HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH TEXT DISAMBIGUATION
First Claim
1. A method of disambiguating an input into a handheld electronic device, the handheld electronic device including an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects stored therein, the plurality of objects including a plurality of language objects and a plurality of frequency objects, each of at least a portion of the language objects of the plurality of language objects being associated with an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the plurality of language objects including a plurality of word objects and a plurality of n-gram objects, substantially each n-gram object of the plurality of n-gram objects including at least a first character, the input apparatus including a plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, the method comprising:
- detecting an ambiguous input including a number of input member actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the number of input members including a number of characters assigned thereto, at least one of the input members of the number of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto;
generating a number of prefix objects corresponding with the ambiguous input, each prefix object of the number of prefix objects including a number of the characters of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input;
generating a result by, for each prefix object of at least a portion of the number of prefix objects, identifying a word object of the plurality of word objects, the identified word object corresponding with the prefix object, obtaining an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the associated frequency object being associated with the identified word object and having a frequency value, and associating the frequency value of the associated frequency object with the prefix object;
for at least a portion of the prefix objects of the result, generating an output set of the prefix objects sorted according to the frequency values associated therewith, at least a portion of the output set including a first prefix object with a spelling and having all lower case letters and a second prefix object having the same spelling and having at least one capital letter;
determining that the result includes a quantity of prefix objects, determining that the quantity of prefix objects in the result is fewer than a predetermined quantity, and adding as an orphan prefix object to the output set at a position corresponding with a relatively low frequency a prefix object of the number of prefix objects for which a corresponding word object of the plurality of word objects was not identified; and
outputting an output including the prefix objects of at least a portion of the output set organized in descending order of frequency value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software. The device provides output in the form of a default output and a number of variants. The output is based largely upon the frequency, i.e., the likelihood that a user intended a particular output, but various features of the device provide additional variants that are not based solely on frequency and rather are provided by various logic structures resident on the device. The device enables editing during text entry and also provides a learning function that allows the disambiguation function to adapt to provide a customized experience for the user. The disambiguation function can be selectively disabled and an alternate keystroke interpretation system provided. Additionally, the device can facilitate the selection of variants by displaying a graphic of a special <NEXT> key of the keypad that enables a user to progressively select variants generally without changing the position of the user'"'"'s hands on the device.
28 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method of disambiguating an input into a handheld electronic device, the handheld electronic device including an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects stored therein, the plurality of objects including a plurality of language objects and a plurality of frequency objects, each of at least a portion of the language objects of the plurality of language objects being associated with an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the plurality of language objects including a plurality of word objects and a plurality of n-gram objects, substantially each n-gram object of the plurality of n-gram objects including at least a first character, the input apparatus including a plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, the method comprising:
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detecting an ambiguous input including a number of input member actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the number of input members including a number of characters assigned thereto, at least one of the input members of the number of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto; generating a number of prefix objects corresponding with the ambiguous input, each prefix object of the number of prefix objects including a number of the characters of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input; generating a result by, for each prefix object of at least a portion of the number of prefix objects, identifying a word object of the plurality of word objects, the identified word object corresponding with the prefix object, obtaining an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the associated frequency object being associated with the identified word object and having a frequency value, and associating the frequency value of the associated frequency object with the prefix object; for at least a portion of the prefix objects of the result, generating an output set of the prefix objects sorted according to the frequency values associated therewith, at least a portion of the output set including a first prefix object with a spelling and having all lower case letters and a second prefix object having the same spelling and having at least one capital letter; determining that the result includes a quantity of prefix objects, determining that the quantity of prefix objects in the result is fewer than a predetermined quantity, and adding as an orphan prefix object to the output set at a position corresponding with a relatively low frequency a prefix object of the number of prefix objects for which a corresponding word object of the plurality of word objects was not identified; and outputting an output including the prefix objects of at least a portion of the output set organized in descending order of frequency value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. The method of claim 5, further comprising employing as the first linguistic source one of a generic word list, a new words database, a frequency learning database, an address database, and a speed-text database, and employing as the second linguistic source another of a generic word list, a new words database, a frequency learning database, an address database, and a speed-text database.
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6. A handheld electronic device comprising:
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a processor unit including a processor, an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects and a routine stored therein; the plurality of objects including a plurality of language objects and a plurality of frequency objects, each of at least a portion of the language objects of the plurality of language objects being associated with an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the plurality of language objects including a plurality of word objects and a plurality of n-gram objects, substantially each n-gram object of the plurality of n-gram objects including at least a first character; the input apparatus including a plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the plurality of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto; the routine being adapted to detect an ambiguous input including a number of input member actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members, each of at least a portion of the input members of the number of input members including a number of characters assigned thereto, at least one of the input members of the number of input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto; the routine being adapted to generate a number of prefix objects corresponding with the ambiguous input, each prefix object of the number of prefix objects including a number of the characters of the number of the input members of the ambiguous input; the routine being adapted to generate a result by, for each prefix object of at least a portion of the number of prefix objects, identifying a word object of the plurality of word objects, the identified word object corresponding with the prefix object, obtaining an associated frequency object of the plurality of frequency objects, the associated frequency object being associated with the identified word object and having a frequency value, and associating the frequency value of the associated frequency object with the prefix object; for at least a portion of the prefix objects of the result, the routine being adapted to generate an output set of the prefix objects sorted according to the frequency values associated therewith, at least a portion of the output set including a first prefix object with a spelling and having all lower case letters and a second prefix object having the same spelling and having at least one capital letter; the routine being adapted to determine that the result includes a quantity of prefix objects, to determine that the quantity of prefix objects in the result is fewer than a predetermined quantity, and to add as an orphan prefix object to the output set at a position corresponding with a relatively low frequency a prefix object of the number of prefix objects for which a corresponding word object of the plurality of word objects was not identified; and the routine being adapted to output an output including the prefix objects of at least a portion of the output set organized in descending order of frequency value. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification