Tactile character input in computer-based devices

• US 6,326,947 B1
• Filed: 03/02/1999
• Issued: 12/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Capps, Stephen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): LAO, LUNYI
• Application Number:
  US09/260,924
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173-183, 345/156-169, 345/33, 178/18-1-, 178/19-1-, 341/21-23, 348/734, 340/815.4, 340/815.44
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/17 using hand-held instruments

Abstract

A character entry device in accordance with the invention has a character entry surface. The character entry surface has raised character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user. Sensors are associated with the segment guides to indicate when particular segment guides are traced. Decoding logic is responsive to the sensors to detect actually traced segment sequences and to determine characters that correspond to the actually traced segment sequences. In one embodiment, the character entry surface and segment guides are part of a remote control. An additional key face pivots to either cover or expose the segment guides. When the key face is covering the segment guides, keys in the key face rest against the segment guides and can be depressed to depress the segment guides. Decoding logic in the remote control interprets segment guide depressions as individual keystrokes when the key face is in this position.

Claims

1. A character entry device comprising:

tactile character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user;

sensors associated with the segment guides to indicate when particular segment guides are traced; and

decoding logic that compares ordered sequences of actually traced segments to a plurality of predefined ordered segment sequences to determine characters corresponding to the actually traced ordered segment sequences, at least some of the predefined ordered segment sequences including three or more segments.

2. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the segment guides are raised.

3. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensors are pressure sensitive.

4. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein each sensor is associated with only a single segment guide.

5. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensors form a sensor matrix underlying the segment guides.

6. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the segment guides include:

a plurality of approximately vertical segment guides spaced horizontally from each other;

a plurality of approximately horizontal segment guides spaced vertically from each other.

7. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the segment guides include,

at least three approximately vertical segment guides spaced horizontally from each other;

at least three approximately horizontal segment guides spaced vertically from each other;

a plurality of diagonal sensor guides extending between intersections of the vertical and horizontal segment guides.

11. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the segment guides include:

two vertical segment guides spaced horizontally from each other;

three horizontal segment guides spaced vertically from each other;

the vertical and horizontal segment guides being arranged to form an approximate figure eight.

12. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, wherein the segment guides include at least one segment corresponding to a period.

13. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a tactile button that indicates the completed tracing of a single character.

14. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more tactile focus control buttons.

15. A character entry device as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a key face that is movable into a position overlying the segment guides;

a plurality of keys on the key face, the keys being positioned over the segment guides when the key face overlies the segment guides to activate the sensors when the keys are pressed.

16. A character entry device as recited in claim 15, wherein the key face pivots to expose the segment guides for character tracing.

17. A character entry device as recited in claim 15, comprising a further sensor that indicates when the key race is overlying the segment guides.

8. A character entry device comprising:

tactile character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user;

sensors associated with the segment guides to indicate when particular segment guides are traced;

wherein the segment guides include;

at least three approximately vertical segment guides spaced horizontally from each other;

at least three approximately horizontal segment guides spaced vertically from each other;

the vertical and horizontal segment guides being arranged to outline one or more parallelograms;

a plurality of X-shaped segment guides positioned within the parallelograms.

9. A character entry device as recited in claim 8, wherein the segment guides include:

four X-shaped segment guides positioned within the parallelograms.

10. A character entry device as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

a data table that indicates a plurality of possible ordered segment sequences and corresponding characters.

18. A wireless remote control comprising:

a character entry surface;

the character entry surface having tactile character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user;

sensors associated with the segment guides to indicate when particular segment guides are traced;

a key face that is movable into a position overlying the character entry surface;

a plurality of keys on the key face, the keys being positioned over the segment guides when the key face overlies the character entry surface to activate the sensors when the keys are pressed; and

decoding logic that is responsive to the sensors to detect actually traced segment sequences and to determine characters that correspond to the actually traced segment sequences.

19. A wireless remote control as recited in claim 18, wherein the segment guides are raised.

20. A wireless remote control as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

a data table that indicates a plurality of possible segment sequences and corresponding characters;

the decoding logic being responsive to the table to determine characters that correspond to the actually traced segment sequences.

21. A wireless remote control as recited in claim 18, wherein the key face pivots to expose the character entry surface for character tracing.

22. A wireless remote control as recited in claim 18, comprising a further sensor that indicates when the key face is overlying the character entry surface.

23. A network browsing system that browses network resources in conjunction with a display device, comprising:

a network component configured to display specified network resources on the display device in response to character-based specifications provided by a human user;

a wireless remote control having tactile character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user;

the network component being responsive to characters traced on the segment guides to browse network resources specified by such traced characters;

the network component having decoding logic that is responsive to actually traced segment sequences to determine characters that correspond to the actually traced segment sequences.

24. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the network component is further configured to send actually traced segment sequences to a network server.

25. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, wherein the network component is further configured to send actually traced segment sequences to a network server and to receive decoded characters from the network server in response.

26. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, the network component being configured to receive both television content and Internet content.

27. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, the network component comprising an enhanced television configured to receive both television and network content.

28. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, the network component comprising an enhanced television configured to receive both television and Internet content.

29. A network browsing system as recited in claim 23, further comprising:

a key face that is movable into a position overlying the segment guides;

a plurality of keys on the key face, the keys being positioned over the segment guides when the key face overlies the segment guides to activate the sensors when the keys are pressed;

a further sensor that indicates when key face is overlying the segment guides;

the network component being responsive to keystrokes rather than to traced characters when the key face is overlying the segment guides.

30. A computer-based device that requires character entry from a human user, comprising:

a processor;

a character entry surface;

the character entry surface having tactile character segment guides upon which characters can be traced by a human user;

sensors associated with the segment guides to indicate when particular segment guides are traced;

the processor being responsive to the sensors to detect ordered sequences of actually traced segments;

wherein the processor compares the detected ordered sequences of actually traced segments to a plurality of predefined ordered segment sequences to determine characters corresponding to the actually traced ordered segment sequences, at least some of the predefined ordered segment sequences including three or more segments.

31. A computer-based device as recited in claim 30, wherein the segment guides are raised.

32. A computer-based device as recited in claim 30, further comprising a graphics display device, the processor being configured to display characters traced by the human user on the graphics display device.

33. A computer-based device as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

a data table that indicates a plurality of possible ordered segment sequences and corresponding characters;

wherein the processor is responsive to the table to determine the characters that correspond to the ordered sequences of actually traced segments.

34. A computer-based device as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

a key face that is movable into a position overlying the character entry surface;

a plurality of keys on the key face, the keys being positioned over the segment guides when the key face overlies the character entry surface to activate the sensors when the keys are pressed.

35. A computer-based device as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

a key face that is movable into a position overlying the character entry surface;

a plurality of keys on the key face, the keys being positioned over the segment guides when the key face overlies the character entry surface to activate the sensors when the keys are pressed;

a further sensor that indicates when the key face is overlying the character entry surface.

36. A method of character entry, comprising:

tracing characters over a plurality of tactile character segment guides;

generating sequences of actually traced segments in response to said tracing;

comparing the actually traced segment sequences to a plurality of predefined segment sequences to determine characters corresponding to the actually traced segment sequences; and

disambiguating actually traced segment sequences with a list of allowed character strings.

37. A method of character entry, comprising:

tracing characters over a plurality of tactile character segment guides;

generating sequences of actually traced segments in response to said tracing;

comparing the actually traced segment sequences to a plurality of predefined segment sequences to determine characters corresponding to the actually traced segment sequences; and

disambiguating actually traced segment sequences with grammatical rules.

38. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for character entry, the instructions being executable to perform steps comprising:

monitoring a plurality of tactile character segment guides to detect ordered sequences of actually traced segments;

comparing the actually traced ordered segment sequences to a plurality of predefined ordered segment sequences to determine characters corresponding to the actually traced ordered segment sequences, at least some of the predefined ordered segment sequences including three or more segments.

39. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 38, the instructions being executable to perform a further step comprising disambiguating actually traced segment sequences with a list of allowed character strings.

40. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 38, the instructions being executable to perform a further step comprising disambiguating actually traced segment sequences with grammatical rules.