Displaying a graphical keyboard

• US 8,504,934 B1
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yu, Fan, Bao, Huanjun
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, RUAY L
• Application Number:
  US13/599,885
• Time in Patent Office: 341 Days
• Field of Search: 715200-277, 715700-867, 700701-866, 709201-229, 705 50- 79, 345 30-111
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• 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, this disclosure describes techniques for providing a mechanism for facilitating text entry by a user interacting with a graphical keyboard displayed at a presence-sensitive screen of a computing device. For example, a computing device having a presence-sensitive screen and a housing, the housing further having a plurality of touch sensors, receives touch input at the touch sensors. The computing device determines a usage mode, based on the touch input. The computing device also displays, based on the usage mode, a graphical keyboard at the presence-sensitive screen. If the usage mode is a one-handed usage mode, a unitary graphical keyboard is displayed. If the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode, a split graphical keyboard is displayed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more touch sensors from a plurality of touch sensors at a housing of a computing device, a touch input indicating a usage mode;

determining, based at least in part on the touch input and by the computing device, the usage mode, wherein the usage mode includes at least one of a one-handed usage mode, and a two-handed usage mode; and

displaying, based at least in part on the usage mode, a graphical keyboard at a presence-sensitive screen of the computing device, wherein, if the usage mode is the one-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a unitary graphical keyboard, and wherein, if the usage mode is the two-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a split graphical keyboard.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on a location of each of the one or more touch sensors at which the touch input is received, a usage location;

determining, based at least in part on the usage location and by the computing device, a position on the presence-sensitive screen at which to display the graphical keyboard; and

displaying the graphical keyboard at the position.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen, two or more user inputs, each user input of the two or more user inputs detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determining, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode and by the computing device, that at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is an unintentional user input; and

discarding the at least one unintentional user input.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is the unintentional user input comprises:

determining a left-handed usage mode;

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen and by the computing device, the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs at a location between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and other user inputs of the two or more user inputs; and

determining, by the computing device, that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs detected at the location is the unintentional user input.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is the unintentional user input comprises:

determining a right-handed usage mode;

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen, the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs at a location between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and other user inputs of the two or more user inputs; and

determining, by the computing device, that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs detected at the location is the unintentional user input.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein determining that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is the unintentional user input comprises:

determining a two-handed usage mode;

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen, the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs at one of

     1) a first location between a left edge of the presence-sensitive screen and other user inputs detected at a second location more inbounds from the left edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the first location and

     2) the third location between a right edge of the presence-sensitive screen and other user inputs detected at a fourth location more inbounds from the right edge of the presence-sensitive screen than the third location; and

determining, by the computing device, that the at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is the unintentional user input.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen, two or more user inputs, each user input of the two or more user inputs detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determining, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode and by an interface manager of the computing device, that at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is an intentional user input; and

providing, by the interface manager, the intentional user input to a software application executing at the computing device.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a front surface of the housing,

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the touch input, that the usage mode is a left-handed usage mode, and

wherein displaying the graphical keyboard comprises displaying a left-weighted graphical keyboard at the presence-sensitive screen.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of a front surface of the housing,

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the touch input, that the usage mode is a right-handed usage mode, and

wherein displaying the graphical keyboard comprises displaying a right-weighted graphical keyboard at the presence-sensitive screen.

10. The method of claim 1,

wherein receiving the touch input comprises receiving, by the computing device, touch input from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the rear surface of the housing, from at least one touch sensor located on a left side of a front surface of the housing, and from at least one touch sensor located on a right side of the front surface of the housing, and

wherein determining the usage mode comprises determining, based at least in part on the touch input, that the usage mode is a two-handed usage mode.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one touch sensor from the plurality of touch sensors is located on a front surface of the housing.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one touch sensor from the plurality of touch sensors is located on a rear surface of the housing.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the split graphical keyboard comprises a left portion of a QWERTY-type keyboard layout and a right portion of a QWERTY-type keyboard layout.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the unitary graphical keyboard comprises a QWERTY-type keyboard layout.

15. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

a presence-sensitive screen;

a housing having a plurality of touch sensors;

a usage mode module operable by the one or more processors to receive a touch input at one or more touch sensors from the plurality of touch sensors, the touch input indicating a usage mode, and determine, based at least in part on the touch input, a usage mode, wherein the usage mode includes at least one of a one-handed usage mode, and a two-handed usage mode; and

an interface manager operable by the one or more processors to display, based at least in part on the usage mode, a graphical keyboard at the presence-sensitive screen, wherein if the usage mode is the one-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a unitary graphical keyboard, and wherein, if the usage mode is the two-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a split graphical keyboard.

16. The computing device of claim 15,

wherein the usage mode module is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based on a location of each of the one or more touch sensors at which the touch input is received, a usage location, and

wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to determine, based at least in part on the usage location, a position on the presence-sensitive screen at which to display the graphical keyboard, and display the graphical keyboard at the position.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the interface manager is further operable by the one or more processors to:

detect, at the presence-sensitive screen, two or more user inputs, each user input of the two or more user inputs detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determine, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode, that at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is an unintentional user input; and

discard the at least one unintentional user input.

18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving touch input at one or more touch sensors from a plurality of touch sensors included in a housing of the computing device, the touch input indicating a usage mode;

determining, based at least in part on the touch input, a usage mode, wherein the usage mode includes at least one of a one-handed usage mode, and a two-handed usage mode; and

displaying, based at least in part on the usage mode, a graphical keyboard at a presence-sensitive screen of the computing device, wherein, if the usage mode is the one-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a unitary graphical keyboard, and wherein, if the usage mode is the two-handed usage mode, the graphical keyboard is displayed as a split graphical keyboard.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, based on a location of each of the one or more touch sensors at which the touch input is received, a usage location;

determining, based at least in part on the usage location, a position on the presence-sensitive screen at which to display the graphical keyboard; and

displaying the graphical keyboard at the position.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting, at the presence-sensitive screen, two or more user inputs, each user input of the two or more user inputs detected at a respective location of the presence-sensitive screen;

determining, based at least in part on the respective locations and the usage mode, that at least one user input of the two or more user inputs is an unintentional user input; and

discarding the at least one unintentional user input.