TOUCHSCREEN KEYBOARD PROVIDING WORD PREDICTIONS IN PARTITIONS OF THE TOUCHSCREEN KEYBOARD IN PROXIMATE ASSOCIATION WITH CANDIDATE LETTERS

• US 20130222249A1
• Filed: 06/18/2012
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: PASQUERO, Jerome, MCKENZIE, Donald Somerset, GRIFFIN, Jason Tyler
• Granted Patent: US 9,910,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A method including receiving an input of a character from a virtual keyboard displayed on a display, generating a set of predicted input characters based on the input character, and displaying the generated set of characters in partitions of the virtual keyboard in proximate association with candidate letters is disclosed. An electronic device and a keyboard configured to perform the method are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving an input of a character from a virtual keyboard displayed on a display;

generating one or more sets of predicted input characters based on the input character; and

displaying one or more of the generated sets of predicted input characters within the virtual keyboard at a location proximate to a key corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character in the one or more generated sets of predicted input characters.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allocating a first partition of the virtual keyboard to a highest ranked set of predicted input character;

determining a candidate partition of a next highest rank set of predicted input characters;

allocating the next highest rank set of predicted input characters to the candidate partition when the candidate partition is unallocated.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a further next highest rank set of predicted input characters when the candidate partition is already allocated;

determining a candidate partition of the further next highest rank set of predicted input characters;

allocating the further next highest rank set of predicted input characters to the candidate partition when the candidate partition is unallocated.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the sets of predicted input characters are displayed within a partition allocated thereto.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the sets of predicted input characters are displayed within a partition allocated thereto only when all partitions in the virtual keyboard have been allocated or no further next highest rank set of predicted input characters exists.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the partitions are defined by a number of columns in an area of the virtual keyboard.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the displayed sets of predicted input characters are aligned horizontally.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the displayed sets of predicted input characters are displayed in a horizontal “

spacer”

bar separating two rows of keys in the virtual keyboard.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the partitions are defined by a number of rows in an area of the virtual keyboard.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the displayed sets of predicted input characters are aligned vertically.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the displayed sets of predicted input characters are displayed in a horizontal “

spacer”

bar separating two rows of keys in the virtual keyboard, each of the displayed sets of characters being located in a different spacer bar.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the partitions occupy substantially all of the virtual keyboard.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a displayed set of predicted input characters is input by detecting a swipe at or near the displayed set of predicted input characters.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the swipe is an “

up”

swipe.

15. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor;

a display coupled to the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to;

receive an input of a character from a virtual keyboard displayed on the display;

generate one or more sets of predicted input characters based on the input character; and

display one or more of the generated sets of predicted input characters within the virtual keyboard at a location proximate to a key corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character in the one or more generated sets of predicted input characters.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to:

allocate a first partition of the virtual keyboard to a highest ranked set of predicted input character;

determine a candidate partition of a next highest rank set of predicted input characters;

allocate the next highest rank set of predicted input characters to the candidate partition when the candidate partition is unallocated.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to:

determine a further next highest rank set of predicted input characters when the candidate partition is already allocated;

determine a candidate partition of the further next highest rank set of predicted input characters;

allocate the further next highest rank set of predicted input characters to the candidate partition when the candidate partition is unallocated.

18. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the sets of predicted input characters are displayed within a partition allocated thereto.

19. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the sets of predicted input characters are displayed within a partition allocated thereto only when all partitions in the virtual keyboard have been allocated or no further next highest rank set of predicted input characters exists.

20. A keyboard provided on a display of an electronic device, the keyboard comprising:

a plurality of keys, each key corresponding to one or more different characters of a plurality of characters,

wherein in response to receiving an input of a character, the keyboard is configured to generate one or more sets of predicted input characters based on the input character, and display one or more of the generated sets of predicted input characters within the virtual keyboard at a location proximate to a key corresponding to a subsequent candidate input character in the one or more generated sets of predicted input characters.