Reduced keyboard disambiguating system

• US 6,011,554 A
• Filed: 07/26/1996
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tegic Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kushler, Clifford A., King, Martin T., Grover, Dale L., Grunbock, Cheryl A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US08/686,955
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• Field of Search: 345/326, 345/352, 345/353, 345/354, 345/168, 345/169, 704/3, 704/7, 704/9, 704/10, 707/102, 707/530, 707/533, 707/534
• US Class Current: 715/811
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0238 Programmable keyboards key guide holders G06F3/0224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

A reduced keyboard disambiguating system (50) having a keyboard (54) with a reduced number of keys. A plurality of letters and symbols are assigned to a set of data keys (56) so that keystrokes entered by a user are ambiguous. Due to the ambiguity in each keystroke, an entered keystroke sequence could match a number of words with the same number of letters. The disambiguating system includes a memory (104) having a number of vocabulary modules (110). The vocabulary modules contain a library of objects that are each associated with a keystroke sequence. Each object is also associated with a frequency of use. Objects within the vocabulary modules that match the entered keystroke sequence are identified by the disambiguating system. Objects associated with a keystroke sequence that match the entered keystroke sequence are displayed to the user in a selection list (76). The objects are listed in the selection list according to their frequency of use. An unambiguous select key (60) is pressed by a user to delimit the end of a keystroke sequence. The first entry in the selection list is automatically selected by the disambiguating system as the default interpretation of the ambiguous keystroke sequence. The user accepts the selected interpretation by starting to enter another ambiguous keystroke sequence. Alternatively, the user may press the select key a number of times to select other entries in the selection list. For words that are not in the vocabulary modules, a two-stroke or multiple-stroke method are used to unambiguously specify each letter. The disambiguating system simultaneously interprets all entered keystroke sequences as a word, as a two-stroke sequence, and as a multiple-stroke sequence. The multiple interpretations are automatically and simultaneously provided to the user in the selection list.

Claims

1. An input disambiguating system for disambiguating ambiguous input sequences entered by a user, the disambiguating system comprising:

(a) a user input device having a plurality of inputs, each of the plurality of inputs being associated with a plurality of characters, an input sequence being generated each time an input is selected by manipulating the user input device, with the generated sequence corresponding to the sequence of inputs that have been selected and having a textual interpretation that is ambiguous due to the plurality of characters associated with each input;

(b) a memory containing a plurality of objects, including textual objects that are completed words and textual objects that comprise a string of characters corresponding to the initial characters of an uncompleted word, each of the plurality of objects being associated with an input sequence and a frequency of use;

(c) an output device to provide system output to the user; and

(d) a processor coupled to the user input device, memory, and output device, the processor identifying from the plurality of objects contained in the memory at least one object associated with each generated input sequence, automatically selecting an object having a highest frequency of use from the identified objects associated with each generated input sequence, and generating an output signal causing the output device to provide the user the selected object as a textual interpretation of the entered input sequence.

2. The disambiguating system of claim 1, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous selection input that generates a select signal when a user manipulates the user input device to activate said unambiguous selection input.

3. The disambiguating system of claim 1, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous input and wherein the user may accept the object having the highest frequency of use as the textual interpretation of the entered input sequence by manipulating the user input device to activate an unambiguous input.

4. The disambiguating system of claim 2, wherein the processor further generates an output signal causing the output device to provide at least two of the identified objects associated with the same input sequence as possible textual interpretations of the entered input sequence.

5. The disambiguating system of claim 4, wherein the identified objects are provided to the user in order of decreasing frequency of use.

6. The disambiguating system of claim 3, wherein the user may select an alternate textual interpretation of the input sequence by repeated manipulations of the user input device to activate the unambiguous selection input, each manipulation of the user input device to activate the unambiguous input selecting a different object from the identified plurality of objects associated with the input sequence having a decreasing frequency of use.

7. The disambiguating system of claim 6, wherein at least two of the plurality of identified objects are displayed in a list, the list being truncated to omit objects that exceed a threshold number of objects to display, wherein said omitted objects are displayed in the list following one or more manipulations of the user input device to activate the unambiguous selection input.

8. An input disambiguating system for disambiguating ambiguous input sequences entered by a user, the disambiguating system comprising:

(a) a user input device having a plurality of inputs, each of the plurality of inputs being associated with a plurality of characters, an input sequence being generated each time an input is selected by manipulating the user input device and corresponding to the sequence of inputs that have been selected, the generated input sequence having a textual interpretation that is ambiguous due to the plurality of characters associated with each input;

(b) a memory containing a plurality of objects, each of the plurality of objects being associated with an input sequence and one of a plurality of object types, including a completed word type comprising textual objects that are completed words and a word stem type comprising textual objects that comprise a string of characters corresponding to the initial characters of an uncompleted word;

(c) a display; and

(d) a processor coupled to the user input device, the memory, and the display, wherein for each input in the input sequence entered by the user the processor identifies from the plurality of objects contained in the memory one or more objects associated with each generated input sequence and generates an output signal causing the display to display a selection list comprising the identified one or more objects, wherein if the processor identifies a plurality of objects comprising two or more object types, the selection list comprises identified objects of a plurality of object types.

9. The disambiguating system of claim 8, further comprising a speaker capable of emitting a plurality of tones connected to the processor, the processor generating a signal causing the speaker to emit a desired one of the plurality of tones based on the objects in the selection list.

10. The disambiguating system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of objects in the memory are further associated with a frequency of use.

11. The disambiguating system of claim 10, wherein a plurality of objects associated with a generated input sequence are displayed to the user in order of decreasing frequency of use.

12. The disambiguating system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of object types is further associated with a priority.

13. The disambiguating system of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of objects in the selection list are ordered according to the priority associated with the object type associated with each object.

14. The disambiguating system of claim 8, wherein one of the plurality of object types is a character interpretation of an input sequence, the character interpretation interpreting at least one input in the input sequence as unambiguously specifying a character.

15. The disambiguating system of claim 8, wherein one of the plurality of object types is a proper noun interpretation of an input sequence, the proper noun interpretation associating at least one character to at least one input in the input sequence and forming a completed proper noun.

16. The disambiguating system of claim 15, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous shift input that generates a shift signal when the user input device is manipulated to activate the unambiguous shift input.

17. The disambiguating system of claim 16, wherein objects associated with the proper noun interpretation object type are displayed in the selection list before the objects associated with each of the other plurality of interpretations when the processor detects the shift signal before receiving an input sequence.

18. The disambiguating system of claim 8, wherein the user may select the plurality of object types that are displayed in the selection list.

19. The disambiguating system of claim 18, wherein the user may select a desired priority between the plurality of object types that are displayed in the selection list.

20. A text and pointing device to allow text entry into a computer coupled to a display, the text and pointing device comprising:

(a) a mouse coupled to said computer;

(b) a user input device incorporated in the mouse and having a plurality of inputs, each of the plurality of inputs being associated with a plurality of characters, an input sequence being generated each time an input is selected by manipulating the user input device and corresponding to the sequence of inputs that have been selected, the generated input sequence having a textual interpretation that is ambiguous due to the plurality of characters associated with each input; and

(c) an input disambiguating system coupled to the user input device for disambiguating ambiguous input sequences entered by the user, the disambiguating system comprising;

(1) a memory containing a plurality of objects, including textual objects that are completed words and textual objects that comprise a string of characters corresponding to the initial characters of an uncompleted word, each of the plurality of objects being associated with an input sequence; and

(2) a processor coupled to the user input device, memory, and said display, the processor identifying at least one of the plurality of objects in the memory associated with each generated input sequence, and generating an output signal causing the display to display at least one of the identified objects associated with each generated input sequence as a textual interpretation of the generated input sequence.

21. An input disambiguating system for disambiguating ambiguous input sequences entered by a user, the disambiguating system comprising:

(a) a user input device having a plurality of inputs, each of the plurality of inputs being associated with a plurality of characters, an input sequence being generated each time an input is selected by manipulating the user input device and corresponding to the sequence of inputs that have been selected, the generated input sequence having a textual interpretation that is ambiguous due to the plurality of characters associated with each input;

(b) a memory containing a plurality of objects, including word objects comprising textual objects that are completed words and word stem objects comprising textual objects that include a string of characters corresponding to the initial characters of an uncompleted word, each of the plurality of objects being associated with an input sequence;

(c) a display to depict system output to the user; and

(d) a processor coupled to the user input device, memory, and display, the processor identifying from the plurality of objects in the memory at least one object associated with each generated input sequence, and generating an output signal causing the display to display at least one of the identified objects associated with each generated input sequence as a textual interpretation of the generated input sequence.

22. The disambiguating system of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of objects in the memory are further associated with a frequency of use.

23. The disambiguating system of claim 22, wherein the identified objects associated with the same input sequence are presented to the user in order of decreasing frequency of use.

24. The disambiguating system of claim 23, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous selection input that generates a select signal when a user manipulates the user input device to activate said unambiguous selection input.

25. The disambiguating system of claim 23, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous input and wherein an input sequence is terminated by the user manipulating the user input device to activate the unambiguous input.

26. The disambiguating system of claim 25, wherein the processor automatically selects an object having a highest frequency of use from the identified objects as the textual interpretation of the ambiguous input sequence upon detecting the manipulation of the user input device to activate an unambiguous input.

27. The disambiguating system of claim 24, wherein the user may select an object having a lower frequency of use as the textual interpretation of the ambiguous input sequence by manipulating the user input device to activate said unambiguous selection input a plurality of times, each manipulation of the user input device to activate said unambiguous input selecting an object having a next lower frequency of use from the identified objects.

28. The disambiguating system of claim 26, wherein the user may enter a second input sequence following the manipulation of the user input device to activate an unambiguous input.

29. The disambiguating system of claim 28, wherein a single space is appended to the selected textual interpretation of the received input sequence that is shown on the display following one or more manipulations of the user input device to activate said unambiguous selection input in an uninterrupted sequence.

30. The disambiguating system of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of objects in memory belong to one of a plurality of object types, including a completed word type comprising textual objects that are completed words and a word stem type comprising textual objects that comprise a string of characters corresponding to the initial characters of an uncompleted word.

31. The disambiguating system of claim 30, wherein the identified objects associated with the received input sequence are displayed in a selection list on the display and wherein if a plurality of objects comprising two or more object types are identified, the selection list comprises identified objects of a plurality of object.

32. The disambiguating system of claim 31, further comprising a speaker capable of emitting a plurality of tones connected to the processor, the processor generating a signal causing the speaker to emit a desired one of the plurality of tones based on the objects in the selection list and there associated types.

33. The disambiguating system of claim 31, wherein each of the plurality of objects in the memory are further associated with a frequency of use.

34. The disambiguating system of claim 33, wherein the objects in the selection list are presented to the user in order of decreasing frequency of use.

35. The disambiguating system of claim 31, wherein each of the plurality of object types is further associated with a priority.

36. The disambiguating system of claim 35, wherein each of the plurality of objects in the selection list are ordered according to the priority associated with the object type associated with each object.

37. The disambiguating system of claim 31, wherein one of the plurality of object types is an unambiguous character interpretation of an input sequence, the unambiguous character interpretation interpreting the input sequence as unambiguously specifying a sequence of one or more characters.

38. The disambiguating system of claim 31, wherein one of the plurality of object types is a proper noun interpretation of an input sequence, the proper noun interpretation associating at least one character to at least one input in the input sequence and forming a completed proper noun.

39. The disambiguating system of claim 38, wherein the user input device further comprises an unambiguous shift input that generates a shift signal when the user input device is manipulated to activate the unambiguous shift input.

40. The disambiguating system of claim 39, wherein objects associated with the proper noun interpretation object type are displayed in the selection list before the objects associated with each of the other plurality of interpretations when the processor detects the shift signal before receiving an input sequence.

41. The disambiguating system of claim 31, wherein the user may identify the plurality of object types that are displayed in the selection list.

42. The disambiguating system of claim 41, wherein the user may select a desired priority between the identified plurality of object types that are displayed in the selection list.

43. The disambiguating system of claim 21, wherein the user input device is movable to a plurality of radial directions, each of the plurality of radial directions associated with one of the plurality of inputs.

44. The disambiguating system of claim 43, wherein the user input device is movable to eight radial directions.

45. The disambiguating system of claim 44, wherein the user input device is a control disk.

46. The disambiguating system of claim 21, wherein the plurality of objects are stored in the memory in a tree comprised of a plurality of nodes, each node being associated with an input sequence and with a plurality of objects wherein word objects and word stem objects that are associated with the same input sequence are stored at the same node.

47. The disambiguating system of claim 46, wherein the plurality of nodes are connected by a plurality of paths, each of the plurality of paths linking a parent node associated with a base input sequence with a child node associated with the base input sequence of the parent node and an additional input.

48. The disambiguating system of claim 47, wherein the objects associated with a child node are based on the objects associated with the corresponding parent node to which the child node is linked.

49. The disambiguating system of claim 48, wherein the objects associated with a child node are constructed using a code to modify objects associated with the corresponding parent node.