Intelligent elision

• US 8,620,641 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Farnsworth, Andrew, Vanden Heuvel, David Noel
• Primary Examiner(s): PULLIAS, JESSE SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US12/122,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20090287470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,055 Days
• Field of Search: 715/251
• US Class Current: 704/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/20 Natural language analysis semantic analysis of natural language G06F40/30

Abstract

A user interface routine includes an intelligent elision routine having a plurality of language objects, plurality of abbreviation objects, and a plurality of preference objects. Each language object that has an associated abbreviation object and preference object is an abbreviatable language object. The user interface routine and/or the intelligent elision routine is structured to determine a text field'"'"'s length, also identified as a limited space, receive a text string and replace selected language objects in the text string with the associated abbreviation objects to create an abbreviated text string. The process is, preferably, repeated on the abbreviated text string until the abbreviated text string is shorter than the limited space or until no more abbreviatable language objects are in the text string.

Claims

1. A method of providing information to a user of a handheld electronic device, the handheld electronic device including a display and a processor apparatus, the processor apparatus having a processor and a memory, the processor apparatus structured to provide output signals to the display, the memory having a plurality of routines stored therein, at least one routine structured to present a user interface, the user interface structured to present text in a limited space on the display, the limited space having a length, the memory further having a plurality of objects stored therein, the plurality of objects including a plurality of abbreviatable language objects and a plurality of abbreviated language objects, each of the plurality of abbreviatable language objects having an associated abbreviated language object, the method comprising:

a) receiving a text string having at least one abbreviatable language object, the text string to be presented in the limited space;

b) determining that the text string has a length that is longer than the limited space;

c) identifying each abbreviatable language object in the text string;

d) replacing at least one abbreviatable language object of the text string with an associated abbreviated language object stored in the memory, thereby creating an abbreviated text string, wherein each abbreviated language object stored in the memory is associated with a respective preference object having a ranking from lowest to highest, and wherein the ranking is based on, in part, the length in number of characters of the associated abbreviatable language object, the abbreviatable language objects being replaced in an order based on associated preference object ranking; and

e) presenting the abbreviated text string in the limited space at the display.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, prior to the step of presenting the abbreviated text string in the limited space, the method includes the further steps of:

f) determining that the abbreviated text string has a length that is longer than the limited space; and

g) further replacing at least one abbreviatable language object of the abbreviated text string with the associated abbreviated language object.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein, prior to the step of presenting the abbreviated text string in the limited space, the method includes the further step of:

repeating steps f) and g) until the abbreviated text string has a length that is shorter than the limited space.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein, prior to the step of presenting the abbreviated text string in the limited space, the method includes the further steps of:

h) determining that no abbreviatable language objects remain in the abbreviated text string; and

i) truncating the abbreviated text string sufficiently to be presented in the limited space.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of repeating steps f) and g) until the abbreviated text string has a length that is shorter than the limited space includes, for each cycle, the step of:

replacing the abbreviatable language object that has the next lowest ranked associated preference object; and

wherein, if two or more abbreviatable language objects have associated preference objects with the same rank, the longest of the abbreviatable language objects is replaced.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the plurality of abbreviated language objects includes non-standard abbreviated language objects.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the plurality of abbreviated language objects includes null abbreviated language objects.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of abbreviated language objects includes non-standard abbreviated language objects.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of abbreviated language objects includes null abbreviated language objects.

10. A handheld electronic device comprising:

a processor, a memory and a display;

the processor configured to;

receive a text string having a plurality of language objects including at least one abbreviatable language object, the text string to be presented in a limited space at the display;

determine that the text string has a length that is longer than the limited space;

identify each abbreviatable language object in the text string;

replace at least one abbreviatable language object of the text string with an associated abbreviated language object stored in the memory, thereby creating an abbreviated text string, wherein each abbreviated language object stored in the memory is associated with a respective preference object having a ranking from lowest to highest, and wherein the ranking is based on, in part, the length in number of characters of the associated abbreviatable language object, the abbreviatable language objects being replaced in an order based on associated preference object ranking; and

,

present the abbreviated text string in the limited space.

11. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein, prior to presenting the abbreviated text string in the limited space, the processor is further configured to:

determine that the abbreviated text string has a length that is longer than the limited space; and

replace at least one abbreviatable language object of the abbreviated text string with the associated abbreviated language object.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 11 wherein, the processor is further configured to repeat replacing the abbreviatable language objects of the abbreviated text string with next lowest associated abbreviated language objects, until the abbreviated text string has a length that is shorter than the limited space.

13. The handheld electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to determine that no abbreviatable language objects remain in the abbreviated text string and truncate the abbreviated text string sufficiently to be presented in the limited space.

14. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the abbreviated language objects includes non-standard abbreviated language objects.

15. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the abbreviated language objects includes null abbreviated language objects.

16. The handheld electronic device of claim 10, wherein when two or more abbreviatable language objects have associated preference objects with a same rank, the longest of the abbreviatable language objects is replaced.