Prediction completion gesture

• US 8,904,309 B1
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhai, Shumin, Li, Yang
• Primary Examiner(s): Song, Daeho
• Application Number:
  US13/303,510
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 715/816, 715/780, 715/773, 715/764, 715/863
• US Class Current: 715/816
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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 one example, a method includes detecting, by a computing device, at least one user contact with a presence-sensitive screen of the computing device to input one or more characters of an input string. The method also includes detecting, by the computing device, a subsequent user contact with the presence-sensitive screen. The method also includes detecting, by the computing device, a gesture at a region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with a terminator symbol while the subsequent user contact is maintained with the presence-sensitive screen. The method also includes adding, by the computing device, the terminator symbol to the input string when the gesture comprises a virtual key press gesture. The method also includes replacing, by the computing device, the input string with a predicted completed string for the input string when the gesture comprises a prediction completion gesture.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a computing device, at a presence-sensitive screen of the computing device, a first gesture;

determining, by the computing device and based on the first gesture, one or more characters of an input string;

detecting, by the computing device, at a region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with a terminator symbol, a second gesture, the second gesture detected after the first gesture;

determining, by the computing device, a type of the second gesture;

responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a virtual key press gesture type, adding, by the computing device, the terminator symbol to the input string and outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the terminator symbol;

responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a prediction completion gesture type that is different than the virtual key press gesture type, outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a combination of a predicted completed string for the input string and the terminator symbol.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, one or more predicted completed strings for the input string; and

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the one or more predicted completed strings.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the one or more predicted completed strings in a prioritized arrangement, wherein the predicted completed string comprises a highest priority predicted completed string of the prioritized arrangement.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the one or more predicted completed strings in the prioritized arrangement according to respective computed probabilities for the one or more predicted completed strings.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

selecting, by the computing device and based at least in part on one or more properties of the second gesture, the predicted completed string from the one or more predicted completed strings to output the combination of the predicted completed string for the input string and the terminator symbol.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the second gesture comprises a first motion gesture from a first location of the presence-sensitive screen to a second location of the presence-sensitive screen, the first motion gesture being a prediction completion gesture type, and the method further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string based at least in part on a distance from the first location to the second location.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

detecting, by the computing device, a completion of the second gesture; and

responsive to detecting the completion of the second gesture, by the computing device, selecting the predicted completed string from the one or more predicted completed strings to output the combination of the predicted completed string for the input string and the terminator symbol.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with the terminator symbol includes one of the first location or the second location.

9. The method of claim 6,

wherein outputting the graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string comprises outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a cursor movement to the predicted completed string,

wherein the first motion gesture is substantially parallel to a direction of the cursor movement.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the second gesture comprises a hold gesture that is a prediction completion gesture type, the method further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string based at least on a hold time of the hold.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting, by the computing device, completion of the second gesture at the presence-sensitive screen;

responsive to detecting the completion of the second gesture, by the computing device, selecting the predicted completed string from the one or more predicted completed strings to output the combination of the predicted completed string for the input string and the terminator symbol.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the hold time of the hold comprises a first hold time of the hold, the method further comprising:

prior to outputting the graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string, outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a graphical emphasis for a first predicted completed string from the one or more predicted completed strings based at least on a second hold time of the hold that is less than the first hold time of the hold, the first predicted completed string being different than the predicted string.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the presence-sensitive screen comprises a pressure-sensitive screen, the method further comprising:

detecting, by the computing device, pressure applied to the pressure-sensitive screen,

wherein outputting the graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string comprises outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the graphical emphasis for the predicted completed string based at least in part on the hold time of the hold and an amount of pressure applied to the pressure-sensitive screen.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting, by the computing device, continued interaction for the hold at the presence-sensitive screen; and

while the computing device continues to detect the continued interaction, graphically emphasizing, at the presence-sensitive screen, sequential ones of the predicted completed strings by filling, with an emphasis fill color and according to a sequential ordering, respective boxes surrounding the one or more predicted completed strings.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual key press gesture type is a “

tap”

.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction completion gesture type is one of a “

tap and flick”

or a “

swipe”

.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with the terminator symbol, the predicted completed string.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, perform operations comprising:

detecting, by a computing device, at a presence-sensitive screen of the computing device, a first gesture;

determining, by the computing device and based on the first gesture, one or more characters of an input string;

determining, by the computing device, one or more predicted completed strings for the input string;

displaying the one or more predicted completed strings to the presence-sensitive screen;

detecting, by the computing device, at a region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with a terminator symbol, a second gesture, the second gesture detected after the first gesture;

determining, by the computing device, a type of the second gesture;

responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a virtual key press gesture type, adding, by the computing device, the terminator symbol to the input string and outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the terminator symbol; and

responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a prediction completion gesture type that is different than the virtual key press gesture type, outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a combination of a predicted completed string of one of the predicted completed strings and the terminator symbol.

19. A computing device, comprising:

one or more processors;

an input module executed by the processors to detect, at a presence-sensitive screen, a first gesture, wherein the input module determines, based on the first gesture, one or more characters of an input string, and wherein the input module determines one or more predicted completed strings for the input string;

a display module executed by the processors to output, for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the predicted completed strings,

wherein the input module detects, at a region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with a terminator symbol, a second gesture, the second gesture detected after the first gesture, and

wherein the input module determines a type of the second gesture detected at the region of the presence-sensitive screen that is associated with the terminator symbol,

wherein, responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a virtual key press gesture type, the input module adds the terminator symbol to the input string, and the display module outputs, for display at the presence-sensitive screen, the terminator symbol, and

wherein, responsive to determining that the type of the second gesture is a prediction completion gesture type that is different than the virtual key press gesture type, the display module outputs, for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a combination of a predicted completed string of the predicted completed strings and the terminator symbol.