Text Entry Into Electronic Devices

• US 20090207143A1
• Filed: 10/15/2005
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pantech Corporation (Ideahub, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Repka, Mikko, Yuan, Shijun
• Granted Patent: US 9,448,722 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/018 Input/output arrangements for oriental characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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 method of entering text into an electronic device 1 comprising a display 7, the method comprising: controlling 21 the display 7 to display one or more demarcated areas 51 having a transparent background 55; detecting 23 an input in one of the one or more demarcated areas 51; and in response to the detecting step controlling 25 the display 7 to display an opaque background 57 instead of a transparent background 55 for at least one of the one or more demarcated areas 51 for text entry.

Claims

1. A method of entering text into an electronic device comprising a display, the method comprising:

controlling the display to display one or more demarcated areas having a transparent background;

detecting an input in one of the one or more demarcated areas; and

in response to the detecting step, controlling the display to display an opaque background instead of a transparent background for at least one of the one or more demarcated areas for text entry.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more demarcated areas are used for text entry using handwriting recognition.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein demarcation of a demarcated area is provided by a boundary region to the demarcated area.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, providing text or an image, or both underlying at least a portion of at least one of the one or more demarcated areas such that when a demarcated area has a transparent background the underlying text, image, or both, are visible within the demarcated area.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the demarcated area has an opaque background the underlying text, image, or both, are not visible within the demarcated area.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising controlling the display to display a transparent background instead of an opaque background for the at least one of the one or more demarcated areas.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more demarcated areas are moveable around the display.

8. A method as claimed in any claim 1, wherein a first area of the one or more demarcated areas is operable as a recognition area for recognizing characters written by a user and a second area of the one or more demarcated areas is operable as a candidate list for displaying potential character selections to a user.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the input is detected in the first area.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the background of both the first area and the second area changes from transparent to opaque when an input is made in the first area.

11. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein only the background of the first area changes from transparent to opaque when an input is made in the first area.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the background of the second area changes from transparent to opaque when a potential character for selection is displayed to a user.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the text entry in the one or more demarcated areas is input in a foreground of the one or more demarcated areas so that it is silhouetted/contrasted against the opaque background.

14. An electronic device comprising:

a display for displaying one or more demarcated areas;

a user input for text entry via the one or more demarcated areas;

a detector for detecting an input via the user input in one of the one or more demarcated areas; and

a control for controlling the display,

wherein the control is arranged to control the display to display the one or more demarcated areas with a transparent background and is arranged, in response to detection of an input by the detector, to control the display to display at least one of the one or more demarcated areas with an opaque background instead of a transparent background.

15. A device as claimed in claim 14 wherein at least one of the one or more demarcated areas are operable for text entry using handwriting recognition.

16. A device as claimed in claim 14 wherein demarcation of a demarcated area is provided by a boundary region to the demarcated area.

17. A device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the display displays text, or an image, or both, underlying at least a portion of at least one of the one or more demarcated areas such that when a demarcated area has a transparent background the underlying text, image, or both, are visible within the demarcated area.

18. A device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the one or more demarcated areas are moveable around the display.

19. A device as claimed in claim 14, wherein a first area of the one or more demarcated areas is operable as a recognition area for recognizing characters written by a user and a second area of the one or more demarcated areas is operable as a candidate list for displaying potential character selections to a user.

20. A device as claimed in claim 19 wherein the detector is operable to detect an input in the first area.

21. A device as claimed in claim 20 wherein the background of both the first area and the second area changes from transparent to opaque when an input is made in the first area.

22. A device as claimed in claim 20 wherein only the background of the first area changes from transparent to opaque when an input is made in the first area.

23. A device as claimed in claim 22 wherein the background of the second area changes from transparent to opaque when the display displays a potential character selection.

24. A device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the text entry in a demarcated area is input in a foreground so that it is silhouetted/contrasted against the opaque background.

25. A computer readable medium having program instructions stored thereon for controlling an electronic device comprising a display which program instructions, when loaded into a processor, are for controlling the display to display one or more demarcated areas having a transparent background, and for controlling the display to display an opaque background instead of a transparent background for at least one of the one or more demarcated areas for text entry in response to detection of an input in one of the one or more demarcated areas.

26. A computer program product embodying the computer readable medium as claimed in claim 25.

27. (canceled)