METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SELECTING A WORD TO BE DEFINED IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL HAVING AN ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY

• US 20100169367A1
• Filed: 03/10/2010
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Ki-Tae, Son, Jae-Gon, Lee, Seok-Gon, Han, Yong-Hee
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,403 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/157 using dictionaries or tables
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries

Abstract

A method and device for selecting a word to be defined in a mobile communication terminal having an electronic dictionary function. The method includes selecting a word in a displayed text document in response to a first input, displaying the selected word in a search window, searching for the displayed word in response to a request to search for the displayed word, displaying information resulting from the search, and terminating display of the information and displaying the text document.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a word to be defined using an electronic dictionary function in a handheld device having an electronic dictionary data storage unit which stores dictionary information for a plurality of words, the method comprising:

selecting a word in a displayed document;

searching for the selected word from among the plurality of words stored in the electronic dictionary data storage unit; and

displaying the word, and dictionary information for the selected word found in the electronic dictionary data storage unit as a result of the searching.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the handheld device includes a display screen, and wherein the displaying of the word and the dictionary information includes displaying the word and the dictionary information in a window on the display screen.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the display screen includes a touch screen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the document includes one of a character message, news, e-mail, e-book and a memo.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying a selection box around the selected word in the in the displayed document in response to the selecting of the word in the displayed document.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the word in the displayed document includes performing one of a touch and a double touch of the word in the displayed document.

7. A handheld device with an electronic dictionary function, the handheld device comprising:

a display screen operable to display a document on the display screen;

an input unit operable to receive a search request from a user, wherein the search request includes a selection of a word from the displayed document;

an electronic dictionary data storage unit operable to store a plurality of words and dictionary information for each of the plurality of words; and

a search unit operable to search the electronic dictionary data storage unit;

a controller, wherein if the search request is received from the user via the input unit, the controller controls the search unit to search for the selected word in the electronic dictionary data storage unit and controls the display screen to display the word and dictionary information for the word.

8. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein the display screen is further operable to display an information window, and wherein if the search request is received from the user via the input unit, the controller controls display screen to display the word and dictionary information for the word in the information window.

9. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein the display screen includes a touch screen.

10. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein the document includes one of a character message, news, e-mail, e-book and a memo.

11. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein if the search request is received from the user via the input unit, the controller further controls the display screen to display a selection box around the selected word in the in the displayed document in response to the selecting of the word in the displayed document.

12. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein the receiving of the search request includes receiving one of a touch and a double touch of the word in the displayed document by a user via the input unit.

13. The handheld device of claim 7, wherein the display screen includes a touch screen, and wherein the input unit receives the search request from the user via the touch screen.