Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Manipulating Soft Keyboards

• US 20120113023A1
• Filed: 03/30/2011
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Koch, Jonathan, Victor, B. Michael, Cieplinski, Avi E., Missig, Julian
• Granted Patent: US 8,547,354 B2
• 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 includes, at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface: concurrently displaying a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard on the display; detecting a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and, in response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replacing the unsplit keyboard with an integrated input area. The integrated input area includes a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard, a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard, and a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

concurrently displaying a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard on the display;

detecting a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replacing the unsplit keyboard with an integrated input area, the integrated input area including;

a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard;

a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard; and

a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the integrated input area includes a second text entry area.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein:

the first text entry area displays text at a first size; and

the second text entry area displays a portion of the text in the first text entry area at a second size that is larger than the first size.

4. The device of claim 2, including instructions for:

while displaying the integrated input area, detecting a gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a character key in the split keyboard; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture at the location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the location of the character key in the split keyboard, inputting and concurrently displaying the corresponding character in the first text entry area and the second text entry area on the display.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a portable electronic device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch-sensitive display that includes the touch-sensitive surface.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the gesture is a multifinger depinch gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the location of the unsplit keyboard on the display.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the gesture is a tap gesture on a keyboard selection icon.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein replacing the unsplit keyboard with the integrated input area includes displaying an animation that transitions the unsplit keyboard to the integrated input area.

10. The device of claim 1, including instructions for:

while displaying the integrated input area, detecting a second gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the second gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replacing the integrated input area with the unsplit keyboard.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the second gesture is a multifinger pinch gesture at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to the location of the integrated input area on the display.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the second gesture is a tap gesture on a keyboard selection icon.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein replacing the integrated input area with the unsplit keyboard includes displaying an animation that transitions the integrated input area to the unsplit keyboard.

14. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface;

concurrently displaying a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard on the display;

detecting a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replacing the unsplit keyboard with an integrated input area, the integrated input area including;

a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard;

a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard; and

a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.

15. A graphical user interface on an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory, the graphical user interface comprising:

concurrently displayed;

a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard;

wherein;

in response to detection of a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, the unsplit keyboard is replaced with an integrated input area, the integrated input area including;

a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard;

a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard; and

a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:

concurrently display a first text entry area and an unsplit keyboard on the display;

detect a gesture on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, replace the unsplit keyboard with an integrated input area, the integrated input area including;

a left portion with a left side of a split keyboard;

a right portion with a right side of the split keyboard; and

a center portion in between the left portion and the right portion.