HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING FACILITATED INPUT AND ASSOCIATED METHOD
First Claim
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1. A method of enabling data entry into a handheld electronic device, said data entry including a plurality of data elements, said method comprising:
- providing a database having data records wherein each data record has a corresponding data format;
detecting a first input that is a data record;
comparing the input data record to the data record database to verify that the input data record corresponds to a data record in said database;
automatically selecting the data format that corresponds to the data record;
detecting a second input; and
processing said detected second input according to said selected corresponding data format to obtain a second of said data elements, said second of said data elements conforming to said selected data format.
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Abstract
An improved handheld electronic device and an improved method facilitate the entry of data when the data is to be of a particular arrangement of alphabetic (A) and/or numeric (N) and/or other characters. In the depicted exemplary embodiment, the handheld electronic device includes a user interface that facilitates the entry of data having a predetermined data format.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of enabling data entry into a handheld electronic device, said data entry including a plurality of data elements, said method comprising:
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providing a database having data records wherein each data record has a corresponding data format; detecting a first input that is a data record; comparing the input data record to the data record database to verify that the input data record corresponds to a data record in said database; automatically selecting the data format that corresponds to the data record; detecting a second input; and processing said detected second input according to said selected corresponding data format to obtain a second of said data elements, said second of said data elements conforming to said selected data format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A handheld electronic device structured to enable data entry, said data entry including a plurality of data elements, said handheld electronic device comprising:
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a keyboard including a plurality of keys; a display; a processor including a memory, a database and a routine; said database having data records wherein each data record has a corresponding data format; said routine being adapted to respond to input signals from said keys and to generate output signals to said display; said routine being adapted to detect a first input that is a data record; said routine being further adapted to compare the input data record to the data record database to verify that the input data record corresponds to a data record in said database; said routine being further adapted to automatically select the data format corresponding to the data record; said routine being adapted to generate a first of said output signals to said display in response to detecting said first input; said routine being adapted to detect a second input from said keys; and responsive to said detected second input, said routine being adapted to process said detected second input according to said corresponding data format to obtain a second of said data elements and to generate a second of said output signals to said display. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of enabling data entry into a handheld electronic device, said data entry including a plurality of data elements, said method comprising:
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providing a database having data representing a plurality of geographic regions wherein each geographic region has a corresponding postal code format; detecting a first input, said first input representing a geographic location; identifying a geographic region based on said first input; automatically selecting, based on said database, the postal code format corresponding to the geographic region; detecting a second input; and processing said detected second input according to said selected corresponding postal code format to obtain a second of said data elements, said second of said data elements conforming to said selected postal code format. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification