System for a text speller

• US 8,296,676 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Millington, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Muhebbullah, Sajeda
• Application Number:
  US12/131,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20090097753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773, 715/810, 715/816, 715/835, 715/841, 345/168, 345/173
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3611 using character input or menus, e.g. menus of POIs character input methods in general G06F3/0233
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• 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

An apparatus may generate a text entry with a user interface. The apparatus may include a display, a user input device, a memory and a processor. The apparatus may display single character user input controls and multi-character user input controls on the display. Each of the single character user input controls and the multi-character user input controls may be buttons selectable with the user input device. A single character user input control may correspond to a single character and a multi-character user input control may correspond to a group of characters. The apparatus may display one of the multi-character user input controls in a display region and other user input controls outside of the display region. If the multi-character user input control is selected, the apparatus may replace the multi-character user input control with a second set of single character user input controls in an expanded display region.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the display, and the user input device, where the processor is operable to;

direct display of a plurality of first single character user input controls in a first multi-control display region on the display;

direct display of a first multi-character user input control in a first single control display region on the display, where the first multi-control display region that comprises the plurality of the first single character user input controls is larger than the first single control display region that comprises the first multi-character user input control;

replace the first multi-character user input control with a plurality of second single character user input controls in response to receipt of a selection signal from the user input device indicative of a user selection of the first multi-character user input control, where the second single character user input controls are displayed in an expanded display region that includes the first single control display region, the expanded display region being a second multi-control display region that is larger than the first single control display region; and

replace the first single character user input controls with a second multi-character user input control in response to the receipt of the selection signal indicative of the user selection of the first multi-character user input control, where the second multi-character user input control is displayed in a second single control region that is smaller than the first multi-control display region.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, where the selection signal is a first selection signal, the user selection is a first user selection, and the processor is further operable to:

generate a text entry in response to receipt of a second selection signal from the user input device indicative of a second user selection of one of the first single character user input controls, where the one of the first single character user input controls corresponds to a maximized character and the text entry includes the maximized character.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising an entries database stored in the memory, and where the processor is further operable to:

retrieve entries from the entries database, where each of the entries comprises a first character followed by a next character, the first character of each of the entries matched with the maximized character.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of a plurality of minimized characters of a minimized group on the first multi-character user input control, where any of the minimized characters that is matched to any next character of each of the entries is displayed differently than any non-matched character.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of a third multi-character user input control as disabled, where the third multi-character user input control corresponds to a group of characters, and the group of characters includes only characters not matched with any next character of each of the entries.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, where the processor is further operable to:

generate the text entry to also include a selected character in response to receipt of a third selection signal from the user input device indicative of a third user selection of a third multi-character user input control, where the third multi-character user input control corresponds to a group of characters, and no character other than the selected character included in the group of characters is matched with any next character of each of the entries.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, where the entries are recent entries, the recent entries include a plurality of text entries generated previously, and the entries database is a recent entries database.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, where the processor is further operable to:

position the first multi-character user input control and a collection of the first single character user input controls along a single axis in the display, where each of the first multi-character user input control and the collection of the first single character user input controls is positioned on the display based on an order of each of a plurality of character groups, and each of the first multi-character user input control and the collection of single character user input controls correspond to a respective one of the character groups.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of a plurality of minimized characters of a a minimized group on the first multi-character user input control.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, where the processor is further operable to:

direct display on the display of the minimized characters of the minimized group in a first font size and to direct display on the display of a plurality of maximized characters corresponding to the first single character user input controls in a second font size, where the first font size is smaller than the second font size.

11. A method of displaying a plurality of user input controls, the method comprising:

displaying at least one of the user input controls in each respective one of a plurality of display regions, where each of the display regions corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of character groups formed from a plurality of selectable characters and the user input controls include a first multi-character user input control displayed in a first one of the display regions and a plurality of first single character user input controls in a second one of the display regions;

replacing the first multi-character user input control with a plurality of second single character user input controls in the first one of the display regions in response to selection of the first multi-character user input control with a user input device; and

replacing the first single character user input controls with a second multi-character user input control in the second one of the display regions in response to the selection of the first multi-character user input control, where the first one of the display regions increases in size to include the second single character user input controls in response to the selection of the first multi-character user input control, and where the second one of the display regions decreases in size to include the second multi-character user input control in response to the selection of the first multi-character user input control.

12. The method of claim 11, where replacing the first multi-character user input control comprises:

resizing the first one of the display regions to a determined size; and

shifting a position of the second one of the display regions to accommodate the determined size of the first one of the display regions.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

adding a selected character to a text entry in response to selection of one of the first single character user input controls with the user input device, where the one of the first single character user input controls corresponds to the selected character.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

displaying a visual indication on the first multi-character user input control, where the first multi-character user input control corresponds to a plurality of minimized characters, and the visual indication includes display of the minimized characters.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a selection signal from the user input device, the selection signal indicative of a secondary selection mechanism of one of the first single character user input controls; and

displaying a family of characters based on a root character in response to receipt of the selection signal, where the one of the first single character user input controls corresponds to the root character.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

displaying a visual indication on the one of the first single character user input controls, where the visual indication indicates the one of the first single character user input controls is selectable with the secondary selection mechanism.

17. The method of claim 11, where the first single character user input controls are displayed in a three by three grid formed in the first one of the display regions.

18. A system comprising:

a display;

a user input device;

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the display and the user input device, where the memory includes computer code, and the computer code comprises;

code executable with the processor to direct display of a plurality of first single character user input controls in a first display region on the display;

code executable with the processor to direct display of a first multi-character user input control and a second multi-character user input control on the display, where the first display region that comprises the first single character user input controls is larger than a second display region that comprises the first multi-character user input control, and where the first display region that comprises the first single user input controls is larger than a third display region that comprises the second multi-character user input control;

code executable with the processor to replace the first multi-character user input control with a plurality of second single character user input controls in response to receipt of a selection signal from the user input device indicative of a user selection of the first multi-character user input control, where the second single character user input controls are displayed in an expanded display region and the expanded display region is larger than the second display region; and

code executable to replace the first single character user input controls with a third multi-character user input control in response to the receipt of the selection signal indicative of the user selection of the first multi-character user input control, where the third multi-character user input control is displayed in a reduced display region that is smaller than the first display region, where the first single character user input controls and the first and second multi-character user input controls are displayed together on the display prior to the receipt of the selection signal, and where the second and third multi-character user input controls and the second single character user input controls are displayed together on the display after the receipt of the selection signal.