Automatically Displaying and Hiding an On-screen Keyboard

• US 20110175826A1
• Filed: 05/28/2010
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Moore, Bradford Allen, Swales, Stephen W.
• Application Number:
  US12/789,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20110175826A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 and system for displaying an on-screen keyboard. An on-screen keyboard and a plurality of input fields are displayed on the touch-sensitive display. Each input field has an associated input interface and the on-screen keyboard is associated with a first input field. A subsequent contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a second input field is detected. The second input field is associated with a second input interface that is distinct from the on-screen keyboard and the second input interface is compatible with text input form the on-screen keyboard. The second input interface is concurrently displayed with the on-screen keyboard in response to the detected subsequent contact with the second input field.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for displaying an on-screen keyboard, comprising:

at an electronic device including one or more processors, memory and a touch-sensitive display;

displaying an on-screen keyboard and a plurality of input fields on the touch-sensitive display, each input field having an associated input interface and wherein the on-screen keyboard is associated with a first input field;

detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a second input field, wherein the second input field is associated with a second input interface that is distinct from the on-screen keyboard and wherein the second input interface is compatible with text input from the on-screen keyboard; and

in response to the detected subsequent contact with the second input field, displaying the second input interface concurrently with the on-screen keyboard.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the input interface is selected from a group consisting of one or more virtual wheels, selection boxes, pickers, sliders, virtual knobs, virtual game controllers and a plurality of on-screen keyboards, each on-screen keyboard corresponding to a respective language or layout.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

while the second input field is active;

enabling the user to control the second input interface via the on-screen keyboard.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a third input field, wherein the third input field is associated with a third input interface that is not compatible with the on-screen keyboard; and

in response to the detected contact with the third input field, displaying the third input interface and hiding the on-screen keyboard.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the third input interface is not compatible with the on-screen keyboard when the third input interface is from a group consisting of one or more color pickers, sliders, virtual knobs and virtual game controllers.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the on-screen keyboard includes keys corresponding to a first language;

the third input interface includes keys corresponding to a second language; and

the third input interface is not compatible with the on-screen keyboard when the second language is different than the first language.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is in a first user-interface state;

the method further comprising, while the electronic device is in the first user-interface state, detecting a transition of the electronic device to a second user-interface state; and

in response to the detecting, hiding the on-screen keyboard.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is in a first user-interface state;

the method further comprising, while the electronic device is in the first user-interface state, detecting a transition of the electronic device to a second user-interface state; and

in response to the detecting, hiding the on-screen keyboard.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the on-screen keyboard is not displayed when a hardware keyboard is attached to the electronic device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the on-screen keyboard is displayed in response to a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the first input field.

11. A computer-implemented method for displaying an on-screen keyboard, comprising:

in an electronic device including a processor, memory and a touch-sensitive display;

displaying a program window with a plurality of input fields;

detecting user contact with a first one of the input fields;

if the first input field is associated with text input and an on-screen keyboard is not currently displayed, display the on-screen keyboard;

if the first input field is associated with text input and an on-screen keyboard is currently displayed, continue to display the on-screen keyboard; and

if the first input field is not associated with text input and the on-screen keyboard is currently displayed, remove the on-screen keyboard.

12. A portable electronic device, comprising:

A touch-sensitive display;

memory;

one or more processors;

one or more programs stored in memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

displaying an on-screen keyboard and a plurality of input fields on the touch-sensitive display, each input field having an associated input interface and wherein the on-screen keyboard is associated with a first input field;

detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a second input field, wherein the second input field is associated with a second input interface that is distinct from the on-screen keyboard and wherein the second input interface is compatible with text input from the on-screen keyboard; and

in response to the detected subsequent contact with the second input field, displaying the second input interface concurrently with the on-screen keyboard.

13. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by a computer system, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

displaying an on-screen keyboard and a plurality of input fields on the touch-sensitive display, each input field having an associated input interface and wherein the on-screen keyboard is associated with a first input field;

detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a second input field, wherein the second input field is associated with a second input interface that is distinct from the on-screen keyboard and wherein the second input interface is compatible with text input from the on-screen keyboard; and

in response to the detected subsequent contact with the second input field, displaying the second input interface concurrently with the on-screen keyboard.

14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at an electronic device including one or more processors, memory and a touch-sensitive display;

displaying a first input interface and a plurality of input fields on the touch-sensitive display, each input field having an associated input interface and wherein the first input interface is associated with a first input field;

detecting a subsequent contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to a second input field, wherein the second input field is associated with a second input interface that is distinct from the first input interface and wherein the second input interface is compatible with the first input interface; and

in response to the detected subsequent contact with the second input field, displaying the second input interface concurrently with the first input interface.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second input interface is compatible with the first input interface due to the first input interface and the second input interface both being configured to input at least some input values associated with both the first and second input fields.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the input values associated with the first and second input fields can be represented with text input.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first input interface is an on-screen keyboard and the second input interface is compatible with text input.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first input interface is compatible with text input and the second input interface is an on-screen keyboard.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first and second input interfaces are respective touch-sensitive graphical interface elements configured to input values with similar respective data types in response to user interaction with the respective first and second touch-sensitive graphical interface elements.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first and second touch-sensitive graphical interface elements are selected from the set comprising:

a picker, a virtual wheel, a slider virtual, a virtual game controller, and a virtual knob.

21. The method of claim 19, where the first and second graphical interface elements are selected from the set comprising:

a selection box and an icon selector.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

while the second input field is active;

enabling the user to input values for the second input field via the first input interface.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the first input interface is displayed in response to a contact with the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the first input field.