Handheld electronic device with text disambiguation

• US 8,854,301 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2013
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Fux, Vadim, Elizarov, Michael G., Kolomiets, Sergey V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US13/949,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311171A1
• Time in Patent Office: 440 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345168-173, 345/184, 715/811, 715/816, 715/533, 341 22- 26, 341/106, 710/67, 704/247
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques

Abstract

A method of disambiguating an input into a handheld electronic device storing a plurality of objects includes a plurality of word objects is described. The method may include detecting an ambiguous input, outputting a number of first character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to one of the word objects, and determining that the first character permutations are fewer in quantity than a predetermined number. The method may further include outputting a number of second character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to an artificial variant.

Claims

1. A method of disambiguating an input into a handheld electronic device having stored therein a plurality of objects including a plurality of word objects, the method comprising:

detecting an ambiguous input;

outputting a number of first character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to one of the word objects; and

determining that the first character permutations are fewer in quantity than a predetermined number and, responsive thereto, outputting a number of second character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to an artificial variant.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting the first character permutations at a higher priority than the second character permutations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of frequency objects each having a frequency value, at least some of the artificial variants each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising outputting the first character permutations in descending order of frequency value.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, at least some of the n-grams each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising:

identifying for each of at least some of the second character permutations an n-gram that corresponds with at least a portion thereof; and

outputting the second character permutations in descending order of frequency value of the frequency objects associated with the identified n-grams.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the ambiguous input comprises a number of initial character selections and a current character selection, and further comprising:

responsive to the number of initial character selections, identifying at least one artificial variant that corresponds with a particular character permutation of the number of initial character selections; and

outputting as one of the second character permutations the particular character permutation plus a character assigned to the input member of the current character selection.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

outputting as a default output a particular first character permutation that corresponds with a first artificial variant that is associated with a frequency object having a relatively greatest frequency value;

detecting an additional input;

identifying a second artificial variant which corresponds with the ambiguous input plus the additional input and which is associated with a frequency object having a relatively greatest frequency value; and

making a determination that the second artificial variant is different than the first artificial variant and, responsive thereto, outputting as another default output an artificial variant comprising the particular first character permutation plus a character assigned to the input member of the additional character selection.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising outputting as a first variant output another artificial variant comprising the particular first character permutation plus another character assigned to the input member of the additional character selection.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, at least some of the n-grams each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising outputting the another default output at a higher priority than the first variant output on the basis of a correspondence between a number of terminal characters of the another default output and an n-gram that is associated with a frequency object having a frequency value which is greater than the frequency value of another frequency object with which another n-gram is associated, a number of terminal characters of the first variant output corresponding with another n-gram.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, and further comprising outputting the another default output at a higher priority than the first variant output on the basis that the number of terminal characters of the another default output which correspond with an n-gram are greater in quantity than the number of terminal characters of the first variant output which correspond with an n-gram.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting an additional input;

determining that no word object corresponds with a character permutation of the ambiguous input plus the additional input; and

outputting at least one character permutation of the ambiguous input plus the additional input as at least an artificial variant.

11. A handheld electronic device comprising:

a processor unit comprising a processor and a memory having stored therein a plurality of objects including a plurality of word objects;

the memory further having stored therein routines which, when executed on the processor, cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations comprising;

detecting an ambiguous input;

outputting a number of first character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to one of the word objects; and

determining that the first character permutations are fewer in quantity than a predetermined number and, responsive thereto, outputting a number of second character permutations of the ambiguous input that each correspond to an artificial variant.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise outputting the first character permutations at a higher priority than the second character permutations.

13. The handheld electronic device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of frequency objects each having a frequency value, at least some of the artificial variants each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising outputting the first character permutations in descending order of frequency value.

14. The handheld electronic device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, at least some of the n-grams each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising:

identifying for each of at least some of the second character permutations an n-gram that corresponds with at least a portion thereof; and

outputting the second character permutations in descending order of frequency value of the frequency objects associated with the identified n-grams.

15. The handheld electronic device of claim 13, wherein the ambiguous input comprises a number of initial character selections and a current character selection, and further comprising:

responsive to the number of initial character selections, identifying at least one artificial variant that corresponds with a particular character permutation of the number of initial character selections; and

outputting as one of the second character permutations the particular character permutation plus a character assigned to the input member of the current character selection.

16. The handheld electronic device of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

outputting as a default output a particular first character permutation that corresponds with a first artificial variant that is associated with a frequency object having a relatively greatest frequency value;

detecting an additional input;

identifying a second artificial variant which corresponds with the ambiguous input plus the additional input and which is associated with a frequency object having a relatively greatest frequency value; and

making a determination that the second artificial variant is different than the first artificial variant and, responsive thereto, outputting as another default output an artificial variant comprising the particular first character permutation plus a character assigned to the input member of the additional character selection.

17. The handheld electronic device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise outputting as a first variant output another artificial variant comprising the particular first character permutation plus another character assigned to the input member of the additional character selection.

18. The handheld electronic device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, at least some of the n-grams each being associated with an associated frequency object, and further comprising outputting the another default output at a higher priority than the first variant output on the basis of a correspondence between a number of terminal characters of the another default output and an n-gram that is associated with a frequency object having a frequency value which is greater than the frequency value of another frequency object with which another n-gram is associated, a number of terminal characters of the first variant output corresponding with another n-gram.

19. The handheld electronic device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of objects further include a plurality of n-grams, and further comprising outputting the another default output at a higher priority than the first variant output on the basis that the number of terminal characters of the another default output which correspond with an n-gram are greater in quantity than the number of terminal characters of the first variant output which correspond with an n-gram.

20. The handheld electronic device of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting an additional input;

determining that no word object corresponds with a character permutation of the ambiguous input plus the additional input; and

outputting at least one character permutation of the ambiguous input plus the additional input as at least an artificial variant.