Multiple keyboard context sensitivity for application usage

• US 7,684,791 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2005
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Munje, Arun, Plestid, Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): MEHRPOUR, NAGHMEH
• Application Number:
  US11/150,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20060281448A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,744 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/566, 455/564, 455/90.3, 455/556.1, 455/456.1, 455/575, 455/560, 455/445, 455/418, 455/575.1, 455/575.6, 455/575.7, 455/186.2, 455/95
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1622 with enclosures rotating around an axis perpendicular to the plane they define or with ball-joint coupling, e.g. PDA with display enclosure orientation changeable between portrait and landscape by rotation with respect to a coplanar body enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1671 Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop G06F1/1666 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0231 Including a rotatable keypad body part
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/18 including more than one keyboard unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation methods for entering alphabetical characters per se G06F3/0237

Abstract

A method and improved mobile device for providing context sensitivity for application usage in a mobile device having multiple keyboards, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a keystroke at the mobile device; checking a state the mobile device is in; comparing the state the mobile device is in with a state an application expects; if the comparing step determines the state the mobile device is in differs from the state an application expects, and mapping the keystroke from the state the mobile device is in to a keystroke in the state the application expects.

Claims

1. A method for providing context sensitivity for application usage in a mobile device having multiple concurrently operable independent keyboards, the method comprising the steps of:

a) assigning one or more states to the mobile device, each state of the device corresponding to a keyboard to be utilised;

b) designating one or more applications to a state, the state of the application determining from which of said key boards a key stroke is expected;

c) receiving a keystroke at the mobile device from any one of the multiple concurrently operable keyboards;

d) checking a state of the mobile device based on the received keystroke;

e) checking a state of a presently running application;

f) comparing the state of the mobile device with the state of a presently running application; and

g) mapping the received keystroke to a keystroke the presently running application expects if the comparing step determines the state of the mobile device differs from the state of the presently running application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple keyboards include a T9 keyboard and an alphanumeric keyboard.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the alphanumeric keyboard is selected from the group consisting of a QWERTY keyboard, a DVORAK keyboard and a QWERTZ keyboard.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the state the mobile device is in corresponds with which keyboard is being used.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step corresponds with one of a data entry mode and a navigation mode.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the mapping step maps navigational menus to keys on the T9 keyboard based on letters associated with the keys.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the mapping step maps navigational functions to keys on the T9 keyboard based on the location of the keys.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiple keyboards is a virtual keyboard.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the virtual keyboard is a voice recognition program and a microphone.

10. An improved mobile device having a microprocessor running applications, communication means controlled by the microprocessor, speaker for audio output from the mobile device, microphone for audio input to the mobile device, at least two active concurrently operable keyboards, batteries for providing power to the mobile device, a display for displaying output from the microprocessor, and memory, the improvement comprising:

a) a comparing means to compare a state the mobile device is in with a state a presently running application expects; and

b) a mapping means to map a keystroke from one of the at least two concurrently operable keyboards with a keystroke in the state the presently running application expects if the comparing means finds the mobile device is in a different state than the state the application expects.

11. The improved mobile device of claim 10, wherein the multiple keyboards include a T9 keyboard and an alphanumeric keyboard.

12. The improved mobile device of claim 11, wherein the alphanumeric keyboard is selected from the group consisting of a QWERTY keyboard, a DVORAK keyboard and a QWERTZ keyboard.

13. The improved mobile device of claim 11, wherein the state the mobile device is in corresponds with which keyboard the keystroke came from.

14. The improved mobile device of claim 11 wherein the mapping means includes means to map navigational menus to keys on the T9 keyboard based on letters associated with the keys.

15. The improved mobile device of claim 11 wherein the mapping means includes means to map navigational functions to keys on the T9 keypad based on the location of the keys.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the multiple keyboards is a virtual keyboard.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtual keyboard is a voice recognition program and a microphone.