Character Arrangement Method and Character Input Device

• US 20090040076A1
• Filed: 02/07/2008
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ye-Eun Kim
• Original Assignee: Ye-Eun Kim
• Inventors: Kim, Ye-Eun
• Application Number:
  US12/027,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20090040076A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 341/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

The present invention relates to a character arrangement method and a character input method in an electronic device. A telephone-style keypad is assigned symbolic word representations to provide a heuristic and intuitive text input interface to a user. The symbolic word representations on at least some keys on the keypad can create multiple numbers of same alphabets, which can be utilized for easier text entry of frequently-used alphabets. Leftover alphabets which did not get inscribed by the symbolic word representations on some of the keys are grouped together and assigned to leftover keys.

Claims

1. A method of utilizing Latin-originating alphabets as symbolic word representations on a telephone-style keypad operatively connected to an electronic device, the method comprising:

composing a symbolic word representation comprising a subset of the Latin-originating alphabets for a particular key on the telephone-style keypad, wherein the symbolic word representation can be an abbreviated term with a linguistic meaning;

inscribing the symbolic word representation on the particular key, wherein the particular key on the telephone-style keypad typically also represents a digit between 0˜

9 or a special touch-tone symbol;

executing a computer software in the electronic device configured to provide a textual input program using the telephone-style keypad as an alphabet input user interface; and

selecting a desired Latin-originating alphabet from the symbolic word representation inscribed on the particular key on the telephone-style keypad, wherein a selection of the desired Latin-originating alphabet is enabled by a number of sequential key presses during an operation of the textual input program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the Latin-originating alphabets are comprehensively but in some cases redundantly represented by a complete set of keys on the telephone-style keypad.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the Latin-originating alphabets cover English letters A˜

Z and the textual input program provides a method to select lower or upper case alphabets.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the symbolic word representation inscribed on the particular key on the telephone-style keypad is an alphabetized abbreviated name of the digit between 0˜

9 or the special touch-tone symbol also inscribed on the particular key.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the symbolic word representation inscribed on the particular key on the telephone-style keypad is an abbreviated term for one of the Ten Commandments from the Bible.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the symbolic word representation inscribed on the particular key on the telephone-style keypad is a desired abbreviated term requested by a particular user who custom-orders the electronic device from a manufacturer to print the desired abbreviated term on the particular key on the telephone-style keypad.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step of inscribing one or more leftover alphabets not represented by a plurality of symbolic words on a plurality of keys on one or more leftover keys on the telephone-style keypad.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of inscribing the symbolic word representation on the particular key for the alphabetized abbreviated name of the digit between 1˜

9 comprises one of following combinations;

“

1 ONE”

, “

2 TWO”

, “

3 THR”

, “

4 FOU”

, “

5 FIV”

, “

6 SIX”

, “

7 SEV”

, “

8 EIG”

, or “

9 NIN”

.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising a step of inscribing “

ABCD”

, “

JKLM”

, and/or “

PQYZ”

on a remaining key on the telephone-style keypad, wherein the remaining key is a “

*”

key, a “

#”

key, or a “

0”

key.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inscribing the symbolic word representation on the particular key for the alphabetized abbreviated name of the digit between 0˜

9 comprises one of following combinations;

ANT, BROW, CAR, DEEP, FISH, GIVE, JOY, LAKE, XMAS, or QUIZ.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inscribing the symbolic word representation on the particular key for the alphabetized abbreviated name of the digit between 0˜

9 comprises one of following combinations;

DEAR, SWEET, HAVE, QUIZ, JOKE, BE HAP, LUCKY, ING, FROM, or X.

12. An electronic device with a telephone-style keypad as a textual input user interface, the electronic device comprising:

a plurality of keys in the telephone-style keypad acting as the textual input user interface, wherein one or more symbolic word representations are inscribed on one or more keys using a subset of Latin-originating alphabets and wherein each symbolic word representation can be an abbreviated term with a linguistic meaning;

a plurality of digits and/or special touch-tone symbol inscriptions printed on the plurality of keys in the telephone-style keypad, wherein the plurality of digits and/or special touch-tone symbol inscriptions include Arabic numerals 0˜

9, an asterisk “

*”

, and a sharp “

#”

; and

a computer software in the electronic device configured to provide a textual input program for the telephone-style keypad, wherein the computer software accepts a number of sequential key presses during the operation of the textual input program for selecting a desired particular Latin-originating alphabet from the one or more symbolic word representations inscribed on the one or more keys.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the one or more symbolic word representations inscribed on the one or more keys sometimes present redundant Latin-originating alphabets.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the Latin-originating alphabets cover English letters A˜

Z and the textual input program provides a method to select lower or upper case alphabets.

15. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the one or more symbolic word representations inscribed on the one or more keys using the subset of Latin-originating alphabets are alphabetized abbreviated names of the plurality of digits between 0˜

9 and/or the special touch-tone symbol inscriptions.

16. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the one or more symbolic word representations inscribed on the one or more keys using the subset of Latin-originating alphabets are abbreviated terms for some of the Ten Commandments from the Bible.

17. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the one or more symbolic word representations inscribed on the one or more keys using the subset of Latin-originating alphabets are desired abbreviated terms requested by a particular user who custom-orders the electronic device from a manufacturer to print the desired abbreviated terms on the one or more keys.

18. The electronic device of claim 13, further comprising one or more leftover alphabets inscribed on one or more leftover keys in the telephone-style keypad, wherein the leftover alphabets are not represented by the one or more symbolic words inscribed on the one or more keys.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the one or more symbolic word representations on the one or more keys for the alphabetized abbreviated names of the plurality of digits between 0˜

9 and/or the special touch-tone symbol comprise some or all of following combinations;

“

1 ONE”

, “

2 TWO”

, “

3 THR”

, “

4 FOU”

, “

5 FIV”

, “

6 SIX”

, “

7 SEV”

, “

8 EIG”

, or “

9 NIN”

.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, further comprising additional keys inscribing “

ABCD”

, “

JKLM”

, and/or “

PQYZ”

, wherein the additional keys are “

*”

key, a “

#”

key, and a “

0”

key.