Handheld electronic device with reduced keyboard and associated method of providing quick text entry in a message

• US 8,185,379 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Babu, George V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chawan, Vijay B
• Application Number:
  US13/029,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20110137640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 460 Days
• Field of Search: 707/603, 707/610, 707/706, 707/791, 707/828, 704/9, 704/10, 704/277, 704/257, 704/1, 704/2, 715/780, 715/256, 715/234, 715/239, 715/249, 345/171, 345/169, 345/168, 345/156, 345/184, 341/22
• US Class Current: 704/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/189 Automatic justification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

An improved handheld electronic device having a reduced keyboard provides facilitated language entry by making available to a user certain words that a user may reasonably be expected to enter. In some situations, certain words can be stored, for example, in a temporary dictionary for use in particular situations. For instance, the names of the recipients of an electronic message might be stored in a temporary dictionary for rapid retrieval when entering a salutation in the message. As another example, a number of the words in an existing electronic message may be stored in a temporary dictionary and made available to a user when replying to or forwarding the message since the existing message might include words that the user might reasonably be expected to type in the reply message or the forwarded message.

Claims

1. A method for enabling input into a handheld electronic device having an input apparatus, an output apparatus, and a memory having a plurality of objects and at least one message stored therein, said input apparatus having a plurality of input members, at least some of the input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto, the method comprising:

generating a new message in response to receiving one of a replying or forwarding command with respect to the at least one message;

providing a dictionary comprising language objects associated with the at least one message;

detecting an ambiguous input comprising actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members;

determining that the ambiguous input is a portion of a salutation;

identifying one of the language objects stored in the dictionary that corresponds with the ambiguous input; and

outputting at least a portion of the identified language object as a proposed disambiguation of the ambiguous input.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dictionary further comprises frequency objects.

3. The method according to claim 1, the determining further comprising determining that the ambiguous input is disposed adjacent to a salutatory expression.

4. The method according to claim 1, the determining further comprising determining that the ambiguous input is in a first line of the new message.

5. The method according to claim 1, the outputting further comprising:

outputting a combination of at least a portion of two or more of the language objects stored in the dictionary as a proposed disambiguation of the ambiguous input, wherein the identified language object is one of the two or more language objects.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the language objects associated with the message thread include recipients of the new message.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying another language object stored in a second dictionary, the another language object corresponding with the ambiguous input; and

outputting at least a portion of the identified language object and the another identified language object as proposed disambiguations of the ambiguous input.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the identified language object is output at a position of preference with regard to the another identified language object.

9. An electronic device comprising:

a processor apparatus including a memory having a plurality of objects and at least one message stored therein,

an output apparatus; and

an input apparatus having a plurality of input members, at least some of the input members having a plurality of characters assigned thereto;

the processor apparatus being adapted to;

generate a new message in response to receiving one of a replying or forwarding command with respect to the at least one message,

provide a dictionary comprising language objects associated with the at least one message, the first dictionary being stored in the memory,

detect an ambiguous input comprising actuations of a number of the input members of the plurality of input members,

determine that the ambiguous input is a portion of a salutation,

identify one of the language objects stored in the dictionary that corresponds with the ambiguous input, and

cause the output apparatus to output at least a portion of the identified language object as a proposed disambiguation of the ambiguous input.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the dictionary further comprises frequency objects.

11. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the processor determines that the ambiguous input is a portion of a salutation by determining that the ambiguous input is disposed adjacent to a salutatory expression.

12. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the processor determines that the ambiguous input is a portion of a salutation by determining that the ambiguous input is in a first line of the new message.

13. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the processor further causes the output apparatus to output a combination of at least a portion of two or more of the language objects stored in the dictionary as a proposed disambiguation of the ambiguous input, wherein the identified language object is one of the two or more language objects.

14. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the language objects associated with the message thread include recipients of the new message.

15. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the processor is further adapted to:

identify another language object stored in a second dictionary, the another language object corresponding with the ambiguous input; and

cause the output apparatus to output at least a portion of the identified language object and the another identified language object as proposed disambiguations of the ambiguous input.

16. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the processor causes the identified language object to be output at a position of preference with regard to the another identified language object.