character in the user interface in response to receiving a subsequent selection of the selected first character or one of the second characters.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a selection of a second character;

identifying third characters that are variants of the selected second character according to the language rule; and

displaying the third characters of the language script proximate the selected second character.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying first characters of the language script in the user interface comprises circumferentially arranging the first characters to define an interior region.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein displaying second characters of the language script proximate the selected first character comprises displaying the second characters adjacent the first character within the interior region.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein circumferentially arranging the first characters to define an interior region comprises arranging the first characters to define a rectangle.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising defining first character groups in the circumferentially arranged first characters, each first character group corresponding to a letter grouping based on the language rule.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein displaying first characters of the language script in the user interface comprises arranging the first characters in first rows, and displaying second characters of the language script proximate the selected first character comprises displaying the second characters in one or more second rows adjacent a first row in which the selected first character is displayed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein displaying the second characters in the one or more second rows adjacent a first row in which the selected character is displayed comprises inserting the one or more second rows below the first row in which the selected character is displayed.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising grouping the first rows according to a letter grouping based on the language rule.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the language script is an Indic script.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first characters correspond to consonants and the second characters correspond to consonants with dependent vowel markers.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the language rule defines permissible consonant and dependent vowel marker combinations.

15. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to receiving a selection of another first character;

de-selecting the first character;

identifying other second characters that are a variant of the selected another first character according to the language rule;

eliminating the displaying of the second characters of the language script adjacent the selected first character; and

displaying the other second characters of the language script adjacent the selected another first character.

23. The software of claim 14, wherein the first characters correspond to consonants and the second characters correspond to consonants with dependent vowel markers.

16. Software stored in a computer readable medium and comprising instructions that are configured to cause a processing device to perform the operations of:

displaying first characters of a language script in a user interface; and

in response to receiving a selection of a first character, displaying second characters of the language script proximate the selected first character, wherein each of the second characters is a variant of the selected first character according to a language rule.

17. The software of claim 16, the operations further comprising displaying the subsequently selected character as an input character in the user interface in response to receiving a subsequent selection of the selected first character or one of the second characters.

18. The software of claim 16, the operations further comprising:

receiving a selection of a second character;

identifying third characters that are variants of the selected second character according to the language rule; and

displaying the third characters of the language script proximate the selected second character.

19. The software of claim 18, wherein displaying first characters of the language script in the user interface comprises circumferentially arranging the first characters to define an interior region.

20. The software of claim 19, wherein displaying second characters of the language script proximate the selected first character comprises displaying the second characters adjacent the first character within the interior region.

21. The software of claim 16, wherein the language rule defines permissible consonant and dependent vowel marker combinations.

22. The software of claim 16, wherein the language script is an Indic script.

24. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying first letters of an Indic language script in corresponding first objects in a user interface;

in response to detecting a first selection of a first object, displaying second letters in corresponding second objects, wherein each of the second letters is associated with the first letter corresponding to the selected first object according to a language rule; and

in response to detecting a subsequent selection of one of the selected first object or one of the second objects, displaying the letter corresponding to the subsequently selected object in the user interface.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising dividing the first objects into object groups, each object group corresponding to a letter group based on a structure of the Indic language script.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

adjacently positioning the first objects of the object group; and

highlighting each object group by a corresponding object group indicator.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein adjacently positioning the first objects of the object group comprises:

displaying each object group in a corresponding object group row; and

arranging the object group rows in vertical disposition.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

in response to receiving a first selection of a first object in a object group row, inserting a row of second objects adjacent the object group row of the selected first object so that the object group rows and row of second objects are simultaneously displayed in the user interface.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

arranging the plurality of first objects adjacent to define a circumferential region; and

in response to a first selection of the first object, displaying the one or more second objects adjacent to the selected first object.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the circumferential region defines a rectangular region, and further comprising displaying the one or more second objects within the rectangular region.

31. The method of claim 24, further comprising displaying the letter corresponding to the subsequently selected object in a text box displayed in the user interface.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein each of the second letters is a variant of the first letter according to the language rule.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the language rule defines permissible consonant and dependent vowel marker combinations.

34. Software stored in a computer readable medium and comprising instructions that upon execution cause a processing device to perform operations including:

displaying first letters of an Indic language script in corresponding first objects in a user interface;

in response to detecting a first selection of a first object, displaying second letters in corresponding second objects, wherein each of the second letters is associated with the first letter corresponding to the selected first object; and

in response to detecting a subsequent selection of one of the selected first object or a second object, displaying the letter corresponding to the subsequently selected object in the user interface.

35. The software of claim 34, wherein the operations further include dividing the first objects into object groups, each object group corresponding to a letter group based on a structure of the Indic language script.

36. The software of claim 35, wherein the operations further comprise:

adjacently positioning the first objects of the object group; and

highlighting each object group by a corresponding object group indicator.

37. The software of claim 36, wherein adjacently positioning the first objects of the object group comprises:

displaying each object group in a corresponding object group row; and

arranging the object group rows in vertical disposition.

38. A graphical user interface system, comprising:

a keyboard control engine configured to generate a virtual keyboard, the keyboard control engine including;

a keyboard rendering module configured to generate primary keyboard objects and secondary keyboard objects selectable by a user input device and generate a virtual keyboard displaying the primary keyboard objects and displaying the secondary keyboard objects adjacent a selected primary keyboard object;

a primary letters display module in data communication with the keyboard rendering module and configured to display in each primary keyboard object a corresponding first character of a language script;

a language information module in data communication with the keyboard rendering module and configured to identify a selected first character of a selected primary keyboard object and identify second characters that are variants of the selected first character according to a language rule; and

a secondary letters display module in data communication with the keyboard rendering module and configured to display in each secondary keyboard object the identified second characters.