Reduced keyboard character selection system and method

• US 8,896,469 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2012
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Lazaridis, Mihal, Griffin, Jason T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Terrell, Emily C
• Application Number:
  US13/343,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20120105327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• Field of Search: 341/22, 341/23, 345/168, 345467-472, 715/859
• US Class Current: 341/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96031 Combination of touch switch and LC display

Abstract

A system and method of selecting a letter for display in a communication device having a display and a reduced-key keyboard is provided. One of the plurality of keys on the reduced-key keyboard is selected and a default letter associated with the selected key is displayed. A backspace key is selected to display a cursor in the position of the default letter on the display. The key associated with the default letter is selected again and an alternate letter associated with the selected key is displayed in place of the default letter.

Claims

1. A mobile communication device comprising:

a display;

a keyboard having a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key having at least a default character and at least one alternate character associated therewith, and a backspace key;

a processing subsystem configurable to execute instructions from software applications stored on a memory subsystem, that when executed, the processing subsystem causes;

displaying on the display the default character associated with a selected one of the multi-character keys;

deleting the default character on the display in response to receiving a selection of the backspace key; and

based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the multi-character key.

2. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key comprise a first letter and a second letter.

3. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 2, wherein the multi-character key further comprises at least one numeric character.

4. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key comprise at least one letter.

5. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 4, wherein the default character and the at least one alternate character associated with the multi-character key further comprises at least one numeric character.

6. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, further comprising an enter key.

7. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the backspace key corresponds to one of a clear key, a ‘

C’

key, a ‘

CLR’

key, a soft key, a touch screen key, a navigation tool, a mouse, and a joystick selector.

8. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the software applications further comprise instructions for positioning a cursor over the alternate character on the display when a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is received and to display a different alternate character associated with the multi-character key in response to receiving an additional selection of the multi-character key.

9. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein said display is a touch screen.

10. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 9, wherein the keyboard is displayed by the touch screen.

11. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein the keyboard is a reduced-key keyboard having keys with a QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement.

12. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11, wherein the QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement comprises fourteen letter keys, the fourteen letter keys including twenty-six letter indicia.

13. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 12, wherein the fourteen letter keys are organized into three rows of letter keys, a first row comprising five letter keys, a second row comprising five letter keys and a third row comprising four letter keys.

14. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 13, further comprising a backspace key positioned in the third row of letter keys.

15. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 14, wherein the reduced-key keyboard further comprises a numeric phone pad overlaid on the QWERTY alphabetic letter arrangement and centered on the three rows of letter keys.

16. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11, wherein the reduced-key keyboard is a touch-tone phone pad.

17. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein displaying on the display the default character associated with one of the multi-character keys is in response to receiving a selection of the multi-character key.

18. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1, wherein displaying one of the alternate characters associated with the multi-character key is in response to receiving a subsequent selection of the multi-character key.

19. A method of selecting a character for display on a display of a communication device, said communication device having a keyboard having a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key having at least a default character and at least one alternate character associated therewith, and a backspace key, the method comprising:

displaying on the display the default character associated with a selected one of the multi-character keys;

deleting the default character on the display in response to receiving a selection of the backspace key; and

based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the multi-character key.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising positioning a cursor over the alternate character on the display when a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is received and to display a different alternate character associated with the multi-character key in response to receiving an additional selection of the multi-character key.

21. A method of selecting a character for display in a communication device having a display screen and plurality of user inputs including a reduced-key keyboard comprising a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key associated with a plurality of characters, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting one of a plurality of input keys on the reduced-key keyboard and displaying a default character associated with the selected key;

selecting at least one time a user input for inputting a request to move a cursor to a previously entered character and displaying the cursor in a position of the default character on the display screen;

selecting the selected key; and

based on a probability, displaying an alternate character associated with the selected key.

22. A processing subsystem configured to be installed in a mobile communication device comprising a user interface including a display screen and a plurality of user inputs including a reduced-key keyboard comprising a plurality of input keys of which at least one is a multi-character key associated with a plurality of alphanumeric characters, said processing subsystem comprising:

control software programmed to display a default character associated with a selected multi-character key upon a first actuation thereof and to display a cursor in the position of the default character on the display screen when a user input for inputting a request to move the cursor to a previously entered character is subsequently actuated at least one time and to then display, based on a probability, an alternate character associated with the selected multi-character key upon a second actuation of the multi-character key.