Method for input of text by selection of letters using a cursor and device for carrying out said method

• US 7,336,257 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2003
• Issued: 02/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Oliver Voelckers
• Original Assignee: Oliver Voelckers
• Inventors: Voelckers, Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): Awad; Amr A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pervan; Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/501,367
• Publication Number:
  US 20050116927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,872 Days
• Field of Search: 345/157, 345168-169, 345/173, 715856-859
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items

Abstract

The aim of the invention is development of a method for input of text by selection with a cursor from a list of letters which operates with various operating elements for control of the cursor and a device for carrying out said method. Said aim is achieved, whereby the text input by letter selection, weighted by the method of a frequency distribution of letter sequences, is carried out with a controlled graphical and/or acoustic cursor. Furthermore, a cursor control unit is connected to a micro-controller by means of a software interface, said micro-controller is connected to a ROM serving the request and a RWM buffering the input characters and a display for display of the data provided by the micro-controller. Said method for the input of text by selection of letters with a cursor on a screen is applicable in electronic devices not provided with a normal typewriter keyboard.

Claims

1. A method for inputting text using a cursor comprising:

selecting a character from a character set for input as text using a graphical cursor defining a display region wherein the cursor includes an indicator movable across the display region of the cursor, wherein the character set includes a plurality of characters weighted according to frequency statistics of character sequences, wherein the selecting includes;

moving the indicator a distance across the display region of the cursor to advance the cursor from at least one first character to at least one adjacent, second character, wherein the weighting on the first character defines the distance.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

deriving frequencies of occurrences of all possible character combinations from a representative sample text;

computing, after a first text input and based on a text sequence including the first text input and at least one text input preceding the first text input, probabilities of the respective characters for input as text following the first text input; and

sizing the display region of the cursor on a character on which the cursor is positioned based on the probability of the character for input as text following the first text input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the display region of the cursor is rectangularly shaped and moveable at least one of horizontally and vertically across the characters of the character set, wherein the characters vary in size in accordance with the weighting,

wherein the indicator is dot-shaped and moveable horizontally and vertically within the display of region the cursor.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising;

sizing the display region of the cursor for the respective characters of the character set in accordance with the weighting, wherein a difference between a largest and smallest size of the display region of the cursor is selectable by a user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the difference is in a range between zero and a predetermined difference.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

highlighting a character on which the cursor is positioned; and

sizing the display region of the cursor on the character on which the cursor is positioned in proportion to a probability of occurrence of the character on which the cursor is positioned, wherein the probability of occurrence of the character on which the cursor is positioned is computed based on a preceding text input sequence and a character sequence frequency table.

7. An apparatus for inputting text using a cursor comprising:

a controller including a memory and coupled to a cursor control unit and a display;

wherein the display includes a character set including a plurality of characters and a cursor, wherein the characters are weighted according to frequency statistics of character sequences and wherein the cursor is a graphical cursor defining a display region wherein the cursor includes an indicator movable across the display region of the cursor; and

wherein the control unit is operable for controlling movement of the indicator for advancing the cursor across at least one first character to at least one adjacent, second character, wherein the weighting on the first character defines a distance across the display region of the cursor and wherein moving the indicator over the distance advances the cursor across the first character.