Predictive virtual keyboard

• US 8,484,573 B1
• Filed: 05/23/2012
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhai, Shumin, Diao, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOI, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US13/479,074
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 715/773, 715/864, 345/173, 345/168
• US Class Current: 715/773
• 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

In general, aspects of this disclosure are directed to techniques for predictive text correction and completion for text entry using virtual keyboards on touch-sensitive displays. A user may be able to type on a representation of a virtual keyboard displayed on touch-sensitive displays by contacting representations of virtual keys included in the virtual keyboard, and the word the user intended to type on the virtual keyboard may be predicted and displayed in place of characters associated with the virtual keys actually contacted by the user. In some examples of the present disclosure, a virtual spacebar key included in the virtual keyboard may be treated in a probabilistic fashion to determine whether a contact received by the touch-sensitive display is intended to select the virtual spacebar key to perform an autocorrect or autocomplete function.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting, for display at a touch-sensitive display operably coupled to a computing device, a representation of a virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys;

receiving a respective indication of each of a plurality of contacts at a portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard;

after receiving the respective indication of each of the plurality of contacts, receiving a subsequent contact at the portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard;

determining, by the computing device and based at least in part on the plurality of contacts, one or more candidate words, each of the one or more candidate words including at least as many characters as a quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts;

determining whether the subsequent contact is intended to select a virtual spacebar key based at least in part on whether the subsequent contact is made at an area of the touch-sensitive display that overlaps with at least a portion of a representation of the virtual spacebar key, the area further including a tolerance area that is associated with at least a portion of the representation of the virtual keyboard that is outside of the representation of the virtual spacebar key, wherein the tolerance area comprises a first size if a top candidate word in the one or more candidate words has a greater number of characters than the quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts, and wherein the tolerance area comprises a second size, different from the first size, if the top candidate word has a same number of characters as the quantity contacts included the plurality of contacts; and

responsive to determining that the subsequent contact is intended to select the virtual spacebar key, outputting, for display in a text area displayed at the touch-sensitive display, the top candidate word.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second size is larger than the first size.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the subsequent contact is intended to select the virtual spacebar key is based at least in part on the plurality of contacts.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting, for display in the text area, the top candidate further comprises:

replacing one or more characters inputted via the plurality of contacts with the top candidate word.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the subsequent contact is not intended to select the virtual spacebar key even if the subsequent contact is made at the area of the touch-sensitive display.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, for display at the touch-sensitive display, a suggestions menu listing the one or more candidate words.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contacts include at least one contact that is made within a representation of a virtual key not corresponding with a character at a corresponding location in the top candidate word.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one contact is made within the representation of the virtual spacebar key.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one programmable processor, cause the at least one programmable processor to perform operations comprising:

outputting, for display at a touch-sensitive display operably coupled to a computing device, a representation of a virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys;

receiving, a respective indication of each of a plurality of contacts at a portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard;

after receiving the respective indication of each of the plurality of contacts, receiving an indication of a subsequent contact at the portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard;

determining, by the computing device and based at least in part on the plurality of contacts, one or more candidate words, each of the one or more candidate words including at least as many characters as a quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts;

determining whether the subsequent contact is intended to select a virtual spacebar key based at least in part on whether the subsequent contact is made at an area of the touch-sensitive display that overlaps with at least a portion of a representation of the virtual spacebar key, the area further including a tolerance area that is associated with at least a portion of the representation of the virtual keyboard that is outside of the representation of the virtual spacebar key, wherein the tolerance area comprises a first size if a top candidate word in the one or more candidate words has a greater number of characters than the quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts, and wherein the tolerance area comprises a second size, different from the first size, if the top candidate word has a same number of characters as the quantity contacts included the plurality of contacts; and

responsive to determining that the subsequent contact is intended to select the virtual spacebar key, outputting, for display in a text area displayed at the touch-sensitive display, the top candidate word.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein determining whether the subsequent contact is intended to select the virtual spacebar key is based at least in part on plurality of contacts.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

determining that the subsequent contact is not intended to select the virtual spacebar key even if the subsequent contact is made at the area of the touch-sensitive display.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the plurality of contacts include at least one contact that is made within the representation of the virtual spacebar key.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

outputting, for display at the touch-sensitive display, a suggestions menu listing the one or more candidate words.

14. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

a touch-sensitive display configured to;

display a representation of a virtual keyboard having a plurality of virtual keys,

receive a respective indication of each of a plurality of contacts at a portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard, and

after receiving the respective indication of each of the plurality of contacts, detect a subsequent at the portion of the touch-sensitive display associated with the representation of the virtual keyboard; and

an input module operable on the one or more processors and configured to;

determine, by the computing device and based at least in part on the plurality of contacts, one or more candidate words, each of the one or more candidate words including at least as many characters as a quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts;

determine whether the subsequent contact is intended to select a virtual spacebar key based at least in part on whether the subsequent contact is made at an area of the touch-sensitive display that overlaps with at least a portion of a representation of the virtual spacebar key, the area further including a tolerance area that is associated at least a portion of the representation of the virtual keyboard that is outside of the representation of the virtual spacebar key, wherein the area comprises a first size if a top candidate word in the one or more candidate words has a greater number of characters than the quantity of contacts included in the plurality of contacts, and wherein the area comprises a second size, larger than the first size, if the top candidate word has a same number of characters as the quantity contacts included the plurality of contacts, and

responsive to determining that the subsequent contact is intended to select the virtual spacebar key, output the top candidate word into a text area displayed at the touch-sensitive display.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the input module is further configured to:

determine that the subsequent contact is not intended to select the virtual spacebar key even if the subsequent contact is made at the area.