Method, system, and apparatus for keystroke entry without a keyboard input device

• US 7,703,035 B1
• Filed: 01/23/2006
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Megatrends International, LLC
• Original Assignee: American Megatrends Incorporated
• Inventors: Swayne, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZAHR, ASHRAF A
• Application Number:
  US11/337,389
• Time in Patent Office: 1,548 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• 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

Abstract

A method, system, and apparatus for entering alpha-numeric and non-alpha numeric data without the use of a keyboard input device are provided. According to one method, a grid is displayed on a display screen that includes one or more alpha-numeric characters. Distinguishing characters are displayed adjacent to each alpha-numeric character. In response to receiving a selection within the grid, a determination is made as to whether the selected location contains an alpha-numeric character and, if so, a further determination is made as to whether a distinguishing character is present on two sides of the selected location. If a distinguishing character is present on two sides of the selected location, then the character located at the selected location is entered into a keyboard buffer as if a keyboard input device had been utilized to type the character. The grid may also include character strings corresponding to non-alphanumeric keystrokes that may be selected and entered into the keyboard buffer in a similar manner.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for receiving alpha-numeric input in the absence of a keyboard input device, the method comprising:

utilizing a text mode of a graphics adaptor of a computer to display a grid on a display screen, the grid comprising a plurality of text characters wherein each of the plurality of text characters comprises one of an alpha-numeric character type, a distinguishing character type, and a grid structure character type, and wherein a text character of a distinguishing character type is displayed horizontally adjacent to each text character of an alpha-numeric character type in the grid;

determining whether input was received selecting a location within the grid;

determining a type of the text character displayed at the selected location;

in response to determining that the type of the text character displayed at the selected location comprises the alpha-numeric character type, entering the text character comprising the alpha-numeric character type into a keyboard buffer such that the text character comprising the alpha-numeric character type appears to have been typed on a keyboard;

in response to determining that the type of the text characters displayed at the selected location and one or more adjacent locations does not comprise the alpha-numeric character type, determining whether the type of the text character displayed at the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type;

in response to determining that the type of the text character displayed at the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type, determining whether a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location; and

in response to determining that a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location, entering the text character of the alpha-numeric character type displayed adjacent to the selected location into a keyboard buffer such that the text character of the alpha-numeric character type appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alpha-numeric characters displayed in the grid comprise each of the letters A-Z and the numbers 0-9.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the text character of the distinguishing character type comprises a blank space.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

in response to determining that the type of the text character displayed at the selected location comprises the alpha-numeric character type;

determining whether text characters of the distinguishing character type are displayed immediately to the left and right of the selected location;

in response to determining that text characters of the distinguishing character type are not displayed immediately to the left and right of the selected location, determining whether the text character displayed at the selected location is part of a recognizable string of characters; and

in response to determining that the text character displayed at the selected location is part of a recognizable string, entering a character corresponding to the string into the keyboard buffer such that the entered character appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a selection is made using only a mouse or pen input device.

6. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon which, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method of claim 1.

7. A computer-controlled apparatus capable of performing the method of claim 1.

8. A computer-implemented method for receiving alpha-numeric data entry at a computer without the use of a keyboard input device, the method comprising:

utilizing a text mode of a graphics adaptor of the computer to display a grid comprising a plurality of text characters, each of the plurality of text characters comprising one of an alpha-numeric character type, a distinguishing character type, and a grid structure character type;

receiving a selection from a non-keyboard input device at a location within the grid;

in response to receiving the selection, determining a type of the text character displayed at the selected location within the grid;

in response to determining that the type of the text character displayed at the selected location within the grid comprises the alpha-numeric character type, determining whether the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type;

in response to determining that the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type, entering the text character displayed at the selected location into a keyboard buffer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character;

in response to determining that the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location does not comprise the distinguishing character type, determining whether the text character displayed at the selected location is part of a recognizable string of characters corresponding to a non-alphanumeric keystroke;

in response to determining that the text character displayed at the selected location is part of a recognizable string, entering the corresponding non-alphanumeric keystroke into the keyboard buffer such that the keystroke appears to have been typed on a keyboard;

in response to determining that the type of the text character displayed at the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type, determining whether a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location; and

in response to determining that a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location, entering the text character of the alpha-numeric character type that is displayed adjacent to the selected location into a keyboard buffer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

display on a display device operably connected to the computer a grid comprising a plurality of text characters, each of the plurality of text characters comprising one of an alpha-numeric character type, a distinguishing character type, and a grid structure character type;

determine whether a non-keyboard input device operably connected to the computer has moved;

in response to determining that the non-keyboard device has moved, move a text character from a memory buffer to a current location of a cursor on the display device;

move the text character from a new location of the cursor corresponding to the movement of the non-keyboard input device to the memory buffer;

move the cursor from the current location to the new location;

receive a selection of the new location within the grid from the non-keyboard input device;

in response to receiving the selection, determine the type of the text character in the memory buffer;

in response to determining that the type of the text character in the memory buffer comprises the alpha-numeric character type, determine whether the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location within the grid comprises the distinguishing character type;

in response to determining that the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location comprises the distinguishing character type, enter the text character in the memory buffer into a keyboard buffer of the computer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character;

in response to determining that the type of the text character in the memory buffer comprises the distinguishing character type, determine whether a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location within the grid; and

in response to determining that a text character of the alpha-numeric character type is displayed adjacent to the selected location, enter the text character of the alpha-numeric character type into the keyboard buffer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, having further computer executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

in response to determining that the type of the text characters displayed in the locations horizontally adjacent to the selected location does not comprise the distinguishing character type, determine whether the text character in the memory buffer is part of a recognizable string of characters corresponding to a non-alphanumeric keystroke; and

in response to determining that the text character in the memory buffer is part of a recognizable string, enter the corresponding non-alphanumeric keystroke into the keyboard buffer such that the keystroke appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the non-alphanumeric keystroke comprises one of an enter keystroke, a backspace keystroke, and escape keystroke, or a function keystroke.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the non-keyboard input device comprises one of a mouse or a pen input device.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the text character of the distinguishing character type comprises a blank space.