Electronic text input involving a virtual keyboard and word completion functionality on a touch-sensitive display screen

• US 8,185,841 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2005
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rainisto, Roope
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustine, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US11/135,623
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,556 Days
• Field of Search: 715/716, 715/843, 715/773, 725/37, 710/30, 348/552
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A text input method for an electronic apparatus having a user interface with a touch-sensitive display screen, where a virtual keyboard is presentable on the display screen to facilitate text input for a user by pointing at different virtual keys of the virtual keyboard and where completion functionality is provided for predicting full word candidates for partial word inputs made by the user on the virtual keyboard, the method including receiving a partial word input from the user and deriving a set of full word candidates using the word completion functionality, each of the full word candidates in the set having a prefix and a suffix, where the prefix corresponds to the partial word input. The suffixes for at least a sub set of the full word candidates are presented in a predetermined area on the display screen, where each of the presented suffixes is made selectable for the user.

Claims

1. A text input method for an electronic apparatus having a user interface with a touch-sensitive display screen, wherein a virtual keyboard is presentable on said display screen so as to facilitate text input for a user by pointing at different virtual keys of said virtual keyboard, and wherein word completion functionality is provided for predicting full word candidates for partial word inputs made by said user on said virtual keyboard, the method comprising:

receiving a partial word input from said user;

deriving a set of full word candidates using said word completion functionality, each of the full word candidates in said set having a prefix and a suffix, wherein the prefix corresponds to said partial word input; and

presenting the suffixes for at least a sub set of the full word candidates in a predetermined area on said display screen, wherein the predetermined area is located within or at the virtual keyboard on the display screen and the predetermined area is located within, or on top of, a space bar included in the virtual keyboard wherein each of the presented suffixes is made selectable for said user;

detecting selection by said user of one of the presented suffixes; and

for the selected suffix, replacing a presentation of said partial word on said display screen with a presentation of the full word candidate to which the suffix belongs;

wherein said step of detecting selection by said user involves differentiating between a first type of selection and a second type of selection, and wherein said step of replacing a presentation involves adding a space character after said full word candidate if the detected selection is of said first type.

2. A text input method as defined in claim 1, wherein said first type of selection involves tapping with a writing tool within an activation area representing said selected suffix, and wherein said second type of selection involves pointing with the writing tool within said activation area and dragging the writing tool outside of said activation area before lifting it.

3. A text input method as defined in claim 1, wherein said second type of selection involves tapping with a writing tool within an activation area representing said selected suffix, and wherein said first type of selection involves pointing with the writing tool within said activation area and dragging the writing tool outside of said activation area before lifting it.