Dynamic Alteration of Input Mode on Touch Screen Device

• US 20100088626A1
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Rubanovich, Dan
• Granted Patent: US 8,898,584 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• 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 mobile electronic device includes a touch sensitive display and enables text input to be provided in either a reduced keyboard ambiguous text input mode or in a full keyboard unambiguous text input mode and advantageously enables uncommitted text entered in the ambiguous input mode to be automatically committed when switching into the unambiguous input mode. An improved method employs the mobile electronic device.

Claims

1. A method of enabling input on a mobile electronic device of a type comprising an input/output apparatus and a processor apparatus that comprises a memory having stored therein a plurality of objects including a number of routines and a number of language objects, the mobile electronic device being switchable between an ambiguous text input mode and an unambiguous text input mode, the method comprising:

operating mobile electronic device in the ambiguous text input mode;

detecting an ambiguous text input;

outputting as uncommitted alternative character strings a plurality of proposed text disambiguations of the ambiguous text input, the plurality of proposed text disambiguations comprising a default disambiguation and a number of variant disambiguations, at least some of the text disambiguations each comprising at least some of the initial characters of a language object in the memory; and

responsive to a predetermined event;

switching the mobile electronic device to operate in the unambiguous text input mode, and

converting the default disambiguation into a committed unambiguous character string.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the input/output apparatus comprises a touch sensitive display, and further comprising:

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the ambiguous text input mode to be a reduced keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys, at least some of the virtual keys each having a plurality of linguistic characters assigned thereto; and

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the unambiguous text input mode to be a full keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys.

3. The method claim 2, further comprising detecting a predetermined movement of the mobile electronic device as being the predetermined event.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising detecting as the predetermined movement a rotation of the device between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation.

5. A mobile electronic device that is switchable between an ambiguous text input mode and an unambiguous text input mode, the mobile electronic device comprising:

an input/output apparatus that comprises a touch sensitive display; and

a processor apparatus that comprises a processor and a memory having stored therein a plurality of objects including a number of routines and a number of language objects, the routines being executable on the processor to cause the mobile electronic device to perform operations comprising;

operating mobile electronic device in the ambiguous text input mode;

detecting an ambiguous text input;

outputting as uncommitted alternative character strings a plurality of proposed text disambiguations of the ambiguous text input, the plurality of proposed text disambiguations comprising a default disambiguation and a number of variant disambiguations, at least some of the text disambiguations each comprising at least some of the initial characters of a language object in the memory;

responsive to a predetermined event;

switching the mobile electronic device to operate in the unambiguous text input mode, and

converting the default disambiguation into a committed unambiguous character string.

6. The mobile electronic device of claim 5 wherein the operations further comprise:

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the ambiguous text input mode to be a reduced keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys, at least some of the virtual keys each having a plurality of linguistic characters assigned thereto; and

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the unambiguous text input mode to be a full keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys.

7. The mobile electronic device of claim 6 wherein the operations further comprise detecting a predetermined movement of the mobile electronic device as being the predetermined event.

8. The mobile electronic device of claim 7 wherein the operations further comprise detecting as the predetermined movement a rotation of the device between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation.

9. A machine readable storage medium for use with a mobile electronic device of a type comprising an input/output apparatus and a processor apparatus that comprises a memory having stored therein a plurality of objects including a number of routines and a number of language objects, the mobile electronic device being switchable between an ambiguous text input mode and an unambiguous text input mode, machine readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on the processor, cause the mobile electronic device to perform operations comprising:

operating mobile electronic device in the ambiguous text input mode;

detecting an ambiguous text input;

outputting as uncommitted alternative character strings a plurality of proposed text disambiguations of the ambiguous text input, the plurality of proposed text disambiguations comprising a default disambiguation and a number of variant disambiguations, at least some of the text disambiguations each comprising at least some of the initial characters of a language object in the memory; and

responsive to a predetermined event;

switching the mobile electronic device to operate in the unambiguous text input mode, and

converting the default disambiguation into a committed unambiguous character string.

10. The machine readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein the input/output apparatus comprises a touch sensitive display, and wherein the operations further comprise:

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the ambiguous text input mode to be a reduced keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys, at least some of the virtual keys each having a plurality of linguistic characters assigned thereto; and

configuring at least a portion of the touch sensitive display in the unambiguous text input mode to be a full keyboard and to depict a plurality of virtual keys.

11. The machine readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the operations further comprise detecting a predetermined movement of the mobile electronic device as being the predetermined event.

12. The machine readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the operations further comprise detecting as the predetermined movement a rotation of the device between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation.