Systems and methods for identifying and suggesting emoticons

• US 8,909,513 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2014
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mz Ip Holdings, LLC (AppLovin Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Machine Zone, Inc. (AppLovin Corporation)
• Inventors: Leydon, Gabriel
• Primary Examiner(s): Opsasnick, Michael N
• Application Number:
  US14/243,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20140214409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 251 Days
• Field of Search: 704/5
• US Class Current: 704/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/20 Natural language analysis semantic analysis of natural language G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/289 Phrasal analysis, e.g. finite state techniques or chunking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a method that comprises receiving a set of segments from a text field, analyzing the set of segments to determine at least one of a target subtext or a target meaning associated with the set of segments, and identifying a set of candidate emoticons where each candidate emoticon in the set of candidate emoticons has an association between the candidate emoticon and at least one of the target subtext or the target meaning. The method may further comprise presenting the set of candidate emoticons for entry selection at a current position of an input cursor, receiving an entry selection for a set of selected emoticons from the set of candidate emoticons, and inserting the set of selected emoticons into the text field at the current position of the input cursor.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

selecting one or more segments from a text field, wherein each of the segments is in proximity to a current position of an input cursor in the text field;

analyzing the segments to determine a respective context for each of the segments, wherein the context is at least one of a respective target subtext or a respective target meaning of the segment;

for one or more of the segments, identifying a respective candidate emoticon for the segment based on an association between the candidate emoticon and the context of the segment, the association exceeding a threshold value and being based on, at least, statistical usage of the candidate emoticon for the context by one or more users, wherein a strength of the association varies according to the statistical usage;

providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection, the candidate emoticons for user selection being based on at least one of a user preference, user-related information, and recipient-related information;

receiving user selection of one or more of the provided emoticons and inserting the selected emoticons into the text field at the current position of the input cursor; and

updating the statistical usage of at least one of the provided emoticons based on the user selection.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the segments comprises performing semantic analysis of the segments.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the candidate emoticons at or near the current position of the input cursor.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the set of candidate emoticons on a physical input device or a virtual input device, wherein the physical input device and the virtual input device are configured to receive the entry selection.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the virtual input device is displayed in close proximity to the text field.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a particular segment comprises at least one of a word, a sentence fragment, a sentence, a phrase, and a passage that precedes or follows the current position of the input cursor.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the user-related information includes a user interest, a user ethnicity, a user religion, a user geographic location, a user age, a user relational status, and a user occupation.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the recipient-related information includes a recipient'"'"'s relation to a user, a recipient interest, a recipient ethnicity, a recipient religion, a recipient geographic location, a recipient age, a recipient relational status, and a recipient occupation.

9. A system comprising:

one or more computers programmed to perform operations comprising;

selecting one or more segments from a text field, wherein each of the segments is in proximity to a current position of an input cursor in the text field;

analyzing the segments to determine a respective context for each of the segments, wherein the context is at least one of a respective target subtext or a respective target meaning of the segment;

for one or more of the segments, identifying a respective candidate emoticon for the segment based on an association between the candidate emoticon and the context of the segment, the association exceeding a threshold value and being based on, at least, statistical usage of the candidate emoticon for the context by one or more users, wherein a strength of the association varies according to the statistical usage;

providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection, the candidate emoticons for user selection being based on at least one of a user preference, user-related information, and recipient-related information;

receiving user selection of one or more of the provided emoticons and inserting the selected emoticons into the text field at the current position of the input cursor; and

updating the statistical usage of at least one of the provided emoticons based on the user selection.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein analyzing the segments comprises performing semantic analysis of the segments.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the candidate emoticons at or near the current position of the input cursor.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the set of candidate emoticons on a physical input device or a virtual input device, wherein the physical input device and the virtual input device are configured to receive the entry selection.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the virtual input device is displayed in close proximity to the text field.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein a particular segment comprises at least one of a word, a sentence fragment, a sentence, a phrase, and a passage that precedes or follows the current position of the input cursor.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the user-related information includes a user interest, a user ethnicity, a user religion, a user geographic location, a user age, a user relational status, and a user occupation.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein the recipient-related information includes a recipient'"'"'s relation to a user, a recipient interest, a recipient ethnicity, a recipient religion, a recipient geographic location, a recipient age, a recipient relational status, and a recipient occupation.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instruction stored there on that, when executed by one or more computers, causes the computers to perform operations comprising:

selecting one or more segments from a text field, wherein each of the segments is in proximity to a current position of an input cursor in the text field;

analyzing the segments to determine a respective context for each of the segments, wherein the context is at least one of a respective target subtext or a respective target meaning of the segment;

for one or more of the segments, identifying a respective candidate emoticon for the segment based on an association between the candidate emoticon and the context of the segment, the association exceeding a threshold value and being based on, at least, statistical usage of the candidate emoticon for the context by one or more users, wherein a strength of the association varies according to the statistical usage;

providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection, the candidate emoticons for user selection being based on at least one of a user preference, user-related information, and recipient-related information;

receiving user selection of one or more of the provided emoticons and inserting the selected emoticons into the text field at the current position of the input cursor; and

updating the statistical usage of at least one of the provided emoticons based on the user selection.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein analyzing the segments comprises performing semantic analysis of the segments.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the candidate emoticons at or near the current position of the input cursor.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein providing one or more of the candidate emoticons for user selection comprises displaying the set of candidate emoticons on a physical input device or a virtual input device, wherein the physical input device and the virtual input device are configured to receive the entry selection.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the virtual input device is displayed in close proximity to the text field.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein a particular segment comprises at least one of a word, a sentence fragment, a sentence, a phrase, and a passage that precedes or follows the current position of the input cursor.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the user-related information includes a user interest, a user ethnicity, a user religion, a user geographic location, a user age, a user relational status, and a user occupation.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the recipient-related information includes a recipient'"'"'s relation to a user, a recipient interest, a recipient ethnicity, a recipient religion, a recipient geographic location, a recipient age, a recipient relational status, and a recipient occupation.